Sin, Grace, and Marriage

 Here are a few great quotes from this helpful marriage book: When Sinners Say ‘I Do’ by Dave Harvey.

“Looking first at our own sin as a root cause of the problems in our marriages is not easy, and it certainly doesn’t ‘come naturally.’  The sin that remains in your heart and mine opposes God and his people.  It obstructs our joy and our holiness.  It eclipses thriving, healthy marriages which are testimonies to God’s goodness and mercy.”

“But as we begin to build our marriages on the Word of God and on the gospel of Christ’s victory over the power of sin, as we face the sad, painful, undeniable reality of our own remaining sin…as we see it for the bitter, hateful thing it is…and as we realize sin’s insidious goals at the core of every relational difficulty we encounter, something wonderful happens.  We flee to the gospel as our only remedy.”

“Then we begin to realize there is new hope for our marriages.  A lot of hope.  Hope that emerges from the power of the gospel, the very power that raised Christ from the tomb.  We get a glimpse of the sweet relationship our marriage can become – a living, thriving union where sins are confessed and forgiven.  My friends, when sin becomes bitter, marriage becomes sweet.”

“The cross makes a stunning statement about husbands and wives: we are sinners and our only hope is grace.  …once I find 1 Timothy 1:15-16 trustworthy…once I know that I am indeed the worst of sinners, then my spouse is no longer my biggest problem: I am.  And when I find myself walking in the shoes of the worst of sinners, I will make every effort to grant my spouse the same lavish grace that God has granted me.”

Those quotes are found on pages 30, 40, and 41 of When Sinners Say ‘I Do.’

shane lems