Chapter 22—The Relationship Between Husband and
Wife
Those who regard the marriage relation as one of God’s sacred
ordinances, guarded by His holy precept, will be controlled by the
dictates of reason.
Jesus did not enforce celibacy upon any class of men. He came
not to destroy the sacred relationship of marriage, but to exalt it and
restore it to its original sanctity. He looks with pleasure upon the
family relationship where sacred and unselfish love bears sway.
Marriage Is Lawful and Holy
There is in itself no sin in eating and drinking, or in marrying and
giving in marriage. It was lawful to marry in the time of Noah, and
it is lawful to marry now, if that which is lawful is properly treated
and not carried to sinful excess. But in the days of Noah men married
without consulting God or seeking His guidance and counsel.
The fact that all the relations of life are of a transitory nature should
have a modifying influence on all we do and say. In Noah’s day it
was the inordinate, excessive love of that which in itself was lawful,
when properly used, that made marriage sinful before God. There are
many who are losing their souls in this age of the world by becoming
absorbed in the thoughts of marriage and in the marriage relation itself.
The marriage relation is holy, but in this degenerate age it covers
vileness of every description. It is abused and has become a crime
which now constitutes one of the signs of the last days, even as mar-
riages, managed as they were previous to the Flood, were then a crime.
When the sacred nature and the claims of marriage are understood, it
will even now be approved of Heaven; and the result will be happiness
to both parties, and God will be glorified.
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