Marriage and the Bible

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Marriage and the Bible
Based on the Living in Love Series by Richard L.
Strauss, Biblical Studies Foundation - 1998
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Submission

• Chapter 2 Abraham and Sarah

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Ground Rules

• Think before you speak.
• Use this series as an opportunity for honest
  self-evaluation.
• Be prepared to humbly seek help from God, your
  spouse, or others if you feel led to do so.
• Humility!

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Recap of Paradise Lost

• Adam and Eve were ideal individuals enjoying an
  ideal marriage in an ideal environment.
• SIN destroyed all of these ideals.
• SIN resulted in consequences
• Man has to work and toil, lords over his wife
• Woman has painful childbirth, longs for her
  husband
• CHRIST empowers us to reclaim lost ideals.

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Heres the Deal

• Ephesians 5
• The husband is the head of the family.
• The wife has a submissive role to the husband.
• There is no implication of exception to this rule.

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THE END
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Sarahs Commendations

• Hebrews 1111Or By faith even Sarah, who was
  past age, was enabled to bear children because
  she considered him faithful who had made the
  promise. alternate wording in footnotes

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Sarahs Commendations

• 1 Peter 35-6For this is the way the holy women
  of the past who put their hope in God used to
  make themselves beautiful. They were submissive
  to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed
  Abraham and called him her master. You are her
  daughters if you do what is right and do not give
  way to fear.

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Sarahs Commendations

• There is no irony that Sarahs two commendations
  in the New Testament were faith and
  submissiveness.
• Submission to your husband involves faith in God
  that He is going to honor your commitment and
  take care of your needs, using your husband as
  His primary delivery vehicle to that end.

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Enter Abraham

• It just so happens that Sarah has such a husband.
• Beginning in Genesis 12
• Abraham is in direct communication with God.
• God provides Abraham with a command and a
  promise.
• Abraham obeys, and directs his family likewise.

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Enter Abraham

• Hebrews 118By faith Abraham, when called to go
  to a place he would later receive as his
  inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did
  not know where he was going.
• This must have been a difficult undertaking.
• We are told in Genesis 12 that Sarah is with her
  husband, presumably in steadfast support.

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Sarahs Support

• OT/Biblical names carry great importance in
  describing characters.
• Sarai (my) princess, royalty
• Sarah (global) princess, mother of nations
• The Bible describes Sarah as a woman of uncommon
  beauty. Her name may also tell of uncommon
  intellect, upbringing, and grace.

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Sarahs Support

• For a woman as uncommon as Sarah, her submission
  and support to her husband is all the more
  noticeable as a Biblical example to us.
• Sarahs submission is even evident when things
  dont make sense and her husband appears to be
  demonstrating unsound judgment. (i.e. temporary
  loan to Pharaoh).

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The Fine Print

• Husbands are not perfect, nor will they always
  make the correct decisions.
• Abraham stumbles
• Does not consult Sarah about going to Egypt.
• Convinces her to participate in a half-truth.
• Ends up losing his wife to another man for a
  short period of time.
• Risks the same death or dismemberment in his lie
  that he originally feared in his wifes beauty.

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Why did Sarah Submit?

• Lets be clear. There ARE Biblical
  justifications to suspend submission when sin is
  in play.
• Why did Sarah go along with going to Pharaoh as
  his wife?
• She is a woman of faith. She understands Gods
  promise to her husband. She may have viewed
  herself as expendable to save the life of her
  husband.

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Gods Deliverance

• It is possible that God delivered Sarah from
  Pharaohs harem before immorality became a
  necessity.
• It is definite that God delivered Sarah back to
  her husband in reward of her faith.

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Sarahs Stumbling

• Sarah encountered her own lapse in judgment when
  she commissioned Hagar to speed up Gods
  timetable.
• This action led to lasting consequences that
  exist to this day.
• Sarah attempted to lead outside of Gods
  timetable and Abraham failed to lead within Gods
  instruction.

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Finishing Strong

• Ultimately, Abraham and Sarah demonstrate their
  faith and receive their son Isaac as the
  manifestation of Gods promises to them.
• When God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son,
  Sarah likely discerned the event through visual
  evidence and a keen knowledge of her husband.
• In that example, Abraham and Sarah both
  demonstrated unparalleled submission prior to the
  cross.

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Submission in Todays Context

• We live in a hyper-hostile world when it comes to
  Biblical submission.
• What does it actually mean for the families
  assembled in this room?
• Look back to the model of marriage with Adam and
  Eve. God created both with a purpose an intense
  appreciation for one another.

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Submission for the Husband

• You are to be utterly submissive to Christ in the
  same manner your wife is submissive to you.
• You are to provide spiritual leadership for your
  family.
• You are to live a life of sacrifice, honor, and
  love toward those God has blessed you to lead.

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Submission for the Wife

• You are to submit to your husband as he submits
  to Christ, the ultimate head of your household.
• You are to prayerfully support and encourage your
  husband.
• You are to actively participate as your husbands
  partner. There is equality to be had.

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What Submission is NOT

• Woman, fetch me a chicken pot pie.
• Submission is not defeat.
• Wives are entitled to contribute with the unique
  skills and gifts they bring to the marriage.
• Major decisions should be discussed.
• Consensus does not equal failure.

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Tube Theory

• in-class visual

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Common Traps

• Godzilla Husband
• Rules instead of leads.
• Refuses to discuss any decision.
• Exercises his authority to the extreme.
• Evidenced by a repressed wife, bitterness in the
  household.
• Evidenced by poor decisions because of an
  ego-centric view, insufficient consultation.

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Common Traps

• Gerbil Husband
• Completely un-confident.
• Does not view himself worthy to spiritually lead.
• Unwilling or reluctant to make decisions.
• Evidenced by a wife who feels the need to fill
  the void.
• Evidenced by inconsistent or bad decisions for
  the family.
• Potentially stemming from weaknesses in spiritual
  walk husband or wife.

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Common Traps

• Greenback Envy Husband
• Low self-worth because wife is the breadwinner.
• May be other areas where God has endowed the wife
  with superiority in skill or talent.
• Evidenced by resentment towards spouse or self.
• Evidenced by a tendency toward timid leadership.
• Often evidenced by frequent or trivial arguments.

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Encouragement

• Does your marriage reflect the Biblical model of
  submission?
• Is everyone in submission to Christ through the
  vigilant example of the husbands submission to
  Jesus?
• Are the competencies of each individual brought
  to the table and utilized to the best of your
  abilities?

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Diagnostics

• Daily submit (to Christ, to your husband) through
  prayer and obedient thought and action.
• Communicate.
• Check to make sure you are leading instead of
  ruling.
• Maintain a healthy spiritual walk with The Lord.

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Discussion?