Does God allow divorce?

To sum up the Bible’s teaching’s on marriage and divorce:

1. Marriage is the sacred union between one man and one woman and God’s intention is for marriage to last a lifetime.

2. Divorce is not always sinful.

3. Divorce is permitted, but not required, on the ground of sexual immorality.

4. Divorce is permitted, but not required, on the ground of desertion by an unbelieving spouse.

5. When the divorce was not permissible, any subsequent remarriage results in adultery.

6. In situations where the divorce was permissible, remarriage is also permissible.

7. Improperly divorced and remarried Christians should stay as they are, but repent and be forgiven of their past sins and make whatever amends are necessary.

* This points are from Kevin DeYoung’s brilliant paper: “What did Jesus think of divorce and remarriage” (http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevindeyoung/2010/11/03/a-sermon-on-divorce-and-remarriage/)

The most important thing

What is the most important issue in your life right now? Your exams, your job, your upcoming wedding, your children, your girlfriend, your cancer?  Jesus, in Mark 2, speaks to what’s really important.

Friends bring a paralysed man to Jesus, who by this stage is a semi-famous miracle worker.  The paralysed man is lowered to Jesus through a desperately-made opening in the flat-roofed house.  Jesus sees this physically handicapped man and says to him, quite surprisingly, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

Why is Jesus so insensitive and tactless?  Surely he realised the desperate man needed healing.  The key is to see that Jesus knew that the paralysed man’s physical handicap wasn’t his biggest, deepest problem.  Jesus knew that the man had a far greater issue.   Jesus knew he was a sinner estranged from his Creator and because the man was estranged from God he would not only suffer in this world, but he would also suffer in the world to come, for all eternity, in hell. Jesus knew what his big issue was, and so said, “Son, our sins are forgiven”.  Jesus extended to the spiritually paralysed man forgiveness and new life for all eternity.  His new life would start that very day and have no end. 

What is the biggest issue you’re facing right now?  What’s causing you the most joy or the most pain?  Remember that as a Christian, Jesus has dealt with your biggest problem and that you now belong to him.  He cares and control.  He empowers and enables.  If you are not a Christian yet, make sure that deal with the biggest issue before you get caught up in the others.

Oh yes, just to prove that he does care about the other issues too, Jesus tells the paralysed man to stand up and walk home.

Earthquakes and the end times

Jesus’ words in Matthew 24 have been badly misunderstood over the years!  Jesus said in Matthew 24: 4-6, “You will hear of wars and rumours of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.  Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of birth-pains.”

The disciples had asked Jesus when the temple in Jerusalem would be destroyed and when the end of the world as-they-knew-it would be.  In Jewish thinking the destruction of the temple would me the end of the present age. 

Jesus replies that life will go on as normal.  In the Middle East, then as now, there are always wars and rumours of wars.  There always have been famines and earthquakes.  We simply know about them because of CNN and Sky News.  Since the fall of man in Genesis 3 the earth has been experiencing the groans of birth pains (Romans 8).  Jesus whole point is that we don’t know when the end of the present age will be! Life will carry on as normal and then the end (or really the beginning) will come.  That’s the whole point of verses 37-39: “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.  For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.”

The sudden destruction of the temple by the Romans in 70 AD (v4-35) will be a small picture of the sudden, unexpected return of Jesus (v36-44).   

The irony of Jesus

At Jesus baptism, a voice speaks from heaven and says, "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." (Mark 1:8)  The voice (aka God the Father) echoes Psalm 2:7 and Isaiah 42:1.  What makes this astounding is the two radically different people these two passages refer to. 

Psalm 2 refers to God’s great anointed King who will rule forever over God’s people and shatter all God’s enemies.  It is a psalm about the enthronement of the godly king and the futility of rebelling against him.

 Isaiah 42 is quite different.  Isaiah 42 introduces us to the suffering servant of God who is crushed and bruised and beaten.  He dies for the sins of others and wounded for others’ transgressions. He is smitten, afflicted and led to the slaughter (see Isaiah 53).

 At Jesus’ baptism, God the Father makes it clear that both the king and the servant are combined in Jesus.  Jesus is God’s king who will rule forever and who will smash his enemies.  Jesus is also the servant who establishes his rule by dying and rising again.  Jesus dies for the sins of others so that others may join him in his kingdom. 

 Many first century people failed to see the irony of Jesus. They failed to see that glory and suffering must go together. Have you understood the irony?

Is the gospel good news?

The word “gospel” was not a particularly Christian word at the time of the writing of the New Testament in the first Century Roman Empire.

Gospel was simply the word used for momentous news of a historic event that would no doubt bring a new situation or circumstances. For example, the news of a new Emperor being crowned was called gospel, as was the news of victory in battle by the Roman legions, ushering in a era of relative peace.

The gospel of the crowning of a new Emperor was good news if you were a senator in good standing with the new Caesar. The gospel was bad news if there was enmity and distrust between you and the Emperor-elect.  When Mark decided to quill his life-story of Jesus, he introduced his papyrus with the words: The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God (Mark 1:1).  Or to put it another way: Here begins my account of the momentous, historical news about the real king called Jesus.

This gospel is good news if you are willing to submit to Jesus and be part of his new kingdom. However, this gospel is extremely bad news if you refuse to submit to his rule by stubbornly continuing to life live your own way.

The words describing Jesus as “Son of God” where also particularly meaningful to Mark’s original readers. The common and official title of Augustus Caesar (Emperor at time of Jesus’ birth; nephew of Julius Caesar) was “Emperor Caesar Augustus, son of god.” Another inscription refers to Augustus as “The Emperor Caesar, son of god, Augustus, ruler of all land and sea.” A later Roman coin, said this of Emperor Tiberius, Augustus’s stepson: “Tiberius Caesar, son of the divine Augustus.” Emperors in the Roman Empire were worshipped as Gods and sons of God. We now call this religious phenomenon the “Emperor Cult”. Mark wrote into this cultural context and described Jesus as: the Christ, the Son of God.

Mark, who knew the apostle Peter well, wanted to “publish” the gospel concerning Jesus for a wider audience and for future generations. Mark, like Peter, was convinced that Jesus of Nazareth, not Caesar, was the ruler of all land and sea and the true Son of God. The rest of Mark’s book goes on to show us why Mark was convinced of these things.

No ordinary death

Andries Tatane’s death and the death of Jesus of Nazareth bear some remarkable similarities and differences.

Both men were 33 years old, guilty of no crime, yet treated with contempt, beaten, and killed by the authorities of the day. Both men’s death was terrible and tragic. Both men’s death also achieved results for their people.

Jesus’ death, however, was voluntary. Andries’ death was involuntary. Andries Tatane did not wake up planning and knowing he would die. On the other hand, from the beginning of his public ministry, Jesus said that he must die and give his life as a ransom for many.

Jesus death was also vicarious. Jesus unambiguously said that he must die for others. He said that the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. Jesus suffered, was abandoned, and died to take upon himself the full wrath of God for the sin of God’s people. Jesus died not for his own sin, but that of others.

Jesus death was also infinitely valuable. Andries Tatane’s death may have some short term service delivery benefits for his community. Jesus’ death however has infinite benefits for people of every generation, every nation, every culture and every age. Through trust in Jesus as Lord and God your eternal salvation is secured, you are adopted in God’s very own family, and your sins are completely, utterly forgiven.

The violence of Andries Tatane’s death has rightly angered the people of South Africa. Let us remember another violent death. And be angered at our sin. And then be driven to the cross, where God’s anger was poured out on Jesus so that we may experience his love.

How not to commit adultery

The book of Proverbs gives us some really practical advice on how to keep our marriage beds (and future marriage beds) pure.

1. Remember that God is all-seeing and all-knowing
Whatever you were doing a hour ago, God saw and heard and knew. Proverbs 5:21 says, in the context of temptation to adultery, “For a man’s ways are in full view of the LORD, and he examines all his paths". God is like Norton’s Internet Protector on steroids and that’s a good thing! Its good to know that God know all we say and do and think.  God sees where we go on the internet and what pics we download on our phone. God listens to our phone calls. God reads our SMSes and Facebook statuses.

2. Strong marriages (and future marriages) need strong friends
In Proverbs 5:1-2 a older Christian is instructing and counselling and sharing with a younger man. He says, “My son, pay attention to my wisdom, listen well to my words of insight, that you may maintain discretion and your lips may preserve knowledge.”
Whether we are dating or married we need strong friends that will hold us accountable and encourage us to godly living. Guys: You need godly guy friends who are not impressed with you! Ladies: You need godly girlfriends who will encourage and support you. The best way to get these kinds of friends is to start being this kind of friend to someone else.

3. Consider the consequences
Proverbs 5v3-6 says, “ the lips of an adulteress drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil; but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave. She gives no thought to the way of life; her paths are crooked, but she knows it not."
The love of another woman might seem attractive at first and an affair might be very appealing. The other person may seem more understanding, gentler and more successful. But know that affairs always end in hurt, pain, pregnancy, STD’s and divorce.
The grass may seem greener on the other side, but the godly husband makes his present marriage better. Dating has the same temptation: having sex may seem so appealing – like sweet honey (v3), but it ends in enslavement to lust, a seared conscience, public shame, bitterness, break up, anger and guilt.

We have an enemy named Satan and his purpose is to destroy you, your marriage and your children. He will wait 40 years to find you weakness if necessary. Never drop your guard, never think you are beyond temptation, always guard your marriage, always consider the consequences. Adultery is can be alluring, but in end it fatal.

4. Not even a hint
God commands us not to have even a hint of sexual immorality or sin in our lives (Ephesians 5v3). Sin is like cyanide. It’s poisonous, even if you just have a little.

Proverbs 7v6-21 paints a vivid picture of the deceptiveness of sin:
6 At the window of my house I looked out through the lattice.
7 I saw among the simple, I noticed among the young men, a youth who lacked judgment.
8 He was going down the street near her corner, walking along in the direction of her house
9 at twilight, as the day was fading, as the dark of night set in.
(The foolish young man knows where the seductive woman lives and purposefully walks down her street. He does not stay away as far as he can from temptation. The temptation may be a woman, a man, a website or a casino.)

10 Then out came a woman to meet him, dressed like a prostitute and with crafty intent.
11 (She is loud and defiant, her feet never stay at home;
12 now in the street, now in the squares, at every corner she lurks.)
13 She took hold of him and kissed him and with a brazen face she said:
14 "I have fellowship offerings at home; today I fulfilled my vows.
15 So I came out to meet you; I looked for you and have found you!
16 I have covered my bed with coloured linens from Egypt.
17 I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes and cinnamon.
18 Come, let’s drink deep of love till morning; let’s enjoy ourselves with love!
(Sin sounds so good! The other person seems so perfect! But people don’t know that well may seem perfect for we only see their good side, when they’re dressed to kill and have make up on. Its not reality! )

21 With persuasive words she led him astray; she seduced him with her smooth talk.

It all started walking down the street (v8), not getting rid of every hint of sexually immorality, not dealing with sin and temptation before it grows.

If you are married: Your affections, and intimacy, and admiration is for your wife or husband. If you are dating, it’s for your future wife or husband.