Concerning the Marriage of Priests – part 7
Lessons in the Lutheran Confessions
Scripture Text: Genesis 1:27–28
Series: Lessons in the Lutheran Confessions
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From the Confessions: The Defense of the Augsburg Confession
First, Genesis 1:28 teaches that people were created to be fruitful, and that one sex should should properly desire the other. We are not speaking of lust, which is sin, but of what is called physical love, that desire which was to have been uncorrupted in nature. This love of one sex for the other is truly a divine ordinance. Since this is an ordinance of God, it cannot be removed without an extraordinary work of God. So, it follows that the right to contract marriage cannot be removed by statutes or vows.
Pulling It Together: “Reason cannot establish anything sure about God” (Luther’s Works, vol. 1, Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1999, 70). But if we rely upon what is written, if we look to Scripture for our answers, we see quite clearly that God created men and women for the purposes of partnership and filling the earth with people. Neither reason nor religion nullifies the rule of God. One person or group may not legislate over another, at any point in life, whether or not he or she may marry.
Prayer: Make me fruitful for your kingdom, Lord, and faithful to whom I am given. Amen
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Author
Rev. Dr. Mark E. Ryman has served as Pastor for St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Salisbury, NC, since 2021. Previously, Pastor Ryman served congregations in North Carolina and Ohio, as well as a call to specialized ministry with Sola Publishing.
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