Verify Podcast

Have you heard people say that monogamy is unnatural, and that the Bible endorses polygamy for Christian men today? I have heard many comments like that over the years, and I thought it was just a few isolated personal opinions, until I heard that there are pastors now preaching this. Now let’s see if the bible backs it up.

Very early in the bible in Gen 2:24, we see the scripture, “This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” This clearly monogamous arrangement was entirely God’s idea and original plan. If monogamy was abnormal and against nature as some claim, don’t you think God would have made it crystal clear from the get go? I mean, this was the perfect opportunity to make His point right?

Anyway, fast forward down the line, polygamy became acceptable and robustly practiced. But check this out; Years later, when Jesus came along, he defined marriage in Mark 10:7-8. He said “This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one”. Do you know what Jesus did there? In defining marriage, do you know where He quotes from? He quotes word for word, from the book of beginnings, the book of Genesis. By doing this, he was telling us that this was God’s intention for marriage from the beginning of time, and more than that, He was telling us that He was in agreement with it! How do I know this? Because Jesus and the apostles kept using the singular of husband and wife, throughout the New Testament, in their description of Christian marriage. Not once was a singular ‘husband’ mentioned with ‘wives’, and this happened at least 40 times in the New Testament.

Eph 5:25 says “Love your WIFE as Christ loved the church.” 1 Corinthians 7:2, says “But since there is so much immorality, Let every MAN have his own wife. Several dozen other different instructions to Christian couples, and all, strictly talking monogamy.

Now, some say well, there’s no direct command in the New Testament against polygamy, and so, Jesus would have been fine with it. There’s no direct command against pornography in the bible either, or sexual abuse of children; there’s no direct command against that. But if the principles of the bible prohibit something, do we need a direct commandment, a thou shalt not, before we adhere?

That polygamy was accepted in the Old Testament is not in doubt. But to prove that it is an acceptable lifestyle for a Christian today, one will have to ignore the fact that Jesus and in fact the entire New Testament, did not record one word in support of polygamy, but rather consistently promoted monogamy. To make a case for polygamy in the New Testament, one will have to twist several words in several passages, for example bride would turn to brides, wife to wives, and so on. The thing is, however, when we twist scripture, it’s not a joke. God takes it quite seriously. We may think we have succeeded in getting scripture to mean what we want, but instead, what anyone who twists scripture does is that they set themselves up for destruction (2 Peter 3:16).

Some, in support of polygamy for Christians say, hey, if David and Solomon did it, then I can too. The thing however, is that unlike you and I, David and Solomon, were not Christians! Why would we think they should be our standard against that which Christ Himself set? Anything we emulate from them, and there are many things to emulate, but anything we do emulate, must rhyme with our Christian standards. We should copy the Old Testament and anything or anyone for that matter, only to the extent that they emulate Christ (1 Cor 11:1).

I realise that no matter how clear an issue is, words alone cannot change a man’s heart, only the Holy Spirit can. Therefore I pray that beyond the words of this episode, my heart and the heart of every listener will be flooded with light, so that we, who name the name of Christ, receive grace to