"He Made Them Male & Female"

Matthew 19, starting in verse 1.

Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these sayings, that he departed from Galilee, and

came to the region of Judea, beyond the Jordan.

And a great multitude followed him, and he healed them there.

The Pharisees also came to him, testing him, and saying to him, Is it lawful for a man

to divorce his wife for just any reason?

And he answered and said to them, Have you not read that he who made them at the

beginning made them male and female?

And he said, For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother, and be joined to his wife,

and the two shall become one flesh.

So then they are no longer two, but one flesh.

Therefore, what God has joined together, let not man separate.

They said to him, Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce

and to put her away?

He said to them, Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your

wives, but from the beginning it was not so.

And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual

immorality, and marries another commits adultery, and whoever marries her who is

divorced commits adultery.

And his disciples said to him, If such is the case of a man with his wife,

it is better not to marry.

But he said to them, All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has

been given.

May God add his blessing to the reading of his word.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mark.

So the title of this morning's message is He Made Them Male and Female.

And we're going to go verse by verse through Matthew 19, 1 through 11, maybe 1

through 12.

And obviously here, Jesus is teaching on marriage, divorce.

We also see important statements about gender and even celibacy.

So we have a lot to get to.

So let's jump right in.

But let me just ask this question up front.

Do you think Jesus has a high standard for marriage or a low standard?

High standard, right?

Do you think most Americans have that same high standard or a lower standard?

Lower.

Probably.

Okay.

Matthew 19, starting in verse 1, it says, Now it came to pass when Jesus had finished

these sayings.

And of course, this is a reference to the last chapter, chapter 18, where Jesus talked a

lot about forgiveness.

And if a marriage is going to last, there obviously needs to be a lot of forgiveness.

So after that, it says, He departed from Galilee and came to the region of

Judea, beyond the Jordan, and great multitudes followed Him, and He

healed them there.

So the crowds are still big.

A lot of people are coming out to hear Jesus.

And as we've seen going through the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus was very much well

-liked and respected among the common people.

But the ruling elite and the religious leaders, I mean, that's another story.

So of all the people there listening to Jesus, watching Him heal, His enemies are

mixed in with the crowd.

And we see that here in verse 3.

It says, The Pharisees also came to Him.

And what does it say that the Pharisees are doing?

Do they really want to know?

Are they asking questions because they really want the answer?

What does it say?

The Pharisees also came testing Him and saying to Him, Is it lawful for a

man to divorce his wife for just any reason?

And of course, today, this does apply.

You could say, Is it lawful for a woman to divorce her husband just for any reason?

Now, the question, Is it lawful?

Is a reference to the Jewish law, the law of Moses.

Sometimes it's synonymous with the old covenant, the law of Moses.

Is it lawful?

Actually, that's not really the question.

Is it lawful?

Because everyone agreed it was lawful.

Everyone knew it was lawful.

But what is the specific question?

Is it lawful to divorce for just any reason?

We have a name for this today.

In the Western world, especially in this country, this is called no fault

divorce.

In our nation today, people can get a divorce literally for any reason or no

reason at all.

And this is what some were starting to argue for in first century Israel.

I mean, you think maybe back then, this is a long time ago, Jewish society.

You probably thought it was a lot different back then.

They were more traditional or whatever.

Not really.

I mean, they had the same things that we have today, the same ideas.

So people in first century Israel were arguing for basically no fault divorce.

And like today, there was a spectrum back then.

You had the traditionalists in the days of Jesus who didn't like divorce.

They hated divorce.

And they thought the only reason you could get a divorce if there was some sort of infidelity.

And then there was this other group that wasn't really bothered by divorce.

I mean, nobody really says they like it, but they wanted to make things easier.

So they wanted, like we have today, no fault divorce.

And when a country or when a society adopts no fault divorce, do you think the

divorce rate goes up or down?

It doesn't just go up.

It skyrockets.

And that leads to the breakdown of the family, which leads to the breakdown of the nation.

So this is a very important subject.

So Jesus gets asked this question.

I'm glad they asked the question, even though they are testing him.

They aren't really asking to find out.

I am glad that they asked it because it kind of gives us a window into the mind of Christ.

So again, the more traditional person, maybe with a biblical worldview, would find

maybe no fault divorce, they would find it abhorrent.

But there are other people who think, hey, you know, it's no big thing.

And that's kind of the attitude that a lot of people have today.

So in first century Israel, the nation was starting to be divided.

You had one group of rabbis teaching one thing, and then another group of rabbis teaching something else.

Again, just like today, right?

There are those churches, again, that have a certain flag out front, and they say they celebrate all

lifestyles.

So if you want to get a divorce in a church like that, they might throw you a party.

I mean, that happens.

There's a thing called divorce parties today.

Who's heard of this?

Someone decides, usually it's the woman divorces her husband, and her and her friends throw a

divorce party to celebrate her newfound freedom.

So today, there are churches who literally celebrate that type of thing.

And then you know there's the more conservative or traditional churches that deeply frown on

that type of thing.

So I only say that to say this.

There's nothing new under the sun.

We're living through the same type of situation they were in back then.

So it's very relevant.

OK, so probably this is based on Deuteronomy 24.

You don't have to turn there.

You can make a note and study this later on.

If you want.

But the original understanding from Moses, based on Deuteronomy 24,

said that divorce was lawful.

That's true.

But it was only permitted if a man discovered some uncleanness in his

wife.

That's the wording that Moses used.

And of course, Moses is getting this, we believe, from the Lord.

So if on the wedding night, something was discovered, usually we would call this an annulment

if it happened soon afterward.

But let's say something was discovered on the wedding night.

Let's say a man was married under false pretenses.

He thought he was marrying a virgin.

And he discovered that wasn't the case.

Or certainly, if there was adultery, I mean, back then in first century Israel,

adultery, what was the penalty for adultery?

Yeah, you remember John chapter 8?

The woman caught in adultery, the mob there, they were ready to stone her.

So certainly, adultery would end the marriage.

But a man could get a divorce lawfully if there was some sort of unfaithfulness.

So that was the traditional understanding.

Divorce was lawful, but only under certain circumstances.

And that's what many of the rabbis, and I'm using the term conservative.

There might be a better word for that.

But that's just the way people typically understand it.

That's what the conservative rabbis were teaching.

But you had the more, again, whatever the word, liberal, progressive rabbis.

They were teaching divorce for any reason.

So the Jews, again, were divided.

But they all agreed.

Here's the thing.

All the Jews agreed that divorce was lawful.

Some people don't like that.

They say, is that really true?

I mean, well, yeah.

And this is why the Pharisees come to Jesus.

Because they're trying to see if Jesus will actually affirm divorce.

Because back in their mind, they know that God doesn't really like divorce.

So if we ask Jesus this question, they figure no matter how Jesus responds, he's either going to

upset this side or this side.

Or Jesus will somehow affirm divorce.

He's going to make somebody upset.

Now, does Jesus answer the question?

Well, yeah, he does.

And I would say Jesus does affirm the traditional understanding.

However, Jesus's answer is not really a direct answer.

He makes a bigger point.

Isn't that what Jesus always does?

They try to trap him.

And he, I don't want to say he wiggles out of it.

But he has a way of making them look foolish and turning it back around

on people.

So the bigger point that Jesus makes is that God never wanted anyone

to get a divorce.

And then they're going to try to pin them down.

Well, Moses said, and Moses spoke for God.

Moses said it was OK.

So this is just one big trap.

So Jesus acknowledges that divorce is lawful.

But he said, it's only because of the hardness of your hearts.

Let's look at verses 4 and 5.

So Jesus, the first thing he does, he goes, you could say he goes to the

Bible, right?

Isn't this maybe the first thing that we should do?

If somebody asked you a question, how should you answer it?

He says, have you not read?

And then he references the book of Genesis.

Verses 4 and 5, he says, have you not read that he who made them at the beginning made

them male and female?

And he said, for this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife,

and the two shall be one flesh.

So that's what Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 teaches.

So clearly making appeal to Genesis, Jesus, we notice, affirms the story

of Adam and Eve.

And this is for the Wednesday night crowd.

We've been talking about this the past few Wednesdays that Jesus affirmed the Old Testament

scriptures.

He affirmed a literal person named Adam and a literal person named Eve.

Jesus affirmed, you know, Noah's Ark and the flood story.

And I always say that because there's a lot of people who would deny those things today.

But Jesus affirmed Adam and Eve, and he actually makes reference to them because God, when God

ordained marriage, how did he do it?

He did it with and through Adam and Eve.

So what's God's plan for marriage from the beginning?

So Adam, one man, and Eve, one woman.

And of course, this is not a surprise to most of us.

This is what God wants.

One man, one woman for life.

Matter of fact, this is the only sexual relationship that Jesus affirms.

And because this is God's ideal, because this is what God wants, you can make sure or be sure

that the devil is going to attack this.

And the devil, of course, has attacked us.

So God made Adam and Eve.

And from then on, with their children and their children's children, down through the

generations, through history, this is the way it's supposed to be.

One man, one woman for life.

Does every believer agree with that?

That's God's best intention.

That is God's intention for marriage.

Okay, now someone could argue that the only other type of marriage, because you do see this in the Bible, and

it almost appears as if God doesn't mind, because God doesn't really speak against it.

But you do actually see polygamy in the Old Testament, don't you?

So someone could argue, and certain groups like the Mormons in the past have argued that God

endorses polygamy.

King David was a polygamist.

You could argue that Abraham, he had a child with Sarah and her maidservant.

And of course, Israel himself was a polygamist.

I mean, that's true.

It is in the Bible.

But if you read those stories, I grant that God doesn't condemn them for it.

But if you read those stories, when a man practiced polygamy, did it cause problems?

Oh, it caused a lot of problems.

So if you take that as any sort of basis for the Bible telling us, is this right or wrong?

Yeah, the men who practiced polygamy, they paid for it.

But again, God never endorsed it.

God never told people to do that.

You got to go back to the beginning, Adam and Eve.

That's God's plan.

One man, one woman for life.

So that's God's will.

Look at verse five.

He tells us what the will is.

Man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two

shall become one flesh.

So far, this is just boilerplate Christianity 101.

Anyone who believes the Bible should agree with all of this.

But what does it mean that the two become one?

This is something that if you read commentators, there's a lot of different answers.

There's more than just one answer.

But at the very least, this is partially what it means.

The two becoming one is, to some degree, a reference to the physical relationship

between husband and wife.

They come together, and they produce a child.

So that's been the Jewish Christian understanding for 2 ,000 years.

Jewish understanding for 4 ,000.

Going back 6 ,000 to Genesis, that relationship is for husband and wife

only.

This relationship outside of biblical marriage, when two unmarried

people have relations, what is it called?

It's called fornication.

And when it's between a married person and someone not their spouse, that's called

adultery.

And these were considered very serious sins in Israel.

They were considered very serious sins within Christianity up until about 15 minutes ago.

But here's the thing.

In Israel, and technically while Jesus was alive on earth ministering,

this was actually a death penalty offense.

So they're not just sins.

Adultery, in particular, was actually a crime.

Now, most people today would find that to be absurd.

You know, the idea that adultery would be a crime or these things would be illegal.

But you know what?

They were illegal in this country.

Just trying to make application here.

Even fornication was actually illegal in this country up until about the middle of the

20th century.

That's some of you when you were younger.

These things were actually illegal.

And then starting in the 1950s, 1960s, you know, they stopped enforcing the law.

And then they're probably still on the books some places.

But just to let you know that this actually was taken seriously right up until, again, 15

minutes ago.

And then there are more illicit behaviors that were certainly illegal in Israel.

And even here in the states up until recently.

Speaking of, because we're trying to tie this to keep rooted in Matthew 19.

The main thing Jesus is addressing is no fault divorce.

Do you know when no fault divorce was first made law in the United States?

1969.

Guess what state was the first state?

No, no, no.

I think West Coast.

Another state that sort of leads the way with things like this.

Yeah, 1969, California, no fault divorce was first signed into law.

This might surprise you by Governor Ronald Reagan.

But before that, before that, I just don't know you're going to be upset that I mentioned that.

But up until that time, it just wasn't allowed.

I mean, it still happened.

I mean, let's be honest.

It still happened.

It just wasn't really sanctioned by the government.

And then it swept through this country in the 1970s, 1980s.

All the states started doing it.

And then 1990s, things progressed.

And then we started hearing about civil unions in the 1990s.

And we know where we are right now.

I mean, things have totally changed.

The fabric of this country have changed.

Marriage is thought about in a totally different way.

And if you believe what nearly everyone believed 50 years ago, now you're seen as closed -minded and

everything else.

But just to let you know, even though we are much further down the road here in this country, the same

types of things were happening in Israel.

So again, first century Israel.

Half of the nation, maybe.

Up to half of the nation believed or supported something called no -fault divorce.

It might have been less than half.

But think about what the next thing that happened was.

Once Israel adopted this, I'll just call it an abomination.

That's what it is.

It's an abomination.

Once Israel accepted that in the year 33, what did they do?

So they were starting to accept no -fault divorce.

Then in the year 33, Israel crucified the Son of God.

And then by 70 AD, the nation was destroyed.

Now, some people might think, oh, that's a coincidence.

But I assure you, it's not.

When a nation goes far beyond what God has said, when they thumb

their nose at the Lord, spit in his face, whatever analogy you want to use, when a nation does that,

God will do what?

He will tear down that nation.

Because this strikes to the fabric of a society.

So goes the family.

So goes the nation.

You would think people would learn from history.

But you know how people are.

They do what they want to do.

And as a result, they are doomed to repeat history.

But back to the original question they asked Jesus.

Can a man divorce his wife for just any reason?

And by the way, this sermon, just so you understand, if you are

divorced, in this country, half the adult population is divorced.

With Christians, it's about the same percentage, not much of a difference.

Some of you, it wasn't your fault.

So don't feel guilty.

For some people, maybe it was.

Maybe you actually divorced your spouse and married someone else.

Jesus is calling this adultery.

Well, you really can't change the past, can you?

You can't.

So this sermon is more for people who are married.

Don't get a divorce from here on out.

You can't change the past.

There is forgiveness in Christ.

But we need to see what Jesus said about this subject.

So the question, can a man divorce his wife just for any reason?

I like Jesus's response because he's like, have you never read the Bible?

That's what he's saying to the Pharisees.

Have you not read what God has joined together?

What?

Let not man separate.

So when a divorce happens, is it God doing it?

Is it God sanctioning it?

Not really.

I mean, it's man who's doing it.

God said no.

And that doesn't seem to be the statement, what God has joined together, let not man separate.

That does not seem to be a quote from Deuteronomy or Genesis.

This is Jesus's teaching.

OK, this is the Lord speaking authoritatively that nobody should get

a divorce.

And of course, Jesus's statements are in line with the viewpoint of his heavenly father.

Because in Malachi 2 .16, it clearly says God hates

divorce.

Now, is it permitted?

Is it tolerated?

Because I believe God always allows for the innocent party to be

protected.

If a man goes out and is a serial adulterer, can the wife divorce

from that man?

She is allowed to do that according to God's law.

Now, you could argue, should she do it?

And you can bring up all sorts of scenarios.

But God allows it because God wants to protect the innocent.

That is allowed, but that's never God's perfect plan.

So what God has joined together, let not man separate.

That's what Jesus said.

And then his critics respond in verse 7.

Wait a minute.

They say verse 7, they said to him, why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce and to put

her away?

They think they have Jesus trapped.

This is what the Pharisees always tried to do, trap Jesus in his words.

Because Moses allowed for it.

And Jesus, you're saying no, Jesus.

So you're at odds with Moses.

That's what they're trying to do.

And then Jesus said, this is never what God wanted.

Because he says, from the beginning, from Genesis, it was not so.

So Jesus now is starting to turn the table on his critics because many of the

Pharisees, perhaps, had divorced their wives following the teachings of some of the

rabbis.

Some of his critics may have actually been guilty of adultery.

So now Jesus is turning the tables on them.

Look at verse 9.

He says, I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality and

marries another, commits adultery.

And whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.

This is, admittedly, a very high standard.

So without question, many of the people listening to Jesus, including some of his critics, now it's like

Jesus is accusing them, or at least pointing out, that they are guilty of

adultery.

See, they're probably thinking, that's not the way this was supposed to go.

We're trying to condemn you, Jesus.

And now you're condemning us.

Did this apply to 10 % of the population back then, 20%, 30 %?

We don't really know.

But again, it has implications for today.

See, back then, if they could just get a rabbi to interpret the law in such a way to

excuse whatever they wanted to do, they felt justified because it's according to the law.

It's according to the Bible.

This rabbi told me so.

He interprets it this way or that way.

And that's the same thing for today.

In Christianity today, there are many pastors.

Someone will go to their pastor with a sob story.

Maybe they go to their pastor with a real legit issue.

But they tell their pastor they want to divorce their spouse.

And you know what?

Many pastors are so weak, they'll cave in.

And they'll come up with all sorts of biblical justifications why that's OK.

I actually heard a Bible -believing pastor on the radio say that, you know what?

The Bible says divorce is allowed for this reason.

But I actually think abuse is.

The Bible doesn't say abuse is a reason.

But he said, I think abuse is a reason.

Now, that's fine.

That's his opinion.

That's not what the Bible says, though.

What's my point?

Ministers, rabbis, pastors, they're always trying to broaden things.

They're always trying to make it easier for divorce to happen.

And they're always willing to twist scripture to make it OK.

How many exceptions is there?

If someone wants a divorce, there's really only one justification, right?

One justification, sexual immorality, basically adultery.

That's what Jesus says.

But even then, it's not God's ideal.

This is not what God wants.

Verse 10, so after his disciples hear all of this, the disciples of Jesus

are like, oh, man.

If that's true, if the standards are this high, and there's all these people now

that are technically guilty of adultery, and they didn't even realize it.

If the standard is that high, what's their conclusion?

It's better not even to get married.

Isn't that what they say?

Verse 10, his disciples said to him, if such is the case of the man with his wife,

it is better not to marry.

Now, some of the apostles were already married at this point.

But they're saying, Jesus, your standards are so high.

People are probably better off not getting married.

And now Jesus goes into teachings on celibacy.

He uses the term.

What's the term he uses in verses 11 and 12?

He's talking about eunuchs.

Now, you say, well, a eunuch isn't someone who's celibate.

A eunuch is someone who's been, well, what do you think of when you hear of a eunuch?

It's usually someone who's been castrated, right?

And of course, that type of thing doesn't really happen today so much.

But it was common back then.

Before we get into the celibacy thing, you say, why would Jesus say this?

Is he just trying to accuse his critics?

I think he wants the Israelites to understand something.

I mean, this is the biggest problem in trying to get through to a person so that they understand the gospel.

The average person won't believe on Christ.

They won't believe the gospel because they think they're a good person.

Some of you saw the 60 Minutes interview last week where they interviewed the Pope.

And the Pope said that the human heart, he said, is good.

He said people are fundamentally good.

The human heart is good.

Isn't that such a wonderful thing?

What a nice old man saying that humanity is good and that's why people love him.

Unfortunately, the Bible says otherwise.

The Bible says that the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.

Who can know it?

Jesus said there is none good but God.

How does the Pope say that humankind is fundamentally

good?

He said there are a few rogues, a few sinners out there, but people are basically good.

I'm thinking a few?

I mean, again, Jesus says all.

Romans 3, 23, that verse that probably quote more than any other, all have sinned and have come short

of the glory of God.

But this is the problem that Israelites back then, just like today, they thought they

were good.

The average Jew would have said, I'm a godly person.

I believe in the Lord.

I go to synagogue.

I give so much money and I'm a good person.

And here's the thing with good people, don't think they need to be saved because they're good.

So when Jesus brings out this teaching on marriage, okay, so many people now are

realizing, okay, yeah, technically I am guilty of this, Jesus.

And if you want to go back to Jesus's teaching on the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, if you haven't committed adultery,

like in the act, you have committed it, what?

In your heart.

So the purpose of Jesus is not just to accuse his critics.

He's trying to make people realize, make the Jewish people realize, you do need salvation after all.

And if I have a purpose of teaching on this, first of all, I just preach through

Matthew.

So this Sunday, I was in Matthew 19.

This is just the text.

I didn't decide to preach on this.

This is just what was here.

My purpose in preaching this is that couples would hear this and that people wouldn't get a divorce

going forward.

But really, if there's somebody who thinks, well, I don't need Jesus.

I don't need this religion stuff.

I don't need to be saved because I'm a good person and I don't really buy into any of this.

No, you're an adulterer.

I mean, this is not my opinion.

This is what the word of God say.

You are at the very least an adulterer at heart.

And admittedly, this is bad news.

And this is probably why a lot of people don't go to church.

They don't want to hear that.

It's what people need to understand.

And then once a person understands that, then they're ready for the gospel.

Then they're ready for the good news.

Okay, I got the bad news loud and clear.

Jesus, I got it.

I'm guilty.

Now I want to be forgiven.

The other option is you dig in your heels and you say, I don't need forgiveness.

And people remain in this state.

All right, we're almost done.

Jesus now teaching on celibacy.

Here's the other option.

Someone may say, I'm not married.

This doesn't apply to me.

Trust me, I'm never getting married.

And that may be true for some people in this room.

Well, here's the thing.

And again, eunuch is not, try to get past that word for a moment.

But Jesus is saying, look at verse 12.

He says, for there are eunuchs.

First, he says, not everyone can accept this teaching.

Most people are going to get married, reality.

But verse 12, there are eunuchs who are born thus from their mother's womb.

There are people who are born with deformities.

Certain parts don't function.

They can't have a family.

If someone is born like that, this is a good option to serve God.

You can be a, you're a eunuch from birth.

You can live a celibate life and serve God.

Then he says, there are eunuchs who are made eunuchs by men.

This is the castration that happened in the first century, especially kings, you know, they wanted

male servants to attend to the queen and to other female members of the royal family.

But having men mixing, you know, that could lead to problems.

So they would castrate the male servants.

So some were made eunuchs by men.

But then he says, there are some who are eunuchs and they have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of

heaven's sake.

This is someone who chooses to live a celibate life so they can better serve the Lord.

And this would describe someone like the apostle Paul.

And that, and of course, Paul, you know what his opinion was.

He said, this is the ideal, in my opinion.

But he said, most people can't do it.

They can't accept it.

So they should get married.

All right, we're almost done.

Let's turn to Ephesians chapter five.

We're just going to close here with a verse just to kind of tie this in to make final

application.

We see Jesus in his teaching on marriage.

The biblical pattern for marriage, one man, one woman for life.

I said, there's teaching on gender.

99 % of people don't need this to be taught to them.

But in the beginning, God made them male and female.

Two options.

There are some who need to hear that.

But this last passage here in Ephesians five,

I think is very, very important.

Because the gospel offers forgiveness.

And of course, we expect the Lord to have a high standard.

There's one more element, though, we don't want to miss.

We get this statement about marriage in Ephesians five.

So we have the teachings of Christ.

Now here are the teachings of the apostle Paul.

Ephesians five, 31 and 32.

Paul says, for this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his

wife.

And the two shall become what?

One flesh.

We understand that well enough.

It's this last statement that he uses the word mystery.

And it is kind of a mystery what he's talking about.

So let me read the verse again, 31.

For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.

This is a great mystery.

But I speak concerning Christ and the church.

How is marriage a picture of Christ and his church?

Don't I always tell you everything is about Jesus?

Everything in the Bible, even if you don't think it's about Christ, it is somehow about Christ.

Even marriage is a picture of Christ and his church.

So what is this mystery?

If you read 10 commentators, you're going to get 10 different answers.

Here's what I thought of.

What God has joined together.

Isn't this what Jesus said?

What God has joined together, let not man separate.

How does marriage point to Christ's relationship with his church?

I think of Romans chapter eight.

You know, spouses might leave.

Spouses might get a divorce.

You might be on the other end of that, but Christ will never leave.

There's a lot of marriages that end poorly.

There's no guarantee in this world.

A lot of people, their hopes and dreams were all bound up in that one relationship and it

came to an end.

So God's plan for marriage, one man, one woman for life.

It didn't work out that way.

It didn't work out.

And that's the reality of living in a sinful world.

But when it does work out, it is a picture of Christ and

the church because Christ will never leave or forsake his

people.

What shall separate us, the church, from the love of Christ?

The scripture says nothing in all of creation can separate us from the love of God,

which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord.

So in conclusion, for those of us who have been joined to Christ through faith, through baptism

into the new covenant, we are his what?

He is the bridegroom.

We are his bride.

And our marriage to him is one that no matter what happens, it will never end.

Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, we thank you for your love towards us.

While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

And Lord, even though sometimes we are not faithful to you, you still love us.

You forgive us.

You forgive us that 70 times seven and then some.

Lord, we thank you that you are faithful.

We thank you that you love us.

We thank you that neither height nor depth nor any created thing,

nothing in all of creation can separate us from your love.

Father, if there's somebody here today who has never experienced your love, maybe they've loved

other people in this world and those relationships have come to an end and maybe they feel

jaded or discouraged because of that, help them to realize there is an everlasting love that

is found only in Christ.

And Lord, I pray that that person would come to saving faith, committing their life to Jesus because he

will always be faithful to us.

And I ask it all in his name, amen.