TEXT: "You shall not commit adultery" (Exodus 20:14).

"Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma" (Ephesians 4:29-5:2).

IDEA: A Christian marriage should reflect a covenant relationship of grace and forgiveness.

PURPOSE: To help listeners explore the nature of marriage based on covenant.

How would you evaluate the statement, “Marriage is a commitment!”

There is a more basic question: “Commitment to what?”

I. Some people answer that the commitment is a commitment to myself. This is a common view, whether stated or unstated.

People in this kind of marriage believe they have a “right” to personal happiness.

Continual commitment depends on self-fulfillment. It easily leads to adultery or to divorce because “my needs are not being met.”

II. Other people answer that the commitment is a commitment to the institution of marriage.

Marriage is a “sacred” institution. Anything that breaks down the institution is morally wrong.