How To Safeguard Your Marriage
God has standards for marriage and we must commit ourselves to them.
KEY VERSES
Psalm 119:9 (NASB)
9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word.
Proverbs 6:32 (NASB)
32 One who commits adultery with a woman is lacking sense; He who would destroy himself commits it.
Hebrews 13:4 (NASB)
4 Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.
James 1:14-15 (NASB)
14 But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. 15 Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it has run its course, brings forth death.
UNDERSTANDING
What is an activity you would not want to participate in unless safeguards were in place (i.e. riding in a car, rock climbing, going to the grocery store during a pandemic, etc.)?
What are some relational safeguards or boundaries parents should give teenagers when they start dating?
What are some relational safeguards or boundaries you would expect to hear in a premarital counseling session?
What is the benefit of studying God’s Word as it relates to marriage?
How might studying the Bible help you fight temptation?
What if you don’t think adultery is an area where you are tempted? Is it still important to study God’s commands related to marriage? Explain.
Read Exodus 20:14 and 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5. What does God’s Word say about marriage and sexual immorality?
Why should God’s Word, not culture, be the standard when it comes to marriage and sex?
Outside of actually committing the act of adultery, what are some signs a person might be devaluing God’s Word when it comes to the issue of adultery?
What consequences does God’s Word indicate there are for those who commit adultery?
The word “destroy” in Proverbs 6:32 surely seems to many as an overstatement, at the very least. In what ways does adultery bring destruction?
Is it surprising to you that back in New Testament times—before the Internet—people were facing the challenge of purity in marriage? How do these challenges compare with ones believers today face?
Doesn’t God judge all sin? Why do you think adultery and sexual immorality in particular is called out here in Hebrews and in other passages?
Pastor Jeff noted, “There are potential consequences. Think them through.” How can we be aware of the cost and become proactive in protecting our marriages from being torn apart by lust and the actions that follow?
Why are we tempted to sin? What is the chain of events that happens when we act on our temptations?
What should understanding that adultery, like all sin, begins in the mind cause us to do? What are some specific steps we can take to guard our thought-lives and, in so doing, protect our marriages?
Why do you think so many Christians do not take seriously the need to guard their minds by disallowing media that glorifies sexual immorality?
APPLICATION
Recall the three steps for safeguarding marriage from this week’s message: 1. God has standards. Commit yourself to them. 2. There are potential consequences. Think through them. 3. Sin begins in the mind. Manage your mind. What is one way you can put those steps into practice this week?
Pastor Jeff gave three steps of application for anyone who has been unfaithful to his or her mate: acknowledge the sin, end the relationship immediately, and avoid all contact with that person from now on. Why is it important to confess sin instead of simply ending it? Why is it important to avoid all contact with that person from now on?
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