Voddie Baucham on Love and Marriage

I have listened to the first of four lectures by Baptist Minister Voddie Baucham on Love and Marriage. His first lecture is a brief exposition of Genesis 2:18-24. Voddie is both humorous and piercing in his application. These lectures are very challenging for the young couple or the mature married couple. Yet these lectures are also excellent for those not yet married and contemplating marriage.

There are three main observations that I drew from the first lecture entitled In the Beginning. First, according to the Scriptures, marriage is God’s idea. God’s very first use of the negative in the Bible refers to the loneliness of man. Thus God found Adam a wife. Voddie adds that since marriage is God’s idea, God is the one who establishes the principles of it.

Secondly, Rev. Baucham gives two Biblical purposes for marriage. The first purpose of marriage is procreation. He spends a considerable amount of time elaborating on this point. He wants to see ” a house full of ballistic missiles fully trained to be launched into this lost, hurting and dying world.” This is rarely the view of the modern church, which treats children as a burden. Voddie views them with Biblical eyes. The second purpose for marriage is illustration. Marriage serves as an illustration of the love of Christ for His bride.

Finally, God makes us desire marriage. He created us for this very purpose. Voddie is careful to make exceptions to this case as Paul does in I Corinthians. However, the norm is for men and women to marry rather than remain single. Voddie strongly warns against speaking negatively of that which God created. When we speak negatively about marriage and bearing children, we are speaking against God’s purposes for His people. Voddie concludes by urging us to grab a hold of the concept that God is deeply interested in using our marriages for his glory and honor.