#marriage

How To Love Your Wife As Christ Loved the Church

As a Christian husband, you are not left wondering or speculating about what it means to carry out your role in a way that pleases God and blesses your wife. To the contrary, the Bible provides clear guidance: You are to love your wife as Christ loves his church. In the closing verses of Ephesians 5, Paul describes how, out of love, Christ sacrificed himself to do for you what you could not do for yourself. Out of love he sanctified you to God’s …

Ask Me Anything: Advice for Marriage and Concerns in the Church Today

One of my favorite things to do is answer questions, and especially when I’ve got no idea what those questions will be. Today I’ve got two more short videos for you, both of which were shot at a recent Ask Me Anything event in London, England. The first is some advice for those about to get married while the second discusses what I think are the foremost concerns in the church today.   Transcript What kind of advice would you give …

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Just Forget About Marriage for a Minute!

We are a people obsessed with love. We crave love and long to both extend and receive it. It is the subject of our favorite films, the theme of our treasured poems, the thrill of our happy hearts. Yet for all the love we see and experience, there is one much greater than them all. While we find it in a passage of the Bible that describes the relationship of a husband and wife, it points us to a love …

Why We Cringe at “Submit”

A couple of times I’ve run into people who are familiar with the kind of Reformed theology I hold to and are eager to challenge me. Along the way they’ve said something like this: “I don’t believe in predestination.” That brings about an easy response: “The question isn’t whether you believe in predestination, but what you believe about predestination.” After all, the word (or the idea, at least) is right there in Romans 8 and Ephesians 1. We may disagree …

The Problem with Love Languages – Three-Minute Thursdays #3

If you are a Christian (and maybe even if you’re not) you’ve probably heard of “love languages.” I believe love languages can be both helpful and unhelpful depending how we use them. In this video I try to explain where they are helpful and where perhaps they aren’t. Here it is in Facebook and YouTube formats, followed by a transcript. Rush Transcript Welcome to another edition of Three Minute Thursdays, where I try to say something important, maybe even helpful, …

On Losing the Ability to Type (and The Ol’ Ball and Chain)

I’m doing things a little bit differently today. For now at least, I’ve mostly lost the ability to type, so am going to try my hand at a little bit of video. If you want, you can click play to learn more. Transcript We’ve got lights. We’ve got a camera. We’ve got a microphone. Let’s try this thing. Hello everybody, Tim Challies here. You might have noticed there’s something different about the blog today. The more astute observers among you may …

What’s the Purpose of … Marriage?

Today I am kicking off a new series of articles that is going to ask the simplest of questions: “What’s the purpose of …?” Though the question is simple, the answers can be difficult and even controversial. We’ll begin with the home: What’s the purpose of marriage? What’s the purpose of sex? What’s the purpose of children? Then we’ll turn to the church: What’s the purpose of the church and its pastors? What’s the purpose of the Lord’s Day and …

Let the Wife See She Respects Her Husband

This is an article I’ve prepared with no small amount of trepidation. In the past I’ve written frequently and confidently about the role of a husband within his marriage, and especially about how it is tersely and perfectly summarized in Ephesians 5:33: “Let each one of you love his wife as himself.” But the last time I wrote about this, a woman replied with a request: “I’ve read many female perspectives on the second half of that verse, but never …

Treasure Your Marriage

I won’t ever forget the day I married Aileen. I won’t ever forget the moment she appeared at the end of the aisle and began her slow walk toward me. Our eyes met, and in an instant I was overwhelmed with awe, overcome with the joy of being joined together for life. It was a holy, intense, unforgettable moment. My love was fierce and strong, and I was convinced there was nothing I wouldn’t do for her, no trial I …

10 Common but Illegitimate Reasons to Divorce

It is clear in the Bible that God’s intention for marriage is that it remain in effect until the death of one spouse. I believe it is also quite clear that God has provided a limited set of circumstances in which a marriage can legitimately be severed. However, many people—even Christians—offer reasons to divorce that are not sanctioned by God. Jim Newheiser helpfully outlines a number of these in his book Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage: Critical Questions and Answers. Here …