How do you know the will of God? Many people refer to the will of God sort of flippantly. They imagine that the will of God is whatever they really want to do, whatever they were already planning to do. But that seems strange since lots of things people really want to do aren’t very good or even contradictory. As many have pointed out, most of the soldiers on both sides of the Civil War and World War 1 claimed to be Christians and claimed that God was on their side.
And in reaction to that, many others have decided that the will of God is inscrutable, unknowable, and so what’s the use? And if the will of God is unknowable, maybe God is unknowable too, maybe there is no God after all.
But a wedding is a moment that presses those questions. In a sense, Sean and MaryBeth are saying that they believe it is the will of God for them to get married, and their families and all the rest of us here witnessing their vows are agreeing with that. But how do we know this is the will of God? Are we just guessing? Are we just hoping for the best? More and more people are delaying marriage, if they ever get married at all. Marriage rates have plummeted. And in part, I believe it’s because people are honestly not sure it’s worth it. What if it doesn’t work out? What if you choose wrong?
The central failure of many moderns on these questions is our failure to read the Bible and submit to it. What many people ask for is a Word from God, and it turns out that God has spoken. He has given us a book that is His perfect Word sufficient for everything we need. In 2 Timothy 3:16 it says that Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching us righteousness – that means teaching us what is right, and it thoroughly equips people for every good work. In 2 Peter, it says that Scripture isn’t cleverly devised fables, but it is eye-witness testimony of God’s Words. Men were led by the Holy Spirit to write exactly what God knew we needed, like a bright light in a dark place. As the Psalm says, God’s Word is a lamp to our feet, and a light to our path. God has spoken in Scripture so that we might know His Will for our lives. The Ten Commandments are the central things: worship God alone in the way He instructs us, honor the Sabbath, honor your parents, protect human life, honor the marriage bed, and hate all lies, stealing, and envy.
Of course this doesn’t mean that everybody who reads the Bible gets everything right. If you read the Bible, you’ll find that is even the case in the Bible. There are false prophets, and people who twist Scripture. That’s actually one of the greatest proofs for the authenticity of Scripture: it doesn’t shy away from all the ways that people screw things up. Not only that, the people who wrote Scripture even recount the ways that they screwed things up. People who make up religions and cults don’t do that – they white-wash their own lives, making themselves out to be perfect saints and heroes. But Moses records his own failures, and the gospels tell us how the disciples argued about who was the greatest, how Peter denied Jesus three times, and how Paul had persecuted Christians.
There’s only one man in the whole Bible who is perfect, sinless, and has no faults, Jesus of Nazareth. And the Bible says that He isn’t a normal human being. He is God in human flesh. This is why the Bible emphasizes that Mary became pregnant as a virgin. She conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus has no biological human father. But this is central to our knowledge of God’s Will. Not only has God spoken in the Bible, but He has revealed Himself in His own Son, Jesus Christ. He was not only born of the virgin Mary, but He lived a perfect, sinless life, and He was betrayed by one of His friends, Judas, and the religious leaders handed him over to the Romans to be executed by hanging on a cross. But three days later, He came back to life in a way that He could never die again.
Jesus said that He needed to die in order to give His life as a ransom for sinners. He said that His blood was shed for the remission of sins, in order to give everyone who believes in Him eternal life. Eternal life is not merely forever life; it is an abundant life, fullness of life, life full of light and blessing, walking with God, knowing and doing the will of God. And Jesus says that we have that life as we deny ourselves and follow Him. He says that if we are willing to lose ourselves and everything for Him, we will find our true selves in Him. Christians are those who have surrendered their lives to Christ.
So this is how we know the will of God: through reading and obeying Scripture, through knowing and following Jesus Christ, and finally what both of these things teach us is that we can know the will of God by reading our stories in faith. The story of Scripture is the story of God’s kindness and providence, and for those who humble themselves, repent of their sins, and trust in God, He turns even the evil and folly in their lives to good. Joseph was hated by his brothers, sold into slavery, lied about and imprisoned, but God raised him up to be second in command over Egypt, and when he met his brothers many years later, he said, “What you intended for evil, God intended for good.” And the same thing has happened in Jesus Christ: What the Jews and the Romans intended for evil, God has turned into the greatest good. That’s why we call it Good Friday, the day Jesus was crucified.
So this is how we can arrive at a beautiful moment like this: Sean and MaryBeth have repented of their sins, and have sought to humbly trust and obey Christ and His Word. From Scripture, we learn that marriage is good, and it is not good for men to be alone. God created us to live in community, and one of the centers of the community we were made for is called family: marriage and children. When we obey God’s clear Words, we can trust that He is not tricking us. His fingers are not crossed behind His back. His purposes are good. We can trust Him.
So Sean, my charge to you is to continue in the Word of God. The Word is your Light. Today you are becoming MaryBeth’s husband and head, and that means you are taking responsibility for her physical and spiritual well-being. You are promising to lead her by loving her like Christ loved the Church. This requires you to study the Word in order to know how to lead your family to follow Christ faithfully. Wherever you fail, admit it, and repent. Get back into the light as quickly as possible. The only thing worse than a man who is lost is a man who won’t admit that he’s lost. And remember that loving your wife is not doing whatever she wants; rather, it is doing whatever is needed for her true good.
MaryBeth, my charge to you is to likewise continue in the Word of God. The Word is your light. Today you are becoming Sean’s wife, and that means you are becoming his body. Just as the church is the body of Christ and submits to Christ in everything, you are promising to do the same with Sean, respecting him, following his lead. This also requires you to study the Word in order to know how to respect Sean, how to follow Him, and how to glorify his home and calling. Likewise, wherever you fail, admit it, and repent. Get back into the light as quickly as possible. The Bible teaches that a woman has great power: a wise woman builds her house into a great dynasty of faithfulness, but a foolish woman can tear it down with her own hands.
So may our faithful God who has brought you safe this far, and redeemed you from every evil, establish you both (and Oliver), in His grace, to a thousand generations.
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen.
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