Of Marriage
1689 London Baptist Confession · 25.1–25.4
25.1. Of Marriage
Marriage is to be between one Man and one Woman; neither is it lawful for any man to have more then one Wife, nor for any Woman to have more then one Husband at the same time.
Proof texts
- Genesis 2:24 — [24] Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
- Malachi 2:15 — [15] Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union? And what was the one God seeking? Godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and let none of you be faithless to the wife of your youth.
- Matthew 19:5, 6 — [5] and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? [6] So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”
For discussion
- The Assembly cited Genesis 2:24 in support of this answer. Read it in context — how does it bear on what is claimed here?
- 3 passages are cited here. Which does the most work, and is anything claimed that the proofs do not obviously carry?
- WCF 24.1 treats the same ground. What does it add, and why might it put things differently?
- BC 9.1 treats the same ground. What does it add, and why might it put things differently?
Read alongside
WCF 24.1 · BC 9.1 · BC 9.2 · SD 25.1 · SD 25.2 · SD 25.3 · SD 25.4
25.2. Of Marriage
Marriage was ordained for the mutual help of Husband and Wife, for the increase of Man-kind, with a legitimate issue, and for preventing of uncleanness.
Proof texts
- Genesis 2:18 — [18] Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”
- Genesis 1:28 — [28] And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
- 1 Corinthians 7:2, 9 — [2] But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. [9] But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.
For discussion
- The Assembly cited Genesis 2:18 in support of this answer. Read it in context — how does it bear on what is claimed here?
- 3 passages are cited here. Which does the most work, and is anything claimed that the proofs do not obviously carry?
- WCF 24.1 treats the same ground. What does it add, and why might it put things differently?
- BC 9.1 treats the same ground. What does it add, and why might it put things differently?
Read alongside
WCF 24.1 · BC 9.1 · BC 9.2 · SD 25.1 · SD 25.2 · SD 25.3 · SD 25.4
25.3. Of Marriage
It is lawful for all sorts of people to Marry, who are able with judgment to give their consent; yet it is the duty of Christians to marry in the Lord, and therefore such as profess the true Religion, should not Marry with Infidels, or Idolaters; neither should such as are godly be unequally yoked, by marrying with such as are wicked, in their life, or maintain damnable Heresie.
Proof texts
- Hebrews 13:4 — [4] Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.
- 1 Timothy 4:3 — [3] who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.
- 1 Corinthians 7:39 — [39] A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord.
- Nehemiah 13:25-27 — [25] And I confronted them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair. And I made them take an oath in the name of God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters to their sons, or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves. [26] Did not Solomon king of Israel sin on account of such women? Among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless, foreign women made even him to sin. [27] Shall we then listen to you and do all this great evil and act treacherously against our God by marrying foreign women?”
For discussion
- The Assembly cited Hebrews 13:4 in support of this answer. Read it in context — how does it bear on what is claimed here?
- 4 passages are cited here. Which does the most work, and is anything claimed that the proofs do not obviously carry?
- WCF 24.1 treats the same ground. What does it add, and why might it put things differently?
- BC 9.1 treats the same ground. What does it add, and why might it put things differently?
Read alongside
WCF 24.1 · BC 9.1 · BC 9.2 · SD 25.1 · SD 25.2 · SD 25.3 · SD 25.4
25.4. Of Marriage
Marriage ought not to be within the degrees of consanguinity, or Affinity forbidden in the word; nor can such incestuous Marriage ever be made lawful, by any law of Man or consent of parties, so as those persons may live together as Man and Wife.
Proof texts
- Leviticus 18 — [1] And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, [2] “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, I am the LORD your God. [3] You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not walk in their statutes. [4] You shall follow my rules and keep my statutes and walk in them. I am the LORD your God. [5] You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the LORD. [6] “None of you shall approach any one of his close relatives to uncover nakedness. I am the LORD. [7] You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father, which is the nakedness of your mother; she is your mother, you shall not uncover her nakedness. [8] You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's wife; it is your father's nakedness. [9] You shall not uncover the nakedness of your sister, your father's daughter or your mother's daughter, whether brought up in the family or in another home. [10] You shall not uncover the nakedness of your son's daughter or of your daughter's daughter, for their nakedness is your own nakedness. [11] You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's wife's daughter, brought up in your father's family, since she is your sister. [12] You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's sister; she is your father's relative. [13] You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother's sister, for she is your mother's relative. [14] You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's brother, that is, you shall not approach his wife; she is your aunt. [15] You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law; she is your son's wife, you shall not uncover her nakedness. [16] You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother's wife; it is your brother's nakedness. [17] You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and of her daughter, and you shall not take her son's daughter or her daughter's daughter to uncover her nakedness; they are relatives; it is depravity. [18] And you shall not take a woman as a rival wife to her sister, uncovering her nakedness while her sister is still alive. [19] “You shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness while she is in her menstrual uncleanness. [20] And you shall not lie sexually with your neighbor's wife and so make yourself unclean with her. [21] You shall not give any of your children to offer them to Molech, and so profane the name of your God: I am the LORD. [22] You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination. [23] And you shall not lie with any animal and so make yourself unclean with it, neither shall any woman give herself to an animal to lie with it: it is perversion. [24] “Do not make yourselves unclean by any of these things, for by all these the nations I am driving out before you have become unclean, [25] and the land became unclean, so that I punished its iniquity, and the land vomited out its inhabitants. [26] But you shall keep my statutes and my rules and do none of these abominations, either the native or the stranger who sojourns among you [27] (for the people of the land, who were before you, did all of these abominations, so that the land became unclean), [28] lest the land vomit you out when you make it unclean, as it vomited out the nation that was before you. [29] For everyone who does any of these abominations, the persons who do them shall be cut off from among their people. [30] So keep my charge never to practice any of these abominable customs that were practiced before you, and never to make yourselves unclean by them: I am the LORD your God.”
- Mark 6:18 — [18] For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife.”
- 1 Corinthians 5:1 — [1] It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father's wife.
For discussion
- The Assembly cited Leviticus 18 in support of this answer. Read it in context — how does it bear on what is claimed here?
- 3 passages are cited here. Which does the most work, and is anything claimed that the proofs do not obviously carry?
- WCF 24.1 treats the same ground. What does it add, and why might it put things differently?
- BC 9.1 treats the same ground. What does it add, and why might it put things differently?
Read alongside
WCF 24.1 · BC 9.1 · BC 9.2 · SD 25.1 · SD 25.2 · SD 25.3 · SD 25.4