Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Divorce and Remarriage Has Ruined the Church

Those of you who think that remarriage after adultery is a valid marriage, don't realize that God called it an ongoing state of adultery in the original languages.

No where in the Word of God will you see any statements like "if you have remarried with a piece of paper by the law of the land it is now a real marriage."

First lets establish that it is commanded by God that we tell one another the truth when it comes to sin.

There are those who would say that God is the judge and we should let Him tell them. That is true only in part, God gave us the responsibility toward our fellow believers to be His spokesman. We are to tell others the truth of His principles as surely as we are to tell others the gospel, the bad news first that they are sinful and on their way to hell, and the good news that they can be saved from that by believing in Christ.

The church is rampant with divorce and remarriage because it has been widely accepted without real Biblical grounds. All excuses for divorce and remarriage have come about by twisting and misunderstanding Scripture.

I will probably lose friends over this, but I have remained silent on this subject too long lately. May the Lord spare those who are young and have not yet committed this sin, that they may begin their married life the correct way in obedience to Christ. And, may this knowledge prevent the legitimate young marriages from falling into the trap of divorce and remarriage.

It is likely that the young marrieds will not have encouragement to stay together from the older set, who have violated this and accepted it, based on whether or not the sins of the spouses are bad enough. They will not help you stay strong in your marriage most of the time.

It is best to go to God in prayer and those who have been committed to marriage, one man, one woman for life for wisdom on this subject. All others will help you wallow and take away your hope that God can work in your marriage. They will focus on our troubles rather than God's Power. They will twist scripture to discourage you from persevering through all kinds of injustice.

The world is full of injustice, we are not called to bail out when things get rough, we are admonished to go through with Christ.

First rule that God established is that we have a responsibility to our fellow believers to rebuke, admonish, correct and discipline those who are walking sinfully.

1 Timothy 5:20
20 Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear.

Titus 1:13 "This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith;"

Secondly, we are to speak the truth that others may avoid sin against God. If we love our brothers and sister in the Lord, then we warn from the Word, of pitfalls that may hinder their prayers.

1 Peter 3:7
"Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered."

Christ said this, in Mark 10:11-12
"11 And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her. 12 And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery."

Christ intended that two people are more than just living together sharing life in marriage, they have actually become one person, the connotation in the original languages is "glued together" with a spiritual glue that no man can separate.

Mark 10:8
"and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh."

Matthew 19:6
"Therefore they are no more two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder."

Divorce and remarriage has caused many family problems and children who live a superficial Christianity, believing that God's mandates and principles don't matter, since Mom and Dad have violated this very foundational matter of marriage.

Why would a child learn to persevere in persecution for Christ when he has been taught to bail out of anything that makes him uncomfortable?

We have taught our culture to abandon and kill anyone who gets in the way of our happiness. We kill babies that inconvenience us, we throw away spouses that frustrate us, we dishonor authorities that require things of us.

We are a nation that takes only one thing seriously, our freedom to do as we please, no matter who it hurts.

Chivalry is dead! The willingness to be hurt for the sake of another is now considered foolish in our apostate and selfish culture.

Those who would defend their divorce and remarriage on the basis of "grace", does not understand God's grace.

Grace was extended to give us the ability to avoid sin. Grace was not extended so that we can be absolved of it, while still living in it.

1 Peter 5:10
"10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you."

2 Peter 3:18
"but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen."

Romans 6
"1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin."

No where in the bible does God say that it is alright to sin as long as you are born again.

When we continue in sin, we are an example to others, especially the younger more impressionable people.

Luke 17:2
"It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones."

The passage in Luke is speaking of children, our influence over young minds by our actions is much greater than we realize.

Our lifestyle teaches children even more than our words do. When we take God's Word lightly, so will our children. Why are our modern apostate churches filled with superficial and flippant entertainment seeking youth? The answer is in the lifestyles of their adult influences.

May those who justify their sin remember they will be accountable to those they lead astray. May they repent, now before they have to face Christ on judgement day.