By Elizabeth Prata
This article addresses the tension wives face when husbands fail to lead spiritually. Drawing on counsel from John Piper and others, it urges patient prayer, humble faith, and steadfast trust in the Holy Spirit to work in God’s timing.
Continue reading “Waiting, Praying, Hoping: When Leadership Lags at Home”By Elizabeth Prata
SYNOPSIS
Feeling the old pressure of New Year’s dates and Valentine expectations, I contrast restless singleness with hard-won contentment in Christ. Through regret, divorce, and redemption, I urge women to trust God’s appointed season, warning that chasing marriage can hurt more than waiting.
By Elizabeth Prata
SYNOPSIS
For the past two days I’ve written about marriage or divorce. Today I compiled other essays about marriage, divorce, or singleness I’ve written into one spot. In various links, I highlight the sanctity of marriage as ordained by God and examines contemporary issues surrounding divorce in the Christian community, calling for thoughtful consideration of this common yet serious topic.
By Elizabeth Prata
SYNOPSIS
Divorce is a violent act that disrupts the God-ordained covenant of marriage. I emphasize the sacredness of marriage as a union between one man and one women involving God, and urge both spouses to cherish their commitment, resisting the attacks of fleshly sin. Link in next post.
Continue reading “Divorce: The Violence of Tearing What God Joined”By Elizabeth Prata
SYNOPSIS
My personal divorce reflects sin’s violent fracture of marital, cosmic, and divine peace. I urge fidelity, repentance, and fleeing temptation always.
Continue reading “From One Flesh to Fracture”By Elizabeth Prata
SYNOPSIS
A couple’s intimate moment at a Coldplay concert was broadcast on the jumbotron, revealing an alleged affair between Andy Byron, a married CEO, and HR Chief Kristin Cabot. Their actions drew public scrutiny, emphasizing the harm of adultery. The incident highlights the emotional pain for families and the spiritual consequences of infidelity.
Continue reading “Caught on Jumbotron: The Impact of Infidelity”By Elizabeth Prata
Susan Heck has been teaching, worshiping, and mentoring for a long time. She travels the country teaching on various theological topics, and one of her topics is on women and the Bible’s standards for wives.
Recently she presented information at Crossway Bible Church in Kansas. The topic was Forming Faithful Friendships in Christ. The 4 sessions plus Q&A are here: Forming Faithful Friendships in Christ.
Mrs. Heck said something in one of the sessions to which my ears perked up. She said she had been married almost 46 years before her husband passed away. Her husband wanted Susan to show respect for him almost more than her submission to him. She further said that she travels all around and sees that as Christian women we may be failing at the respect mandate.
I know my husband wanted my respect almost more than my submission. ~Susan Heck, Forming Faithful Friendships in Christ, session 3
We focus quite a bit on Titus 2 instructions because there are different demographics in the verses which apply to any number of women who read it. But Ephesians 5:33 also plainly sets out a biblical behavior standard, this time, for wives.
Nevertheless, as for you individually, each husband is to love his own wife the same as himself, and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband. (Ephesians 5:33).
It’s a command. Respect the husband.
5:22 wives While the cultural model for marriage in the Graeco-Roman world emphasized male patriarchal leadership, Paul’s model is based mutual love and respect (Eph 5:28, 33) and grounded in the OT creation story (v. 31 cites Gen 2:24). Faithlife Study Bible (Eph 5:22).
So what IS this respect?
v. 33. Reverence [respect] consists of love and esteem, which produce a care to please, and of fear, which awakens a caution lest just offence be given. Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible.
What does this word ‘respect’ mean in context? The word is used 95 times in the New Testament. The word in Greek in the Ephesians verse is phobeomai and it means fear, dread, reverence, am afraid, terrified.
You might notice the similarity to the word phobos, from which we get the English word phobia. Phobos in Greek means “fear” or “terror.”
WHAT?! Are we supposed to be afraid of our husbands!? No, see the usage explained from the Lexicon–
Usage: The Greek verb “phobeó” primarily means to fear or be afraid. It can denote a range of emotions from terror and dread to reverence and awe. In the New Testament, “phobeó” is used both in the context of fear of danger or harm and in the sense of reverential awe towards God. The term can imply a healthy respect or acknowledgment of God’s power and authority, as well as a warning against disobedience or sin.
So the word is used in different ways. We are not to fear the husband as we submit to him. We are to reverence him.
WHAT?! Like Sarah did when she called her husband ‘lord’?
Well…yes. As Peter instructed in 1 Peter 3:5-6, not to adorn themselves with outward treasures such as gold or braided hair, but inwardly with a pure conscience and respect toward the husband-
For in this way the holy women of former times, who hoped in God, also used to adorn themselves, being subject to their own husbands, just as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord; and you have proved to be her children if you do what is right without being frightened by any fear.
Again, the word respect has many nuances and different meanings when studied. In the Ephesians verse it means a proper fear wrapped in reverence. As Christ is the head of the church we fear Him in reverent awe and respect, and since the husband is the stand-in for Christ in the home, leading with a sacrificial love that would lay down his life for his family, wives are to respect that, and fear him in the sense that Matthew Henry explained above and also below- with a reverential fear of offending.
Wives should be subject to their husbands, not from dread and amazement, but from desire to do well, and please God. ~MHenry
Lexicon again-
Paul shifted from submits (vv 22, 24) to respects (phobeomai, which means “reverence,” “fear offending”), implying that submission is the showing of respect. When a husband and wife fulfill their biblical roles, their marriage will function the way God intended. Bond, J. B. (2010). The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Ephesians. The Grace New Testament Commentary.
Now it must be said that submitting to and respecting the husband are two different things. Of submission and respect, a wife can do one without the other. See Wendy Alsup here-
Surprisingly enough, I did not personally have that much of a problem with the concept of submitting to my husband. But respect was much harder. I could submit and still harbor anger and bitterness. I could still put out the vibe that says, “I am disappointed in your decision-making skills.” In fact, submission without respect let me live in a delusion of self-righteousness. “I am submitting, but I do not think you know what you are doing, and I am going to continue to let you know that I do not trust you with my attitude, even though, technically, I am submitting on this issue.” Submission does not equal respect. And submission without respect brings NO honor to God. Why would God command the combination of the two?” Alsup, W. H. (2010). By His wounds you are healed: How the message of Ephesians transforms a woman’s identity (pp. 133–134).
Wives, and I’ve been a wife before salvation, we know how to seemingly acquiesce but passively aggressively disrespect him, don’t we?
Susan Heck in her lesson on What does a Spirit Filled Marriage look Like? (and there is also a similarly titled booklet at her web store you can buy) lists 6 ways we can respect the husband. In the video she explains them but I won’t steal her thunder here, I’ll just list them.
1.Respect your husband’s work. Show an interest in your husband’s work whatever he does,
2. Respect his speech,
3. Respect his privacy,
4. Respect his eats (don’t nag him about what he eats),
5. Respect his convictions -some of you I know have unbelieving husbands but you still can graciously listen and reason with him,
6. Respect his time.
For practical resources on respecting the husband I turned to the Puritans. This is from Ligonier’s TableTalk Magazine, How did the Puritans understand marriage?
The Puritan view of marital love was overwhelmingly positive because it was informed by the Bible, the written Word of the God who instituted marriage at the time of our creation and regulated it by His commandments. As Packer says, “They went to Genesis for its institution, to Ephesians for its full meaning, to Leviticus for its hygiene, to Proverbs for its management, to several New Testament books for its ethic, and to Esther, Ruth and the Song of Songs for illustrations and exhibitions of the ideal.” They let the practices, duties, and ethics of marriage flow out of Scripture.
Ultimately the love of both husband and wife must be guided and energized by the fear of the Lord, and scripture contains all we need to use as the model and guide for marital life.
Further Resources
Susan Heck: What does a Spirit Filled Marriage look Like? (in this 1-hour teaching, Susan focuses for a bit on respecting the husband)
By Elizabeth Prata
WISDOM
I saw a 5 minute clip on Twitter of a motherly woman cooking food while talking to three younger ladies sitting at her kitchen counter bar. It was clip #3, and I haven’t seen the other clips, but I loved this one.
It began with a question from a young lady who apparently is engaged. She asked about submitting to her fiancé, and her desire IS to submit, in order to show him that she will be a submissive wife.
The reply was gracious and good. First of all, the woman said that the Bible does not command women to submit to almost-husbands, boyfriends, or random men, but to submit to her own husband. Submission is not commanded until she has a ring on her finger and he has taken vows under which the verse says he will lay down his life for her. Then the three gals cutely chanted ‘Put a ring on it, put a ring on it.’
This is correct, and I agree. The verse says, Wives, subject yourselves to your own husbands, as to the Lord. Ephesians 5:22.
Then the young lady followed up with wondering how to show her husband-to-be that she is submissive. The answer by the Titus 2 woman was also wise. If her fiancé is the leader she needs him to be, he will know how to gauge her submissiveness, along with everything else he wants in a Christian wife (not solely submissiveness).
Without the young lady having to practice it front of him or specifically demonstrating submission to a man she is not married to as yet, firstly, he can observe her submission to God. How does she do in the good times and times that are not so good? Does she rely on the Lord? Keep her composure? Maintain her trust in His promises that all He does is good? Is she prayerful?
And secondly, she can observe him. Watch how he submits to his parents. How he treats them. How he speaks of them. The matron reminded the young lady, the Bible says to ‘Honor Thy Parents’.
At this juncture the young lady interjected that the man she intends to marry speaks ill of his mother, and has grudges against her and won’t speak to her. The Matronly woman said if he speaks ill of his mom, he will eventually speak ill of her. The girls pondered this silently for a moment.
This is true. I have seen this. How a person behaves now is how he will behave later. If he holds grudges now, he’ll hold them later. Gossip now, gossip later. Perhaps he will grow in the future as he becomes more sanctified. But we’re talking marriage here. Young women and young men vetting a mate would do well to see if they are ready now. Not marry now and hope he changes later.
By this time, the girls were getting the idea that they also look at the husband-to-be with a biblical lens. It’s not all just one-way. It’s not solely about submissiveness, either.
Auntie asked, ‘Has he talked to you about how he will be the leader of the house? How he plans to provide, protect, and love you?’ At this point the young lady said they had been together two years, and he can’t keep a job. That he loses them, it’s always someone else’s fault, he doesn’t like the people he works with, or some excuse or another.
If this was a movie, the Director would be cueing the ‘uh-oh’ music by now. The gal eventually said, “I guess his actions don’t always align with what he is saying.”
This is wisdom. I liked how the Titus 2 older lady brought the younger woman to this piece of important wisdom without necessarily downgrading the young man or judging her choice in him. She had asked questions, related verses or biblical concepts, and let the gal ponder and come to her conclusions. If you are strong in the Bible, the Spirit will lead you there.
Girls, Ladies, women, sisters, if there is one thing I learned the hard way, is that what people say and what they do must match up. We are Christians, told to and wanting to believe the best in people. We trust. But we need to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves, as well. (Matthew 10:16). We MUST look at the behavior and see if their stated Christian values align with their actions.
Auntie reminded the girls that we will know the true vs. the false by their fruit. That is another good verse to help us pick through the emotions, words, and actions to determine whether what we are holding in our hand is an apple or a thorn. These two young people met in church. But even at that, we can’t set aside the warning bells, mismatch of words vs actions. It is easy to rationalize away mere words on a case by case basis. But when holding words AND actions to the lens of scripture, things become clear, even with people you dearly love, or want to love.
“This guy is showing you that he can’t keep a job. Are you going to want to work to provide for the family for the entire marriage?”
Gal said, “No…”
And the reply was “Well, he is already showing you that he is unwilling to provide.”
Ladies, if you know the whole counsel of God it will prepare you for vetting a potential life mate. Marriage is not just learning that “the wife submits, the wife submits, the wife submits.” Look at your boyfriend’s word and actions. Is he self-controlled? He will be with you AND your children. Is he a diligent, hard worker? He will provide for you. Does he honor his parents? He will honor you. Does he faithfully attend church and serve in godly ways? He is showing you that he will maintain his equilibrium over the years because he is standing on the Foundation.
Stay in church, stay reading your Bible, keep praying for that man to come along. Be wise and innocent, be a fruit inspector. Pursue wisdom!
The Pursuit of Wisdom Brings Security
2 My son, if you will receive my words
And treasure my commandments within you,
2 Make your ear attentive to wisdom;
Incline your heart to understanding.
3 For if you cry out for insight,
And raise your voice for understanding;
4 If you seek her as silver
And search for her as for hidden treasures;
5 Then you will understand the fear of the Lord,
And discover the knowledge of God.
6 For the Lord gives wisdom;
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
(Proverbs 2:2-6)
By Elizabeth Prata
Our Sunday School class is going through the book of Esther. We had spent 26 weeks going through the Doctrine of Providence, when that class concluded, one of our teachers thought going through Esther would be a good extension of the subject. I love the doctrine of Providence and I hadn’t deeply studied Esther before, so I hopped into his class.
We read of Haman, of course, the main antagonist. And then we read two times of Haman’s wife, Zeresh. She is mentioned in Esther 5:14 where Zeresh listened to her husband’s woes about hating Mordecai. She was the one (along with Haman’s friends) who suggested building the gallows. THAT cheered Haman up! Nothing like killing a man you hate to make you happy! Then Zeresh is mentioned again in Esther 6:13 where she (along with his friends) said oops, your star is falling, your influence will dry up and you won’t win against Esther.
Those two were a power couple in a negative way. That thought got me thinking about couples. There are those who spurred each other on in Godly ways, a united pairing displaying God’s glory. And I thought of couples who spurred each other on to evil deeds and eventually fell. And then couples where only one of the two was obedient and faithful and hung in there to give God glory. Let’s take a look at a few, and not the most famous ones, either.
BOTH ARE GOOD
Priscilla and Aquila: This was a married pair mentioned in the New Testament 6 times in four different NT books! Each time they are mentioned they’re always mentioned together. They were a pair, united by marriage in the Lord, working solidly with each other for God’s glory. They taught, they hosted, they labored at their trade, they were consistent and committed. Together they were a super-duo, relying on the Spirit and advancing the church with their dutiful example.
BOTH ARE BAD
And then we have Couples who spurred each other on to bad works. Their pairing in marriage seemed to combine not the holiest of attitudes in them to greater heights, but the more depraved attitudes in them combining to descend them to greater depths.
Ahab and Jezebel. The Bible notes that the pair were evil each in their own way displeasing God constantly. (1 Kings 16:33). Jezebel incited her husband to many wicked deeds, which he willingly performed. (1 Kings 21:25). Two bad apples combining to make a polluted apple pie, this combo did much damage to the people around them.
Ananias and Sapphira: These two were counted in the early church as members, perhaps believers (more on that in a minute), and who joined in with the initial thrust to donate. They sold some land and promised the yield to the church. When Ananias stepped forward to give it at Peter’s feet, he actually only provided part of it, and Peter by knowledge of the Spirit caught Ananias in the lie. Ananias was struck dead. Sapphira a few minutes later, she, having confirmed her husband’s lie. They both colluded against the Holy Spirit and they separately confirmed greed in their heart.
There is great debate about whether the duo were actually believers or not. Piper thinks no, that they were phony Christians. MacArthur thinks yes, they were believers.
But isn’t it awful to leave people wondering if you were actually a true believer at all? Was theirs a case of bad company corrupting good character? Did one infect the other with leaven, spoiling the whole marriage? Was one unable to overcome the flesh and influence the other toward evil? Or were both simply greedy and allowing that one prevalent sin to have them?
ONE GOOD, ONE BAD
Lot and Mrs Lot: We do have many examples of these pairings: Lot and Mrs Lot. Mrs Lot was unveiled at the last minute as clinging to the world, not looking ahead to righteousness. Yes, Lot did some stupid things, but the Bible calls him righteous. (2 Peter 2:7). He must have done something right, his married daughters came with him instead of staying with their husbands. (A Lot of Righteousness). Mrs. Lot clung to the world (and became part of it).
Abigail and Nabal: Another one-good-one bad pairing we find in Abigail and Nabal. Their story is recorded in 1 Samuel 25. Nabal was described as “harsh and evil in his dealings”. His own servants and his wife described Nabal as “a worthless man”. Yet Abigail’s patience in living with this brute is obvious, and her intelligence in approaching David to persuade him to leave off murdering Nabal and his men, is also seen. Abigail is blessed by David in Yahweh’s name: David said, “blessed be your discernment, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodshed…” (1 Samuel 25:33).
In the same way, you wives, be subject to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won over without a word by the behavior of their wives, as they observe your pure and respectful behavior. (1 Peter 3:1-2).
In this case, Nabal was not won over, David was. Nabal died soon after and David proposed marriage to Abigail.
A bad marriage is hard. A good marriage is hard. But if one of the pair isn’t saved, it just makes things so difficult because you are both pulling in different directions. Even if both claim to be saved but one is a lot less mature in the faith, again, difficulty.
“We’ve all heard it said that marriage exposes our own sin and selfishness, and that the marriage relationship sanctifies us with an intensity that can be, at times, quite uncomfortable.” ~Two Sinners and One Sinless, CBMW, By Elisha Galotti.
Job and Mrs Job: When the chips were down (waaaaay down), Mrs Job told her husband he might as well “curse God and die”. Maybe she blamed Job, more likely she blamed God, doubting Him. In Job 2:9 she blurted to her husband,
“Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!”
It seems that perhaps Mrs Job was annoyed to the extreme of her husband’s acceptance of God’s work in their lives. Thankfully Job did not take his wife’s ‘advice’ and eventually all was restored to Job. Interestingly, we read nothing of Mrs Job in her husband’s restoration happy ending. We read he received a house, more animals than before, and additional children, who grew to receive an inheritance and the Bible even records the names of the first 3. But no name for Mrs Job and no mention of her in the epilogue. Perhaps she had reaped what she had sown.
Hosea and Gomer: This pairing was again one of extreme difficulty and heartache. Hosea was righteous and Gomer was a troubled sinner for most of the marriage. She was an adulteress, she had an illegitimate child(ren, perhaps 3), she caused Hosea years of pain and embarrassment. Hosea patiently and lovingly sought Gomer, forgave her, took her back in with patience and deep commitment. Eventually she settled. Hosea’s love for his sinning wife was not diminished by her sin, he maintained loving faithfulness. From that, Hosea grew in deeper understanding of the forgiving love of God.
Marriage is two sinners each trying to subdue their own flesh nature. Without Christ, it can be a conflagration. With Christ, it’s still hard. I pray that if you, dear reader are in a difficult marriage, that you diligently search out Bible verses addressing your situation. And I humbly ask you to think of the couples in the Bible who each made a successful marriage, and what made some of their marriages unsuccessful.
The key point is, you are not alone. The Holy Spirit is with you.
We believe in the power of the Holy Spirit—the power that brought about resurrection life, softened hearts of stone, and gave eyes of faith when we were blinded by sin. Yet sometimes in marriage, in the dismal moments of anger, hostility, or painful hurt, we forget that we’re not doing this alone. Sometimes in our sin and failures, we forget that the power and help of the Holy Spirit is ever present, ever helping, ever convicting, guiding, prompting and empowering us to do what is right. ~Two Sinners and One Sinless, CBMW, By Elisha Galotti
By Elizabeth Prata
It’s wedding season when so many young women get married. The flurry of bridal showers, wedding planning, caterers, dress fittings. Then the big day comes, it’s a high that a woman does not soon forget.
It does all go by fast, the day is a blur, but a happy one. Everything is fresh, new, dewy promises and hugs and handshakes and assurances and vows.
And then if they honeymoon, after the honeymoon’s over they return and sink into life. The routine of working, cleaning, cooking, chatting, fighting, resenting, making up. Repeat.
If a married biological biological woman and a man (for there is no other kind of marriage) are not saved by the blood of Christ what you have in marriage is the close proximity of two sinners competing for dominance of their own sin nature. In the case of non-saved couples, marriage is hard, one of the hardest things on earth, because you must not only mortify your own sin, but submit to one another.
Both saved and unsaved people intuitively understand that marriage is hard. When coming across a married couple that have stayed together for 30, 40, 50 years, they are looked at like a mythological creature. We are gazing upon a griffin or a unicorn. I often hear people wonderingly ask a long-term married couple, “What’s the secret?”
I remember that myself. We were visiting an old Italian nonnie in Providence Rhode Island. She wasn’t saved. They were 50 years married. The husband came ambling through, the wife playfully joked with her hubby and they had a brief moment of teenager-y interaction ending with a quick kiss. It could not have been any cuter than two kittens playing. We stared in wonder, as if we were at a zoo, gazing at them through glass, the placard beside it stating “Long-term Married Couple in Love. Species: Human. Habitat: Providence, RI.”
One of us in the group asked, “What’s the secret to a long marriage?” We breathlessly awaited the pronouncement, the answer to the key of life from someone who had unlocked it.
She took a deep breath, aimed a crooked, arthritic finger at us and said slowly, “You have to overlook a lot of things.”
We nodded sagely and let the moment have its moment, before resuming our conversation.
I got married when I was 22. The progression I had been taught to follow for a life plan was graduate high school, go to college, then get a graduate degree, get married, get a house, and have a career in academia. I was on that track. I was not saved yet.
I’d graduated from college the year before, my fiancé and I moved in together, spent the next year establishing ourselves in our city finding jobs etc. I became a substitute teacher (my ultimate goal was to earn a Ph.D and teach college, so teaching in an elementary school was a good first step while I saved up money for grad school). He wanted to be an engineer. We also spent the year preparing for the wedding.
The day came and I was happy. I really was. Yet I knew deep down this was not the man for me, but I had an idol of marriage and I stuck to it rigidly. I wanted the love and security I thought a marriage would provide- all on its own. I thought that stepping through the threshold of the marriage temple, that THEN everything would be all right. Automatically.
It wasn’t.
What we had were two sinners with competing self-interests. I became a golf widow pretty quickly (his idol was sports). He was gone all Sunday so I took that time to prepare my lesson plans for school. I had earned my teaching certificate and was teaching first grade.
Saturdays we had to spend at the in-laws. Every Saturday without fail, the bulk of the day at mom-in-law’s. I didn’t mind visiting, but it was the “have to” I found objectionable. I hated that he was tied to his mother’s apron strings and didn’t have the courage to say “My wife and I are having a picnic this Saturday…going to a movie…taking a drive to the mountains…” Nope. His mom came first, not his wife. We weren’t saved, so he didn’t know Genesis 2:24, that “For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.” Our marriage had 2 flesh, but one of them wasn’t mine.
We always piled in to the in-law’s living room and and there was never a question that every Saturday of our lives we’d would be doing this. The work week was, well, work. We never had time to ourselves.
A few years went on. Even though we were not saved, we had followed normal wedding protocol. Our wedding was in a Methodist church and there was a minister and the marriage vows. One of those vows was ‘forsaking all others’.
He didn’t.
but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. (Matthew 5:32)
He found someone else at work, fell in love with her, had an affair. Deep down I knew. His attention had dwindled. His temper was shorter. Always a nervous fellow, he was more antsy than ever before. He just didn’t want to be here. Emotionally, he wasn’t.
Adultery is a devastating sin. The Bible tells us that sexual sins are bad.
but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (Matthew 5:28).
When you have two saved and forgiven sinners you have the help of the Holy Spirit to subdue the natural sin nature in us that wants its worldly lusts. Subdue the sin that wants to nurse bitterness. Subdue the sin that wants its selfish desires fulfilled. Subdue the sin that doesn’t know what it means to serve, sacrifice, and truly love. And it’s still hard!
Do not lust in your heart for her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes. (Proverbs 6:25)
Since a marital couple is one flesh, when one of them rips away to include an interloper into the marriage, the wound is deep, deep. Is the fleshly satisfaction of uniting with an adulteress or an adulterer worth it? No. There is shame, and conscience-pricking, and anger, and if there are children, they are wounded. Even if the sin isn’t caught out, it’s still a terrible sin.
In my case, he divorced me and married his lover. I am glad they found love, though neither was saved. They stayed together 30 years, until he died. But what is it to satisfy a lust, to declare one’s worldly love to and with another worldling, but forfeit your soul? I do not believe he ever repented and was saved. If not, he is paying for his adultery and divorce for all eternity. I am so grief stricken over that. Was 30 years of happiness worth it compared to an eternity of punishment for defying God?
It’s a mess and a tragedy. Don’t cheat. It’s awful.
Here is a resource for women:
Downloadable pdf- “False Messages: A Guide for the Godly Bride” by Aileen Challies
Here is a resource for men:
Blog with link to downloadable pdf- Sexual Detox
Book- The Exemplary Husband: A Biblical Perspective, by Stuart Scott and John MacArthur
Book- The Excellent Wife: A Biblical Perspective, by Martha Peace
Sermon- The Relationship of Marriage, No. 762, by C.H. Spurgeon
Blog- Bible Reading in the Marriage of Charles and Susannah Spurgeon, By Ray Rhodes, Jr
Book- Marriage to A Difficult Man: The Uncommon Union of Jonathan and Sarah Edwards, by Elisabeth Dodds
the-end-time.org 