Holding Marriage in Honor

Hebrews 13:4, Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.

Proverbs 5:1-2, My son, be attentive to my wisdom; incline your ear to my understanding, that you may keep discretion, and your lips may guard knowledge.

Proverbs 5:21-23, For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the LORD, and He ponders all his paths. The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him, and he is held fast in the cords of his sin. He dies for lack of discipline, and because of his great folly he is led astray.

Big Idea: God is watching everything… Not because He wants to steal your fun. He loves you, wants what’s best for you, and celebrates you getting it right.

1.  Have eyes for her and her alone.

Proverbs 5:15-17, (CEVDCI) You should be faithful to your wife…  Save yourself for your wife and don’t (hold hands) with other women.

2.  Find satisfaction in her and her alone.

Proverbs 5:18-19, (CEVDCI) Be happy with the wife you married when you were young. She is beautiful and graceful…  You should be attracted to her and stay deeply in love.

Next Step: Write a letter to your younger self… Then realize it’s not too late to follow your advice.

Letter to the younger, less wise, more foolish me: 

• Don’t think that you are above falling into sin.

1st Corinthians 10:12, Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.

• A great marriage will take a lot of hard work.

Galatians 6:9, And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

• Don’t take her for granted.

1st Peter 3:7a, Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding (considerate) way…

• Never bring up past failures or disappointments.

Psalm 103:12, …as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us.

• Don’t compare her to anyone else in a way that is negative to her.

Job 31:1, I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin?

• Pray daily for her and with her.

1st Thessalonians 5:16-18, Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

• Sacrifice regularly for her.

Philippians 2:3, Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

• Be consistent with genuine expressions of love.

2nd Corinthians 9:7, Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

• Don’t let anyone in this world come between you and her.

Genesis 2:24-25, Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

• Be ruthless in defending your affection for each other.

1st Peter 5:8, Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

• Be slow to speak and quick to listen.

James 1:19-20, Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

• It’s never too late for a great marriage.

Matthew 19:26, But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

• Take better care of your health.

1st Corinthians 7:4, For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does…

• Don’t let a busy season become an excuse for neglect.

1st Corinthians 7:5, Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

• Forgive each other as God forgives you.

Matthew 6:14-15, For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

• Don’t dwell on the past.

Philippians 3:13b, But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead…