FB Meme: Pastor's "Talk" With Congregation

This meme began floating around recently.

It is wrong.

I feel the need to correct this because there are people in my life who fit into the different categories addressed in this meme. I love you enough to show you what the Bible REALLY says about these issues.

Divorce is not always a sin, and the death penalty under the Old Testament law to which the pastor referred was for adultery, not divorce.

The Old Testament clearly provides for divorce under certain circumstances, and the divorce declaration was to protect the wife from being stoned as an adulteress:

“When a man takes a wife and marries her, if then she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, and she departs out of his house...," Deuteronomy 24:1.

Clearly, the Old Testament does NOT - contrary to what the preacher supposedly tells his congregation - categorically declare divorce to be a sin.

Jesus clearly taught that divorce is PERMISSIBLE in cases of unrepentant adultery: 

"But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery," Matthew 5:32

"And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery," Matthew 19:19.

Divorce for any reason OTHER than adultery, according to Jesus, is sin.

Remarriage after divorce is adultery. Again, Jesus explained this clearly:

"But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery," Matthew 5:32 

"And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery," Matthew 19:19.

But those are the same verses you used to show that divorce is permissible in the event of unrepentant adultery. Yes, that is right. Jesus acknowledged the fact that Moses permitted divorce for immorality, but He then added a qualification that has been overlooked in the vast majority of evangelical circles. The husband who divorced his wife because of her unrepentant immorality was not causing her to become an adulteress; she already was one by virtue of her own immoral behavior. So the mere act of divorce doesn't automatically make one an adulterer/adulteress. On the other hand, the spouse who divorces for reasons OTHER than adultery MAKES their spouse an adulterer.

How?

"But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery," Matthew 5:32 

"And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery," Matthew 19:19.

And He said to them, 'Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her; and if she herself divorces her husband and marries another man, she is committing adultery,'" Mark 10:11-12.

"Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries one who is divorced from a husband commits adultery," Luke 16:18.

Marrying a divorced person is adultery according to these passages. According to JESUS' teaching, the spouse who divorces for any reason other than adultery causes the divorced spouse to become an adulterer upon their eventual remarriage. The spouse who divorces BECAUSE of adultery does not cause the divorced spouse to become an adulterer, they already are one by virtue of their own behavior.

Paul also teaches this.

"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; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man," Romans 7:2-3.

The spouse who remarries while their "ex" lives is an adulterer.

Even 1 Corinthians 7, home of the infamous - and greatly misunderstood - "escape clause," continues this teaching. People tend to focus on verse 15, the supposed escape clause, and completely ignore verses 10-13 and verse 39:

"To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord): the wife should not separate from her husband (but if she does, she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and the husband should not divorce his wife. 

To the rest I say (I, not the Lord) that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her.  If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him… 

A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord."

Long story short, divorce is not sin if it is carried out in response to unrepentant adultery. Remarriage is forbidden in every circumstance EXCEPT after the death of the spouse. And yes, under the Old Testament law, the penalty for adultery was death. God called it a capital crime.

Now on to the other observation contained in this meme.

The pastor supposedly says, "The Bible doesn't say anything about the consequences of a homosexual lifestyle."

This is a LIE.

First, the Bible DOES declare homosexuality to be sin:

"You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination," Leviticus 18:22

"If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination...," Leviticus 20:13a

This does not refer, as some would have us believe, to temple prostitutes.  God forbids all sexual activity outside of marriage, and the temple worship of Yahweh contained no sexual elements.  This is exactly what it appears to be - a categorical declaration by God that homosexuality is completely outside of His design for sexual relations. 

Second, contrary to the teaching of the pastor in this meme, the same passage that declares adultery to be a sin punishable by death also declares, "If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them," Leviticus 20:13. Obviously, the pastor in the meme is guilty of cherry picking God's Word.

Adultery and homosexuality, under the Old Testament law, are EQUALLY punishable by death.

OK, but that is the Old Testament.

So let's see what the New Testament has to say.

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.  For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.  For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.  Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them," Romans 1:18-32.

That's pretty clear. Mankind thinks itself wiser than God, thinks itself capable of changing GOD'S constructs - morally, spiritually, and even PHYSICALLY. God says, "Fine, have it your way - but be aware, there are consequences associated with these choices, chief among them, I WILL GIVE YOU UP TO YOUR OWN CHOICES." Homosexuality is but one of the sins listed in this passage, but it is also called out very specifically. Paul goes on to address the issue of homosexuality in two other passages:

"Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God," 1 Corinthians 6:9-10.

"... understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted," 1 Timothy 9-11.

So contrary to the teaching of the pastor in the meme, the homosexual lifestyle DOES bring consequences. Under the Old Testament law, it was, as was adultery, punishable by death. Under the New Testament, the consequences for homosexuality, as for adultery, include alienation from God, physical and mental ailments ("... receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error..."), and eternal consequences.

The pastor in the meme ends his talk with the observation, "So, we as a church family have to support equality with a smile on our face.  THAT is the true Christian way."

I want to go on the record by saying that we as the church must show genuine Christian love for ALL sinners.  We are called by our Savior to show them the love of Christ.  And as the church, we have not always done a very good job of communicating that love.  That is absolutely true.

But also understand that true love, while accepting the person, created in the image of God, is not acceptance of what the Bible clearly calls sin.  

The Romans 1 passage ends with this warning - and it contradicts the teaching of the preacher in the meme:

"...Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them," Romans 1:32.

The true calling of the church to such individuals, whether homosexual, adulterer, thief, gossip, murder - you name it, is to love that individual enough to show them the truth of God's Word:

"Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself," Galatians 1:1-3.

I want to address one other issue that is not OVERTLY covered in this meme, but it is in the background.

These days, in order to remove the stigma from things that have been traditionally looked at as "sin," psychologists/psychiatrists are working working to re-classify everything.  The Bible teaches that we were created as Man and Woman: "Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness',"  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them," Genesis 1:26-27.  Psychology, in order to remove the stigma from homosexuality, says, "No, gender identity/sexual orientation is what you perceive yourself to be.

God created man and woman with the ability and duty to procreate: "And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth," Genesis 1:28.  This is one of the few times that evolution and creation actually sort of agree with each other.  There is neither a creation nor evolutionary imperative for homosexuality as homosexuality does not actually contribute to the continuation of the human race.  Homosexuality relies on artificial means to make procreation possible, and still requires participation of a male or female , as the case may be.  

God established marriage between one man and one woman as the appropriate context in which to continue the human race.  This excludes adultery, homosexuality, premarital relations, simple cohabitation, and pedophelia (yes, psychology is even attempting remove the stigma from pedophilia, http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/06/opinion/pedophilia-a-disorder-not-a-crime.html?_r=0):

"Therefore a man [Hebrew word, 'iysh, meaning, "man" (male)] shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife [Hebrew word, 'ishshah, meaning female counterpart to male (woman/wife)] , and they shall become one flesh," Genesis 2:24.

"He [Jesus]answered, 'Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning [GOD] made them male and female, and said, 'Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate,'" Matthew 19:4-6.

"[Jesus said] But from the beginning of creation, 'God made them male and female.'  'Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.' So they are no longer two but one flesh," Mark 10:6-8.

"Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh," Ephesians 5:31, Apostle Paul.

Phsychology today tells us that adultery and other forms of sexual promiscuity are evolutionary imperatives:

"Evolution isn't influenced by the sanctity of marriage. The only thing that matters in evolution is whether a particular trait increases the likelihood of producing greater numbers of offspring that, in turn, will survive and reproduce as well," Why They Stray: The Evolutionary Advantages Of Infidelity, http://www.psmag.com/health-and-behavior/stray-evolutionary-advantages-infidelity-93443.

Where psychology bends all of the rules to make people feel good about themselves, the Bible has a much simpler explanation: "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me," Psalm 51:5.  We were born in sin.  We sin because it is our nature to do so; it is natural.  And yet, at some level, we intuitively understand that what we are doing is wrong.  Why?  Because we are made in the image of God, corrupted though that image may be.  With that image comes a basic understanding of good and evil:

"For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them...," Romans 2:14-15.

Why do we feel the need to justify what we do?  Because God's law is hardwired into our conscience.

These are foundational truths of the Bible embraced by Christians.  We do not hide behind them, they are the filter through which we view the world.  And until recent years, they provided order and structure to our society.

Today, everyone is free to do what is right in his own eyes - regardless of the consequences.  And the result is utter chaos.

Love, TRUE LOVE, warns others of the consequences of their choices and actions; it doesn't let them blunder headlong into eternity.  It prays for them.  It speaks with them.  It recognizes that they are created in the image of God, fallen though that image may be, and are to be treated with dignity - something which, admittedly, the church has not always been very good at doing.  It endures being misunderstood.  And it offers hope.

You see, John 3:16-17 is still true:

"For God so loved the world [HIS creation!], that he gave his only Son [Jesus], that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him."

God sent Jesus to die for us, to save us from ourselves and our sins - to give us new life.

THAT is why the church exists - not to condemn individuals, but to let them know that there is hope.  Yes, that involves naming sin.  We name the sin in the hope of seeing the person come to know the new life that is offered through Jesus the Christ:

"Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others... For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he [God] made him [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God," 2 Corinthians 5:11-21.

God is calling.  He is offering you a new life!  I hope you will accept His offer.