Not only am I sure. I AM POSITIVE.
GENESIS 1: HOW WILL HUMANS MULTIPLY WITHOUT MARRIAGE?
26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
GOD DESIRES THAT YOUNGER WIDOWS MARRY
I will therefore that the younger women [widows as the context shows] marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully. (1 Tim 5:14)
ALL MEANS ALL
Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. (Heb 13:4)
What you quoted has very limited application (as is clear from the context). Celibacy is frowned on in the Bible, and forbidding to marry is called a doctrine of demons.
Children are the natural outcome of sexual activity, so that is its primary function. But the secondary function is the couple expressing love for each other. And ideally sex should be reserved for the marital relationship.
However, I will check out your thread and also respond.
Hi Nehemiah6,
This discussion also makes me think of Anna in Luke 2:36-38: "Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of great age and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; and this woman was a widow of about 84 years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. And coming in that instant, she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem."
We are not told how old Anna was when she married, but I'm assuming she was quite young, and for whatever reason, she apparently did not remarry after her husband died (in reference to your posting of 1 Timothy 5:14 instructing younger widows to remarry.)
My purpose in posting these passages isn't to argue with you or to try to prove that I have a position that is somehow superior to anyone else's.
I've just come to believe that it's very important to present believers, especially young believers, with Biblical examples of a wide variety of those who may have had very different circumstances in their lives, but were still able to serve God. To imply that every Christian needs to be married puts undue pressure on young people to hurry up and find a spouse (when they may need more time) and will make them feel as if they're doing something wrong or are displeasing to God for not being married.
There seems to be a multitude of Christians out there who rushed into getting married and/or married out of desperation (thinking they had to be married or that it was some kind of cure-all for whatever they were going through or that this was their last chance) with disastrous results.
The only point I'm trying to make is that God may have a different calling for us other than getting married, and there is plenty that we can still do and be effective for His work.
I understand what you're saying about Paul. A Bible class I had taken said that one of the requirements for being a Pharisee, which Paul said he had been, was to have been married. But Paul later says he wishes others could remain unmarried as he was -- and the speculation seems to be that either his wife died, or left him when he became a believer (from what you've posted, I'm sure you have probably studied these things already -- I'm just writing them as an FYI for those reading.)
I appreciate that you take the time to make such in-depth answers. I know our beliefs will differ, but I just wanted to say that I respect you for answering in a detailed, informative manner.
Thank you for taking the time to answer my thread in the Family Forum. I'm headed over there right now.
Blessings, and hope you have a good week.