An Article of Faith

In this day of cultural confusion God’s Word clearly reveals His definition of marriage and family. The Baptist Faith and Message summarizes God’s Word on the family: “God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood, or adoption.
“Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. It is God’s unique gift to reveal the union between Christ and His church and to provide for the man and the woman in marriage the framework for intimate companionship, the channel of sexual expression according to biblical standards, and the means for procreation of the human race.
“The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God’s image. The marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people. A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. He has the God-given responsibility to provide for, to protect, and to lead his family. A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ. She, being in the image of God as is her husband and thus equal to him, has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to serve as his helper in managing the household and nurturing the next generation.
“Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to demonstrate to their children God’s pattern for marriage. Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to lead them, through consistent lifestyle example and loving discipline, to make choices based on biblical truth. Children are to honor and obey their parents.” (See Gen. 1:26-28; 2:15-25; Ex. 20:12; Deut. 6:4-9; Jos. 24:15; Psalm 128; 139:13-16; Prov. 5:15-20; 6:20-22; 14:1; 22:6, 15; 23:13-14; 25:15, 17; 31:10-31; Ecc. 4:9-12; 9:9; Mal. 2:14-16; Matt. 5:31-32; 18:2-5; 19:3-9; Mk. 10:6-12; Rom. 1:18-32; 1 Cor. 7:1-16; Eph. 5:21-33; 6:1-4; Col. 3:18-21; 1 Tim. 5:8, 14; 2 Tim. 1:3-5; Titus 2:3-5; Heb. 13:4; 1 Pet. 3:1-7.)
Heavenly Father, we know that You designed marriage. You created it and You defined it as the union of one man and one woman. You’re the One who created us in Your own image as male and female and “For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh” (Gen. 2:24). As our Supreme Court deliberates over the issue of marriage, Father, we pray that You’ll cause Your truth about marriage to resonate in their hearts and minds. Holy Spirit, remind them of Your truth, guide them into all the truth concerning marriage, and warn them of the danger of turning their backs on Your Word and will for this sacred union between a man and a woman. Father, remind every elected official at every level of society – as well as every man, woman and child of Your Holy standard for marriage. Cause us to tremble at the thought of rejecting You and Your Word to our own destruction. Father, prompt the justices of the Supreme Court to reflect on Your Word and to align their ruling with Your truth. And Father, regardless of what they rule, give us the courage – as Your people – to obey You and Your Holy Word, rather than man, regardless of the consequences. This we pray in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Jessie J. Charpentier Sr. is pastor of Jenkins Memorial Baptist Church in St. Martinville.