What God has joined together by Clay Bethea

As we look around our society today, divorce is rampant. What was once frowned upon seems to be an accepted practice today. Incompatibility and personality clashes are enough reason for many couples to put an end to the union God established.

Would divorce be prevalent in our society today, if everyone understood that God hates divorce (Mal. 3:6)? Roman 7:2, 3 states "For the married woman is bound by law to her husband while he is living; but if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning the husband. So then if, while her husband is living, she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress, though she is joined to another man." (NASV) Here we can see that the true intent of marriage is for life. If either party breaks the bond, then an adulterous relationship results when either of the parties remarries.

This same teaching is reinforced by Jesus in Matthew 19:1-10. Here we have the Pharisees questioning Jesus about divorce, vs. 3 "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause at all?" Jesus replies to the question at hand by stating how God intended marriage from the beginning vs.4-6 "Have you not read, that He who created them from the beginning made them male and Female, and said, for this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh? Consequently they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate." In these verses, we find that God ordained marriage and that only God has the authority to break the bond.

The Pharisees continue to question Jesus about the certificate of divorce that Moses allowed in vs. 7, "Why then did Moses command to give her a certificate of divorce and send her away?" We find that Christ answers in vs. 8, "Because of your hardness of heart, Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way." Note that Jesus refers them back to the beginning of time and that the intent of marriage was for life.

But then in vs. 9 Christ gives his command on marriage, "And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery." So Christ gives only one reason for the marriage relationship to end and that is if one of the mates commits fornication while being married to their mate. Therefore, if a person has divorced their mate for any other reason than fornication, and remarries, this person is now living in an adulterous relationship. But the innocent party in the relationship could remarry and not be living in sin according to this verse.

It is no wonder that the disciples made the statement they did in vs. 10. They thought that this was a hard teaching and that it would be better not to even marry. Christ came and set up a new law in the New Testament concerning marriage and divorce and we must abide by these teachings if we want to be found faithful in the end.

There are two other verses that give the same command and they are as follows: Matthew 5:32, I Corinthians 7:10, 11.

Now that we know that we are to have one mate for life, what should a person do that is divorced for some reason other than fornication and has remarried? The above passage says that this person is living in an adulterous relationship. Galatians 5:19-21 tells us that people that practice such deeds will not inherit the kingdom of Heaven. Therefore, people must repent of this sin, just like any other sin. The question becomes, however, how does one repent of a sin when the sin is an adulterous marriage?

As we discussed in a previous article (Vol. 1 No. 14), repentance is a change of heart that produces a change in conduct. In the Old Testament, we find an example where certain children of Israel had to repent of sinful marriages (Ezra 9:1-10:44). When confronted with their sin, the men of Israel put away their wives and children of the unlawful marriages. Although what made the Jewish marriages sinful is different from what makes marriages unlawful today (i.e., marrying Gentiles as opposed to marrying someone with an unscriptural divorce), the principle to be applied is still the same; turn away from sin, and quit sinning. ("If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell." Matt. 5:29, see also Matt. 5:27-32; 18:7-14).

God instituted marriage. When His plan is followed, it will lead a couple to a fulfilled life with many happy moments. The family will prosper and the world will be a better place, due to couples working through their problems and raising their children in a complete home.

Package Deals by Jeff Himmel

Once upon a time, if you went to a dealer to order a new car, they handed you a list from which you could choose exactly which options you wanted (or didn’t want) your vehicle to have. Not any more. Now most cars only come with "options packages"—which means that to get the features you want, you also have to get (and pay for) a bunch of other features you don’t care about. You can get tinted windows, but only as part of a package that includes super-huge alloy wheels and simulated wood grain door panels. Want the good stereo? Okay, but you also have to get heated leather seats and a power ash tray. And of course you pay for the entire package, even if you only want one or two of the options it includes. It’s all or nothing.

Cable and satellite TV providers have figured this out, too. You can’t order channels individually; you have to buy a "programming package." So if you want The Classic Movie Network, you also have to buy The Basket Weaving Channel, Sock Puppet Network, and two dozen other channels you know you’ll never watch. It’s all or nothing.

Like it or not, the gospel of Jesus Christ is also a package deal. We may come to it with our own notions of what we want, but the Savior offers only one package (John 14:6). We must take it or leave it. It’s all or nothing.

Some people want justification without responsibility — what some call "faith only" salvation. But God’s gift of redemption comes with the obligation of obedience. "Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 7:21). We cannot call Jesus our King without subjecting ourselves to His laws. "And why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?" (Luke 6:46). To profess trust in Christ without obeying Him is vanity (see James 2:14f). Faith and works are a package deal.

Other people are willing to accept some of God’s commands, as long as they can choose which ones they will obey. But He hasn’t given us that luxury. Even though we can’t earn our salvation by good works (Ephesians 2:8-9), we are not free to disregard any of God’s instructions. "For He who said, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ also said, ‘Do not commit murder.’ Now if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act, as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty" (James 2:11-12). Obedience is a package deal.

Some people want to profess love for God without showing love for man. But that is impossible, "for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen" (1 John 4:21). True, some folks may be less lovable than others. But godly love, being an act of the will, doesn’t concern itself with that. "For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? . . . And if you greet your brothers only, what do you do more than others?" (Matthew 5:46-47). We don’t really love God if we don’t show love for those made in His image. Love is a package deal.

Christ calls on us to accept the whole package. "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me" (Luke 9:23). It’s all or nothing. But it’s all worth it.

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit by Bill Blue

In previous articles, we examined how the Holy Spirit is a divine person (Vol. 1 No. 15) who ushered in the New Testament era beginning at Pentecost (Vol. 1 No. 17). In this article, we want to examine various miraculous "gifts" of the Holy Spirit.

Paul lists nine different gifts of the Holy Spirit in 1 Cor. 12:4-11:

1. Wisdom - 2 Pet. 1:19-21, 3:15; 2 Tim. 3:16-17
2. Knowledge - 1 Cor. 13:8
3. Faith - 1 Cor. 13:2
4. Prophecy – 1 Cor. 12:29, 13:8; Eph. 3:5; Acts 21:9
5. Distinguishing of Spirits - Acts 16:16-18
6. Healings - Acts 3; 1 Cor. 12:30
7. Miracles - Acts 20:9-11; Acts 28:3-6
8. Tongues (different languages) - Acts 2:7-8; 1 Cor. 12:27-30; 1 Cor. 14:13-28
9. Interpretation of Tongues - 1 Cor. 14:13-28

How were the gifts acquired?

At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit gave the Apostles the ability to speak in tongues (Acts 2:7-8). He also guided the Apostles into all truth, taught them all things, and brought to their remembrance all things Jesus had said in their presence (John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7-15).

Like the Apostles, Cornelius and the gentiles with him also received the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the ability to speak in tongues because of that baptism (Acts 10:44-46). Cornelius’ baptism, however, appears to be a unique event that occurred to convince Peter and other Jews that God intended to share the Gospel with the Gentiles (Acts 10:45, 11:18). (See "Baptism of the Holy Spirit," Vol. 1 No. 12)

Apart from Cornelius and the Apostles, everyone else who received a miraculous gift of the Holy Spirit appears to have received it through the laying on of the Apostles’ hands. Consider Philip, who was "full of the Holy Spirit," but not an Apostle (Acts 6:3-6). Philip was unable to distribute miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit even though he was able to perform miracles himself (Acts 8:12-17). Indeed, Peter and John went to Samaria behind Philip so that they may impart the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands (Acts 8:17). One of Philip’s baptized converts, Simon, even tried to purchase the power of the Holy Spirit from Peter and John (Acts 8:12-13, 18-19).

Paul understood that he had the ability to impart "spiritual gifts" (Rom. 1:11), and he laid hands on disciples so that they may receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 19:6). Despite this ability, Paul also understood that the Holy Spirit decided which gift a Christian would receive if any (1 Cor. 12:11).

What was the purpose of these gifts?

The purpose of the gifts or "power" given to the Apostles was to assist them to "be witnesses [of Jesus] in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8). The Holy Spirit and His gifts accomplished this by serving as a witness of authority from God (Heb. 2:4). Jesus performed miracles and signs for essentially the same reason, to convince people to believe His testimony (John 20:30-31, 21:25). Notice the effect that Jesus’ divine knowledge had on the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:19), or how Peter’s healing of the lame man drew such attention (Acts 3:9-11). (But also note how persuasive the Gospel is by itself – John 4:42; Acts 2:37, 3:4; Rom. 1:16-17).

The purpose of miraculous gifts was also "for the edification of the church" (1 Cor. 14:12), "for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry for the edifying of the body of Christ … according to the effective working by which every part does its share causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love" (Eph. 4:12, 16; see also 1 Cor. 12:7; 14:3, 12, 26).

Today, we no longer have the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit. We do have, however, the product of these gifts – the Bible (2 Pet. 1:20-21), which is sufficient to assist us in our maturity (Heb. 5:12-6:5) and make us "complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Indeed, it contains the "gospel of Christ which is the power of God to salvation" (Rom. 1:16-17).

In our next article on the Holy Spirit, we will explore why these miraculous gifts do not exist today.

Idols by Jeff Himmel

When God gave the ten commandments to Israel, the first two dealt with the worship of false gods (Exodus 20:2-5). This emphasis must have come from foresight, because idolatry became one of the most persistent evils among the Israelites. God’s prophet Isaiah described the pathetic condition of a man who cuts down a tree, uses half the wood for a fire to warm himself and cook his food, then fashions the other half into an idol and worships it (Isaiah 44:15-17). Jeremiah ridiculed those "who say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’ and to a stone, ‘You gave me birth’ " (Jeremiah 2:27).

We may laugh as we read such things and picture folks praying to statues of wood, stone, or metal. We tell ourselves that only the most backward and primitive cultures still do that sort of thing.

But think again. Modern, sophisticated man still has his idols. They don’t take the form of graven images, of course. But they’re made of rather inferior stuff nonetheless.

There are still folks who worship trees and rocks; they just don’t bother to fashion them into anything. Some environmentalists have elevated the earth to god status. And some animal rights activists do the same for animals by revering them above human life. Man was created to have dominion over God’s creation (Genesis 1:26f), and that dominion brings responsibility. Respect for our Creator should make us prize and appreciate His creation, not abuse it. But our main concern isn’t the earth or its animals; it’s our relationship to God. Our first duty in life is to reverence and obey Him (Ecclesiastes 12:13). And among His creatures, our first concern must be for those made in His image — our fellow man (see Matthew 22:37f).

Some idols are flesh and blood. Stars of music, movies, TV and sports have long been called "idols" — a description more truthful than we realize. One satirist called them "America’s royalty." Kids’ bedroom walls are covered with their pictures. The reactions they elicit at public appearances would make a Roman emperor jealous. We value these idols because of what they provide: entertainment. Our worship of them is just a symptom of our overemphasis on it. There’s nothing wrong with honoring a person for his talent or achievements. But the Bible warns against idolizing people. The world of Paul’s day had spiraled into depravity because it "worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator" (Romans 1:25). Ours is much like it. Remember, only God is worthy of worship (Matthew 4:10).

People often worship idols of paper and plastic — the gods of wealth. These gods are revered because they can buy us more idols: idols of wood and brick (houses), of steel and fiberglass (cars and boats), of fine fabric (clothes), of wire and buttons (electronic gadgets). Is it any wonder men call it the "almighty dollar"? Many folks see wealth as the sole measure of the quality of life. We judge the success of our jobs and even our marriages by how much we have. Parents use material things as a substitute for parenting, and so children learn to value things more than people (or God). But God warns us, "He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; Nor he who loves abundance, with increase" (Ecclesiastes 5:10). Paul called greed idolatry (Colossians 3:5) and the covetous man an idolater (Ephesians 5:5). Would that we had the same view! Jesus said that "one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses" (Luke 12:15).

There are other idols of every shape and size. In Jesus’ parable of the great supper in Luke 14, those who were kept from the feast did not commit any overt act of sin. They were left out because of a piece of ground, five yoke of oxen, and a new wife. How about us? Are we so involved in wholesome activities (work, little league, civic clubs) that we have nothing left for God?

Idolatry isn’t dead. Nor is it limited to primitive cultures in far off lands. It’s alive and well in our own "advanced" society. The gods may be different — they may not even be called gods — but men worship them just the same. Our idols — our gods — are whatever we allow to take control of our motives, our decisions, and our actions. Make sure your only god is the true and living God. "Little children, guard yourselves from idols" (1 John 5:21).