Sunday, 24th September 2017.
~> CONDEMNS IMMORAL PRACTICES (Matthew 19:3-12)
~×~ No To Divorce (vv. 3-12).
So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no man separate (v. 6).
▶ v. 3: The Pharisees had come to ask and tempt Jesus as touching the lawfulness of divorce. Such cunny people still exist. We need to be wise in the Spirit.
▶ vv. 4-6: His answer is an outright ‘No’. When God joins, nothing should separate. God doesn't separate any marriage, because He can neither lie nor repent (Numbers 23:19). He who encourages divorce is therefore at logger head with God, who established the institution (Malachi 2:16).
▶ vv. 7-9: To the hypocritical question of those Pharisees, Jesus minced no words in condemning their stubbornness in wanting to do against God's original intention of instituting marriage. Any Christian or minister who tries to water down God's standing instruction against divorce, for any reasons, is a cancer in the Body of Christ that God would soon remove.
▶ Paul took the same godly stand in his epistle to the Corinthians. He emphasised that divorce is not permitted, and if anyone divorces, he/she must remain unmarried, or be reconciled to the spouse (I Corinthians 7:10-11).
▶ vv. 10-12: The apparent difficulty in abiding by the divine no-divorce injunction isn't enough to launch one into celibacy, if God has not ordained one for it. All we need is God's grace to do His will (cf. Phillipians 4:13).
~×~ No To Other Immoral Practice (vv. 4-6).
And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning made them male and female” (v. 4).
▶ v. 4: God made them male and female; not male and male, or female and female. This is a very strong case against homosexuality/lesbianism/same sex marriage or bestiality, even if the world powers are legalising them (cf. Leviticus 18:22,23).
▶ vv. 4-6: In God's original plan for marriage, He created one male for one female (Genesis 1:27). No room for another man/woman. Remarriage is only allowed when death strikes (Romans 7:2).
▶ vv. 4,5: Jesus re-emphasised the teachings of the Father to His critics that marriage must be between a man and a woman. God could have made more than a wife for Adam, and vice versa. This is a case against polygamy, polyandry, mygamy and other immoral practices.
▶ God made only Eve from Adam’s rib bones. He could have made more. Only one spouse, not more, can fill the ‘gap’ of marriage in your life. No room for polygamy.
▶ Some people deliberately twist God's Word to suit their lust for promiscuity and amassing of spouse. They refer to some biblical characters who had many wives and still found God's favour in some ways, failing to talk about the repercussions of their actions. A critical look at the Bible shows that those that enjoy their marriages are those who stick to the God-ordained one-man-one-wife principle.
▶ So, be careful the way you handle your marital life and those of others, God is watching and would reward appropriately (Hebrews 13:4).
LESSONS DERIVED
★ Divorce can never be an option, when it comes to Christian marriage. Hand over everything to God, and go to bed with rest of mind.
★ No amount of legislation by the worldly authorities is capacitated enough to change God's attitude to the one-man-one-wife biblical principle. Don't try any immoral practice.
QUESTIONS
→ Is there any harm in marrying more than one wife/husband?
→ The evil of divorce far outweighs some of those things that can be referred to as its benefits. Discuss.
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