Matthew, we're continuing our study through this book and more or less the life of Christ. Nineteenth chapter of Matthew. It came to pass that when Jesus had finished these sayings, He departed from Galilee and came into the coast of Judea beyond Jordan. And the word coast, we have in our minds that means something along the edge of a sea or ocean. A better understanding of that today would be the borders. He goes along the borders of Judea. Now, Judea is part of the southern part of Israel. And it is the area where Jerusalem itself is. That's part of the state territory there. And great multitudes followed him, and he healed them there. The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him. It simply means testing or wanting to try him. Indeed, they have not an interest to learn the truth. not uncommon. Many people are trying to trip us up, ask questions sometimes, not for their own edification or not for clarification or learning, but trying to trip us up. And that's what they're doing here with Christ, saying unto him, Is it lawful for man to put away his wife for every cause? Now, there were two primary schools of teaching among the Pharisees and Sadducees. in the days of our Lord. There was the group that was called the School of Halil, which said that a man could divorce his wife for any reason at all. If she displeased him about a matter, he was free to divorce her. And then there was the other school of Semelaya. And I don't say that I'm pronouncing that word name exactly. It's a Hebrew word. But anyway, it's another school that held to strictly only for adultery could there be granted a divorce. And so they're trying to put the Lord in a position where in this controversial issue, He will be forced to take sides one way or the other and lose favor. Of course, our Lord cares not for the favor of men, but He knows very well what they're trying to do. And so he answered and said to them, Have ye not read that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female? And for this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and they twain shall be one flesh. Therefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder. And they say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a riding of divorcement? put her away. And he said to them, Moses, because of the hardness of your heart suffered you to put away your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for the fornication, and shall marry another, committed adultery, and whosoever married her which is put away, doth commit adultery. His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, good not to marry. He said, But them all cannot receive this say, save they to whom it is given. For there are some eunuchs which were born from their mother's womb, and there are some eunuchs which are made eunuchs of men, and there be eunuchs which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it. I want to begin a series of passages on the subject of marriage. Marriage, the institution of marriage, is under great attack in our present-day society, and we need to reestablish some rules, foundations, principles, as they are set forth in the Word of God. to help all of us to remind ourselves about this important institution and the vitality and the importance of marriage to our society as a whole. I was just listening to Fox News this morning, and I was about to say this. No matter how long you have been married, there is always something to be learned about marriage. and our roles in marriage. And I'm going to confirm that by saying that I was watching something on Fox News this morning and there was a little section on there. A person being interviewed had written a book about Listen to your grandfathers. She had already preached a lyric in a book written, Listen to Your Grandmother. So now she had written this book, Listen to Your Grandfathers. And I thought I'd kind of tune my ears up. I thought I might listen and see what they might have to say. It was an interesting discussion. But one of the things, one of the men said something of this nature. He talked about how to keep love fresh in your marriage. Well, I perked up my ears and more. And I learned something. And I'm not going to tell you what I learned, but it was good benefit, good information. And I thought, well, that will be good for me to start. Well, simply what it was that you need to write love letters. And he said that's one of the things that he does. He writes love letters to his wife. Started doing that when he was, of course, when they were courting. He was in the Navy in World War II and started writing love letters to his wife. And he has not stopped writing love letters to his wife. And he was, seemed to me, a man of several years. And I thought, well, that might be something good for all of us. I tell people that one of the ways in which you Keep your marriage going and fresh if you don't stop being sweethearts, courting each other. Well, that just simply proves the point that I say that no matter how long you've been married, there are some things to be learned and some things we need to remind ourselves about marriage. I could relate names and call names to you and you know very well and I could tell you about experiences and people that I know personally that had been married for a long time and tragically their marriage came about in a divorce. People that you never would have thought would have ever had a divorce. The fact of the matter is, according to statistics, there is a 50% chance now today that if you get married that you're going to have a divorce. Now that's overall, not everybody, If you attend church regularly, church-going couple, you are less likely to have a marriage and certainly a divorce. Certainly that is true, as the saying is, a family that prays together stays together. And the statistics prove that statement, that ones who pray together and go to church together are less likely to have a breakup. But even that is no guarantee. even those families, there's about 30% of those that end up in divorce. Tragic. Divorce is rampant in our country. And not only is divorce rampant, of course, but one of the things that brings about divorce is immorality. That's not the sole reason always for divorce, but that is the most prominent reason for divorce. You're well aware that recently, last month, Our Congress, liberal, humanistic Congress that we now have for the most part, and I don't mean everybody in that Congress, but our Congress voted to repeal the don't ask and don't tell rule concerning homosexuality in the Army. This was a great victory for the homosexuals, this was something that President Obama promised, as he was campaigning for the office of President, and so he was elected with a large majority. And so this Congress also, Democratic Congress, was elected on his coattails, so to speak. And so it reflects on the attitude of our nation. that this is what our country wants. And certainly it is true that homosexuality and the principles of marriage, rules of marriage, as set forth in the Bible, are being constantly undermined and downgraded and destroyed by society, our government, and the schools in which we put our children and young people through. brings us to emphasize the importance then of us understanding the rules of marriage. Vice President Biden said when this law was repealed by Congress, that the next step, and this is the agenda of the homosexuals, you see it going on, the next step would be a nationwide same-sex marriage law put in place. Well, regardless of what the government may do and what stand they may take, we believe the Bible is the authority for everything about our lives, how we are to live in every area of our lives, and especially in this area. marriage has been established by God. Christ himself confirms that and makes quotes from the Old Testament, the very first book of the Old Testament, the book of beginnings, the book of Genesis. And he speaks about creation, how God created man. You might want to turn there just for reference. In the first chapter of Genesis we have God making man. In verse 27, the sixth day, verse 26, he said, Let us make man in our image and after our likeness. God's design and God's creation of man was that he was made in the image of God. Part of that is that he was made without sin. That doesn't mean that he was not subject to sin, but he was made perfect in the sense of being innocent. And then he was made as a tri-part being. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, they three are one, equal. And so man has three natures. Physical nature, he has a soul, and he has a spirit. I don't know if this simple explanation of that is sufficient. The body is given to man to make him world conscious or environmental conscious of where he is and what he's subject to. You feel the bench that you sit on. You feel the temperature in the room because you have a physical body. You have a soul. That soul makes you conscious of who you are, something about what is proper in your dress and your behavior. dictates something of your nature. It is your real nature. And then we have a spirit. That spirit is a means whereby that we are made to be God-conscious, to commune with God. Of course, we know that our spirits are now depraved, dead, and trespasses the sins, and we have not the ability to commune with God, nor to walk in pleasure with God because of our sinful nature. being dead in trespasses and sins. But God made man originally as the image of God and so he created him, verse 27, God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him, male and female, created he them. So that he created both man and woman to reflect something of the glory of God. That's the whole purpose of creation. Everything about creation, the universe, the stars, the sun, the moon, everything that God has created has been created for the purpose that it might glorify God. And everything that happens in the universe is by the will of God to bring about glory to Him. Indeed, the Word of God says, let's hear the conclusion, the whole matter. I'm reading from Ecclesiastes 12, chapter 13. Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man." The word duty is added there by the translators to give some understanding of what is expressed by the word whole. Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole of man. This is the sum total of man's existence. The very reason why man ever was brought into existence, given to us by the Holy Spirit was that he might fear God and keep his commands. Again, in the fifth chapter of Matthew, our Lord said, Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Certainly he is speaking to believers, but it is true of all people, that they are to live in such a way that God would receive glory from their lives. Paul says in Corinthians, the fifth chapter, the sixth chapter, he said, You're bought with a price. What? No, you're not. You're bought with a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body and your spirit, which are God's, are some existence. Both our bodies and our spirits belong unto God. They've been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ. And so, therefore, everything that we do is to the glory of God. Paul makes that more clear in the tenth chapter of 1 Corinthians. He says, Whether you eat or drink, Whatsoever you do, do all for the glory of God. That pretty book covers everything. I don't know anything outside of that eating or drinking. That pretty book constitutes our existence. Revelation, the fourth chapter, where it reads, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created. For Thy pleasure, for Thy glory were they created. So if we are to glorify God, we need to learn how we are to do that. And it is that we are to live according to His rules and His laws and His principles. This is the whole duty of man to fear God and to keep His commandments. Now, today we've got what I call five different kinds of marriages. Of course, the first one is not really a marriage. It's no marriage, just simply living. That's very common. It's not unusual anymore to hear about people that they're living together. Days past, that was something that was spoken about in very hushed tones, and it was a shame to be known that a man and a woman were living together and were not married. But today, we have it in every realm of our society. people living together and never taking the time or consideration and don't think there's any necessity at all for them being married. So that's a no-marriage living situation. We also have, as we mentioned, same-sex marriages. That's not a marriage, but that's just a simple thing, very simple. Same thing again, simply that here it's same-sex people living together. It's not a marriage. Though that's what they want to do, is they want to get it legalized so that they can in some way or another remove to some degree the stigma that they're doing something wrong. We're married. Well, regardless of what society may say and what the government may say, it is a shameful, disgraceful relationship and it's sin that they're living in. And then I refer to this as seasonal marriage. That's Hollywood style, and it's also characteristic of our society even today. They change spouses with every change of season. It's just an ongoing thing that this person's married to this person for a while, and next thing you know, they've divorced them and they're marrying somebody else. I'd be bothered to get married at all. But it's just changing season. Every other year, they change spouses. After four or five years, they change spouses. Pick up another one. That's the attitude the world has towards marriage. There's a biblical marriage. Hebrews, the thirteenth chapter, we read that marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled, but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. Now, note that statement. and there's nothing else that tells us anything at all about marriage, that one verse of scripture would be sufficient to tell us that, first of all, there is an improper relationship involved. For you read the words of whoremongers and adulterers, that's talking about those who are involved in sexual relationships beyond the bounds of marriage, and those who are violators of their marriage vows by adultery. Whatever the case may be, whether married or unmarried, if they are violating God's rules and principles in their relationship, the Word of God says, God will judge. The fact of the matter is, when you read through the Scriptures, you'll find that people who live in this kind of lifestyle, they are going to experience the judgment of God. of 1 Corinthians, Paul talks about these kind of people, and he says in the 6th chapter, "...the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God, be not deceived, neither fornicators, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abuse themselves with mankind." That's homosexual types of people. Now, such who have that lifestyle are not citizens of the kingdom of God. I will say quickly and add that those kind of people can be redeemed and can be saved from that lifestyle by the blood of Jesus Christ, by the grace of God. I'm not the one that condemns them to eternal hell. I'm saying, though, that people who have that lifestyle and live in that kind of lifestyle are not subjects and are not children of God. But those who live that way are not beyond the grace of God and the mercy of God to save them and deliver them from that lifestyle any more than what an alcoholic or a drunkard or a dope addict might be. But here's what the Word of God says about those who have that kind of lifestyle. They are not of the Kingdom of God. So Paul here in the 13th chapter of Hebrews tells us that those who live by that lifestyle, they are going to experience the judgment of God. Now he then says that marriage is honorable. Indeed, there are those, as our Lord points out, who will never be married. That does not mean that they are under some kind of disgrace or that they are any less capable of being good citizens or children of God in the Kingdom of Heaven. But He is saying here to us that marriage is honorable. There is nothing wrong with getting married. In fact, the matter in Proverbs, the writer says, Whosoever fineth a wife, obtaineth good, and I'm going to start reading again. Whosoever fineth a wife, fineth a good thing, and obtaineth favor from the Lord. I could not get that word exactly right. Whosoever fineth a wife, fineth a good thing. A wife indeed is a good thing. I'm very thankful to the Lord for my wife. And she's been a great help and a great blessing and a great means of encouragement to me. And I'm sure all of you here would say the same thing about your wives, that they're a great asset. Well, that's what God intended, and that's God's purpose for marriage, is that husbands and wives could be a means of assisting, helping each other, and doing what God's plan and purpose is for them in their existence. Let's go back to Genesis chapter 1 again, if you would please. Genesis chapter 1, and see what marriage, as God established it, and what its purposes are. Genesis 1. In the 26th verse, let us make man after our image, after our likeness, and let them have dominion. You'll note the plurality of it. Man and woman work together in this role of having dominion over the fish, the sea, the power of the air, over the cattle, over all the earth, over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created them, male and female. The image of God created them, male and female. And God blessed them. Well, that's the relationship that God has established And God blessed them, and God said to them, Be fruitful, multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish, the sea, and over the fowl, the air, and every living thing that moveth upon the earth." Now, here is God's design and purpose in marriage. Here is why God has established marriage for the purpose that the wife might be a helpmate unto God, unto the man. In the second chapter of Genesis, our Lord tells us that. You'll read in Genesis 2, verse 21, the Lord called to deep sleep the fallen Adam. First of all, in verse 20, he says that there was no help need for man, no comforter for man, no help, no assistance for man. God called to deep sleep the fallen Adam, and he slept. And he took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh that stood thereof. And the rib which the Lord God had taken from the man, made he a woman, and brought it to her. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh." God said it is not good for man to dwell alone. Every married person would testify to the fact that their life has been blessed, I should say everyone who has ever married according to scriptural rules and had a Christian home, that their life has been blessed and been enhanced. Marriage has been a great means of encouragement to them because of that marriage relationship that they have been blessed to have with a God-given spouse. wife is given to be a helpmate to her husband. Now, Paul talks about the role of the wife in Ephesians chapter 5. He says wives are to submit themselves to their husbands. That submission is not as a slave, not as someone to be treated as property, as you see in the Muslim worlds, and as you see in worlds where Christianity has not had any impact. It's such a tragic thing to think people have used, tried to discredit Christianity by saying that Christianity belittles women and puts women in bondage. Well, right the opposite is true. If you would just travel through the world, you would find where Christianity had no impact on society, you would find right the opposite. that women are used and abused in ungodly manners. I use this word used and abused. It is the same thing that is going on in America today as a result of a homosexual agenda. It's not to defend women, or I should say the feminist agenda. It's not to defend women. It's not to give women a protection, but rather it is to remove the protection that the woman has under her husband, her headship, and so it strips the woman of her God-given role, and thereby she is treated in an unbecoming, disgraceful way. God said that woman was to be a helpmate. They are joined together when marriage takes place by the rules of God. They are joined together in such a way that their lives, their existence is not only enhanced, but they are both physically happier. According to those who measure these things, people who are married live longer. Of course, some of you women think sometimes that the husband, well, I should take it this way. Billy Graham's wife, Mrs. Graham, was asked the question, did she ever consider divorcing her husband? And she said, divorce, no. Murder, yes. husbands and wives may feel like that marriage is stressful. It is stressful. Life is stressful. Life is full of problems. Single or married, it has problems in it. And you're not going to escape problems, stressful existence, by abstaining from marriage. But you're going to find that if God blesses you with a marriage and gives you a godly spouse, you're going to find that that spouse becomes a means of your life being enhanced and your joy being increased. Last evening, Ruth and I, of course, went to a birthday party. And it was the birthday party of two of our grandsons. And as we started to walk in the door, I said to Ruth, I said, do you know what we're about to do? We're about to go to a birthday party for our grandchildren. Now, those of you who have not been blessed yet to have grandchildren, I'll tell you, you're missing a great joy in life. And I like what someone said, that if I had known that grandchildren were so great, I'd have had them first. Well, unfortunately, that's not the way it goes, but I have said that grandchildren are a payback for rearing children. It's a great thing to have grandchildren. Ruth and I, of course, are blessed with twenty of them. I hope that God may be pleased to bless us with even more. But we're blessed to have twenty grandchildren. And every child has been a means of blessing and encouragement to us and enhancing of our own lives. I don't know what my grandchildren will ever become, but I can always hold out the prospect and expectation that by the grace of God that they will be a lot better persons than what their granddad was, especially this granddad. But it's an opportunity to perpetuate and preserve our own identities by marriage. I feel sorry for that person who's never had a good marriage. I tell everyone when I speak about my wife and I've been married, we've been married now 51 years. I tell everyone that it's been 51 glorious years, and whatever else months and weeks have gone over the August 8th date, it's been a joyous time. Yes, we've had some sorrows. Yes, we've had some difficulties. Yes, we've had some stressful times. And as Brother Bradley says, any married person that says that they never have had a quarrel is a liar. And so, yes, we've had a few quarrels, but 99% of the time, I was the one that fought. But it is a means whereby that we are blessed to encourage and comfort each other. Your wife, your spouse, is your greatest friend. Your spouse is your closest companion through life. I think about those people who go through life and have to deal with some of the problems of life and they don't have a spouse to comfort them, to encourage them. Tragic it is, really. But when one is blessed to have a godly spouse, godly mate, they have one who is a helpmate to them in all of their trials and all the difficulties of life. Now there are some rules then about how we are to go about being married. Number one is we are to be married in the Lord. 1 Corinthians 7, Paul says a woman is at liberty to marry only in the Lord. 2 Corinthians he says, verse 14, being all unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship hath the righteous with the unrighteous? And what communion hath light with darkness? He later on says that we should not assume that we can convert the other's partner to our marriage. So we should not enter into marriage with a non-regenerative person, with a non-believer, expecting that we are going to be able to convince that person that they would come to believe the same things that we do. My wife and I have been greatly blessed that through life, that not only were we both Christians, but as we have matured in understanding of the truth of God, that we both have matured together. We've come to a mutual understanding about the teachings of the Word of God. What a great encouragement it's been to me as we have studied the Word of God, and as we've come to a better understanding about some things, that we are solidified in this, and we have the same understanding about these things. How tragic it is then for that man or that woman who has a spouse that is a non-believer. And rather than being a means of encouraging them in spiritual things, they become a hindrance to them. Certainly I say to all of you young people who are anticipating and have any hopes of ever being married that one of the first criteria to set before yourself is that you seek a spouse that is a believer and is the very spouse that God would have you to have. And the more that you are in common belief, the stronger your convictions and the stronger your marriage will be. I talk to people sometimes who are married from different denominations. I was talking to a man the other day, a few weeks ago really, Aaron. I could call his name. Brother Aaron would know who it was out on the job site. He had been reared. as a Baptist. His wife was reared as a Methodist. And so in order to dissolve the differences, they went to a Presbyterian church. Well, they didn't really dissolve any differences. I don't know how that came about. But that is usually what happens when there is two denominations coming into a marriage. I advise people and counsel people that if such is the case, that you need to deal with that issue before you ever get married because it's going to become an issue in your marriage. One of you are going to have to make a decision or be guided, make a concession to go with the other to that church. It's a hard thing and a sad thing to see a man and a wife going to two different churches. You know very well that there's not a harmony in convictions in that home about marriage, about the things of God. And the longer they go in life with that problem, the more it becomes a source of agitation. So I advise people, couples, that they seek a spouse that has the same persuasion, that they are believers together, because it's going to become a problem, a stressful problem, in their lives. There are many things to be stressful in a marriage. Finances and other issues. And certainly when there is a difference on spiritual issues, that's even going to be even more stressful. Now these marriages, these couples then that are married, when we are married, we are to live together, as I said, according to the rules of the Word of God. Paul gives us a very clear statement about these things in the 5th chapter of Ephesians. And I've already made mention of the one, and I'm not going to go into great details about these things today. As I said, I hope to have a series of messages on this subject of marriage, and I will go into more detail. But in the 5th chapter of Ephesians, Paul was talking here about how we are to live as Christians, how we are to walk. In the 1st verse of the 5th chapter, V.E., therefore, follows a God, his dear children, and walk in love. That's love toward God and love toward each other. And he sets forth some principles and rules in this fifth chapter, how we're to live. Be not drunk with wine, or in excess, but be filled with the Holy Spirit. Now that's not, that is not a matter of wherein that we are debating, to debate this thing, whether we're going to be drunk with wine or not. This is to be the, how we're to function, how we're to live, dominated by the Holy Spirit of God. speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing to make a melody of your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things unto God the Father, and in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. There is a submission, general submission, of which Christian people are to be in accord with each other. We are not to be cantankerous. We are not to be always trying to get our own way and our own will. Paul talks about that in Philippians, the second chapter, let this mind be of you, which is also in Christ Jesus. There is a common submission of God's people toward each other. If we're to do anything in harmony, if we're to serve the Lord, if we're to have a church, there must be some degree of submission. Everyone can have their own ideas and their own ways about things. Then he gets into more details. Why, verse 22, why submit yourselves under their own husbands, under the Lord. Certainly that is the role of the wife in this marriage relationship. She is to be the one who is to serve or assist the husband. He is the head. Nothing can function that has two heads to it in a harmonious way. The longer you go through life, the more that you will see that Nothing can be brought about in a harmonious way that has true heads to it. I noticed a man again on the news station the other day in which he started off a business with another man. They were both partners in this business. And he kind of jokingly said, we came to a parting of ways. That happens most usually in a partnership. two heads cannot function in a harmonious way. One has to be responsible for taking the lead. That's to be illustrated in many different areas of life. And so what Paul here is talking about is that the husband is the one that God has put in place as the headship, leader and guide, spiritual guide in that home and the spiritual advisor and the one that's responsible for the affairs of the home And he is the responsible one as the lead in the home. Therefore, the wife is to be in submission and cooperation with him. Now, that does not exempt men from their responsibility. You'll note what Paul moves right on to say. Not only is the wife to be in submission to the husband, But you will also see in verse 25, husbands love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church. The husband then is to take the role of being a lover in the whole marriage. Now that doesn't mean the wife is exempted from loving, but that means that his role as the head in that house is to be one that is dominated by love. There are things to be learned by us men. You don't come into marriage knowing everything about marriage and knowing everything about women. As I said, I've been married 51 years and I'm still being amazed that I'm learning things about women that I did not understand in days past. That is not said in a critical way. That is said in a loving way. My wife was a great asset to me and a great helpmate to me. And the husband is to take the role of leading in the home, but he should do so in a most loving fashion. And what Paul here gives us an illustration. He says, even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it, Now, in both of these cases, he uses Christ as a role model. In verse 21, he talks about wives, submitting yourself in the fear of the Lord. Submit yourselves, your husbands, unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife. He is Christ, the head of the church. What's the relationship between Christ and His church? First of all, it is a love relationship. And secondly, it is a relationship whereby the church wants to glorify and exalt Christ and serve Him and see to it that his will is done and carried out. And she comes under his headship. A church does. Each and every church is under the headship of Christ. And each and every church seeks to glorify Christ and how it lives and its doctrine and its teachings. So a wife to her husband as unto the Lord. Then the husband is to love his wife even as Christ has also loved the church and gave himself for it. What a great example, what better example, and there is no better or supreme example of love than that of Christ. who has loved undeserving people, hell-deserving sinners that we are, and has loved us with an everlasting love, and has loved us with a perpetual love, has loved us with a perfect love, and has loved us in such a way that He has died a most shameful, cruel, painful death for our behalf, that He might redeem us from our sins. How then can men claim that they love their wives when they live for themselves? and they seek their own pleasures out of the marriage and their own wills. And they see the wife simply as nothing but a servant, a slave to them. You see, the Word of God places both the husband and the wife in a role in the marriage in which it glorifies God. The fact of the matter is, marriage is a way in which we show forth the grace of God in our lives in a very unique way. The very backbone of our society, and this is why it's so critical and so important, the very backbone and bedrock of any society is the home. And it is here that children learn how to live It is here how we learn how even we as adults are to live with each other and how we're to deal with our fellow man. People who don't have good marriages don't make good employees. They have emotional problems. They have personality problems that they cannot adjust and cannot conform and cannot be compatible with others. Years ago, I used to live in Johnson City, New York. That's where I went to seminary. Nearby was the town that was the hometown for IBM. IBM, of course you know, is International Business Machines, which was founded by a man by the name of Watson. Mr. Watson was a very godly man. I believe he was either a Presbyterian or a Methodist. I don't remember which one. But Mr. Watson had some very strict rules about all of his employees. He could not do it today, but if an employee was seen in the vicinity of a place that sold alcohol beverages, he was to be dismissed from his job. But if a man was known, of course he didn't have any women working for him at that time, but if a man was known to have any marital problems, if he was unfaithful to his wife, if he was having any marital problems, he would be dismissed from his job. Well, I think that that's one of the reasons why God blessed that business to become the great business that it has. that now because Mr. Washington has died off, been dead for many years, and those rules and regulations are not in place. But he understood that if a man, and I understand that this was also Mr. Penny's rules about when he began his business, that if a person was unfaithful to their marriage vows that that person was an employee that was untrustworthy. And if they could not get along with a spouse that they had said that they loved and had gotten into a marriage with, they would not be a good employee. You see, God has designed marriage and the home as a place wherein that we learn how to live in society and how to get along with each other. And when that home and that marriage is being destroyed, we're destroying the society around about us. I'm thankful for the good marriages we have in our church and the good families and the good children. And I know the things that I'm saying to you today that you here are in agreement with and endorse. But as Peter said, I say these things to you by which to stir up your pure minds. And I want you to understand what I hope to do in these series on marriage. I hope to stir up your pure minds, not that you're ignorant of some of these issues, but that you might be more guarded and more careful and see the more critical issue of your marriage. decided to title these sermons, needed a man to stand in the gap. And I take that from the book of Ezekiel, the 22nd chapter in verse 30, in which the Lord said, I sought for a man among them that would make up the hedge and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none. I like Adam Clarkson. commentary on that verse of scripture. What he quotes and paraphrases God as saying, I saw that there was a grievous breach made in the moral state and feeling of the people, and I sought for a man that would stand in the gap, that would faithfully exhort, reprove, and counsel with all long-suffering and doctrine, but none was found. Now, what I'm saying to us then is, this is our responsibility individually as adults and as married people to make the kind of stand in our society that we can show forth to the world that we live in, the ungodly, heathenistic, humanistic, atheistic society that we're now living in, that we can show forth to the world that we now live in, what it means to live together in a marriage relationship that glorifies God. That glorifies God. I don't feel like that I have been a perfect husband. I don't feel like I've been a perfect father. I feel like that there are many areas that I have failed in as a husband and as a father because of my ignorance and because I didn't get the teaching and training that I should have gotten. And that is the responsibility of every parent and every father in his home and in the church. And I hope to expound upon those responsibilities of both the wife and the husband in the days ahead of us. And I ask for you to be prayerful for me and for us collectively as a church that we can learn, learn, and that we will as a church and as individuals that we would be the individuals who would stand in the gap in defense of marriage and home in our society today. And may God give us grace that we might