Marriage and Cultural Engagement
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Paul Dean Dr. Paul J. Dean's Weblog
- Updated Mar 22, 2008
The popularization of postmodern thought and the fact that
pop culture is on a quest to unseat the biblical Christ gives Christians
opportunity to present our worldview and seat Christ again, as it were, through
practical means. One such way is through our faithfulness in marriage. Part of
being salt and light is understanding the purpose for which God has given us
good things including the gift of marriage and living out that understanding.
Such dynamics are part of the solution in reeling in this breakaway amalgam of
people we call American Culture for God’s glory and their good. Consider just a
few thoughts.
First, God ordained marriage as
a display of His goodness and the goodness of His gracious plan. God is the One
who ordained marriage and performed the first marriage and gave away the first
wife to the first husband (Gen. 2:21-22). The marriage relationship brings
great joy to those who understand it rightly (2:23). It is also a picture of
God’s covenant relationship with His bride, the church, and therefore a picture
of the gospel itself (2:24; Eph. 5:31-32). We preach the gospel when we are
faithful in our marital relationship. We are sinners who are constantly
reconciling by the grace and power of God in the wake of our own selfish
attitudes and acts.
Second, the marriage
relationship is that unique place in this life where two people can truly be
naked together and unashamed both literally and figuratively. Adam and Eve felt
shame when they saw their nakedness after the fall because they had broken
their covenant relationship with God and with one another. They realized they
could disobey God and hurt one another (Click here to see John Piper's comments that have spurred some of my thinking in this area).
To be naked is to be vulnerable.
Only in the marriage relationship can a man and a woman be naked together
without sinning. At the same time, we open ourselves up to be shamed as it
were. When love is expressed and not criticism or condemnation, we experience
the beauty of the one flesh relationship grounded in covenant. Again, we have
here a glorious picture of the restorative power of the gospel. We can be naked
and not ashamed only by virtue of the forgiveness we have in Christ.
Practically, these types of
dynamics are important to remember when going through tough times in a
marriage. Husbands and wives must concentrate on making sure that they live in
such a way that they can be together so as to always, in a sense, be naked and
unashamed. In other words, what can a husband do to make sure that his wife
will never be put to shame by him? How can he show her God’s goodness? When he
does, not only does he have a God-glorifying and happy marriage, but he also
has a marriage that speaks to a self-centered and perverted culture.
Third, God gave human beings a
mandate to have dominion over, subdue, and populate the earth. He then gave
Adam a helper for the dominion task who was the perfect complement. A man and a
woman are designed by God as the perfect complement to and for one another
(Gen. 2:18). They are to share life and fulfill God’s plan for them together. The
biblical answer to cultural egalitarianism with regard to the roles of men and
women is complementarianism. The husband and wife complement one another
perfectly. They complete one another and shine forth with resplendent glory the
goodness of God in this unique relationship.
This dynamic has implications
for issues such as feminism; homosexuality; the confusion of gender roles in
the church, in the home, and in the culture at large; the ideal family; etc. When
men and women abandon their God-given roles the only possible result is great
difficulty.
Moreover, it is important to
note that the same arguments that liberal theologians used to ordain women to
the pastoral ministry are the same arguments being used to support the
ordination of homosexuals to pastoral ministry. To go outside of the authority
of Scripture is to get on a slippery slope. The results are things that are not
good including confusion, strife, disease, heartache, and a denial of our
creatureliness as persons take the place of God in the determination of their
relationships and interactions with one another.
When Christian couples are
faithful in marriage, all of these issues are confronted squarely. We say to
our world, “There is a better way. Walk in it. And, you can only do so by the
power and grace of Christ.”
Implications abound as we
consider cultural engagement, but one dynamic looms large in light of current
issues. Marriage was created, designed, and defined by God. Neither the culture
at large nor the government has a right to inject themselves into God’s arena.
Ultimately, biblical marriage puts the gospel, and therefore, God’s goodness on
display. When we involve ourselves in that dynamic, it is we who are putting
God’s goodness on display before a watching world.
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