THE CHRISTIAN AND CULTURE I
by Ven Dr I. U. Ibeme http://priscaquila.6te.net ; http://www.scribd.com/ifeogo ;
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Comment on The Chapel of Grace Blog:
CONTENTS:
CHRISTIAN MARRIAGE SEMINAR 2: PRINCIPLES, PROCESS AND PRACTICE CHRISTIAN MARRIAGE SEMINAR 3: PRECAUTIONS AND REPARATIONS
ON CHRISTIANITY AND CULTURE:
Christianity is heavenly counter-culture against all godless traditions, thoughts,trends and tendencies.
“
Your kingdom come. Your will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” (Mat 6:10)
,
mean that
every human heathenish or pagan culture, whether ancient, modern or postmodern, must surrender to the HolyScriptures, human rationalisation and innovation must submit to divine revelation, private intuition and passion must succumb to prophetic inspiration. This requires persuasion about the superiority of God’s Word and persevering obedience to the Holy Spirit.
Eph 4:17-20:-
(17) This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord,
that you no longer walk as other Gentiles walk, in thevanity of their mind,
(18) Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through theignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: (19) Who being past feeling have given themselvesover unto licentiousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. (20) But
you have not so learned Christ
;
Israel culture is in HARDNESS of heart
(Eze 3:7)
, Gentile cultures are in DARKNESS of heart
(Eph 4:18)
, but Church culture must be in NEWNESS of heart
(Rom 12:2)
.
CHRISTIAN MARRIAGE SEMINAR 1: CONCEPT AND CUSTOMS
THE CONCEPT OF CHRISTIAN MARRIAGE
Christian Marriage
has multiple binding and validity implications
:
BIBLICAL in concept and doctrine,
PERSONAL in decision and choice,
PUBLIC in civility and legality, and
ECCLESIASTICAL in witness and solemnization. The Spirit by whose solemnization you validate your marriage is the spirit that ultimately rules your matrimony. No true Christian couple should ever live as husband and wife or engage in sexual relations of any form except AFTER their marriage covenant union has been examined according to God’s ordinance aswell as witnessed and solemnized by the Church. The Church’s solemnisation service has nothing to do withdelicious feasting and dress fashion or gown colours. Legal marriage registration and traditional marriageformalities only secure legal and parental supports but do not meet up to Christian marriage covenantdoctrine, duties and dictums taught by Christ and His Apostles.
1.
Christian Marriage
is a lifelong unconditional union and partnership between one Christian man andone Christian woman to the exclusion of all others. Only widow(er)s could
remarry
(1Cor 7:8-9, 39; Rom7:1-3; 1Tim 5:14).
Marriage is not mandatory for all nor is it possible for all (Mat 19:11-12; 1Cor 7:6-7).
The Church did not derive her Christian Marriage concept from the cultures and
Traditions
of our forebearsnor from the preferences and
Trends
of our peers. It is not meant to conform to human errors, wishes and
Tendencies
. Christian Marriage is deduced from divine
Truth
found in Christ’s teaching in Matt. 19:3-12;Mark 10:1-12; the Apostolic teachings in 1Cor. 7:8-17,39; Rom. 7:1-3; Eph. 5:21-33; Heb. 13:4; 1Pet. 3:1-7and God’s original institution/ordination of marriage at creation in Gen. 1:27,28; 2:18,22-25.
THE CHRISTIAN AND CULTURE: Marriage and Funeral
by I. U. Ibeme
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2. Christian Marriage Solemnisation
(or “Marriage
in the Lord”
1Cor 7:10, 39,
i.e
. according to God’sordinance
) is marriage in which a Christian man and a Christian woman entering into lifelong, exclusiveunion, for better for worse, till death parts them, take their vows before God and the Church and seek God’sgrace and the Church’s blessing to fulfil such holy and honourable vows. (
The Revised Catechism
). It is important to realise that while customary and civil marriages do not measure up as equivalent toChristians Marriage Covenant, it is necessary to ensure that customary and civil requirements are satisfied as betrothals before the seal of Church Wedding Solemnisation. This makes it congenial for the family and theState to conveniently participate in Church Solemnisation without raising objections or impediments thatwould rightly interrupt the Church Wedding Service.
Until a couple is duly joined according to ChristianMarriage Covenant, their marriage may be cultural or civil but is not yet Christian
. In the same wayuntil a couple has fulfilled customary or civil provisions for marriage, they are not deemed marriedcustomarily or statutorily as the case may be.
3. Purposes of Marriage
are: (a) for guaranteed, lifelong mutual help and comfort irrespective of circumstances Gen. 2:18; Eccl. 4:9-12; (b) for proper conjugal satisfaction in order to prevent sexual immorality Gen. 2:24; 1Cor. 7:1-5;(c) for steady and appropriate family unit to raise godly heritage children (not disinherited defiled offspringDeut. 23:2) for holy homely humanity Gen. 1:28; Mal 2:13-16; 1Tim. 3:4,12; 1Cor. 7:14.
NOTES: NOTE that these marriage purposes do not come to us by mere relishing expectations of desires,dreams and pleasures of love relationship. These require from us much responsible commitment to duty, chastity, temperance, household competence and godly compliance. The current rebelliousselfish trend and hippie tradition of living one’s life the way one wants it, regardless of whatever other demands or standards there may be, is evil and inimical to godly marriage, family and society (Eph 2:1-3; 2Tim 3:1-5). NOTE also that whereas it is our duty to gratify and be grateful to one another as well as provide godly family environment for any offspring, it is only God Who gives us the fruit of the womb (Psa127:3). Therefore childlessness should never interfere with Christian marriage relationship.Christians who cannot wait for God’s own time could meanwhile adopt and raise children for God. Successful Christian Marriage Requires Biblical Orientation And Commitment:
Christian Marriage is marriage between one Christian man and one Christian woman, which is basedon DIVINE DESIGN (instituted for duty, service and sacrificial love OFFERED TO the other)without room for divorce; rather than based on HUMAN DESIRE (innovated for demand,selfishness and gratifying lust EXERTED FROM the other) with room for divorce.
“Marriage of demand will surely suffer the economics laws of scarcity; but marriage of HELP supply will experience HELP surplus.”
According to the Scriptures, God designed marriage for
duty
not demand, for
responsibility
mot requisition, for
pledge
not petition. God did not institutemarriage in response to human complaint or demand but in order to fulfil divinely designed duty and purpose (Gen 2:18-25). That is why, during wedding services, we do not make marriage petitions butonly vow marriage pledges.
Cultural marriages are
for meeting selfish desires and making selfish demands, NOT AS GODINSTITUTED IT IN THE BEGINNING (Mat 19:8); this is antithetical and inimical to
Christianmarriage
based on divine institution as God intended it IN THE BEGINNING (Mat 19:4). MarriedChristians are gifts of good favour from the Lord to their spouses (Gen 2:23-24; Prov 18:22; 19:14),for husbands to cleave unto their wives (Gen 2:24) and for wives to be meet helps to their husbands(Gen 2:18) in ways that worthily please and reverence the Lord (Eph 5:21; Col 1:10). Give God
THE CHRISTIAN AND CULTURE: Marriage and Funeral
by I. U. Ibeme
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thanks for whatever your spouse does or is, and seek to selflessly
gratify and be grateful to
eachother. God was the sole “manufacturer” of the Marriage Institution in the beginning; therefore only God’smanual in the Scriptures offers the surest guide to successfully “operate” Marriage WITHLIFELONG WARRANTEE. Both ancient and modern cultural marriages and manuals are riskyattempts that use human manoeuvres to mimic and mismanage marriage, instead of following divinemeasures and guidelines revealed in God’s Scriptural “operational manual” for His MarriageInstitution. Since there are no conditions and demands in Christian Marriage ceremony; there areonly consent and vow/pledge/troth, Christian spouses should be determine to fulfil their marriagevows by offering:
LIFELONG GUARANTEED help for companionship and comfort to your spouse;
EXCLUSIVE CONJUGAL intimacy to willingly satisfy your spouse against fornication;
SHARED RESOURCEFULNESS/RESOURCES for the care of your spouse and upbringingof godly offspring.
“Seek not your selfish satisfaction in marriage as the pagan Gentiles of old and today do; but rather seek you first to selflessly fulfil your avowed marriage responsibility to your spouse as God pleases, and all other satisfaction shall be added unto you.”
4. Symbolism of Marriage
: Christian Marriage Covenant symbolises the
covenant union
and relationship between God and His people in the O.T. Isa. 54:5; Jer. 3:14; Ezek. 16:8; Hos. 2:19,20; or Christ and HisChurch in the N.T. Matt. 9:15; John. 3:29; 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:22-33; Rev. 19:7; 21:2,9. Therefore, ChristianMarriage should be entered into as a
mutual covenant
before God and in Christ's Name. Notice thatmarriage of innocent Adam and innocent Eve was at the beginning of Genesis while the marriage of Christand His redeemed Church is prophesied at the end of Revelation.
NOTE
the elements in the above four definitions which distinguish Christian Marriage concept from other marriage concepts in the world today. These include:(1)Man–Woman partnership (not Homosexual);(2)Exclusive monogamous union (not Polygamy);(3)Lifelong, indissoluble covenant relationship (no Divorce);(4)Joined in God’s name – by God (not by man);(5)Covenanted according to God’s Word – in the Lord (not worldly contract);(6)As originally instituted by God (not as innovated by man);(7)Couples leave parents to cleave together (not under their parents) Gen. 2:24; Psa. 45:10,16;(8)Wife married to her husband in the Lord (not to the clan and their idolatry) 1Cor 7:39;(9)Couples to confide first in Christ and each other (not first in outsiders/relatives);(10)Good, holy and honourable (not a necessary evil). Prov. 18:22
HISTORY OF MARRIAGE CUSTOMS:
Marriage decayed from being joined by God in EDEN SANCTUARY to being joined by parents at FAMILY NUPTIALS outside Eden. But God through the Law, the Prophets and the Gospel graduallyrestored marriage solemnisation authority from parental family nuptials to the higher CITY GATE COURT by the city presbytery and the priestly presbytery, then to NEIGHBOURHOOD SANCTUARIES by the Synagogue presbytery and Church presbytery.
IN THE BEGINNING
. God conceived and instituted marriage, and joined Adam and Eve inseparably atHis Eden Paradise (Gen 2:15-25) or Eden Sanctuary where God came regularly to commune with them (Gen3:8-9).
IN THE O.T
. during the
Patriarchal period
, marriage was similar to our traditional marriages of today.Then the responsibility for getting wives (Gen 21:21; 24:3; 38:6; Judg 14:2), authority for marriage joiningand dissolution was left in the hands of the Patriarchs as parents and clan elders/priests (Gen. 24:51, 60)according to the laws and cultures of their time. This period brought in polygamy, concubinage, divorce, etc.
THE CHRISTIAN AND CULTURE: Marriage and Funeral
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