Church of the Nazarene - East Rockingham Campus

Over the next few weeks, we will work through several relationship goals that we can see in the scriptures.

By naming this series Relationship Goals, we are acknowledging from the very beginning that our relationships have room to grow. They may need work, maybe even a lot of it. We also recognize that WE need work. that ME in relationship, needs work.

The purpose of this series is not to make you feel guilty about yourself or the quality of your relationships. Our desire is to offer hope, to set some goals and find practical tools that will help us work on our relationships.

As the old saying goes “If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there.” So why not set some goals to get us where the bible is calling in our relationships?

Today we continue with relationship goal #3 "We will be covenant keeping"

God has spoken everything into existence, including Adam. Adam has his identity, worth, and purpose in life settled in the Lord.

All of Adams core longings are fulfilled in the Lord, yet God recognizes that it’s not good for man to be alone.

As the text notes, there was not a suitable helper or mate for Adam in creation before Eve.

Adam bursts into his own poetic response at the sight of Eve, but it’s not just about a physical attraction. With poetic language, it’s communicating the idea that they are a part of each other.

Adam recognizes this woman and this relationship as something deeply special and significant.

Verse 24 essentially notes: “This is why we do what we do and believe what we believe about marriage- It was God’s design, it was his idea."

With this scene Gods design is upheld for future generations.

When it says Man is united to his wife- this literally means they stick together. It speaks of passion and permanence, it also speaks of covenant. An all in, put self aside commitment to the other person.

This was God’s design, before any sin or brokenness entered our world. It’s a relationship of harmony and unity. It's a relationship built on covenant.

Contract verses covenant

A contract is essentially a transactional relationship
We contact the roofer, he offers to complete the leak repair for the cost of $2000. He repairs the roof and we pay. Contract.

Within Contracts there is an element of mutual distrust. We don’t trust each other to fulfill what we say, so we draft a document to lay out the terms.

Contracts usually limited in their scope and they normally contain expiration dates. They also contain clauses that if one party no longer fulfills the obligations of the agreement, the other party is free to exit the agreement.

That’s contract. Great for business, but terrible for close relationships and detrimental to a marriage.

Covenant on the other hand, is a relational agreement based on mutual trust and sacrificial love for the other person. It’s a commitment of our whole self, to the other person.

No conditions, no exceptions, permanent commitment.

Jesus is asked about divorce and he answers them with God’s design for marriage. It’s interesting, Jesus doesn’t take up the argument as to what justified divorce.

He simply points back to Genesis and God’s design to set the record straight. He essentially resets their view from contract terms to covenant keeping.

Jesus reset the popular ideal for marriage in his day, and i believe he longs to do the same for us too.