Man’s Moral and Natural Ability, Part 11

We do not believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior in order to be born again; we are born again in order that we may believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Those who still desperately want to see man with a little bit of moral, natural and spiritual ability to exercise faith in God will go to the same chapter of John 3 and point out verse 16:  “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son; that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

Does this famous and often quoted verse teach that man has at least some ability to choose Christ? No. Arminians will say that according to this verse, everyone in the world has within their power the ability to accept or reject Christ.

But if you look carefully at the passage, it teaches no such thing. All this verse is saying is that “everyone who believes in Christ will be saved.”  That is, “Whoever does A (believes in Jesus) will receive B (everlasting life).”  The verse says nothing about who ever believe.  It teaches nothing about fallen man’s natural and moral ability.

All bible-believing Christians agree that all who believe in Jesus will be saved. What we disagree on is “WHO HAS THE ABILITY TO BELIEVE.”

“But pastor Rich, doesn’t John 3:16 imply that man has the ability within himself to believe in Christ?”

Yes, the implication of natural ability to exercise faith in God may be seen within the verse.  However, what you must not forget regarding the proper rules of bible interpretation is that, “an implied interpretation always gives way to an interpretation that is explicit.”   If you raise man’s natural ability to choose Christ above Jesus’ explicit teaching about man’s inability to come to the Father without one hundred percent divine enablement, then you have broken a fundamental rule of bible interpretation and have raised a teaching contrary to the Scriptures.

End of Part 11

Man’s Moral and Natural Ability, Part 10

In John 3, Jesus made it plain and simple: “No one will see the kingdom of God unless he or she is first born again” (v. 3).   Let me ask you a question: Did you choose your physical birth? In other words, did you choose to be born?  No. You had absolutely nothing to do with your physical birth.  You had no say so in the location of your birth or its time. Those things were made on your behalf.

This is what Jesus is saying regarding one’s spiritual birth. You did not choose your spiritual birth. It was chosen for you.

If you are astonished at this, so was Nicodemus.  Jesus said to him, “Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again’” (v. 7).  Then Jesus describes what it’s like to be born again.  “The wind (pneuma – “Spirit”) blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit” (v. 8). 

Here Jesus tells Nicodemus that being born again or being born of the Spirit starts by “where the wind or Spirit wishes.”  The Holy Spirit chooses who to save. He does not look into the future and sees who will believe in the Son and then gives faith to the person to believe. No, the Spirit of God chooses on His own whom to save.

The next part of the verse says that “you do not know where it comes from or where it goes.” In other words, no one knows whom the Spirit will choose. No one knows the time the Spirit will choose to save a person. But this much we do know, and that is – “No one is born again apart from the Spirit.”

Jesus is simply teaching Nicodemus about divine election. Because of man’s moral and natural inability to choose God on his own, the Spirit of God does the choosing Himself – whomever He wishes.

End of Part 10

The Nature of a Typical Sunday Service

In 1 Corinthians there's a very interesting comment the Apostle Paul says, and if we hurry pass it, we may miss it. Paul is looking at the total chaos in the church.  He has been addressing the church’s abuse of spiritual gifts.  So he is about to make his point.

Beginning in verse 23 of Chapter 14, Paul writes: If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds? ²⁴ But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, ²⁵ the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you.

Paul is saying, “Hey, if you’re having church and an unbeliever walks in and hears you all speaking in tongues and there is no interpretation, what is he going to think? He is going to think “you are out of your minds!”

Now my point is not about tongues, but what Paul implies about the nature and purpose of a typical church service. A church service is designed for believers, not unbelievers.

A church service is to be primarily for believers – to worship, for edification and for equipping. However, if for some reason an unbeliever shows up – coming in on his own or invited (and this is good, nothing wrong with that), what should you do?

Well today, churches make pretty much the whole service geared toward the unbeliever.   They create a comfort zone of some sort; they try not to do anything that would offend; they get the newest and latest entertainers that were once worldly and unsaved, but have given their lives over to Christ to come and perform in the church; they serve coffee and donuts and all sorts of other eye popping and tantalizing means to make themselves attractive for unbelievers.

They make the church “seeker-sensitive.”  Some churches are all about making unbelievers feel totally comfortable, so they carefully choose the titles of sermons, then carefully and craftily have a seeker-sensitive delivery, and more often than not, will use topics that are positive in nature and have a less chance of being offensive, which means you’ll hear less of sin and more on love, dreaming, positive thinking, unleashing your future, etc.

In the mean time, the saints are starving! The church service is for believers, not unbelievers.

But there also must be a sensitive balance.  You see, Paul is referring in 1 Corinthians 14:23 to a worship that has gone over board for believers. It is a church service where everyone is rattling off in tongues, so an unbeliever steps in and is immediately confused! 

While we must be careful to create a church service for believers, we must also be carefully not to create a church service that excludes unbelievers from getting anything from it.

We need to keep in mind that unbelievers may show up – and we should plan on it.   We ought to create a church service for believers, but never so believer oriented that unbelievers will feel totally unwelcome and leave thinking you are crazy, unwelcoming and uncaring.

What should a church service shoot for?  Conviction!  The whole service must be made understandable so as to allow the Holy Spirit to use the Word to lay bear a person’s heart and bring conviction of sins and will lead to repentance and belief in Jesus as Lord.

I read about how a young homosexual man came to a church service one Sunday evening and shared his testimony of how he got converted. He said he slipped into church and sat in the back roll. He was dying of AIDS.

He then said that the first thing he noticed was when the pastor stood up and read one of the Psalms that he had never heard before, but it spoke to his heart.  The psalm was about the chains being broken and the prisoners being set free and those who are on the edge of death being given new life. And he said the tears began to race down his face and he sat through that service and watched the people worshiped God, and then he heard that God was a delivering, healing, restoring, freeing God. At the end of that service, he said he gave his life to Jesus Christ.

He also added that three weeks prior, "I not only have not had a homosexual encounter” (he stated sometimes as many as five a day), "but I have no desire for that and never had since the moment I gave my life to Christ."

What is interesting was that the church did not create a service for homosexuals to feel loved and welcome. Instead, a practicing homosexual dropped in and actually eavesdropped on the hearing of the Word of God and the preaching of the Word mingled with the corporate worship of God’s people, that young homosexual man came under conviction and gave his life to Christ.

We don’t need to take what belongs to the saints and give it to the ain’ts.  Create instead a church service that equips and edifies believers, and watch how God uses it to do more than what you originally had in mind.

Remember, we gather for worship and scatter to evangelize. We do not gather to evangelize the lost and then scatter to some other private place like a home Bible study to worship.  

A Fresh Look at Divorce and Remarriage, Part 6

“Houston, we got a problem!” 

Earlier I wrote, “Divorce is not a solution.  If it was, it would have been commanded by God.  But nowhere in the Bible is divorce commanded by God.”

The only teaching on divorce and remarriage in the Bible that the Pharisees in Jesus’ day bring to the Lord is found in Deuteronomy 24:1-4.  There is no command to divorce mentioned there.

When the Pharisees come to Jesus to test Him, they misquote Deuteronomy 24 and say to Jesus, “Why did Moses COMMAND to give her a certificate a certificate and divorce her” (Matt. 19:7).  Jesus corrects them by saying, “Because of the hardness of your heart, Moses PERMITTED you to divorce your wives” (v. 8).

So what we see from the lips of Jesus is that Divorce was not a command but merely a permission or allowance. Therefore, I conclude that “Divorce is not a solution to a marriage problem.”  If it is a solution, then the Bible would command divorce even for one or two instances where a person can use it as a solution.

But now, let’s hop over to Mark 10 and read the same account but from a different writer’s perspective.  Beginning in verse 2, same account, we read these words:

And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” ³ He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” ⁴ They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.” ⁵ And Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment.

Here Mark (through Peter who gave to Mark the info in this account), said that it was the Pharisees who came to Jesus and used the word “allowed” (or permission), and it was Jesus who used the word “command.”  Read the above passage again to get the picture.

Therefore, in Matthew’s gospel, it appears that the Pharisees misquote Moses and use the word “command,” and then Jesus corrects them with the word “permit.”  However, in Mark’s account, it is the reverse. Jesus does used the word “command” and the Pharisees used the word “allowed.”

So is divorce a command or not?

The answer:  No, it is not.

In Mark, what Jesus is doing is using the word “command” as synonymous with “Scripture.”  All Scripture is God’s Word and can be viewed as the final authority for belief and practice.

When Jesus said to the Pharisees in Mark 10:3, “What did Moses command you,” Jesus was merely asking, “What did Moses write?  What does it say in Deuteronomy 24?”

They replied, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce” (v. 4).  Then in verse 5, Jesus replied, “Because of the hardness of your heart, he wrote to you this commandment” (or Scripture).   

Now you see it?  What Moses wrote under the guidance of the Holy Spirit is merely seen as a command by Jesus.  This is because all Scripture is from God and can be viewed as authoritative. 

Therefore, when Jesus states in verse 5, “this commandment,” he is not referring to divorce being a command, merely the writings of Moses in Deuteronomy 24.  So then, what we must do is to come to understand what Moses wrote in Deuteronomy 24 that serves as a command.

Over in Matthew’s account, Jesus is seen as correcting the “interpretation” of the Pharisees regarding Deuteronomy 24. They viewed Deuteronomy 24 as a command for divorce, but Jesus said it wasn’t a command, only a permission allowed by God through Moses because of the hardness of their hearts.

Therefore, in Matthew’s account, Jesus is seen as correcting the faulty interpretation of the Pharisees, and in Mark’s account, Jesus is seen as establishing the command of Deuteronomy 24 since it is Scripture and therefore authoritative.

Both accounts in Matthew and Mark do not contradict one another, they support the following:

1.   Divorce is not a command (Matthew)

2.  The Writings of Deuteronomy 24 are a command (Mark).

Again, we need to go to Deuteronomy 24 and see for ourselves what did Moses write and the meaning behind it.

But before we do, let me point out one more very interesting observation. There is no doubt that both Matthew and Mark are writing about the same incident – The Pharisees coming to test Jesus concerning the subject of divorce.

What is interesting is that in His reply to the Pharisees in Matthew’s account (Ch. 19), Jesus uses the “exception clause” (“except for fornication” – v. 9), but in Mark’s account of the same incident, Jesus does not mention the “exception clause” at all” (cf. Mark 10:11-12). 

Why is that? Why does Matthew only mentions the “exception” and Mark does not – even though they both are writing about the same incident?

As we dive deeper into this mystery (not a contradiction), we know that out in deeper waters, we must swim to Deuteronomy 24 and land on that reef for a bit, and then swim to Matthew 5 and 19 and land on those reefs for a while to deal with the “exemption clause.”

End of Part 6

Man’s Moral and Natural Ability, Part 9

Man is so steep in his inability to choose God that God Himself must first “draw” (i.e. compel or drag) him to Jesus in order to be saved. Left on his own, man degenerates (cf. Rom. 1:24-31). If God does not step in and draw man from his own pit of degeneration, man will spiritually implode and become fatally lost for all eternity.

Jesus said this: “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3, 5).  An important word to focus on is the word “unless.” Jesus is stating an emphatic necessary precondition for anyone desiring to see or enter into the kingdom of God – “being born again!”  Evangelicals call this “rebirth.”

The Bible teaches that before a person chooses to accept or receive Jesus as his or her personal Savior, they must first be changed. They must be reborn spiritually.  Arminians have people choosing Jesus first, and then they are said to be “born-again.” In their scenario, unsaved people enter the kingdom of God in their unsaved condition. The moment a person receives Christ, he is in the kingdom of God. 

To Arminians, it goes like this:

One first believes in Jesus

Then becomes born-again

Then he enters into the kingdom of God

But Jesus rejects this. He says that in order for anyone to enter into the kingdom of God, he must first be born-again. Man does not have the power, nor the will, nor the desire, nor the necessary means to exercise faith in Christ.

A biblical approach to salvation is this:

Man becomes born again – i.e. made alive by God

Then he trust Christ as his Lord and Savior

Then he enters into the kingdom of God.

Do you see the difference? Which comes first, man placing his faith in God or God making man alive?  Remember, left to himself, man is spiritually “dead in his trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1), “and were by nature children of wrath” (v. 3). 

The bottom line is this:  Is salvation 100 percent the work of God or not? You say, “But man has to believe to be saved!”  Agree, but even the faith that man must have to place in God is given to him by God as a “gift” (Eph. 2:8). 

“Salvation is from the Lord” (Jonah 2:9).  This is all you need to know as a starting point.  From this, your theology on soteriology will develop.

By the way, if you think personal faith coming from within man is a necessary condition for salvation to occur, then you will have to explain where infants go when they die.  If you say, “heaven,” then who gave to them the faith to begin with?  If you say, “hell,” then you should never be asked to do the funeral of an infant and counsel a family during their time of grief. If you say, “I don’t know,” then you have not taken the time to think this through.

An important point in understanding the doctrine of election is this: “Regeneration precedes faith.” Our corrupt human nature is so alienated from God, that unless God does a supernatural work in our souls we will never choose Christ.

We do not believe in order to be born again; we are born again in order that we may believe.   

End of Part 9

Man’s Moral and Natural Ability, Part 8

If man cannot come to God without divine assistance from the Spirit of God, then just how much help from God is needed to get man to respond in faith to God because of his fallen nature?  How much help is needed by God to overcome man’s inability to come to Christ?

First, in verse 44 of John 6, Jesus said, “No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him.”

The key word is the word “draw.” How does the Father draw people to Christ? Some think of the “draw” as God’s enticement.  While the drawing may include a level of enticement or wooing, man still can choose to refuse it.  Thus God’s drawing becomes a necessary condition, but not a sufficient condition to bring people to Christ.

To put it in another way, it means that we cannot come to Jesus without God’s wooing, but the wooing or enticement of God does not guarantee that we will, in fact, come to Christ.

Those of the Arminian persuasion tend to view God’s enticement as such.  God does initiate the first move, they tell us, but man has the option of either going with it or rejecting it.

I do not agree with this. The Greek word for “draw” is elko, and according to Kittel, it means, “to compel with irresistible authority.”  A better rendering is “to compel.” This is much more forceful than to woo.

Here is how the word is used elsewhere.  Over in James 2:6, we read: “But you have dishonored the poor man.  Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts?”  Guess which word is the same as the word “draws” in John 6:44?  It is the word “drag.” Do you see the force behind it?

Now try to substitute the word “woo” in James’ text: “Do not the rich oppress you and woo you into the courts.”  You see, it isn’t the same. There has to be force behind it – that is an irresistible force.

Also over in Acts 16:19: “But when her masters saw that their hope and profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities.”  Guess the word in this passage? It is the word “drag.” How would this sound by using the word “woo?” “They seized Paul and Silas and wooed them into the marketplace.”  It doesn’t fit.

You see, when God works in a person’s heart and draws that person to Jesus, it becomes an irresistible force.  All whom God draws to Jesus will come. There are no exceptions! God’s “drawing” becomes both a necessary and sufficient condition in bringing people of His choosing to Christ.

End of Part 8  

A Fresh Look at Divorce and Remarriage, Part 5

The next passage we want to examine is found in Luke 16:18: “Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery."

Here Jesus goes a step further and states, that not only the man who divorces, but also a woman who divorces, and then remarries is committing adultery.

Again, notice that there are no exceptions to this rule. The two exceptions come in Matthew 5 and 19, which we will come to. But right now we just want to examine what Jesus states about divorce and remarriage in Mark and Luke.

Now what I find interesting in this passage is the latter comment Jesus made:  “he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.” 

What if this woman is the innocent party? Her husband divorced her because of some reason.  The husband says to his wife, “You know what, we are totally incompatible.  I’ve known this for quite some time now and so have you.  We’re not meant for each other.  Just so you know, I am going to file for a divorce.”

The wife says, “No, let’s see a counselor. Let’s work it out. Give it some time. Let’s set up a meeting with our pastor. We’ve been married for five years, why do you want to end it?”

Husband replies, “You want to know why? Okay, I’ll tell you. I am still relatively young. I got a few more years left in me. I want to date and seek other possible companionships that I may be compatible with. You got to understand, we are done!”

So the husband files for divorce, the wife is totally against it, praying that he would change his mind. He does not. The divorce papers are eventually signed and the marriage is ended by law.

As the innocent party, according to Jesus, if the wife finds another man and marries him, she commits adultery and so does the man she is married to.

Therefore, according to Jesus’ statement here in Luke, it doesn’t matter if you are the guilty or the innocent party, to remarry is to commit adultery.

If this is the case, then just because the law of the land states a person is divorced and free, in God’s sight, He still considers them to be married. If this was not the case, then how would it be possible to be guilty of committing adultery?

Again, keep in mind that each gospel writer has a different audience in mind.

Matthew – Jews

Mark – Romans

Luke – Gentiles

John – Christians

Note:  It is also interesting that divorce and remarriage are mentioned in Matthew, Mark and Luke, but not in John. Why? Among the Jews, Romans and Gentiles, divorce and remarriage would be an issue, but among Christians, it should not be.  John does not record anything on divorce and remarriage at all.  

Also notice the context of this passage. It occurs in the context of being a “lover of money” (v. 14), justifying yourself before others (v. 15), forcing your way into the kingdom (v. 16), and the unchangeableness of the Word (v. 17).  

Then in verse 19, Jesus launches into a story about a rich man who goes to hell and a poor man who does not. Right smack in the middle of all this, Jesus throws in the topic of divorce and remarriage.  Why?

Because God standards concerning money, pride, entrance into the kingdom, marriage, and the reality of the afterlife does not change. Jesus reinforces it all here.

The quality and commitment of one’s walk with God will be evident on the way he or she views money, material possessions, God’s Word, and marriage.

End of Part 5

"Hand over Your Sermons"

The city of Houston has issued subpoenas demanding a group of pastors to turn over any sermons dealing with homosexuality, gender identity or Annise Parker, the city’s first openly lesbian mayor, will have those ministers who fail to comply be held in contempt of court, possibly fined or face jail sentencing.

Now not being there in Houston, it is hard to comment on the particulars of this situation. But from what I read in the news, all the pastors should hand over their sermons. It is the right thing to do!

Here’s why:

First, we’re told in the Bible to be in submission to the governing authorities (Rom. 13:1; 1 Peter 2:13-17).  If the mayor says, “hand over your sermons,” then hand them over.

Second, Christians and especially pastors should have nothing to hide. Let the civil authorities pour through your sermons. How many of them actually attend church and hear the gospel being preached?  Very few. So, why not spread the gospel by handing over your sermons?

After all, was this not Paul’s attitude when he wrote to the Philippians?  For preaching the gospel, Paul was put in a Roman prison. How did he view his imprisonment?  He did not view it as a letdown or a complete social disaster.  He wrote this:

 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, ¹³ so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.¹⁴ And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

¹⁵ Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. ¹⁶ The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. ¹⁷ The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. ¹⁸ What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. - Philip. 1:12-18

Paul saw God using his time in prison in much greater ways than being outside of prison. His imprisonment was not only encouraging fellow preachers to preach the Word, but God was using Paul to reach the “whole imperial guard.” These were the elite solders of Rome different than the army and Roman police. They were about 9000 strong. Do you think the Pastors could have reached these elite guards by preaching in the comforts of their own churches?  God knew that there were people who needed to hear the gospel and one way was to get a pastor/preacher arrested and sent to prison and that man was Paul.

So rather than thinking, “Oh my, this is what we were warned about. We were told how the state would one day be coming after us and confiscating our sermons and possibly sending us to prison.”  Think instead, "YES, it’s here!  God has a much bigger plan than we do." Submit and go with His plan and watch how He uses you to reach people who would normally not be reachable.

Third, think also about this:  If a city official read your sermons, would there be enough information in there to convict you of being a devoted, loving and faithful follower of Jesus Christ?  If so, hand over your sermons! If not, burned them!

Also asked yourself this: Would there be enough Bible references in my sermons to present the gospel and support the truth of what I am preaching on?

A lot of sermons are filled with nice stories and jokes and warm fuzzy illustrations.  But God promises that His Word would not return to Him empty but accomplish all that God desires it to do (Isa. 55:11).  If your sermons are filled with passages from the Word explaining the meaning of Scriptures and making pertinent and contemporary applications, then hand over your sermons! 

Wouldn’t it be an honor and example to so many people around this nation if these pastors would say, “Here are my sermons.  Read all you want, and when you’re done, I got more to give you.”

If after your sermons are read and you are told, “You will not preach on this subject again.”  Then you can politely dissent and say, “Sorry, I am compelled to obey God before I obey you.”  Then, if you’re sent to prison, say, “hallelujah!” You say, “Waaaaat?”  I said, if you’re sent to prison for obeying God rather than men, then “keep on rejoicing. . . you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you” (1 Peter 4:13-14).

A Fresh Look at Divorce and Remarriage, Part 4

Once in a while as I move through this series, I will talk about the sacredness of marriage. You see, if we are going to understand the seriousness of divorce, we need to also understand the sacredness of marriage. We have to compare divorce to God’s ideal of marriage. 

For example, Jesus said this in Matthew 19:6:  “What God has joined together (in marriage), let no man separate (divorce).”   

Since marriage itself is a divine institution of God, all marriages involving a man and woman in some sense are from God even if many of them are not spiritual.  Therefore, all marriages that are formed and brought together by God as His divine and holy institution, becomes a default against God’s law when divorce enters in.

God never intends for divorce to occur in any marriage. God declares in Malachi 2:16, “I hate divorce!”   This is God’s attitude toward divorce and He does not change (Malachi 3:6).

The prevailing attitude today is the idea that marriage is designed to make me happy.  God never created marriage to make people happy!  Happiness comes only by one way – God! You want to be happy, then find your happiness in your relationship with Christ, and when you are happy in Him, you’ll be happy in your marriage.

As a result of not finding happiness and fulfillment in marriage, people look for ways to jettison the marriage. And the solution often for over half of the people who are married is to get a divorce.

But folks, listen to this:  Divorce is and never was God’s solution to a marriage problem.  If divorce was a solution to a marriage problem, then God would have commanded divorce.

The Pharisees saw divorce as a solution, so they come to Jesus and said, “Why did Moses COMMAND divorce” (Matt. 19:7). Jesus’ reply is enlightening, for He states: “Because of the hardness of your hearts, Moses PERMITTED you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning (God’s original design and intention), it has not been this way” (v. 8).

This is why when you see people who are hard at work in making a troubled marriage work, they are often viewed by others as freaks of nature.  “Just dump the woman,” they say!  “Boot the guy out of the house!”  But such people need to be encouraged and not harassed for trying!

Divorce is like having a splinter in your foot and solving the problem by cutting off your whole foot.  Why not zero in and focus on the splinter rather than taking off the whole foot? 

Now I know this is easier said than done. But hear me out, I am laying down God’s mindset on the sacredness of marriage from what the Bible teaches. If we can understand the sacredness of marriage, then we can also understand the seriousness of divorce and not be so quick to see divorce as a solution.

Now let me say this: When Jesus said, “What God has joined together, let no man separate” is serious. How so?  In the Old Testament, an adulterer was “stoned to death” for breaking the covenant relationship of their marriage.

“If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death” (Lev. 20:10).

God intends a marriage to be long lasting and permanent, and so if it is broken via sexual encounter called “adultery,” God said, “Put the guilty person to death!” This is how it was back in the Old Testament.  God handed down this law!

Now watch this: “Fornication” is sex between two unmarried people, right? Do you know that, even though fornication is sin and God hates that sin too, He never lays down a law to put “fornicators” to death? Fornicators were “punished” but not killed (cf. Lev. 19:20). You will not find one law in the Old Testament to stoned fornicators.  Why? Because it is a sin between two unmarried people. But with regard to the sin of adultery, a sin that comes between a marriage covenant to harm and destroy it, God says, “Put the adulterer to death!”

What did you say, Jesus? “What God has joined together, let no man separate!”   

For us to see the seriousness of divorce, we must come to understand the sacredness of the marriage covenant between a man and woman.

End of Part 4

A Fresh Look at Divorce and Remarriage, Part 3

Second, Jesus said that all remarriage after divorce is adultery whether it is the husband or the wife who does the divorcing.

And he said to them, Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; ¹² and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery -- Mark 10:11-12 

Now keep in mind, we still have other passages to consider. What I am doing is just taking a look at the passages that discuss divorce and remarriage and commenting on them as I go along. It is important that we get a comprehensive view of divorce and remarriage from all the passages that discuss the topic.   This way we can make an informative conclusion.

The disciples wanted clarification of Jesus' view, so they asked Him for it in private. Mark recorded Jesus’ straightforward reply. Neither husband nor wife should divorce their partner and remarry someone else. To do so constitutes adultery.

Jesus answer in verse 12 is unique in Mark. Under Roman law a wife could divorce her husband, but under Jewish law she (not speaking of the husband) could not. There were exceptions, however, as in the case of Herodias who had divorced Philip to marry Antipas (6:17-18). Herod the Great's sister also divorced her husband.  Jesus viewed all divorce followed by remarriage as constituting adultery no matter who initiated it. Divorce is wrong, but divorce followed by remarriage is worse.

Again, there is no exception here in Mark as they are in Matthew’s gospel.  Mark's omission of the exception clause that Matthew included was also due to his audience (cf. Matt. 5:32; Matt. 19:9).

Remember, Matthew’s wrote his gospel with the Jews in mind. Mark wrote his gospel with the Romans in mind. He did not want to draw attention to the exceptional case because to do so would weaken the main point, namely that people should not divorce. Divorce was very common in the Greco-Roman world.

A phrase from the lips of Jesus that we’ll find often is this: “What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate” (Mark 10:9).  The word “separate” can also be rendered “divorce.” What God has joined together in marriage, let no man divorce. To do so, would be a violation of God’s original design for marriage.

This really hit home to the Lord’s disciples, so they go to Jesus in private seeking further explanation (v. 10).  While we are mindful of the fact that Mark wrote his gospel with the Romans in mind, Jesus’ response was to His Jewish disciples – v. 11:  “And He said to them.”

The disciples had the teachings of the Rabbis in their minds and Jesus could have easily added an exception for their sake. But He didn’t. Jesus stuck with God’s original design for marriage. If there are exceptions, we need to find out how the exceptions came to be and why.

End of Part 3

Man’s Moral and Natural Ability, Part 7

In John 6:65, Jesus said, “Therefore, I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”  

Last time, we looked at the

1.  Universal negative:  “No one.”

2.  Universal Ability:  “Can”

And now –

3.  The Necessary Condition – “Unless”

A necessary condition is something that must happen before something else can happen.  Jesus is saying, “No one can possibly come to Me, unless something happens that makes it possible for him to come to Me.”

What would this necessary condition be?  Jesus tells us – “It must be granted to him to come to Me by My Father.” In other words, “the ability for anyone to come to Me is a gift from My Father.” Man does not have the ability to come to Jesus, unless God grants to him that ability.  When God the Father grants certain people such ability, it is a gift from God the Father to God the Son.

Therefore, original sin makes it impossible for man on his own to come to Jesus. It is not within man’s natural fallen nature to do so. If anyone does come to Christ, that person comes as a result of having Divine assistance.

Now here is the kicker question: Does God give this divine ability to come to Christ to ALL men?  The answer is no, He does not. Some say God does. Those who say so make God appear weak and less than sovereign.  If God gave to all men the divine ability to come to Christ, you can be certain that all would come.

The Bible states, “To whom (not all) God foreknew (chosen beforehand in love), He also predestined (to choose beforehand) – Rom. 8:29. 

After making such a statement in John 6:65 about no one can come to Me unless it has been granted by the Father, the next verse says, “As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew, and were not walking with Him anymore." Jesus showed in visible fashion the calling and election of God. Those not granted by the Father, left. Those who were granted to come to Christ by the Father remained.

Jesus then said to the twelve: “Don’t you want to go as well” (v. 67)?  Through Peter, they chose to stay.  Then Jesus made this profound statement: “Did I Myself not choose you. . .?” (v. 70).

You see, those whom God chooses, will come to Him and remain. Those who are not chosen will withdraw and walk with Him no more or not come at all.

Now here is something else worth pointing out. Jesus said, “Did I Myself not choose you, the TWELVE, and yet one of you is a devil?” 

Here’s another study coming down the pike:  Double Predestination. In verse 70, Jesus choosing involved two groups for two purposes:  One group was chosen to eternal life and to serve His purposes on earth.  The other chosen not to be granted eternal life and to serve His purposes on earth (Judas).  God choice in purpose involves both the elect and non-elect.  God in His sovereign ability is able to choose and use the non-elect to accomplish all His desires and purposes. Judas was handpicked and chosen by God to be Christ’s betrayer!

You ask, “Isn’t that unfair of God?”

Of course not. You see, God is all about two things:  Mercy and justice. By not choosing Judas unto eternal life, he got what he deserved – justice. By choosing the eleven, they got what they do not deserved – mercy.

Don’t make the mistake by thinking that God owes everyone mercy.  He does not. The very essence of mercy is that it is given to only a chosen few.  If mercy was given to everyone, it would not be mercy. 

Do you show mercy to everyone? No one does. We choose to show mercy and compassion to only a few whom we choose to. On a higher level, so it is with God.  Mercy is not a right that ought to be given to all.  It is a gift to be handed to a few.  This is what makes mercy so special both to give and to receive. 

Judas did not receive something He did not deserve.  He got what was coming to him – justice.  Everyone who is born is under God’s wrath. God, in His sovereign will, chooses to give as a gift, mercy to some and to not give it to others. The latter group simply gets what they deserved.

If you are a believer, saved and chosen by Christ, this ought to humble you completely and removed from your heart all manner of complaining and negativity.  You, for some reason known only to God were chosen to be given the gift of mercy.  This does not make you any better, but it does make you special.

End of Part 7

A Fresh Look at Divorce and Remarriage, Part 2

The Bible may very well teach that the only reason for remarriage is due to the death of a spouse. Every other instance would constitute adultery.

Here is my plan. I am simply going to give a list of passages from the Bible and provide an explanation as to why I believe this may be so or something we need to investigate.   Here are some reasons:

Jesus said that remarriage after divorce is adultery – Luke 16:18: Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.

Observations:

·        Jesus does not recognize divorce as terminating a marriage in God’s sight. You see, the reason Jesus says that remarriage would be committing adultery is because the first marriage was still considered valid even after a divorce.  Therefore, in the Jewish culture as well as our own, in which all divorces would seem to be considered valid, Jesus said it is not.  If divorce actually did terminate a marriage, then how is it possible to commit adultery in the remarriage?

·        Jesus also places the same restrictions on marrying the innocent party – here it would be the woman. You see, if a husband divorces his wife and the wife was against the divorce, but the divorce went through anyway, if the wife remarries (as the innocent party), she would be committing adultery and so would the man who married her. According to Jesus, it doesn’t matter if the person initiates the divorce and gets it, or if one is the innocent party of a divorce – to remarry is to commit adultery.

·        Notice that there are no “exception clause” stated by Jesus as there are in Matthew (cf. Matthew 5:32; 19:9). The people who read Luke’s gospel could not say, “But Matthew recorded Jesus give an exception clause.  Therefore, we should read into this passage in Luke an exception clause too.” 

It is important to keep in mind that each of the four gospel writers wrote to different groups of people. For example:

Matthew wrote to Jews

Mark wrote to Romans

Luke wrote to Gentiles

John wrote to Christians

There is a reason why in Matthew’s gospel and only in his gospel the “exception” is used and nowhere else. We will come to this in due time.

·        Look at the context of Luke 16.  Luke was pointing out that the Pharisees were “lovers of money” (v. 14), and Jesus picked up on this and said that they “are those who justify themselves before men, but God knows their hearts” (v. 15).

Then Jesus adds, “for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God” (v. 15b), and then a few verses later (v. 18), Jesus mentions two of those detestable things – divorce and remarriage.

In other words, with enough money, creativity, and affluence, people can justify whatever they choose before others. But with God, who knows and sees the heart, such things are detestable to Him.

But here’s my point:  If it is true (and we still have a ways to go to prove such), that divorce and remarriage are detestable to God, then why is it not the same with us?  Again, look at how many divorces and remarriage are occurring within Christendom.  Have we, like the Pharisees become good at justifying our desires and decisions before ourselves and others what is detestable to God?

End of Part 2

A Fresh Look at Divorce and Remarriage, Part 1

We’re living in troubling times. Divorce and remarriage among Christians is at an all time high. Why is this?  I go to Christian book stores and I see scores of books on the shelves concerning divorce and yet, it still is at an all time high. What is going on?  What’s wrong with our teaching and preaching on this subject?

You know what I find interesting?  All the marriages in the Old Testament were rotten marriages – all of them! You got husbands committing polygamy and having concubines.  Yet, try as you can, you will not find one example of anyone getting a divorce.  There are no examples of divorces in the Old Testament, especially among the Patriarchs. 

Why do things change when we come to the New Testament? Aren’t we told that Jesus is the “same yesterday, today and tomorrow” (Heb. 13:8)? James says that with God “there is no variation, or shifting shadow” (James 1:17). In other words, God does not change.

So, if there are no examples of divorce in the Old Testament, then why does it appear that the New Testament permits divorce and then also encourages remarriage? Is not this a change?  

Another thing I find troubling is how we tend to categorize our sins or bad decisions. We say, “I got divorce BEFORE I accepted Jesus,” as if to suggest that the Bible’s teaching on divorce didn’t apply then.  Or, “I committed adultery before I became a Christian, therefore, I did not know any better.”

The problem with this is that the Bible does not categorize our sins to those that occurred “before Christ,” and those that occur “after Christ.” Jesus’ teaching on divorce applies to the saved and unsaved.  Indeed, now that you’re saved, your sins of the past are forgiven and wiped clean by the blood of Christ, but they were nevertheless still sins with results that carry on over to your Christian life.

Today, it is not uncommon to find people in the church who have been divorced and remarried two or three times. All this despite the teaching we read about in Ephesians 5 about the close “one flesh” union between Jesus and His Bride, the Church!

I am not sure we understand the full significance of what the Bible says about marriage and the need to hang in there at all cost. I know I don’t fully comprehend its full and powerful significance. Hence, the reason I am doing this study.

Could it be that the Bible teaches divorce to be the absolute last thing one should do, and if it is done, then the person has to remain unmarried?  The only exception is when the spouse dies.

As I dive into this study on divorce and remarriage, I am going to approach it with this thought in mind:  If a man divorces his wife, even for the cause of adultery, he still must remain single. If he does remarry, he will be an adulterer, and the woman he marries will become an adulterer, and the man who marries the divorced woman will be an adulterer as well as she. 

Allow me to point out to you the various Bible passages that appear to support this conclusion.  I will also try to explain the “exception clause” in Matthew’s account.

I do not want to suggest that I have a full handle on this.  I still do (at this present time) believe that remarriage should occur where there is adultery involved by the other spouse or willful desertion (when an unbeliever chooses to leave a believer).  But I may be wrong. Perhaps, remarriage is not allowed at all except only in the death of a spouse.

If this conclusion is true, then it will radically reshape my view of divorce and remarriage and place me in the minority.

What does the Bible teach?

End of Part 1