Hebrews Less. 51: Moral Conduct as God’s Children Pt.2 :: By Sean Gooding
Chapter 13: 1-6
“Let brotherly love continue. 2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels. 3 Remember the prisoners as if chained with them—those who are mistreated—since you yourselves are in the body also. 4 Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge. 5 Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ 6 So we may boldly say: ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?'”
Last week we looked at a part of the moral conduct that Paul lays out for us here in Hebrews. One of the most amazing things that you can glean from this is the absolute transformation of Paul.
When we first meet Paul (then called Saul) in Acts 7, he is presiding over the execution of Stephen, the church’s first martyr. Paul was a Pharisee, one who grew up on strict rituals and the overperformance of the law. So much was their commitment to the ‘Law’ or their version of the ‘Law’ that there was no room for compassion and love. No room for grace and mercy, no room for kindness and perceived weakness. They really had the idea that they were better than everyone else, including Jesus, by the way.
When Paul got saved when he experienced grace and kindness for the first time, it really transformed him. The man who wrote about the grace of God to the ‘chief of sinners’ was truly a transformed man.
As we explore these moral modes of conduct, we see some crazy ideas that are promoted by this former Pharisee; his pharisaical brethren would have been ashamed of how weak and soft he had become. But these perceived weaknesses are the very strengths that help others to see the wonders, the grace, the kindness, and the love of God.
Last week we explored ‘brotherly love.’ This intentional kindness and service to each other that is driven by the love of Christ in us is a far greater testimony than any man-made rule of conduct. And when love is the driving force and the motive of what we do, then adherence to the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes becomes a natural outflow. We are loving, kind, generous, humble, patient, and on and on we can go. But all of these flow from brotherly love.
Today we will look at marriage.
- Marriage is honorable, verse 4
For the last 50 years, the governments of the world have attacked the family. They have encouraged men and women to be sexually active in their youth and then settle down as they get older. Governments have invented new ways to ‘recognize’ marriages as civil unions and partnerships more than true, solely committed marriages where one pledges love and service for life.
For the very first time in the history of the USA, more babies were born out of wedlock than in wedlock than ever before. This is the first time since 1845 when they began keeping records that more than 51% of all babies born were born out of wedlock.
Marriage is honorable. God says that — not me, not a church, not a country. God says it, and all other opinions are no longer valid. Marriage, we are told in Ephesians 5, should mirror how Jesus loves the local church. It should mirror how the local church serves and honors the Lord. Marriage is the pinnacle of human interaction. In it, we see the true understanding of grace and kindness, of eternal and immediate forgiveness; we see the power of sacrificial love, and through godly marriage, we see the expansion of the kingdom through childbirth.
As a Missionary Baptist pastor, you can see the importance of missions. As a church, we have and do support missions in Ukraine, Pakistan, Kenya, in the USA, and we support missions to our prisons here in Ontario, Canada, and on and on we can go. But what we do know for sure about the family is that it is the fastest and surest way of building a church. When godly families have kids, and the men lead those families as the spiritual servants, then we know that 93% of those kids will follow the Lord. Godly marriages are the best and fastest way to build the Lord’s churches. This is why the devil and his minions are so focused on destroying traditional marriage. The Lord’s churches and His people do all in their power to promote and preserve marriage. Get married young, have lots of kids, and lead them to serve the Lord.
- Enjoy Sex in your marriage, verse 4
The ‘bed is undefiled’; this is God telling married people to have fun. Enjoy your sexual life, and have fun doing it. A man and his wife can explore any manner of sex between them without shame and fear. The most important thing is that the sexual experiences are between that man and his wife ONLY. God calls on men to be enraptured with their wives. The following passages are to be taken as plainly as they are read.
Proverbs 5:18-19, (NASB) “Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth. As a loving hind and a graceful doe, let her breasts satisfy you at all times; Be exhilarated always with her love.”
Proverbs 5:15, (NASB), “Drink water from your own cistern and fresh water from your own well.”
The Song of Solomon, we have learned, was only to read as one neared marriage. Many have tried to make it about the church and Jesus, but it is about a man and his wife; it explores their intimate lovemaking and interactions in many scenarios. God allows us to explore and enjoy each other, and no one is allowed to attach any shame or limits on it. A man and his wife are free to explore their sexual needs. Sex is not about making babies; it is, first and foremost, about pleasure and the intimacy that can only be had between a man and his wife.
God designed your sex organs and your brain, and He instilled the desire for sexual intimacy. God wants you to have a wonderful sex life with your spouse. Get married and have fun. God wants you to.
Proverbs 18:22, “He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favour from the LORD.”
A good, loving, and sexually fulfilling marriage is a part of good moral Christian conduct that bolsters the Kingdom of God.
God bless you,
Dr. Sean Gooding
Pastor of Mississauga Missionary Baptist Church
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