I was reading some views about this somewhere else, and I thought I'd post my own.
Marriage is held according to two different laws. One is by God alone. "Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” The 2nd is our law and culture (or else there would never be divorce). The trouble is that we confuse the two. I believe God preordains marriage, and would not preordain an abusive relationship. That, by definition, would be a continual sin, not a one time offense. God knows who would and wouldn't commit the former. That means, many who are married in an abusive relationship are married only under our law and culture and not under God's ordinance, in which case it was a sin to marry in the first place. Our relationship with God is about freedom and not abuse. God doesn't condone Christ beating up the church, and that is what many "marriages" are symbolic of today.
In the case of abuse, the one who is abused has the freedom to stay or leave. The reason is, the first law hasn't existed in their marriage, and the second law is a covenant based on love. Once the lawful and cultural covenant of love is broken by either party, the offended can leave without guilt, because God had not joined them in the first place. Sex does not equal God's ordinance, just as God's ordinance does not equal sex. God can ordain 2 people to be together, but due to sin and disobedience, these two people may marry completely other people. God may in turn bless these marriages if they eventually reflect Christ's love. As such, if the abused in a relationship decides to stay, God may ordain this marriage based on the choice of the one who has taken Christ-like initiative, and the abuser, if a non Christian, may come to Christ because of it. This also shows the great lengths God goes to to set us up with the right person.
If marriage is held on a standard of our own governance and law, then it is very fragile due to the fact that our ceremonies bind the marriage based on love, which can be broken on almost any account of any sin (As seen in Jewish law and custom). According to God's ordinance, this love is assumed, and so is binding based on the foreknowledge of the character of Christ that God has of the married couple, and so is forever binding. In that sense, you can't separate a God ordained marriage from faith, though God can always transform a marriage he didn't choose initially, but foreknew and ordained anyway by transforming each individual person.
Thoughts?
Marriage is held according to two different laws. One is by God alone. "Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” The 2nd is our law and culture (or else there would never be divorce). The trouble is that we confuse the two. I believe God preordains marriage, and would not preordain an abusive relationship. That, by definition, would be a continual sin, not a one time offense. God knows who would and wouldn't commit the former. That means, many who are married in an abusive relationship are married only under our law and culture and not under God's ordinance, in which case it was a sin to marry in the first place. Our relationship with God is about freedom and not abuse. God doesn't condone Christ beating up the church, and that is what many "marriages" are symbolic of today.
In the case of abuse, the one who is abused has the freedom to stay or leave. The reason is, the first law hasn't existed in their marriage, and the second law is a covenant based on love. Once the lawful and cultural covenant of love is broken by either party, the offended can leave without guilt, because God had not joined them in the first place. Sex does not equal God's ordinance, just as God's ordinance does not equal sex. God can ordain 2 people to be together, but due to sin and disobedience, these two people may marry completely other people. God may in turn bless these marriages if they eventually reflect Christ's love. As such, if the abused in a relationship decides to stay, God may ordain this marriage based on the choice of the one who has taken Christ-like initiative, and the abuser, if a non Christian, may come to Christ because of it. This also shows the great lengths God goes to to set us up with the right person.
If marriage is held on a standard of our own governance and law, then it is very fragile due to the fact that our ceremonies bind the marriage based on love, which can be broken on almost any account of any sin (As seen in Jewish law and custom). According to God's ordinance, this love is assumed, and so is binding based on the foreknowledge of the character of Christ that God has of the married couple, and so is forever binding. In that sense, you can't separate a God ordained marriage from faith, though God can always transform a marriage he didn't choose initially, but foreknew and ordained anyway by transforming each individual person.
Thoughts?