Director o f th Grand Rapid PART
expect that the divorce evil can be solved until men are willing to sub mit themselves to the clear teaching of the Word of God. According to sta tistics before me, divorce increased within the past forty years from one divorce in forty to one in three during the past year. It does not take a great stretch of the imagination to visualize what the result will be within the next few years, if the present increase in divorce continues. It will mean that we shall be a nation where all the barriers of morality and decency have been broken down, and when the home is gone, the nation is gone upon the rocks, and there is nothing in all the world that politicians, econ omists, social reformers or psychia trists can do to remedy the situation. In this series of messages, we are, therefore, not primarily interested in correcting the divorce evil AFTER it has occured, but rather to set before you some of the Scriptural remedies for the prevention of this terrible evil. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Most divorces are al ready determined long before the marriage ceremony is consummated, and the seeds of discord are already sown, and only need the development of a couple living in the intimate re lationship of husband and wife, which is the test of real character and real manhood and real womanhood. In our first article on “ Before and After Marriage” and the ideal Chris tian family, we discussed at length the teaching of the Scripture regard ing mixed marriages between believ ers and unbelievers, and saw that the Bible strictly forbids it, and disobe dience to this rule can only lead to the disfavor of Almighty God and dis aster and unhappiness in the days which lie ahead. A happy marriage depends on something more than a pretty face; it depends on character, and for the believer it depends on true Christian character. Here are some of the questions a prospective Christian bride, therefore, should always ask first of all when considering the mar-
riage relationship with her future husband: 1. Is he a true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ? If he cannot pass this test, you as a Christian have no right to go a single step farther. 2. Is he God’s husband for me? Am I convinced that this is the one, not who is my own choice only, but who is God’s husband for me? 3. W ill he make a good father for my children, and is this marriage in the will of God? ' And the same questions, of course, should be asked by the prospective Christian husband. I do not believe that any Christian has a right to enter into the marriage relationship lightly, but should seriously consider the will of God and seek only His favor and His direction in all things. My pur pose in this series of messages is to be practical, to get right down to earth where you people live, in order that I may be of some help in pre venting the terrible evil which is sweeping over the nation and over the world today. I am, therefore, giving you a number of rules, which while they may seem very commonplace and sound like platitudes, neverthe less, are of the most decided impor- tance, if you are to regard your future happiness. First, let me repeat again, though it may seem unnecessary, never enter into a contract of mar riage with one who is not definitely a child of God, living the life of sep aration before Him. Second, never enter into the marriage relationship without first of all seeking the will of the Lord ¿hat you may know that it is His purpose before you take another step, or go ahead. We are the salt of the earth, and are to seek to bring unbelievers to the Lord Jesus Christ, but beyond this, we are to separate ourselves, and let our light shine as those who have been separated first of all unto the will of God. Third, never marry or accept the attention of an individual who is given to gambling, even though it may be for the most trivial amount. Once the gambling
“Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. H e that loveth his wife loveth himself. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let everyone of you in particular so love his w ife even as himself; and the w ife see that she reverence her husband —Ephesians 5:25, 26, 28, 31, 32, 33 I am frank to say that if this por tion of the Word of God were earnest ly and prayerfully practiced by both husbands and wives, it would be the end once and forever, of all broken homes and the problem of divorce among believers. Of course, we do not Dr. DeHaan is beloved by millions around the world for his consistent teaching of the Word of God over the air on the "Radio Bible Class." God has blessed his dedicated ministry to the salvation of countless numbers of souls.
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TH E KING'S BUSINESS
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