I Peter 1:5-9: (The believers are those) "who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time . . . .for now a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith - of greater worth than gold - may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of you souls."
The purpose of this first letter written by Peter was to encourage the Church that was struggling through the pain of persecution. Later in the passage, Paul advises the Church not to be surprised at the painful trials that they are experiencing but rejoice that they "participate in the sufferings of Christ" (4:12-13). He tells them that their sufferings are the evidential fruit that the glory of the Holy Spoirit rests upon them.
To begin his letter, Paul encourages his readers that God's power shields their faith from any outside entity that would attempt to separate the believer from the Lord. No person or thing can deter the purpose of God to redeem those who are His by the grace of Christ. Paul reemphasizes this thought in Romans 8:37-39 when he writes, "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Here Paul is proclaiming that neither physical realities, spiritual forces, time, spacial/distance restraints, nor created beings . . . in effect anything . . . will separate the redeemed from the Sovereign Lord. And even though the forces of darkness would desire to destroy those who have surrendered themselves to the Lordship of Christ, God will gather His elect from the depths of oppression and dispair and place them into His heavenly abode for all eternity.
Still, with the comfort that comes with this Divine assurance, we who are true followers of Christ must traverse this temporal, earthly realm of pain, alienation, and persecution. God tells us in this passage that our trials help to prove the genuineness of our faith. We all know that talk is cheap. We are all able to say the "righteous" things when our lives are filled with blessing and prosperity; it is in the dark days of tribulation and temptation when our true faith is proved genuine. James tells us that trials bring a testing of our faith, which in turn developes perseverance and maturity. The Greek word used for "perseverance" is hupomonen which means "tenacity or 'stick-to-it-iveness.'" It is the ability to have the joy and peace of Christ, irrespective of the events that befall our lives, and this faith sustains us thoughout the difficulties in life.
In the passage above, Peter also says that our faith, when unfettered by the trials of life, results in "praise, honor, and glory when Jesus Christ is revealed." For the redeemed, we know that our foundational purpose in life is to glorify God. If our true faithfulness to the Lord is demonstrated in times of adversity, then we are able to celebrate that we are fulfilling our primordial purpose in life.
Peter closes this passage by saying that we are able to have the inexpressible joy of Christ by believing in Him and loving Him though we are not able to see Him. We trust that God is Sovereign and in control and is working out our eternal redemption, even though we are at present struggling through the painful trials of life.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Friday, February 8, 2008
Finding the Favor of God
Ezekiel 5:11: "Because you have defiled my sanctuary with all your vile images and detestible practices, I myself will withdraw my favor."
Ezekiel was a prophet who lived during the time of God's judgment on the people of Judah, for their brazen rebellion against the Lord (597BC). By the time the passage above was written, God had already sent the Babylonians to invade the land of Palestine. Ezekiel was part of the second wave of exiles of Israel that had been sent into captivity to Babylon; and while in exile, he was summoned by God to communicate to the people in that distant land why God was bringing judgment. God had declared that the people of Judah had been wicked "rebelling against my (God's) laws and decrees more than the nations and countries around" (5:6). Therefore, God decreed that He was against the people of Judah and would inflict punishment upon them for their defiance to His Sovereign Lordship.
One of the manifestations of the people's wickedness was their attitude of contempt for the sanctuary of the LORD. Whereas this had been a place in which God was honored through worship and obedience, the people of Ezekiel's day had placed vile images of false gods in the temple to worship them instead of God. They practiced detestible, immoral acts in the sanctuary as well. God would not be mocked; He declared that He would withdraw His divine favor from the people, and this withdraw resulted in loss of protection and blessing.
We as followers of Jesus Christ would do well to remember this story as a word of direction for us. We know from the New Testament that our bodies are now the temple in which the Holy Spirit dwells (I Corinthians 6:19); thus, we must remember that we are to honor the Lord with our very selves. We are to commit our lives fully to worship of the Lord and follow Him in faithful obedience. To turn from this calling and follow after the "idols" that would distract us from focused loyalty to the Lord is to experience the withdraw of God's blessing. If we expect to be blessed by the LORD, we first must be unwavering in our submission to Him as Lord. Rebellion will never be rewarded.
Ezekiel was a prophet who lived during the time of God's judgment on the people of Judah, for their brazen rebellion against the Lord (597BC). By the time the passage above was written, God had already sent the Babylonians to invade the land of Palestine. Ezekiel was part of the second wave of exiles of Israel that had been sent into captivity to Babylon; and while in exile, he was summoned by God to communicate to the people in that distant land why God was bringing judgment. God had declared that the people of Judah had been wicked "rebelling against my (God's) laws and decrees more than the nations and countries around" (5:6). Therefore, God decreed that He was against the people of Judah and would inflict punishment upon them for their defiance to His Sovereign Lordship.
One of the manifestations of the people's wickedness was their attitude of contempt for the sanctuary of the LORD. Whereas this had been a place in which God was honored through worship and obedience, the people of Ezekiel's day had placed vile images of false gods in the temple to worship them instead of God. They practiced detestible, immoral acts in the sanctuary as well. God would not be mocked; He declared that He would withdraw His divine favor from the people, and this withdraw resulted in loss of protection and blessing.
We as followers of Jesus Christ would do well to remember this story as a word of direction for us. We know from the New Testament that our bodies are now the temple in which the Holy Spirit dwells (I Corinthians 6:19); thus, we must remember that we are to honor the Lord with our very selves. We are to commit our lives fully to worship of the Lord and follow Him in faithful obedience. To turn from this calling and follow after the "idols" that would distract us from focused loyalty to the Lord is to experience the withdraw of God's blessing. If we expect to be blessed by the LORD, we first must be unwavering in our submission to Him as Lord. Rebellion will never be rewarded.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Wisdom Does Not Necessarily Increase With Age
I Kings 15:9,11; II Chronicles 16:1-2,9: "In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa became king of Judah . . . . Asa did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, as his father David had done . . . . (Yet) in the thirty-sixth year of Asa's reign . . . Asa took the silver and gold out of the treasuries of the LORD's temple and of his own palace and sent it to Ben-Hadad king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus . . . . (then Hanani the seer said to Asa) You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war."
Asa is one of those kings that started strong in obedience to the LORD but fizzled out in the later years of life. To be sure, he did not have a good example to follow from his father (King Abijah) and grandfather (King Rehoboam) for both of these kings committed detestible acts of rebellion against the Lord. Still, Asa rose early in his life above the example of his fathers and did what was "good and right in the eyes of the LORD" (2 Chronicles 14:2). Asa removed the pagan places of worship and commanded that all of his kingdom (Judah) seek the LORD.
Asa then called upon the strength of the LORD when he was faced with war against the mighty Cushites. Asa knew that he would need the LORD's help to defeat such a mighty foe, and so he cried out to the LORD: "there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army" (2 Chronicles 14:11).
God provided victory for Asa and the people of Judah. Asa was so strengthened by the LORD's help that he took courage and ordered that anyone in his kingdom who would not seek the LORD was to be put to death. Therefore, all of the people "sought God eagerly, and he (God) was found by them and (God in response) gave them rest" (2 Chronicles 15:15).
Yet after 36 years of ruling as king, during which time he saw the mighty works of deliverance from the LORD, Asa lost faith in God. When Baasha, king of Israel, sought to invade Judah, Asa sought the aid of Ben-Hadad king of Aram. Asa went to the point of taking the silver and gold out of the temple and his own palace and sent it to Ben-Hadad as a bargaining tool to gain the favor of the Aramean king. In response to such faithlessness, God sent the seer, Hanani, to Asa to rebuke the king. Hanani reminded Asa of God's deliverance from the Cushites years before when the king sought the aid of the LORD; but now, since Asa determined to bring deliverance through his own efforts, God declared that the king would only see war for the rest of his life.
One would think that the king of Judah would have repented at that point; however, the king became angry at the words of rebuke from Hanani and had him imprisoned for presenting such a scathing admonishment. Within three years, the king was afflicted with a debilitating disease; still, the king refused to seek the LORD. He sought only the help of his physicians for his sickness. Within 2 more years, the king was dead.
Asa's story is one of triumph turned tragedy. He started so strongly in obedience to the LORD, that one would have expected that the king would have been recorded as one of the greatest kings in the history of Judah; instead, one finds that King Asa would finish his reign as a brazenly defiant monarch, who did not seek the LORD. He went from experiencing the blessing and peace of the LORD to seeing war and personal illness. He is the consummate example of one who underachieved his potential for the LORD.
We would do well to remember the story of Asa as a word of instruction about the need to continue in faith, knowing that the LORD is to be honored in all stages of life. We never get to a point in life when we can put our obedience to the LORD in park. We must strive throughout the entirity of life to be committed to God and trust in Him. If we will put our faith in the LORD, we will reach our potential that God has desired for us, and we will not finish short like King Asa.
Asa is one of those kings that started strong in obedience to the LORD but fizzled out in the later years of life. To be sure, he did not have a good example to follow from his father (King Abijah) and grandfather (King Rehoboam) for both of these kings committed detestible acts of rebellion against the Lord. Still, Asa rose early in his life above the example of his fathers and did what was "good and right in the eyes of the LORD" (2 Chronicles 14:2). Asa removed the pagan places of worship and commanded that all of his kingdom (Judah) seek the LORD.
Asa then called upon the strength of the LORD when he was faced with war against the mighty Cushites. Asa knew that he would need the LORD's help to defeat such a mighty foe, and so he cried out to the LORD: "there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army" (2 Chronicles 14:11).
God provided victory for Asa and the people of Judah. Asa was so strengthened by the LORD's help that he took courage and ordered that anyone in his kingdom who would not seek the LORD was to be put to death. Therefore, all of the people "sought God eagerly, and he (God) was found by them and (God in response) gave them rest" (2 Chronicles 15:15).
Yet after 36 years of ruling as king, during which time he saw the mighty works of deliverance from the LORD, Asa lost faith in God. When Baasha, king of Israel, sought to invade Judah, Asa sought the aid of Ben-Hadad king of Aram. Asa went to the point of taking the silver and gold out of the temple and his own palace and sent it to Ben-Hadad as a bargaining tool to gain the favor of the Aramean king. In response to such faithlessness, God sent the seer, Hanani, to Asa to rebuke the king. Hanani reminded Asa of God's deliverance from the Cushites years before when the king sought the aid of the LORD; but now, since Asa determined to bring deliverance through his own efforts, God declared that the king would only see war for the rest of his life.
One would think that the king of Judah would have repented at that point; however, the king became angry at the words of rebuke from Hanani and had him imprisoned for presenting such a scathing admonishment. Within three years, the king was afflicted with a debilitating disease; still, the king refused to seek the LORD. He sought only the help of his physicians for his sickness. Within 2 more years, the king was dead.
Asa's story is one of triumph turned tragedy. He started so strongly in obedience to the LORD, that one would have expected that the king would have been recorded as one of the greatest kings in the history of Judah; instead, one finds that King Asa would finish his reign as a brazenly defiant monarch, who did not seek the LORD. He went from experiencing the blessing and peace of the LORD to seeing war and personal illness. He is the consummate example of one who underachieved his potential for the LORD.
We would do well to remember the story of Asa as a word of instruction about the need to continue in faith, knowing that the LORD is to be honored in all stages of life. We never get to a point in life when we can put our obedience to the LORD in park. We must strive throughout the entirity of life to be committed to God and trust in Him. If we will put our faith in the LORD, we will reach our potential that God has desired for us, and we will not finish short like King Asa.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
On Being a Light Reflector
Proverbs 4:18; Luke 11:36: "The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day . . . . If you are filled with light, with no dark corners, then your whole life will be radiant, as though a floodlight is shining on you."
The path of the righteous begins with a glimmer of God's glorious light ahead, for God is "Light . . . . in Him is no darkness at all" (I John 1:5). Still, this life is not without the dark corners of pain and disappointment, for there are those among us who love the darkness and hate the Light. They prefer to dwell in places where their evil deeds will not be exposed (John 3:20). And the evil one would want to cast the dark shadows of temptation and tribulation upon our path, so that we would lose the intensity of our reflection of Our Lord. Satan knows that if he can get our eyes off of the Light, our reflection will grow dimmer and we will become discouraged by the darkness that lay around us.
Still, the calling of the righteous is to reflect the glorious Light of God; and with each passing day, our reflection should be growing brighter as we draw ever closer to the Light source. As we mature in the faith and cultivate our intimacy with Our Lord, our reflection illumines sharper to the darkened world around us. And then, when God wills for us to come to Him, we will experience the blessing of the fullness of His glorious presence. We will not need the light of a lamp or the sun "for the Lord God will give (us His glorious) light" (Revelation 22:5).
The path of the righteous begins with a glimmer of God's glorious light ahead, for God is "Light . . . . in Him is no darkness at all" (I John 1:5). Still, this life is not without the dark corners of pain and disappointment, for there are those among us who love the darkness and hate the Light. They prefer to dwell in places where their evil deeds will not be exposed (John 3:20). And the evil one would want to cast the dark shadows of temptation and tribulation upon our path, so that we would lose the intensity of our reflection of Our Lord. Satan knows that if he can get our eyes off of the Light, our reflection will grow dimmer and we will become discouraged by the darkness that lay around us.
Still, the calling of the righteous is to reflect the glorious Light of God; and with each passing day, our reflection should be growing brighter as we draw ever closer to the Light source. As we mature in the faith and cultivate our intimacy with Our Lord, our reflection illumines sharper to the darkened world around us. And then, when God wills for us to come to Him, we will experience the blessing of the fullness of His glorious presence. We will not need the light of a lamp or the sun "for the Lord God will give (us His glorious) light" (Revelation 22:5).
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
God's Grace Does Not Involve Our Efforts
Romans 10:3,6b,9,11; 11:6: "Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God, they sought to establish their own . . . . Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven (that is, to bring Christ down). . . . (instead) if you confess with your mouth 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved . . . . Anyone who trusts in Him (Jesus) will never be put to shame . . . . And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace."
Faith is believing and submitting to Jesus Christ as Lord, who offers salvation to all who receive His mercy through His death and resurrection. All who do not surrender to His Lordship by faith will attempt to "ascend" into the presence of God through their own efforts, or they will conclude that they themselves are a god and should be worshipped. Either of these two paths invariably end up at the same place . . . . self-aggrandizement and adulation. The Bible tells us that grace would not be grace were salvation available through our own efforts. The reality is that none of us are righteous; thus, we are not able to ascend into the presence of God by our efforts or our position. This is why God had to come to us, and He came in the person of Jesus Christ.
Romans 9:22-23 tells us that God is ready to show His wrath and power against all godlessness and unrighteousness in the world. Still, He today is showing great patience by withholding His righteous judgment. Today, He is still offering the blessedness of salvation to those who will respond to Him with repentance and submission to Him as Lord.
For those of us who have responded to such an act of Divine Love and Mercy, we celebrate that God will never be put us to shame. All praise and thanks is given to our Loving, Faithful, Righteous Lord!
Faith is believing and submitting to Jesus Christ as Lord, who offers salvation to all who receive His mercy through His death and resurrection. All who do not surrender to His Lordship by faith will attempt to "ascend" into the presence of God through their own efforts, or they will conclude that they themselves are a god and should be worshipped. Either of these two paths invariably end up at the same place . . . . self-aggrandizement and adulation. The Bible tells us that grace would not be grace were salvation available through our own efforts. The reality is that none of us are righteous; thus, we are not able to ascend into the presence of God by our efforts or our position. This is why God had to come to us, and He came in the person of Jesus Christ.
Romans 9:22-23 tells us that God is ready to show His wrath and power against all godlessness and unrighteousness in the world. Still, He today is showing great patience by withholding His righteous judgment. Today, He is still offering the blessedness of salvation to those who will respond to Him with repentance and submission to Him as Lord.
For those of us who have responded to such an act of Divine Love and Mercy, we celebrate that God will never be put us to shame. All praise and thanks is given to our Loving, Faithful, Righteous Lord!
Monday, February 4, 2008
When Faithless Leadership Brings Judgment
I Kings 12:26f: "Jeroboam thought to himself, 'The kingdom will now likely revert to the house of David. If these people go up to offer sacrifices at the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem, they will again give their allegiance to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah. They will kill me and return to King Rehoboam.' After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He said to the people, 'It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up our of Egypt.' One he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan. And this thing became a sin"
The theme of Jeroboam's leadership was "whatever it takes to keep my position." Jeroboam had been crowned king by the tribes of Israel that had rebelled against Solomon's son, Rehoboam. Soon after Rehoboam had come to the throne, representatives of the tribes of Israel came to him to complain about the heavy yoke of burdensome labor that his father, Solomon, had placed upon them. Now they wanted the son to lift this burden from them. Rehoboam not only refused to listen to the people, he decided that he would be even more ruthless than his father had been. In response, the people rebelled against the king and appointed Jeroboam king. Only the tribe of Judah remained faithful to the son of Solomon.
Jeroboam had been promised by the Lord through the prophet Ahijah that he would be king of ten tribes of Israel. God promised Jeroboam that if he would be obedient by keeping the Lord's statutes and commands, God would be with the new king and would build a dynasty for him as enduring as the one built for David.
What Jeroboam lacked was faith. After being crowned king, Jeroboam became worried that if the people went to Jerusalem (to the land of Judah loyal to Rehoboam) to sacrifice offerings to the Lord, then his subjects would return their loyalty to his rival. Jeroboam did not seek the Lord, but decided that he would consult his advisors. Apparently they were able to sway the king to build shrines in his own territory, in direct defiance to the Lord's command that He was to be worshipped at the temple in Jerusalem. Jeroboam also decided to validate the improper venue of worship by crafting false idols and recognizing them as the ones who brought deliverance to the Israelites from Egypt centuries before. Jeroboam was commiting cosmic treason against the Sovereign Lord by praising lifeless idols and crediting them with what God had accomplished years before.
Whereas God had promised Jeroboam a lasting dynasty, the king's fear of loss of the throne and his lack of faith in the promises of God brought about his downfall. The king was more concerned with maintaining the loyalty of his subjects over doing what was right in the eyes of the Lord. Ultimately, this brought the very thing he feared most: the destruction of his kingdom.
The theme of Jeroboam's leadership was "whatever it takes to keep my position." Jeroboam had been crowned king by the tribes of Israel that had rebelled against Solomon's son, Rehoboam. Soon after Rehoboam had come to the throne, representatives of the tribes of Israel came to him to complain about the heavy yoke of burdensome labor that his father, Solomon, had placed upon them. Now they wanted the son to lift this burden from them. Rehoboam not only refused to listen to the people, he decided that he would be even more ruthless than his father had been. In response, the people rebelled against the king and appointed Jeroboam king. Only the tribe of Judah remained faithful to the son of Solomon.
Jeroboam had been promised by the Lord through the prophet Ahijah that he would be king of ten tribes of Israel. God promised Jeroboam that if he would be obedient by keeping the Lord's statutes and commands, God would be with the new king and would build a dynasty for him as enduring as the one built for David.
What Jeroboam lacked was faith. After being crowned king, Jeroboam became worried that if the people went to Jerusalem (to the land of Judah loyal to Rehoboam) to sacrifice offerings to the Lord, then his subjects would return their loyalty to his rival. Jeroboam did not seek the Lord, but decided that he would consult his advisors. Apparently they were able to sway the king to build shrines in his own territory, in direct defiance to the Lord's command that He was to be worshipped at the temple in Jerusalem. Jeroboam also decided to validate the improper venue of worship by crafting false idols and recognizing them as the ones who brought deliverance to the Israelites from Egypt centuries before. Jeroboam was commiting cosmic treason against the Sovereign Lord by praising lifeless idols and crediting them with what God had accomplished years before.
Whereas God had promised Jeroboam a lasting dynasty, the king's fear of loss of the throne and his lack of faith in the promises of God brought about his downfall. The king was more concerned with maintaining the loyalty of his subjects over doing what was right in the eyes of the Lord. Ultimately, this brought the very thing he feared most: the destruction of his kingdom.
Friday, February 1, 2008
God Can Identify With Divorce
Jeremiah 3:8; 31:31-32: "'I gave faithless Israel her certificate of divorce and sent her away because of all her adulteries . . . . I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,' declares the LORD."
In a culture today that is saturated with marital separation and divorce, we who make up the Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ must deal with this painful reality that is affecting so many lives. Tragically, what I hear from attendees of divorce recovery programs is that the Church is ostracizing their divorced members, irrespective of the circumstances that brought the divorce to pass. Even though many of these divorced people labored to save their marriages at all costs, they still are being set aside as unfit for the kingdom of God; their churches are taking the position that the divorced are precluded by their marital status from using their giftedness for the cause of Christ. These people are being overlooked for positions of church ministry and leadership; they are marked with a stigma comparable to the reprobate (or even worse, for even the reprobate have a hope of being "redeemed").
The Church must re-examine the Scriptures to see how God has handled the subjects of marriage and divorce. First, we must recognize that divorce was never God's intention from the beginning of time when He created the institution of marriage (Matthew 19:8). Human marriage was created not only to meet a relational need within humanity (Genesis 2:18) and to produce future generations that would seek the Lord (Malachi 2:15); first and foremost, the institution was designed by our Sovereign Creator for the purpose of helping us appreciate in a tangible way His relationship with His bride. (Ephesians 5). In the Old Testamant, this marriage was with the covenant community; in the New Testament, it is with the Church. And God has commanded that the husband and wife remain faithfully commited to each other within the covenant of marriage (I Corinthians 7:10-11) to model the faithful fidelity that Our Lord has for His bride. We know that Our Lord does not abandon us. He always is faithful to us, even when we demonstrate faithlessness through sin (2 Timothy 2:13). We never have to worry about whether God will forsake us for someone else; He is commited to His covenant. So too, He holds us to the same standard of fidelity to our spouses, so that we better can appreciate His immutable commitment to us. Only God could design a human relationship so intimate and special that it would teach us about His level of intimacy with those who have surrendered to His Lordship.
Still, God is not without the painful experience of divorce Himself. As one reads through the Old Testament, one is able to see that a covenant was established early between God and the Israelites through Moses (see Deuteronomy 28-29). Yet with time, the Israelites began to adulterate themselves by following after pagan gods and commiting detestible acts of rebellion against the Lord. One can find God calling out to His bride to return to Him, so that the covenant could be restored; but the covenant community would have none of it. They enjoyed their estrangement, and determined not to return to their covenant. Eventually, a point was reached in which God decreed that He gave "faithless Israel a certificate of divorce and sent her away because of her adulteries." At this point, God's covenant relationship was broken; God became divorced.
Some would say that these passages are merely figurative . . . that God really has not experienced either marriage or divorce. I would counter by again saying that our human marriages were created to help us appreciate THE ULTIMATE MARRIAGE COVENANT of God with His covenant people. Thus, God has experienced the ultimate divorce. I believe that this is why God can say in Malachi 2:16, "I hate divorce." God has experienced the pain of rejection by His bride for another "person." He knows the agony of pleading for His covenant love to return only to see an unresponsiveness from her.
Nonetheless, once the covenant was broken, God declared that a new covenant would be established; but this new covenant would be with a new bride, the Church. Paul addresses this in Romans 9 when he says, "It is not as though God's word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel . . . . it is not the natural children who are God's children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham's offspring" (9:6,8). God had seen the severing of the old covenant through the infidelity and abandonment of the covenant community, resulting in a new covenant with the Church. Thus, we can see that God has not only experienced divorce but He has been remarried as well. (Of course, those naturalized Israelites who lived before the arrival of Jesus Christ but who by faith trusted in the coming Messiah to provide salvation are counted with the new covenant people who now look back upon the reality of Jesus as the fulfillment of God's grace and thus are the beneficiaries of the true Abrahamic Covenant [see Hebrews 11:13-16]).
Marriage should be honored by all (Hebrews 13:4). God expects that those who enter into the covenant of marriage should remain commited to the one with whom they entered into covenant. Still, for those who have experienced the betrayal and abandonment of their spouse, they should not be ascribed by the Church the label of "Unfit for the Kingdom of God." If the Church is not going to look at the circumstances of the divorce to determine the culpability of the divorce . . . if instead the Church is going to label every divorced person as unfit for kingdom work, then it will need to assign the same unworthiness to God Himself. I wonder sometimes how many churches would prevent God from speaking from the pulpit or holding a position of leadership or using His abilities to edify the members simply because of His divorced status. It is a very sobering thought isn't it?
In a culture today that is saturated with marital separation and divorce, we who make up the Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ must deal with this painful reality that is affecting so many lives. Tragically, what I hear from attendees of divorce recovery programs is that the Church is ostracizing their divorced members, irrespective of the circumstances that brought the divorce to pass. Even though many of these divorced people labored to save their marriages at all costs, they still are being set aside as unfit for the kingdom of God; their churches are taking the position that the divorced are precluded by their marital status from using their giftedness for the cause of Christ. These people are being overlooked for positions of church ministry and leadership; they are marked with a stigma comparable to the reprobate (or even worse, for even the reprobate have a hope of being "redeemed").
The Church must re-examine the Scriptures to see how God has handled the subjects of marriage and divorce. First, we must recognize that divorce was never God's intention from the beginning of time when He created the institution of marriage (Matthew 19:8). Human marriage was created not only to meet a relational need within humanity (Genesis 2:18) and to produce future generations that would seek the Lord (Malachi 2:15); first and foremost, the institution was designed by our Sovereign Creator for the purpose of helping us appreciate in a tangible way His relationship with His bride. (Ephesians 5). In the Old Testamant, this marriage was with the covenant community; in the New Testament, it is with the Church. And God has commanded that the husband and wife remain faithfully commited to each other within the covenant of marriage (I Corinthians 7:10-11) to model the faithful fidelity that Our Lord has for His bride. We know that Our Lord does not abandon us. He always is faithful to us, even when we demonstrate faithlessness through sin (2 Timothy 2:13). We never have to worry about whether God will forsake us for someone else; He is commited to His covenant. So too, He holds us to the same standard of fidelity to our spouses, so that we better can appreciate His immutable commitment to us. Only God could design a human relationship so intimate and special that it would teach us about His level of intimacy with those who have surrendered to His Lordship.
Still, God is not without the painful experience of divorce Himself. As one reads through the Old Testament, one is able to see that a covenant was established early between God and the Israelites through Moses (see Deuteronomy 28-29). Yet with time, the Israelites began to adulterate themselves by following after pagan gods and commiting detestible acts of rebellion against the Lord. One can find God calling out to His bride to return to Him, so that the covenant could be restored; but the covenant community would have none of it. They enjoyed their estrangement, and determined not to return to their covenant. Eventually, a point was reached in which God decreed that He gave "faithless Israel a certificate of divorce and sent her away because of her adulteries." At this point, God's covenant relationship was broken; God became divorced.
Some would say that these passages are merely figurative . . . that God really has not experienced either marriage or divorce. I would counter by again saying that our human marriages were created to help us appreciate THE ULTIMATE MARRIAGE COVENANT of God with His covenant people. Thus, God has experienced the ultimate divorce. I believe that this is why God can say in Malachi 2:16, "I hate divorce." God has experienced the pain of rejection by His bride for another "person." He knows the agony of pleading for His covenant love to return only to see an unresponsiveness from her.
Nonetheless, once the covenant was broken, God declared that a new covenant would be established; but this new covenant would be with a new bride, the Church. Paul addresses this in Romans 9 when he says, "It is not as though God's word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel . . . . it is not the natural children who are God's children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham's offspring" (9:6,8). God had seen the severing of the old covenant through the infidelity and abandonment of the covenant community, resulting in a new covenant with the Church. Thus, we can see that God has not only experienced divorce but He has been remarried as well. (Of course, those naturalized Israelites who lived before the arrival of Jesus Christ but who by faith trusted in the coming Messiah to provide salvation are counted with the new covenant people who now look back upon the reality of Jesus as the fulfillment of God's grace and thus are the beneficiaries of the true Abrahamic Covenant [see Hebrews 11:13-16]).
Marriage should be honored by all (Hebrews 13:4). God expects that those who enter into the covenant of marriage should remain commited to the one with whom they entered into covenant. Still, for those who have experienced the betrayal and abandonment of their spouse, they should not be ascribed by the Church the label of "Unfit for the Kingdom of God." If the Church is not going to look at the circumstances of the divorce to determine the culpability of the divorce . . . if instead the Church is going to label every divorced person as unfit for kingdom work, then it will need to assign the same unworthiness to God Himself. I wonder sometimes how many churches would prevent God from speaking from the pulpit or holding a position of leadership or using His abilities to edify the members simply because of His divorced status. It is a very sobering thought isn't it?
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