Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.
Talk of honoring marriage and keeping the marriage bed pure may sound like a throwback to former days of old-fashioned thinking. Truly, this conversation dates back thousands of years. At the time that the book of Hebrews came about, the Greco-Roman culture of the time held marriage in low esteem.* Marital affairs were considered to be acceptable.* Some parts of the Greco-Roman culture expected that men would have mistresses as confidants and sexual partners.* The feeling of some was that chastity in marriage was unreasonable.* Sound familiar?
In our society today, marriage has been demoted to an optional contract between whomever chooses to assign whatever value they please to it. Marriages, if they happen at all, end at an alarming rate due to a myriad of reasons, the least of which is not unfaithfulness. Sexual promiscuity and multiple sexual partners is more and more prevalent. Marital affairs are wrongly glorified in movies and television as exciting expressions of passion.
God is clear through the writer of Hebrews that this sort of behavior will bring judgment.* Unfaithfulness in marriage and sexual immorality result in the inescapable natural consequences of pain, hurt, and guilt.* More than these terrible consequences, however, the adulterer and the sexually immoral person will be judged for these actions (as we all will for our actions in this life).* The weightiness of the sin mirrors the weightiness of the value of marriage.
The sexual immorality of the Greco-Roman culture mirrors that of our own culture today. Spanning thousands of years, the issues of humanity appear timeless. As such, the conversation of marriage is timeless. Far from archaic or old-fashioned, faithfulness in marriage is paramount to our survival today. The family is the basic unit of society, and its breakdown impacts all.*
Much is at stake for our society, but the weightiness of the issue spans this natural earth. The characteristics of a God-centered marriage display the qualities of God’s unshakable Kingdom.* To keep the marriage bed pure and to hold marriage in honor (of precious value) is to spread the Kingdom of Heaven. Failing to do so fails to welcome in His Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.
The Greek word used for “honor” in describing how we should view marriage is the same word used to describe valuable material possessions (1 Corinthians 3:12), a respected teacher (Acts 5:34), the promises of God (2 Peter 1:4), and even the blood of Christ Jesus (1 Peter 1:19).*
There is forgiveness for all who seek it, and the one who offers forgiveness values marriage.
Marriage is a big deal. Today.
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to rid your life of anything impure. Perhaps today God wants you to begin a journey of freedom from all that would defile your marriage bed (past, present, or future). Maybe today God wants you to repent (change your entire outlook) about marriage. Perhaps today God wants you feel His love. Maybe today God wants you to accept His forgiveness so that you can live another way.
Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.
Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus.
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*Stedman, R. C. (1992). Hebrews (Heb 13:1-6). IVP Academic.
Grindheim, S. (2023). The Letter to the Hebrews (D. A. Carson, Ed.; pp. 666–667). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
France, R. T. (2006). Hebrews. In T. Longman III & D. E. Garland (Eds.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Hebrews–Revelation (Revised Edition) (Vol. 13, pp. 184). Zondervan.
Guthrie, G. (1998). Hebrews (p. 436-437). Zondervan Publishing House.