Romans 10:6 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2 By whom also we have access by faith into
this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And
not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation
worketh patience;4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 5 And
hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts
by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. For when we were yet without
strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.7 For scarcely for a
righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even
dare to die.8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us.9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood,
we shall be saved from wrath through him.10 For if, when we were enemies, we
were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we
shall be saved by his life.
The word Gospel means Good News. It is an act by God for His
love for us. Surely, we do not deserve this gift. After all, the scriptures say,
while we yet sinners…We were enemies of God, without hope. None of our good
works can appease God because they are like filthy rags; none of what we say or
do can reconcile us to God. God knew this; He knew that the human race was destined
to die because the wages of this sin is death.
Therefore, in His love for us He provided a scapegoat, a way
out of death. He sent His only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
This is the New Covenant, for the blood of Christ was shed for many for
the remission of sins. Those who believe receive everlasting life and a new
life in Christ. We have lives of peace and the hope to know that we are counted
as children of God. The Holy Spirit enters us and helps us to live a life to
glorify Him.
This is a pro-marriage, pro-Gospel blog. My hope is that
when people read my posts they see that I am fully committed to speaking the truth
about a one-flesh covenant of marriage and how this sacred covenant relates to
the Gospel.The Lord has placed on my heart the desire to make others see that
God intended marriage to be for life. We know this is entirely possible because
even though marriage was ordained before sin entered into the world, we see
countless (though less and less each passing year) marriages that end in death
of either one or both spouses.
We must also consider that there are many marriages on the
brink of divorce and God restored these marriages. God restored these marriages
because one spouse put their faith and trust in the vow they made before God. I
know many believers who pray and stand in the vow they made for their prodigal
spouse who had abandoned the marriage and in some cases have divorced and remarried.
Yet, these spouses stand on the word of God. They know that God calls divorce
and hardheartedness and remarriage adultery, even if the majority of the world
sees divorce as a valid excuse to move on. They have hope in the restoration of
the prodigal spouse and hope in the restoration of the marriage. My intent in
this post (and every post on Genesis 2) is to show that the sacred one-flesh covenant
of marriage is compatible to the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and that divorce
and remarriage are part of self-gratification and zero faith in God.
Let us compare the Gospel, marriage, and divorce.
The Gospel:
When you make a confession of faith, this covenant seals the
deal with God. The Lord Jesus Christ will never forsake or leave you. God
cannot break this covenant because He is holy, and through this covenant, He is
going to make you holy unless you start to believe that He did not keep His
promises. You will stumble and fall, but when you repent of your sin, He is
faithful and just to forgive you and restore you unto righteousness. Remember,
prior to your relationship with Christ, you were condemned to suffer the consequence
of your sins. The Holy Spirit inside of
you should convict you of sin and areas in your life that need to change to
make you in the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember, you can fail, and
will fail, but God cannot and will not fail and loves you enough to forget the
wrongs you did and said. Repentance to God restores the relationship because God
forgives and forgets. God is the perfect example of love.
The Marriage:
Marriage is so unique in that regardless of religion or culture,
those who vow into this covenant know that marriage is until death. The hope is
that others see that this vow to your spouse has nothing to do with their vow
to you, but has more to do with faith in God to preserve the marriage until
death. This is believing that like you, your spouse also vowed before God and
they will have to answer to Him should they break that vow. The moment you believe
you can break your vow of marriage just because your spouse broke their vow to
you, is the moment you just believed God is not capable of restoring the vow breaker.
A vow of marriage is a commitment to love that person even if they do not reciprocate
their love to you. Grace is the foundation of marriage and marriage represents
the Gospel, Gods love for us. A marriage is a perfect example of love.
Marriage is from the beginning, a one-flesh covenant
designed by the grace of God...and this was good. Marriage represents Christ's
love for His church. Marriage is the Gospel lived out between the husband and
wife. Marriage is the foundation of a human life. Marriage represents the roles
and duties of a man and woman. Marriage has a profound impact on our children.
Marriage demands selflessness, humility, and forgiveness. What God creates is
good.
Divorce:
Did God join you in marriage? When you make a decision to
divorce from a one-flesh covenant of marriage, you are saying that you, and not
God, set the standards of marriage. You also break your vow to God. You believe
that your spouse is without hope. You become the judge of your spouse. You also
make the marriage about you, what seems right in your own eyes. If you believe
divorce is the solution, it is most likely you are part of the problem. If you initiate
a divorce, why should God not divorce you? Since God is holy, and there is not
one sin in His being, why should He remain with you who sin daily? You say, but
I ask for forgiveness, I repent of my sins…Did you forgive the sins of the spouse
who sinned against you? Jesus said, For if ye forgive men their trespasses,
your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men
their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. (Matthew 6:14-15)
Did God join you in marriage? When you make a decision to
believe you spouse divorced you, and that you have the freedom to remarry, you
just redefined the Gospel and marriage. You also broke your vow to God. Your spouse
remarried, but God calls this remarriage adultery because the spouse made a vow
to you. Their divorce and remarriage does not end the vow to you, and if you
believe it does, you make God out to be a liar. You became a Pharisee who
believes that divorce and remarriage is the answer to someone who sinned against
you, when Jesus said, what therefore God hath joined
together, let not man put asunder.
Divorce came after the fall of
man. Man instituted divorce, not by the grace of God, but by the hardness of
man’s heart. God hates divorce. Divorce represents resentment, bitterness,
unforgiveness, and impenitent hearts. Divorce runs contrary to the Gospel.
Divorce causes sin. Divorce creates more problems. Divorce splits families and
friends. Divorce has a profound impact on our children. Divorce is selfishness,
self-gratification, and prideful.
In conclusion, I believe that divorce is the single most
selfish decision a person can make in a covenant vow of marriage. The second
most selfish decision is believing that your spouse divorced you. If marriage
represents Christ’s love for His church, divorce represents the person of
antichrist. I understand that some of you have had very difficult marriages of
abuse, infidelity, and addiction. Yet, where does it say in a vow of a one-flesh
marriage covenant that your marriage will be perfect? Where does it say that
your spouse will keep their vow to you? Where does it say that you can initiate
a divorce because your spouse disobeyed God? The Gospel should transform us
into the likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ, and divorce is saying we want none
of that.
If you divorced, or believe you were divorced. Turn back to
the cross and the power of the Gospel. God has the power to restore you to Him
and then he has the power to restore a prodigal spouse. What you need to know
is that maybe in all this, you are the prodigal and that you need to come back
to a God who loves you enough to send His only begotten Son to die in your place.
If we really understand the Gospel and its power to save, we know that this
life is but a stepping-stone into eternity. Make the individual choice to trust
and have reverence for a holy God no matter the actions of those around us. God
is more than capable of delivering His end of the relationship. He loves us
with an everlasting love, grace is His name, and His kingdom cannot be moved.
Believe it to be so.
Hebrews 12:28 Wherefore
we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may
serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
29 For our God is a consuming fire.
In Christ’s love,
Neil
No comments:
Post a Comment