The Family
“God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood or adoption. Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. It is God’s unique gift to reveal the union between Christ and His church and to provide for the man and woman in marriage, the framework for intimate companionship, the channel of sexual expression according to biblical standards, and the means for procreation of the human race.
The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God’s image. Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. … In our confused times, many people celebrate what is described as a diversity of family forums. Although Christians recognize that families experience brokenness, we must also assert that God’s purpose and intention are that we build, nurture, and respect ties of marriage, blood, and adoption. The family is not a laboratory for social experimentation but an arena in which God’s glory is shown to the world in the right ordering of human relationships.
Baptist Faith and Message, 2000
