Divorce

Sandy and I are currently discussing a subject that is quite a personal one to me. MARRIAGE! We have come across those who seem to gloss over God's standard by "interpreting" into it what they want it to mean, using phrases like "what I think it says" or "what this says to me." Read on and I will show you where I am going with this...

I was listening to KLOVE today...yes I have KLOVE in Iraq...and within a half an hour three callers revealed to the host that they were in the middle of a divorce, some as fresh as a couple of days. One woman was mother of six children...SIX!!!!! In her case the father had just up and left. She continued to share her story as my heart broke more and more with each passing word. The climax to her story was that the two children she has left at home (yes this father even went as far as to break up the children) got out of the car on the highway to hold each other while they both cried. Yet another woman experienced her husband suddenly leaving her three years prior. He abandoned three children. It was not mentioned where these men were spiritually (I assume not even trying or aware), and I do realize that it is not usually one person that is to blame.

This is what we get when we combine God's word with the relativistic garbage that is being puked aloud (much louder than the Gospel) in our country. GOD HAS ONLY ONE STANDARD, FOR ALL PEOPLES, IN ALL COUNTRIES, AT ALL TIMES! WE are the ones who change with the wind and the blown sands of the desert (Yes me too). If his revealed word means something different for me than it does for others than He is at best perverse and at worst not God. He IS God though and his word IS the same, always. His word is true, in it’s true meaning, in the message it was intended to deliver. It produces only one truth that is universally applicable IN ONLY THE INTENDED WAY, NO MATTER THE SITUATION OR CIRCUMSTANCE. To interpret the word “submit” as anything other than what it was intended to mean (in most cases “obey”) is a forgivable mistake; to then teach others or convict others that it means “share” is, at that point, an abomination.

GOD’S TRUTH IS NOT RELATIVE!

· Hebrews 13:8-9a Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever. Be not carried about with diverse and strange doctrines. KJV

And…so you don’t think I am “one of those Christians” who only use the KJV, claiming that it is the only true scripture…

· Hebrews 13:8-9a Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. NIV
· Hebrews 13:8-9a Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings. NASB
· Hebrews13:8-9a Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings. ESV
· Hebrews13:8-9a There should be a consistency that runs through us all. For Jesus doesn't change—yesterday, today, tomorrow, he's always totally himself. Don't be lured away from him by the latest speculations about him. The Message

GOD’S TRUTH IS NOT RELATIVE!

How can I make a reference to a verse that talks about Jesus when I am talking about the Bible?
· John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. KJV
· John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. NIV
· John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. NASB

I think you get the idea about the different translations…for simplicity I will use NIV from here on out.

Let’s look at this as it was intended for its original audience. John’s audience was predominately Jewish and thus his intent in writing his gospel was to communicate that Jesus was the Christ (Messiah) and that they could have eternal life through His work on the cross. Now we have the original intent. In fact John gets right to work letting us know who Jesus is. So who is He? He is God, the Christ, the Word made flesh. Here we see an equation: God=Jesus=Word. Working backwards…“the Word was God,” is self explanatory. The only part that is not self explanatory is that the Hebrew for “Word” is “logos” which suggests Christ as well as something written or spoken. There is nothing further, or “deeper.” That is the truth of that phrase…emphatically-“the Christ was God.” Next, “the Word was with God.” Again using the Hebrew “logos,” so “the Christ was with God.” Lastly, “In the beginning was the Word”…”In the beginning was the Christ.” So we now come to the entire revealed truth of this verse…Christ existed, known as “logos” as/with God in the beginning. That is it! Nothing else exists in that verse unless WE create it. As if you need it to be anymore inspiring and hard-hitting than that?

In this analysis we have a startling simplicity, and a direct correlation with our verse earlier…

· Hebrews 13:8-9a Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings.

Jesus Christ…a.k.a. “the Word”…is the same yesterday and today and forever. Here the word “same” in Hebrew “autos” means self. So it could read like this: the Word is self, or the Word is the Word, or the Word is the same yesterday and today…etc. Either way you want to translate the Hebrew to English you’re only left with one truth: the Word doesn’t change; the Word is the same as it always has been, is, or will be. THERE IS ONLY ONE TRUTH!

In all His love and provision God has made His Word for us and has worked hard to keep it clear enough for EVERYONE to understand. One of the many mistakes of the Pharisees was that they shackled the people with cumbersome burdens “for the sake of the Law.” Let us not burden each other with the task of seeking our truth in scripture, but God’s. God has already provided a truth for us, and that in Jesus Christ. One question to ask yourself when you have trouble accepting God’s truth: Why don’t I agree with God? When He says obey but you “interpret” share, ask Him to give you wisdom (James 1:5) and courage to meet your worldly ways head on and bring them into submission (obedience) with His word. Amen.

So how does this apply to marriage and the ladies mentioned above? When standards are relaxed, or in this case ignored, we are left with something less than holy. Something less than what God intended; something evil. That happened over and over again in the Old Testament and it is happening today. There is no longer a commitment, connection, or relationship in marriage anymore, as we have let the “state” define it for too long. It now more resembles a business agreement that only exists as long as it is mutually beneficial and not so uncomfortable for both parties. Instead of God’s one flesh standard with the husband as the head and the wife as the “helpmeet” we now have a dual flesh standard where there is no discernable head…and as we know, without a head it is hard to tell which way is forward.