The Christian Covenant of Marriage
We believe the Christian covenant of marriage by which one man and one woman establish a lifetime partnership for the protection and well-being of the spouses and the procreation and bringing up of offspring is to be honored as holy. This covenant should only be entered into by two professing followers of Jesus Christ. This is a binding covenant between the man, the woman and God.
Jacob’s Well Church believes that the Bible mandates that sexual activity is to be enjoyed exclusively between a man and a woman that have been joined together in holy matrimony. All other sexual activity violates the Biblical standard for Christians.
This covenant may only be broken in the extreme cases of marital infidelity, abuse or abandonment.
There's a lot to talk about in this declaration. It can be a very passionate topic for many of us as we try to balance our belief in God's word with loving people. What are your beliefs about marriage and sexuality, and where have those ideas come from?
Jesus uses hyperbole in these verses to make the point that sexuality is powerful. It often begins with a look or a touch, and our lustful imaginations are set into motion. Unless we guard our minds from these thoughts, the power of our sexuality and our imaginations can quickly take us down a road of pain and heartache. Our ideas begin to take action, and our actions can have devastating consequences. If you're open to sharing with your group, how have you seen this concept play out in your life or the lives of those around you (without naming names)?
Paul spoke this past weekend on a few points. One by one, DISCUSS with your group what these mean.
- Our culture is broken in regards to sexuality.
- You and I are all born broken in regards to sexuality.
- Sexuality is powerful and needs the safety of marriage.
- We need to rediscover the purposes of sex.
2. Reunion of the separate complementary genders
3. Creation of children within the safety of family
READ 1 Corinthians 6:9-11
"And such were some of you." Yep, you and me. Many of us have practiced sexuality outside the covenant of marriage or outside the scope of God's intentions. But more than that, this passage includes other ways that we may have sinned in our past, or maybe even our present. Do you idolize something or someone? "Thieves, the greedy, and swindlers" can refer to the lust for money. "Drunkards" speaks for itself. "Revilers" or "slanderers" (depending on your version of Scripture) refer to those who speak abusively. "And such were some of you."
And then there's this beautiful word, "but."
"But" means it's not the end of your story.
"But you were washed."
"But you were sanctified."
"But you were justified."
All under the new covenant of the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Have you accepted that gift of life yet? Have you faced your past with God's guidance? Have you been forgiven yet? What a glorious freedom there is in choosing to follow Jesus, to know Him, to become like Him, to be washed and sanctified and justified. God may be calling you to this take this step on your journey. If so, reach out to those in your small group and ask them to walk alongside you. Let them help you heal.
Christ's healing is for all believers to become chaste
LOOK up the word chaste and TALK about it as a group. Many of us have preconceived notions of this word. What does it mean to you? What does it mean for God's children to live a chaste life in today's culture? How difficult does our culture make living a chaste life? How does Christ's healing help us live chaste, and how does His healing heal us?
GO DEEPER
If you have time and are interested, READ Hebrews 11. NOTE those people from the Old Testament who were sexually immoral. This may require looking up a few of their stories for reference.
And yet, after failing to live within God's plan for marriage, they made a choice to change direction and live a chaste life. "These all were commended for their faith." (v. 39a) You and I can choose every day, through thick and thin, to live within God's guidelines of sexuality. Then, when all is said and done, we can be "commended for our faith" too.
