By Whose Authority Do We Marry?

Thanks to Joel Loukus for the link http://www.mercyseat.net/BROCHURES/marriagelicense.htm
It's an interesting read and well worth thinking about.  I am not sure that I go as far as he does but he makes some good points.

I have written elsewhere that I do not believe that the state has the privilege of declaring what constitutes a valid marriage.   Although the state does have a vested interest in recording marriages and I consider the "marriage license" not so much as the state granting the authority to marry as being a convenient vehicle for recording the marriage when it is filled out and sent in after the ceremony.

When I perform a wedding, I declare the man and woman husband and wife, by the authority granted to me by the Presbyterian Church in America and with the knowledge of the State of Maryland.  I do recognize that a civil marriage is a valid marriage and that the state has the right to perform a "civil" marriage  according to its own laws, just as the state has the "right" to enact  other laws which are counter to God's Word.  They have the "right" to sin and God has will hold them accountable for what they do.  But, like Daniel, Christians must exercise their right to not abide by those laws nor grant any kind of personal legitimacy to the unions which are counter to God's intentions.  The state has absolutely no authority to bind Christians' conscience with regard to their own definition of marriage.

It's going to be even more important in the coming years for Christians to be unified in this.  I pray that the current trend within Evangelicalism is reversed.

Comments

[Rebecca Price]

Boundaries of the church gets me thinking...the true church would be one that demonstrates the word of God with power not just words.

[John Van Devender]

Yes, for certain what you say, but I think it goes a bit further. The Church's prophetic role requires that God's decrees concerning this and other important topics must be proclaimed to the general culture and to the government. The Church should not run the government nor be particularly activist in its ordinary functioning, but on matters of great ethical import, the Church should speak out and it ought to do so in a unified manner.

One of the great difficulties we are having today is that the Church is not self-policing enough. We allow too many groups to proclaim themselves as Christian when they are not. The Church should make certain that the world understands the limits of its own borders.

Thanks for the interchange.

[Daniel Nairn]

Thanks for the answer, John.

As I understood you correctly, the church is responsible for making sure that those who wish to enter marriage truly understand what God's decree for marriage really is. It is a function of the accountablity and preaching that the Church provides for all parts of life.

[John Van Devender]

The question of ecclesiastical authority is not easily defined in precise terms. The authority granted to the Church through the Apostles (Matthew 18:18) is ultimately declarative. "Whatsoever you bind... or loose" is clearly intended to be that which the church, in proper deliberation on God's Word, declares to be the clear intent of what God has made known about Himself and His Righteousness.

The Church therefore has the authority to declare what God has said about Marriage and to exhort, commend, condemn and otherwise publish this word to the entire world. Within its jurisdiction, i.e. within its covenant community, the Church is required to regulate its membership through discipline such that God's Word is maintained. There are a range of actions consistent with this but ultimately no one who confesses that marriage is anything other that what God has defined should be recognized as "Christian" and therefore, depending upon the Grace of God, in danger of God's judgment.

[Daniel Nairn]

Well stated. I agree that this is a crucial distinction that many are not very careful about.

As a follow up question: what is the meaning of ecclesiastical authority when it comes to pronouncing a marriage? Given the Protestant dismissal of marriage as a sacrament proper, I'm not entirely sure what it means for a denomination to confer (through ordination) the authority to pronounce a marriage valid. Would not vows publically exchanged in the sight of God suffice, or is official denominational oversight and accountabiliy necessary?

This is an honest question, and not a round-about criticism. I've gone back and forth.