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March 18, 2015

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Current Events, Life Questions, Marriage

What does the Bible say about divorce?

Divorce is a major problem in our nation. The current statistics suggests half of all couples who marry will get a divorce. Though the recent marriage debates have been focused on homosexual marriage, divorce is an issue dealt with in the Bible. The Bible addresses divorce in clear and concise language. The Bible also makes a couple statements about divorce that are not immediately clear and understandable. In an article of this nature space and time do not allow a thorough discussion of all the passages related to divorce. Therefore, the focus in this particle article will be the clear Bible passages about divorce. The more difficult questions and passages relating to divorce will be left to be addressed by themselves in later articles.

God designed marriage to be permanent. Genesis 2 tells that God created man, woman and marriage. In God’s creation work He gave the parameters for marriage and by which all marriages are still bound. Genesis 2:21 says, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they two shall be one flesh.” In Mark 10 Jesus is asked about the lawfulness of divorce for any reason. In His answer, Jesus quotes Genesis 2 and then adds this statement, “What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put assunder.” Marriage is designed by God to be a permanent union of one man and one woman. Divorce is a violation of that Divine direction. The original created order still orders marriage.

Because of man’s sin God does at times permit divorce. The question about divorce brought to Jesus in Mark 10 found it’s Biblical support in Deuteronomy 24. The Old Testament law provided an orderly means for a man to divorce his wife if he found some uncleanness in her. The law of Moses provided reasonable instructions for civil divorces to maintain order in the state and to provide protection for those involved in divorce. These Old Testament instructions do not require or approve of divorce, but give direction for orderly civil conduction a difficult matter. In Matthew 19:9 Jesus refers to Deuteronomy 24 and tells the uncleanness for which divorce is allowable. “Whoseover shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery.” Jesus says divorce is permissible in cases of sexual unfaithfulness.

One other Biblical passage seems to permit divorce, 1 Corinthians 7. In that chapter Paul says that in the case of an unsaved spouse leaving a saved spouse, the Christians is to let him (or her) go. The Christian is not to seek a divorce, but if the unbeliever divorces him, the Christian is not to oppose it. Sexual unfaithfulness and an unbeliever’s desertion are the only two exceptions found in the Bible which permit divorce. These exceptions are not indications of general approval for divorce, but provide a measure of protection to more or less innocent spouses in a couple specific cases.

God never commands divorce, even in those cases in which divorce is permitted. The one married to an adulterer is not bound by the Bible to get a divorce. In fact, the Bible gives specific examples of individuals who were married to serial adulterers and remained married to the glory of God. The believer was never to court divorce from an unbeliever. He was instead to promote a healthy, whole union for the eternal benefit of the children and the unsaved spouse. Divorced is at times permitted but never commanded.

In the end the issue when discussing marriage and divorce is not an issue of happiness, freedom, tolerance and mental health. The issue is what God’s Word says. God designed every marriage to be permanent. Man’s continued sin corrupts that design, but the plan remains unchanged. Every marriage is a union put together by God and should not be torn apart by any act of man. Though God gives a couple exceptions allowing for divorce, He does so for the protection of marriage and not the frivolous dissolution of the marriage covenant upon any pretext.

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February 11, 2015

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Christianity, Current Events

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Were the Crusades Christian?

Last week when making a point about the distortion of religions, our President claimed the crusades were undertaken in the name of Christ. The claim repeated by Mr. Obama is one that has been repeated many times by many people and will be repeated many times over again. Were the crusades Christian?

The crusades were an ostensibly Christian undertaking, claiming to be in the name of Christ. The crusades did not take place in a religious vacuum. The crusades took place in a socio-political environment in which the Roman Catholic church was tightly interwoven with numerous national governments. Church and state were not separated and were, in fact, nearly inseparable. Despite the claims, to say the crusades were Christian has as much merit as saying the Seattle Seahawks NFC victory was Christian. Christian claims and Christian participation do not a Christian event make.

Yes, the Crusades claimed Christianity for their support. No, the Crusades were not at all a Christian undertaking. Historically, nations have long claimed Biblical and Divine support of their cause in war. During the Civil War the Union and Confederacy both claimed God was supporting their cause. In the World Wars Americans claimed Divine support. In First Gulf War and the war on terror, America claimed Divine support. These claims do not prove any of those wars were Christian undertakings. Nothing in the Bible teaches an army of church men are to march into Palestine and drive out its conquerors, just as nothing in the Bible teaches America was to drive Al-Qaeda out of Afghanistan.

At this point someone will protest that God told Moses, Joshua, Saul and David to conquer the land of Canaan and to wipe out entire populations. This claim is true, but Israel is not the church. The scope of this article does not allow time to go into the specifics of the Old Testament, God’s commands to Israel and God’s working in the world during that time. One recognition is vitally important to understanding how God’s command to Israel have no bearing on the crusades. The church and Israel are not the same in function, purpose, relationship to the world or governance. Israel in the Old Testament was a nation, acting as an autonomous government among the many nations of the world. The church is not and never has been a nation. The church is not a federal agency with its own army, justices and legislatures that imposes its will by force and fiat on those who resist. The church is something very different and distinct from a nation. The church has no authority to declare war. No true church will claim Jesus’ support of violence, murder and barbarism and no genuine Christian can claim Christ’s example for brutality, assault and bloodshed.

The crusades were not Christian in any way. They may or may not have been just (that’s a separate discussion), but they were not Christian. Christian is that which follows the teachings of Jesus Christ as recorded in the New Testament. Anything contrary to the New Testament is not Christian. Anything not built on the clear teaching of the New Testament cannot claim to be Christian. Only that which is defined in the New Testament as Christian behavior can legitimately be called a Christian endeavor.

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November 6, 2014

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Current Events, Marriage, The Bible

Why did God allow people in the Old Testament to have more than one wife?

He didn’t. God established the standard for marriage on the day He created man. God made one man and one woman. He put them together in the garden as man and wife. The Bible tells us because of God’s created design, “A man shall leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife and they shall be one flesh.” (Genesis 2:25) The design of marriage, one man with one woman, has not changed since creation. The Bible also tells how man sinned and soon began to operate in opposition to God’s design for marriage. As a result, we find in the Bible men like Jacob, David and Solomon who had multiple wives and concubines. This fact is often brought up in arguments to show that Christians who insist marriage is a permanent union between one man and one woman are being foolish. According to this line of arguing, the Bible does not insist on one man-one woman marriage. Does the Bible allow for a different definition of marriage? Absolutely not. Certainly there were men in the Bible who did not marry according to God’s plan and design. Those men were not always condemned in the Bible for their disobedience. The lack of direct condemnation of a person’s example does not prove God did not view that action as sin. We can find in the Bible a number of examples of disobedience that are not directly condemned. For example, in the book of Judges a man killed a woman and cut her into pieces. The Bible does not explicitly condemn that specific act of murder, so are we to assume that the Bible actually approves of murder despite it’s clear commands to the contrary? Of course not. That would be foolish. Because people in the Bible do things that are forbidden elsewhere in the Bible does not mean the Bible has changed and now God approves of their actions. Second, those who make the case that God somehow approves of polygamy because he allowed it in the Old Testament make it sound like the Old Testament is filled with polygamists. The fact is, there are very few saints in the Old Testament who were polygamists. Two very common examples are David and Solomon. God did not approve of David’s sin, nor did He excuse it. God had commanded in Deuteronomy 17:17 that the kings of Israel were not to have multiple wives. David is called a man after God’s own heart, yet we know he had several wives. David and Solomon were in clear disobedience of that command and they paid an awful price for their disobedience. Because of David’s polygamy, his family was ripped apart and he had to deal with open rebellion by one son and covert rebellion by one of his generals. Solomon’s case was even worse. Solomon’s many wives led him away from the worship of God into idolatry. One other example is the patriarch Jacob. Jacob’s multiple wives are actually a part of his punishment for deceiving his father Isaac and result in great turmoil within his family. The Bible clearly defines marriages as one man permanently joined to one woman. The Bible never approves of polygamy and shows abundant examples of the dire consequences when we fail to follow God’s design.

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January 16, 2013

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Current Events, Life Questions, Uncategorized

Why does God allow bad things to happen?

When tidal waves wipe out villages and kill thousands of people. When terrorists attack and kill thousands of innocent people. When a child is diagnosed with incurable cancer. When a loved son is suddenly and tragically killed. When tragedy strikes, we often ask why? This is not a new question, nor will it stop being asked whenever some new tragedy strikes. Why does God allow bad things to happen in this world and to us? The answers offered go from one extreme to the other. Some have suggested that God can’t do anything to stop these tragedies, He feels just as bad about it as we do when these things happen. Others have taught that God uses all these things as a direct judgement on the people involved. The tidal waves wiped out those people and villages because they were so sinful. What does the Bible say about this, though?  My opinion is not important, what is important is what God has said in the Bible. First, God is in complete control. 1 Chronicles 29:11, “Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty. For all that is in the heaven and in the earth, thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all.” God is head of all things, all events, all circumstances. Nothing happens that God has not first given the green light for it to occur. Second, this world is under a curse. Romans 8:22, “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.” Because of the effects of sin, the earth is under the curse of God and experiences great pain. Bad things happen as part of the general curse on sin. Lastly, God has a good purpose. That is hard to understand, especially when so many that are innocent die, but the Bible is very plain– God is good, and everything He does is for a good purpsoe. 1 John 4:8 says very simply, “God is love.” Not just that God loves, but God is love. God will never do anything that is unloving or unkind. Psalm 145:9, “The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works.” Though we don’’t know all the mind of God, we can know that all things that happen, God allows for a good reason. For those who have put their trust in Christ for salvation the Bible gives some very clear reasons for bad things. God allows these bad things to happen so that we can help others that later go through the same troubles. He allows these things so that we can be purified and made to look more like Jesus. He allows these things for our benefit, to teach us and help us be more Godly.
The Bible never promises that we will know all the reasons why bad things happen. The general answer to this question can be boiled down to a simple, I don’t know, but I do know this, God is good, God is in total control and all things that happen occur for a good reason.