Expert: Pastor Don Carpenter - 11/14/2007

Question
Hi,

You said how many Protestants consider a marriage valid if it is legal. Yet when speaking of marriage Jesus said that it is "what God has joined". And in countries like France, or Hungary (during communism), a Church wedding was not legal, only a civil marriage was considered to be legal. So we must wonder, in God's eyes what is preferable, a church wedding or a civil wedding by a justice of the peace? In communist Hungary and in France Christians have two weddings, a civil wedding and a church wedding. From what I understand the Israelite theocracy didn't involve itself in marriages. And when a man divorced his wife he issued her a bill of divorce, but the Israelite state had nothing to do with it.

The argument that a marriage is only valid if it is legal quickly falls apart because you are giving the power of God over to a fallible state, where things like gay marriages are legal in some places. Does that make the gay marriage valid in God's eyes, just because it is legal?

-Josh

P.S. I was wondering, what did the first fruits consist of? Was that the giving of the first born of all the animals? Did it include crops? Was this used in the daily sacrifices or was that separate? From what I gather it is not included in the tithe, is that correct?

PPS: Is it true that the priestly family of Aaron grew larger and larger with time, since it included all the descendents of Aaron, making it a huge extended family by the time of Jesus? Or was it just the immediate nuclear family of the high priest.

Answer
Hi Josh,

If I understand correctly, your "marriage" was niether witnessed by a government or by the church.  You seem to be speaking of either state or church, but yours was none of the above.  I think that both the state ( by the way God established government see Romans 13) or the church.

I believe that first fruits is anything that increased one's net worth.

I am not sure about your last question.

In Christ
Pastor Don