Theological term
Monogamy
4 sermons · All terms
2LCF Chapter 25 - Of Marriage
The 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith chapter 25 offers a concise yet comprehensive definition of marriage as a lifelong covenant between one man and one woman, established by God in creation for companionship, procreation, and the lawful expression of sexual relations. This study works through each paragraph of the confession's chapter on marriage, examining the monogamous nature of marriage, the major purposes for which it was ordained, and the lawful parties who may enter it. The session also draws on Westminster Confession chapters 24, paragraphs 5 and 6, together with Deuteronomy 24, Matthew 5 and 19, and 1 Corinthians 7, to argue that Scripture authorizes divorce on the grounds of porneia and desertion, and that a lawfully divorced innocent party is free to remarry. The Protestant 'permanence view' of marriage is examined and found to be both exegetically deficient and pastorally harmful to innocent parties whom God's own law was designed to protect.
2LCF Chapter 25 - Of Marriage
Marriage as a divine institution is examined through the four paragraphs of 2LCF Chapter 25, with Matthew 19:5–6 as the anchor text where Christ grounds marriage in the creation of male and female. The sermon argues that marriage is not a social construct or ecclesiastical sacrament but a creation ordinance ordained by God before the fall, designed for the union of one man and one woman in monogamous covenant. A threefold providential purpose is unfolded — companionship, the inhabitation of creation, and a hedge against sexual immorality — and the regulative bounds of marriage regarding consanguinity, affinity, and Christian marital duty are applied against both contemporary sexual confusion and Roman Catholic sacerdotalism.
2LCF Chapter 25 - Of Marriage
The 1689 London Baptist Confession chapter 25 sets forth a comprehensive theology of marriage as a monogamous, creational institution between one man and one woman, ordained for companionship, procreation, and the prevention of sexual immorality. This study walks through each paragraph of the chapter, examining the biblical case against polygamy, homosexuality, bestiality, and unequal yoking, while grounding each prohibition in specific Old and New Testament texts. The two paragraphs on divorce and remarriage that the Westminster Confession adds but the 1689 omits receive extended treatment, with the conclusion that Scripture's exception clauses permit dissolution of the marriage bond in cases of adultery and desertion, without penalising the innocent party. Hearers are exhorted to treasure their spouses, pursue marriage only in the Lord, and rear their children in the fear of God.
2LCF Chapter 25 - Of Marriage
What does Scripture teach about the nature, purposes, and lawful boundaries of marriage? Working through 2LCF Chapter 25, paragraphs 1–4, this study defends the confessional definition of marriage as a monogamous, heterosexual, lifelong covenant between one man and one woman, instituted by God at creation before the fall. The three divine purposes of marriage — companionship, procreation, and conjugal relations — are grounded in Genesis 1–2, and the lawful parties are examined with particular attention to the duty of Christians to marry only in the Lord. The session closes with practical counsel on the dignity of marriage, the responsibility it entails, and the discriminating wisdom required of those who would pursue it.