An Apology on a Christian Marriage
Sola scriptura, (only scripture) is according to Lutheranism, the only authority. It is the norm of norms, the standard according to which all other standards or rules of the Christian faith are measured. Thus, Scripture is the foundation which forms the body of Christ, the communion of saints. This body consists of many documents which are gathered in the Book of Concord (Liber Concordiae) taken from the doctrines of Martin Luther. The Augsburg Confession within The Book of Concord remains the basic definition of what it means to be Lutheran. So if one is to say that they are a Lutheran, it is to the Book of Concord one goes to be defined.
Now concerning the matter of getting married, there is a natural right to marriage. “But since natural right is immutable, the right to contract marriage must always remain. For where nature does not change, that ordinance also with which God has endowed nature does not change, and cannot be removed by human law.” The Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXIII, section 9
The Lutheran view on marriage argues that it is often necessary for some to marry, as marriage is a remedy against sin, though marriage is not a sin in itself. Fornication is a sin. The Bible consistently portrays fornication (sexual activity outside of marriage) as a sin, not a remedy against sin, and emphasizes the importance of abstinence. Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. 1 Corinthians 6:18
Marriage as a legal contract to be publicly announced but ordained by God. “So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” Matthew 19:6
Moreover, as Martin Luther argues, “a natural right is truly a divine right, because it is an ordinance divinely impressed upon nature. But inasmuch as this right cannot be changed without an extraordinary work of God, it is necessary that the right to contract marriage remains, because the natural desire of sex for sex is an ordinance of God in nature, and for this reason is a right; otherwise, why would both sexes have been created?” The Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXIII (XI) 12
Section 12 addresses the issue of celibacy which is not a natural requirement but a human tradition that came into being. In Lutheran thought the legal regulations of marriage do not belong to the religious community—the communion of saints. There are no in sensu stricte (in the strict sense) of marriage law. Perhaps it be the duty of the pastor through premarital counseling and guidance to discuss baptism, the status of the confirmed confession of faith in each so that children born into that communion of saints may bear fruit unto life.
This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. John 15:8 That they, too, might live a life that demonstrates Christian virtues, spiritual growth, glorifying God and producing a positive influence in the world around them.
