On The Sanctity Of Marriage - Matthew 19:4-6

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 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.”  - Matthew 19:4-6

    Jesus raised the standard of marriage beyond that of the Mosaic Law. The Pharisees knew that according to Old Testament law a man was entitled to divorce his wife if certain covenantal agreements were breached. But they soon began to throw in additional breaches to the law thus enabling a man to easily divorce his wife for even the most inane reasons. Christ would not be tested on such a grave matter as His heavenly Father’s will, so He declared that what God had put together no man should ever try to separate or divide. God’s declaration that a man and a woman becoming one flesh was to remain inviolable.
    It stands to reason that from the days of Eden marriage was sanctioned by God; sanctioned and legitimized. Therein lies the consternation which plagues the homosexual community regarding the legitimacy that the institution of marriage brings to an interpersonal relationship. Because of the time-honored institution of marriage and the recognition implied by its legality homosexuals have sought, demanded, and gained the support (albeit erroneously) of courts, despite God’s decretive will. “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” - Genesis 1:27.
    Since homosexuals cannot be “married” as Biblically defined, what they are asking for, demanding, and receiving is similarly as illegitimate as heterosexuals choosing to cohabit outside the bonds of matrimony. It is the simple choice of cohabiting with another person in a non-marital relationship they want recognized as legitimate without the incumbrance of “the paper work.” There are no permanent ties or bonds holding such people together. Their mutual agreement that they will remain faithful is all they share. But they are missing the point: mere legality is not the issue in a marriage any more than it is in an abortion. The simple “right to do something” is not in itself validation! Both same-sex marriage and simple cohabitation among straight couples violate God’s plan for men and women. Marriage is the union of one man and one woman, not two or three men or women, nor simply a straight couple “shacking up.”
    Divorce? Approximately 50% of all first marriages end in divorce, a statistic which is often the excuse of couples who choose to cohabit rather than enter into a legitimate marriage. But it doesn’t square it  in the eyes of God.
    If we Christians are to invoke the word of God in such matters we must do so uniformly and without prejudice. Any violation of marriage as defined in the Bible, is a violation against God’s word, a transgression against God, and sinful, regardless of the sexes involved. “The woman answered and said, ‘I have no husband.’ Jesus said to her, ‘You have well said, ‘I have no husband,’ for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.’” - John 4:17-18.
    Our Lord, Jesus Christ raised the bar on marriage. We should not trivialize nor redefine what a marriage is or who the participants may be. God’s word on the matter is sufficient and final. Christ’s emphasis on “what God has joined together” should ring as a warning to those who seek to do otherwise