An Open Letter To Dr.Tony Evans

Dear Dr.Tony Evans, 

I write to you in the love of the Lord Jesus Christ, who came in both grace and truth. Consider this letter as a loving exhortation so that you would come to repentance on what you teach, preach and believe about marriage, divorce, and remarriage (MDR). The reason for this open letter is to expose the hypocrisy of what you believe on MDR so that you would come to repentance.

I believe with all my heart that the majority of Evangelicals have bought into the lies that were established in the writings of the Westminster Confession of Faith (WCOF) concerning MDR. You Dr. Evans are a true supporter of what the WCOF has to say about MDR, and you take it a step further by what you believe about “spiritual death” and your understanding of approving civil divorces through church court and church discipline. I have already addressed this erroneous teaching here. Another great rebuttal to your “spiritual death” and ‘divorce court” teaching is this post from UDIU: "What? The Bride of Christ Deputized as "God's Coroner"?"

Tony, I believe that the moral decay of society is a direct result of God’s wrath on what Evangelicals have done to “redefine” one-flesh covenant marriage. I believe that the same-sex marriage (and soon to be polygamy) is an assault on the hypocrisy of men and women who believe that divorce can end what God has joined in Heaven. I believe that the majority of Evangelicals have no power, or EVEN the right to defend marriage when they have long since capitulated on the true definition of marriage as one man and one woman for life. (Gen 2:24; Mt 19:4-6; Mk 10:6-9) 

The main questions surrounding the Evangelical defense of divorce and remarriage always center on the ambiguous verses of Matthew 5:32, 19:9 and 1 Cor 7:15. There is no question that there are multiple interpretations of these verses, and there is a great division of the church on the permanence of marriage. The fact is there is only one interpretation, thus all interpretations contrary to the true interpretation will have considerable, if not eternal consequences. I have complete confidence that all scripture centers on the grace and truth of the Lord Jesus Christ and that marriage by definition will forever be one man and one woman for life. 

The reason I wrote this letter was from a question which was offered in a live video event hosted by your Tony Evans Facebook page. You offered viewers to send questions for a live response to those questions on September 6^th at 4pm Central time. You asked viewers to post questions with the #kingdommarriage hashtag. I listened to the entirety of that 30 min live broadcast knowing that you would not answer my question. However, I was interested in listening to your response to a very specific question from a specific viewer. I sincerely believe your response to that question should have convicted you on what you teach, preach and believe on divorce and remarriage. (Note: As of the date of publishing this post, you have not decided to publish the 30 minute video...)

The question was this: “Will you address biblical polygamy and why it is no longer practiced?”

This is a very good question. As you know, God permitted polygamy (multiple wives to one husband) as David and Solomon had many wives. We also know that Abraham had two wives (Sarah and Hagar), and so did Jacob (Leah and Rachel… not to mention their handmaidens). The fact is God allowed, or we would say permitted polygamy up until the New Testament. The truth is that even though polygamy was permitted, it also brought severe consequences throughout history. There is very little "good" that has resulted in multiple wives, other than these "situations" resulted in the coming of the Messiah and the New Testament.  

The Biblical definition of marriage is found in the second chapter of Genesis (2:24) and the Lord Jesus Christ makes this a specific point when He addresses the Pharisees of the Old Covenant laws (Mk 19:4-6; Mk 10:6-9). If we take the Gospels into context, we must make a distinction that everything prior to the Lord’s death, burial, and resurrection is Old Testament instruction which points to New Covenant truth. This includes what we teach, preach, and believe about marriage.

Therefore, we can make a conclusion that polygamy is no longer applicable to the New Covenant. A man cannot take another wife if there is a covenant marriage with one woman (The Law of Marriage). The same man cannot divorce his covenant wife and “remarry” another because she remains his covenant wife until death. This Law of Marriage today is as the Lord says it was in the beginning. (Gen 2:24; Mt 19:4-6; Mk 10:6-9). The New Covenant sets the standard of marriage as God made it to be from the beginning…one man and one woman for life. No excuses, no exceptions.

To your credit Dr. Evans, you made it very clear that God “doubles down” on polygamy by stating that New Covenant marriage allows one man and one woman. You made it very clear that marriage is only one man and one woman because of what the Lord Jesus Christ established as a Kingdom Marriage. You very much believe that the New Covenant overrides the definition of marriage when it comes to polygamy since the Lord Jesus Christ is the official spokesman for ALL things, including marriage. (Col 1:15-20)  

Why then Dr. Evans would not the New Covenant “double down” on divorce,..or does it?

I would definitely tell you that the New Covenant does indeed “double down” on divorce, exactly in the same way the “New Covenant “doubles down” on polygamy. There is ample and concise scripture that tells us that a one-flesh covenant cannot end in divorce (Mt 19:4-6; Mk 10:6-9; Ro 7:2,3; 1 Cor 7:10,11, 39) and that ALL “remarriages” after a divorce of a one-flesh covenant are unions of adultery (Mt 5:32;19:9; Mk 10:11,12; Luke 16:18; Ro 7:2,3; Heb 13:4) and not marriages in the Lord (1 Cor 7:39). In fact, divorce was only applicable to the law of Moses which was permitted by Moses because the people of Israel had hard hearts. (Mt 19:8; Mk 10:5)

The Lord Jesus Christ says, “You have heard, but I say” to both polygamy and divorce. It is hypocrisy to teach that polygamy is not applicable if you teach that divorce is still applicable. In fact, you actually teach that polygamy is applicable because you permit people to “remarry” after a civil divorce. You “sanctify” the adultery by applying scripture that permits a person or person to exit the vows of covenant to make new vows to another. You must be made accountable to many who are in serial polygamy because of your teaching. 

Even though this erroneous and damnable teaching redefines marriage, God is full of mercy and grace in this since the sole purpose of covenant marriage is to reconcile the union. The repentance required from an adulterous remarriage is to end the adulterous union and return to the spouse of covenant, or remain unmarried until death (physical, not spiritual) ends the covenant.  One cannot simply "apologize" for their adultery and still remain in adultery. The Lord says, “Go, and sin no more”, he never said “Go, and remain in your adultery”. One must essentially apply a civil divorce to the civil remarriage as a "witness" to ending the adulterous union.

What does repentance look like for you, and to those who teach contrary to the word of God? I have already addressed this in a letter to all Pastors and clergy who have twisted the word of God to allow both divorce and remarriage. The cost is high because the sin has run deep. The consequences are significant, but this repentance will have a profound impact for generations to come.  If you want to teach “Kingdom Marriage”, then you must teach that marriage is a one-flesh covenant between one man and one woman for life, no exceptions no excuses.  

I pray Dr. Evans in the love of Christ that you would consider the magnitude of denying the truth that one-flesh covenant marriage cannot, and will not end in divorce. There are thousands of souls at stake. The Bible is the story of Christ’s love for His bride, and the church of the Lord Jesus Christ MUST defend marriage, exhibit marriage, and be a witness of the Gospel in marriage as one man and one woman for life. Any other definition of marriage is not marriage at all. Dr. Evans, there is still time to repent.  

In Christ’s love,

Neil