Our Covenant Commitment
DAY 5 | Our Covenant Commitment
READ
Hosea 6:1–3; Matthew 22:37–40; Ephesians 5:25–32
“Let us strive to know the LORD. His appearance is as sure as the dawn.”
Hosea 6:3
THE TRUTH
Six weeks ago, we began this series by going back to the beginning.
God created man and woman.
He established roles.
He created marriage.
And throughout this series, we have watched what happens when sin enters what God designed to be good.
Roles become distorted.
Obedience becomes compromise.
Blessings can become idols.
Intimacy can become isolation.
Desire can become lust.
And covenant can become broken.
Yet every week we have also seen something greater than our failure.
Jesus.
Jesus shows us what love looks like.
He loves unconditionally.
He cares selflessly.
He protects actively.
He provides purposefully.
He leads through humble service.
He pursues intimate connection.
He remains faithfully devoted.
And ultimately, Jesus does more than provide an example for marriage.
He redeems us.
Hosea gives us a picture of a God who continues calling His unfaithful people to return. Then in the New Testament we see the fullest expression of that covenant love when Christ gives Himself for His Bride, the Church.
That means the goal of this series was never simply:
“Try harder to have a better marriage.”
It was to continually bring our lives and marriages back under the lordship of Jesus.
Because before we can talk about our covenant with our spouse, we must examine our covenant relationship with God.
Who am I worshiping?
Who am I living for?
Who am I pursuing?
And once again, Jesus simplifies everything:
Love God.
Love others.
For our marriages:
Love God. Love Your Spouse.
That is the commitment before us today.
Not a commitment to perfection.
A commitment to pursuit.
When we fail, we repent.
When we are wounded, we work toward forgiveness.
When we drift, we return.
When temptation comes, we guard.
When life becomes difficult, we remain.
And through all of it, we keep pursuing Christ.
Because covenant commitment isn't something we declare once.
It is something we continually choose to live.
LOOK BACK
Think about where we have been over these six weeks.
WEEK 1 | ROLES ESTABLISHED
God established marriage with purpose.
Men were called to serve and guard.
Women were created to help and complement.
Different roles.
Equal value.
One shared purpose:
Bring glory to God.
WEEK 2 | OBEDIENCE REQUIRED
Before either spouse can fulfill their role well, both must obey God.
Marriage becomes dangerous when husband and wife begin compromising together.
Our first question must continually be:
“What has God said?”
WEEK 3 | BLESSED & FRUITFUL
God designed marriage to produce fruit.
Children are a blessing, but even blessings can become disordered when they take the place that belongs to God or our spouse.
We learned to keep the order:
God first.
Spouse second.
Children after.
WEEK 4 | INTIMATE CONNECTION
Trouble, tension, and turmoil can pull us apart.
So intimacy must be intentional.
We learned to see.
Ask.
Listen.
Understand.
And draw near to God and one another.
WEEK 5 | PROTECT AGAINST LUST
We saw the destructive progression:
SEE → LUST → TAKE
And we learned to:
ADDRESS IT.
CONFESS IT.
SURRENDER IT.
DISARM IT.
COVER IT.
Then we saw the gospel reversal:
SEE → LOVE → GIVE.
WEEK 6 | COVENANT COMMITMENT
And now everything brings us here.
Will we remain faithfully devoted?
To God.
And to the person we have entered, or may one day enter, covenant with.
CELEBRATE
Before thinking about everything that still needs work, recognize what God has already done.
IF YOU’RE MARRIED
Talk about this together:
“Where have you seen God strengthen our marriage during this series?”
Maybe you communicate differently.
Maybe you have begun praying together.
Maybe you have established healthier boundaries.
Maybe you have reconnected physically or emotionally.
Maybe you recognized something that had become more important than your marriage.
Maybe you confessed something.
Maybe you forgave something.
Maybe nothing dramatic happened, but you have become more intentional.
Name it.
Then thank God for it.
IF YOU’RE SINGLE
Ask:
“What has God changed in me during this series?”
Maybe your understanding of marriage has changed.
Maybe your expectations have changed.
Maybe God convicted you about sexual purity.
Maybe He exposed unhealthy desires.
Maybe He challenged the kind of person you are becoming.
Maybe He strengthened your devotion to Christ.
Recognize the work.
Thank Him for it.
CONFESS
Before making any new commitment, allow God to examine your existing one.
Ask:
“Father, where have I failed to remain faithfully devoted?”
Maybe something has come before God.
Maybe something has come before your spouse.
Maybe you have neglected your role.
Maybe you have knowingly disobeyed.
Maybe children became the center.
Maybe intimacy disappeared.
Maybe lust gained ground.
Maybe resentment has been allowed to remain.
Maybe you simply stopped pursuing.
Whatever God brings to mind, don't defend it.
Confess it.
And remember the invitation from Hosea:
“Return to Yahweh your God, for you have stumbled in your sin.”
You don't have to hide.
Return.
MOVE FORWARD
Today isn't only about looking backward.
It's about deciding how you will move forward.
There are three covenant commitments we have talked about this week.
1. COVENANT WITH GOD
Whether you are married or single, everything begins here.
Maybe today is the day you establish a covenant relationship with God through faith in Jesus.
Maybe you already belong to Christ, but you recognize that your heart has wandered.
Or maybe your relationship with God is healthy and today you simply want to strengthen your commitment to continue pursuing Him.
Whatever your situation, make the declaration:
I WILL PURSUE GOD FIRST.
I will worship Him first.
I will live for Him first.
I will seek Him first.
I will allow my relationship with Christ to shape every other relationship in my life.
My Covenant Commitment to God:
2. COVENANT WITH MY SPOUSE
IF YOU’RE MARRIED
Think back to your wedding day.
You made a covenant.
Today you have an opportunity to say again:
“I still choose you.”
Not because every season has been easy.
Not because neither of you has failed.
But because covenant love continues pursuing.
Maybe your marriage is strong.
Strengthen it.
Maybe you have drifted.
Recommit.
Maybe your marriage began without Christ as its foundation.
Begin rebuilding it with Him at the center.
Maybe there are wounds that still require counseling, accountability, forgiveness, and time.
Take the next faithful step.
Make this declaration:
I WILL PURSUE MY SPOUSE.
I will love them.
Care for them.
Protect them.
Provide for them.
Serve them.
Pursue intimacy with them.
Remain faithfully devoted to them.
And I will do so by first remaining faithfully devoted to Christ.
My Covenant Commitment to My Spouse:
3. COVENANT WITH MY FUTURE SPOUSE
IF YOU’RE SINGLE
You may not know who you will marry.
But you can begin honoring that covenant before you ever enter it.
You can decide now that you will not allow temporary desires to continually shape your future.
You can guard your heart.
Guard your mind.
Guard your body.
And remain faithfully devoted to Christ while you wait.
Make this declaration:
I WILL HONOR MY FUTURE COVENANT.
I will not commit adultery against my future spouse.
I will not covet another person's spouse.
I will not intentionally pursue sexual intimacy, emotionally or physically, outside the covenant of marriage.
I will guard my heart, mind, and body.
I will pursue Christ first and trust Him with my future.
And if God leads me into marriage, I will enter that covenant having already practiced faithful devotion.
My Covenant Commitment to My Future Spouse:
OUR MARRIAGE CREED
For married couples, read these commitments together one final time.
Don't read them merely as words from a six-week study.
Read them as a declaration of how you desire to live.
UNCONDITIONAL LOVE
I will love my spouse unconditionally and combat the lustful desires that entice my eyes, my flesh and my pride.
SELFLESS CARE
I will care for my spouse selflessly by being attentive and compassionate toward their needs to combat my selfishness.
ACTIVE PROTECTION
I will protect my spouse actively seeking to guard their heart and mind from attacks. I will combat passivity to pursue them so they feel seen, loved, and safe in my company.
PURPOSEFUL PROVISION
I will provide for my spouse by seeing and meeting their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. Constant provision will combat purposelessness, both in work and in our marriage.
SERVANT LEADERSHIP
I will lead my spouse through humble service. My leadership will not be domineering or controlling but sacrificial and nurturing. Servant leadership will combat any pride, ego or selfish motives.
INTENTIONAL INTIMACY
I will be intimate with my spouse regardless of circumstances. I will remember that we have become one flesh. I will combat isolation and division by intentionally drawing closer to my spouse through physical connection, emotional conversation, and spiritual devotion.
FAITHFUL DEVOTION
I will be faithful to my spouse by first remaining faithful to Christ. In my pursuit of Him I will be able to strengthen my devotion to my spouse. I understand that only my devotion to Christ can combat the lies, deception and mistrust the enemy uses to destroy my marriage.
BUILD TOGETHER
IF YOU’RE MARRIED
Sit together.
Hold hands if you are comfortable doing so.
Look at one another.
Then take turns completing this statement:
“Today, I choose you again.”
Tell your spouse one way you specifically want to strengthen your covenant with them moving forward.
Then ask:
“What can we do to keep Christ at the center of our marriage after this series ends?”
Choose something sustainable.
Not ten new habits.
One.
Maybe you pray together before bed.
Maybe you worship together consistently.
Maybe you schedule regular dates.
Maybe you begin checking in about your marriage once a week.
Maybe you continue reading Scripture together.
Maybe you finally schedule the counseling you've been discussing.
Whatever you choose, put it into practice.
IF YOU’RE SINGLE
Write your future-spouse commitment somewhere you can keep it.
Don't make the commitment because you believe keeping yourself sexually pure will somehow obligate God to give you a spouse.
Make it because Christ is worthy of your obedience now.
Your commitment ultimately belongs to Him.
If temptation comes, remember what you have decided.
If loneliness comes, remember what you have decided.
If desire becomes strong, remember what you have decided.
And if you eventually stand before someone and enter the covenant of marriage, carry into that covenant the faithful devotion you have been practicing with Christ.
PRAY
Father, thank You for everything You have shown us throughout this series.
Thank You for creating marriage.
Thank You for establishing it with purpose.
Thank You for showing us how sin distorts what You designed to be good.
And thank You that our failures do not have the final word.
Jesus does.
Thank You for pursuing us when we wandered.
Thank You for loving us when we were unfaithful.
Thank You for paying the price for our redemption.
Thank You for calling us back into relationship with You.
Today we renew our covenant commitment.
First to You.
We choose to worship You.
Live for You.
Pursue You.
And put You first.
For husbands and wives, strengthen the covenant they have made with one another.
Help them love unconditionally, care selflessly, protect actively, provide purposefully, lead through humble service, pursue intentional intimacy, and remain faithfully devoted.
Where their marriage has been wounded, continue healing.
Where trust has been broken, help them rebuild.
Where they have grown distant, draw them close.
Where things are healthy, protect what You have built.
For those who are single, guard their hearts, minds, and bodies. Give them strength when temptation comes and remind them that their obedience is first an act of devotion to You.
And as we finish this series, don't allow these commitments to remain words on a page.
Shape our lives through them.
Shape our marriages through them.
Shape our future relationships through them.
Help us build marriages that are not merely happy.
Make them healthy.
Make them holy.
And through them, bring glory to Jesus.
Today we choose again.
God first.
Our spouse second.
And by Your grace:
Faithfully devoted.
Amen.