93. CORPORATE, CHRISTLIKE LOVE FOR THE FATHER AND HIS SON (dd): Pursuing Christlike holiness (18)

2. Adultery as ‘a spiritual sin’ or ‘a sin of the heart’ in the New Testament churches

This meditation is closely linked to Meditation 90 which speaks of prostitution as ‘a spiritual sin’ or ‘a sin of the heart’. The Oxford Dictionary gives the following definitions of prostitution and adultery:

-- “prostitution is the practice or occupation of engaging in sexual activity with someone for payment.”

God uses this term for the ‘spiritual sin’ of His unfaithful people Israel: “The LORD said to Moses: You are going to rest with your fathers, and these people (Israel) will soon prostitute themselves to the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake me and break the covenant I made with them.” (Deuteronomy 31:16)

-- “adultery is voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and a person who is not their spouse.”

God uses this term especially when He speaks of His people as an unfaithful wife because of the covenant(s) He has made with them. We can see in the Sinai or Mosaic Covenant as well as in the New or Messianic Covenant, the term ‘adultery’ as the designation of unfaithfulness to God.

2a.) Breaking the Sinai or Mosaic Covenant

At Mount Sinai, after God rescued Israel from bondage in Egypt, He made a marriage covenant with His people. God describes this covenant with the following poetic words: “When I passed by and saw you again, you were old enough to be married. So I wrapped my cloak around you to cover your nakedness and declared my marriage vows. I made a covenant with you, says the Sovereign LORD, and you became mine.” (Ezekiel 16:8)

God condemned Israel’s marital unfaithfulness with the following words of the prophet Ezekiel (6^th century B.C.): “Yes, you are an adulterous wife who takes in strangers instead of her own husband.” (Ezekiel 16:32)  

In 722 B.C., God punished this stubborn unfaithfulness of the Northern Kingdom of Israel (10 tribes) by sending them away to Assyria: “The people of Israel persisted in all the evil ways of Jeroboam [their first king]. They did not turn from these sins of idolatry until the LORD finally swept them away, just as all his prophets had warned would happen. So Israel was carried off to the land of Assyria...” (2 Kings 17:22-23). These ten tribes of the Northern Kingdom of Israel never returned to their homeland.

Finally, in the 6^th century B.C., God's punishment struck the still-existing Southern Kingdom of Judah for their continuing unfaithfulness to God’s covenant with them. He sent them away in captivity to Babylon: “Then King Jehoiachin, along with his advisers, nobles, and officials, and the queen mother, surrendered to the Babylonians. In the eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, he took Jehoiachin prisoner. As the LORD had said beforehand, Nebuchadnezzar carried away all the treasures from the LORD's Temple and the royal palace. They cut apart all the gold vessels that King Solomon of Israel had placed in the Temple. King Nebuchadnezzar took ten thousand captives from Jerusalem, including all the princes and the best of the soldiers, craftsmen, and smiths. So only the poorest people were left in the land.” (2 Kings 24:12-14)

The Babylonian exile of the Southern Kingdom of Judah ended officially in 538 B.C. The biblical books of Ezra and Nehemiah tell us the dramatic story of the return of God’s people to Jerusalem. 

During His ministry, Jesus mentions three times the unfaithfulness of God’s people to the Mosaic Covenant:

-- “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” (Matthew 12:39 and Matthew 16:4)

 

-- “If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:38)

2b.) Breaking the New or Messianic Covenant

Only once does God address His new covenant people as adulterous. Through the mouth of His servant James, He spurns their unfaithful behaviour toward Him, saying: “You adulterers! Don't you realize that friendship with this world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again, that if your aim is to enjoy this world, you can't be a friend of God. What do you think the Scriptures mean when they say that the Holy Spirit, whom God has placed within us, jealously longs for us to be faithful?” (James 4:4-5)

However, although the term adultery as a ‘spiritual sin’ or a ‘sin of the heart’ is not directly used for the church, the matter itself is very extensively dealt with in the New Testament epistles. Here are some examples:

(1.) Stop loving ‘the world’

The apostle John contrasts Jesus’ followers with the world that rebels against God’s rule: “Stop loving this evil world and all that it offers you, for when you love the world, you show that you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only the lust for physical pleasure, the lust for everything we see, and pride in our possessions. These are not from the Father. They are from this evil world. And this world is fading away, along with everything it craves. But if you do the will of God, you will live forever.” (1 John 2:15-17)

Using the same contrast, the apostle Paul warns the church in Rome for an adulterous lifestyle: “Dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice-- the kind he will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask? Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.” (Romans 12:1-2)

(2.) Stop following ‘your old sinful nature’

For the same reason, Paul contrasts in his letter to the church in Rome a lifestyle controlled by God’s Spirit with a lifestyle controlled by their former rebellious attitude towards God: “Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. If your sinful nature controls your mind, there is death. But if the Holy Spirit controls your mind, there is life and peace. For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God's laws, and it never will. That's why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.” (Romans 8:5-8)

God makes His new or messianic covenant with all those who repent of their sins and are reborn by His Spirit. Consequently, returning towards a worldly lifestyle, driven by selfishness, greed, materialism, individualism, hedonism and the like, is in God’s view nothing less than ‘spiritual adultery’.

Therefore, Paul states clearly to the followers of Jesus in Rome: “So, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation whatsoever to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you keep on following it, you will perish. But if through the power of the Holy Spirit you turn from it and its evil deeds, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.” (Romans 8:12-14)

Using the same contrast, the apostle Paul warns the churches in the Roman province of Galatia (modern Turkey) of spiritual adultery: “I advise you to live according to your new life in the Holy Spirit. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves.

The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict. .....

When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, your lives will produce these evil results: sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other kinds of sin.

Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:16-21)

Paul encourages the followers of Jesus in the Greek town of Colossae: “Put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual sin, impurity, lust, and shameful desires. Don't be greedy for the good things of this life, for that is idolatry. God's terrible anger will come upon those who do such things.

You used to do them when your life was still part of this world. But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language.

Don't lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old evil nature and all its wicked deeds.

In its place you have clothed yourselves with a brand-new nature that is continually being renewed as you learn more and more about Christ, who created this new nature within you.

In this new life, it doesn't matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.” (Colossians 3:5-11)

In the context of the New or Messianic Covenant, there is a clear difference between getting rid of my ‘old sinful lifestyle’ when I desire to follow Jesus Christ, and returning to that ‘old lifestyle’ after becoming a follower of Jesus Christ. The latter is ‘spiritual adultery’ and the theme of this Meditation. 

Of course, this does not only apply to individuals, but also to entire churches (see Meditations 46-47, 63 and 85). That leaves me with the following questions concerning my church:

-- Does my church want to love God wholeheartedly?

-- Is my church therefore actively pursuing Christlike holiness?

-- Is my church in danger of falling back into ‘spiritual adultery’? If yes, then what can I do to prevent that?

-- Is my church already lost in ‘spiritual adultery’? What are the ways in which my church copies the sinful lifestyle of our culture? If yes, is there anything I can do to lead my church to repentance?

  

Deuteronomy 31:16, Matthew 12:39, Matthew 16:4, Mark 8:38 are quotes from the New International Version. All other quotes are from the New Living Translation.

92. CORPORATE, CHRISTLIKE LOVE FOR THE FATHER AND HIS SON (cc) : Pursuing Christlike holiness (17)

Adultery in the Corinthian church

In the Greco-Roman society in which the New Testament churches lived, most expressions of sexual activity (specially for men) were completely acceptable. Only sex with someone else’s wife was forbidden. Civil marriage was protected by law and custom.

The dominant view in the Greco-Roman world was that sex was an activity of the body and had nothing to do with one’s spiritual life. Having sex in whatever way was perfectly normal and natural, like having a meal.

Therefore, for a married man to have an adulterous relationship was no problem as long as he did not have it with a married woman.

God had a hard time to change the hearts and the minds of the followers of Jesus in Corinth (and elsewhere) who were born into that decadent culture. The apostle Paul and all other ambassadors of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, faced a major uphill struggle to convince churches that adultery was a detestable act in God’s eyes.

In this Meditation, we want to search the Scriptures [the Bible] and see what God reveals with regard to adultery in the Mosaic Covenant and in the New or Messianic Covenant. As with prostitution (see Meditation 90), we can distinguish between (1) adultery as a ‘carnal sin’ and (2) adultery as ‘a spiritual sin’ or ‘a sin of the heart’. Firstly, let us reflect on what God’s Word says about adultery as a ‘carnal sin’.

1a.)  Adultery as a ‘carnal sin’ in the Mosaic or Sinai Covenant

At Mount Sinai, God said to His people Israel: “If you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the nations of the earth; for all the earth belongs to me. And you will be to me a kingdom of priests, my holy nation.” (Exodus 19:5-6)

As part of the Sinai covenant, God gave His people these commandments on adultery:

-- “Do not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14; see also Deuteronomy 5:18).

-- “If a man commits adultery with another man's wife, both the man and the woman must be put to death.” (Leviticus 20:10; see also Deuteronomy 22:22)

At the end of his life, Moses reminded God’s people to remain faithful to God and to His covenant with them, saying: “Today the LORD your God has commanded you to obey all these laws and regulations. You must commit yourself to them without reservation. You have declared today that the LORD is your God. You have promised to obey his laws, commands, and regulations by walking in his ways and doing everything he tells you. The LORD has declared today that you are his people, his own special treasure, just as he promised, and that you must obey all his commands. And if you do, he will make you greater than any other nation. Then you will receive praise, honor, and renown. You will be a nation that is holy to the LORD your God, just as he promised.” (Deuteronomy 26:16-19)

On the basis of that Mosaic law, God warns again in the book of Proverbs not to commit adultery:

-- “It (divine wisdom) will save you also from the adulteress, from the wayward wife with her seductive words, who has left the partner of her youth and ignored the covenant she made before God. For her house leads down to death and her paths to the spirits of the dead. None who go to her return or attain the paths of life.” (Proverbs 2:16-19)

-- “These commands and this teaching will keep you from the immoral woman, from the smooth tongue of an adulterous woman. Don't lust for her beauty. Don't let her coyness seduce you. For a prostitute will bring you to poverty, and sleeping with another man's wife may cost you your very life. Can a man scoop fire into his lap and not be burned? Can he walk on hot coals and not blister his feet? So it is with the man who sleeps with another man's wife. He who embraces her will not go unpunished. Excuses might be found for a thief who steals because he is starving. But if he is caught, he will be fined seven times as much as he stole, even if it means selling everything in his house to pay it back. But the man who commits adultery is an utter fool, for he destroys his own soul.” (Proverbs 6:24-32; see also Proverbs 7)

When Israel finally had settled in the promised land, they turned again and again away from God and from His covenant with them and followed the sinful ways of the nations around them. Through the prophet Jeremiah (7^th century B.C.), God warned his wayward people of adultery with the following words: “How can I pardon you? For even your children have turned from me. They have sworn by gods that are not gods at all! I fed my people until they were fully satisfied. But they thanked me by committing adultery and lining up at the city's brothels. They are well-fed, lusty stallions, each neighing for his neighbour's wife. Should I not punish them for this?" asks the LORD. "Should I not avenge myself against a nation such as this?” (Jeremiah 5:7-9)

1b.)  Adultery as a ‘carnal sin’ in the New or Messianic Covenant

God's New or Messianic Covenant is for all those who have accepted Jesus Messiah’s sacrificial death for their sins and who are reborn by His Spirit. As we said in Meditation 91, it is God’s powerful Spirit in all reborn followers of Jesus who is destined to help us overcome the hardness of our rebellious and wicked hearts. He is able to transform us into the likeness of Christ.

The apostle Paul writes to the church in Ephesus (modern Turkey): “Now glory be to God! By his mighty power at work within us, he is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope.” (Ephesians 3:20)

Because of the New or Messianic covenant that Jesus makes with all who follow Him, He takes the bull by the horns and confronts the sin of adultery head-on. We saw already in Meditation 91 that He declared divorce and remarriage during the partner’s life time to be a form of adultery.

Jesus even goes further and shows that adultery does not start with illicit sexual intercourse. In fact, adultery starts already in a person’s heart:

-- “From the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all other sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander.” (Matthew 15:19; see also Mark 7:21)

-- “You have heard that the law of Moses says, 'Do not commit adultery.' But I [Jesus] say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust in his eye has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27-28)

Later on the apostle Peter repeats Jesus’ words when he speaks about those who “commit adultery with their eyes.” (2 Peter 2:14)

We read in Meditation 91 also that the apostle Paul bases himself on Jesus’ words when he speaks of adultery in the case of a divorce and remarriage during a partner’s life time (see Romans 7:3).

  

Furthermore, Paul reminds the Christians in Rome of the fact that “the commandments against adultery and murder and stealing and coveting-- and any other commandment-- are all summed up in this one commandment [of Jesus in Luke 10:27]: "Love your neighbor as yourself." (Romans 13:9)

The apostle Paul severely warns the followers of Jesus in Corinth, saying: “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral ... nor adulterers ... will inherit the kingdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)

The letter to the Hebrews reminds us of Paul’s words: “Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery.” (Hebrews 13:4)

In the light of our contemporary Western culture of tolerance, our churches need to inquire of God concerning His view on adultery. Here are some questions for thoughtful reflection:

-- The mass media in our western culture of individualism and tolerance have a liberal view on matters of adultery, divorce and remarriage. Should Christians not be free how to live in regard to these issues? 

-- It seems that the number of cases of conjugal infidelity, divorce and remarriage is growing rapidly in churches in the West. One wonders how serious churches and individual Christians take God’s judgment on these matters. Is God then only like a good old Father Christmas who lets us get way with whatever we do in our lives? Is He like a toothless lion who in point of fact would not harm anybody? Is the Bible’s warning of God’s judgment only ‘a troublesome doctrine’ without any real  consequences in this life and the afterlife? Is it inhuman to warn Christians of sinful behaviour by using visions of ‘hail and brimstones’? Is it bad psychology and poor pastoral care to caution God’s people to stay away from sin out of fear of God?

Yet, God teaches us in Proverbs that “fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in understanding.” (Proverbs 9:10)

By mouth of the prophet Malachi, God is eager to warn His people: “I will come near you for judgment; I will be a swift witness ... against adulterers ... -- Because they do not fear Me,” says the LORD of hosts.” (Malachi 3:5)

The Epistle to the Hebrews encourages us with the words: “Since we are receiving a Kingdom that cannot be destroyed, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe. For our God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:28-29)

-- Does the fear of God and His judgment still mean that Christians shy away from taking unbiblical and ungodly decisions with regard to adultery, divorce and remarriage?

-- How real in my church is the hope that the loving and powerful presence of God’s Spirit is able to solve complex and hopeless cases in marriage counselling?

-- Would warning of God’s judgment on unbiblical and ungodly behaviour be seen in my church as a case of bad counselling?

You will find further questions for reflection on these issues at the end of Meditation 91.

We wrote in the Meditations 56, 63, 74, 76 and 77 that God’s Spirit wants to empower our churches to obey God’s first and greatest commandment: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” (Matthew 22:37-38)

Since Meditation 76, we have seen that God’s Spirit only can empower our churches to wholehearted love for God if our churches, their leaders and all their reborn members keep on pursuing Christlike holiness. God’s Spirit says by mouth of the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews: “Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no-one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14)

 

Proverbs 2:16-19, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Matthew 22:37-38 and Hebrews 12:14 are quotes from the New International Version. Malachi 3:5 is quoted from the New King James Version. All other quotes are from the New Living Translation.

91. CORPORATE, CHRISTLIKE LOVE FOR THE FATHER AND HIS SON (cc): Pursuing Christlike holiness (16)

Divorce in the Corinthian church

It seems that romantic love was seldom a cause for marriage among the Greeks. Marriages and engagements were often prearranged. Divorces in Hellenistic society were common and easy to obtain. A French historian stated, "There's an epidemic of broken marriages in Rome". Around 18 B.C., the Roman emperor Augustus established laws promoting marriage and discouraging divorce. Therefore, divorce must have been a problem in the Corinthian church as well.

God speaks extensively about divorce in His Word [the Bible]. So, let’s have a look what He says about this crucial matter in the Mosaic Covenant and in the New or Messianic Covenant:

a.)  Divorce in the Mosaic or Sinai Covenant

Through the mouth of His prophet Malachi, God declares forthrightly: “‘I hate divorce!’ says the LORD, the God of Israel. ‘It is as cruel as putting on a victim's bloodstained coat,’ says the LORD Almighty. ‘So guard yourself; always remain loyal to your wife.’” (Malachi 2:16)

Jesus quotes the Mosaic law by saying: “‘You have heard that the law of Moses says, ‘A man can divorce his wife by merely giving her a letter of divorce.’” (Matthew 5:31; see Deuteronomy 24:1-4)

Later on Jesus explains God’s original design for marriage and why Moses allowed divorce: “Some Pharisees came and tried to trap him [Jesus] with this question: ‘Should a man be allowed to divorce his wife for any reason?’ ‘Haven't you read the Scriptures?’ Jesus replied. ‘They record that from the beginning 'God made them male and female.'’ And he said, ‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’ Since they are no longer two but one, let no one separate them, for God has joined them together.’ ‘Then why did Moses say a man could merely write an official letter of divorce and send her away?’ they asked. Jesus replied, ‘Moses permitted divorce as a concession to your hard-hearted wickedness, but it was not what God had originally intended.’” (Matthew 19:3-8; see also Mark 10:2-9)

b.)  Divorce in the New or Messianic Covenant

We saw in earlier meditations that the New or Messianic Covenant is characterised by our reconciliation with God through the guilt offering of Jesus, God’s Son, and by the gift of God’s Spirit (see Meditations 22-33).

That means in practice that God does not need to allow a concession any longer because of our hard-hearted wickedness as in the Mosaic Covenant. It is God’s Spirit in the reborn Jewish and non-Jewish followers of Jesus who is destined to help us overcome the hardness of our rebellious and wicked hearts.

The apostle Paul explains this as he shows the difference between a Jew, living under the Mosaic Covenant and a Jew who follows Jesus and lives under the New or Messianic Covenant: “You are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the Jewish ceremony of circumcision [Mosaic Covenant]. No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not a cutting of the body but a change of heart produced by God's Spirit [New or Messianic Covenant].” (Romans 2:28-29)

Because of the powerful and transforming presence of God’s Spirit in Jesus’ reborn followers, Jesus is authorised to give them clear-cut orders concerning divorce and remarriage:

-- “I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery.” (Matthew 19:9)

-- “I say that a man who divorces his wife, unless she has been unfaithful, causes her to commit adultery. And anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.” (Matthew 5:32; see also Luke 16:18)

-- Concerning divorce and remarriage by a woman, Jesus said: “If a woman divorces her husband and remarries, she commits adultery.” (Mark 10:11-12)

In these declarations Jesus plainly states that according to the New or Messianic Covenant the unbreakable bond of marriage is the unconditional will of God. According to Jesus, even an arranged divorce amongst His followers does not dissolve their first marriage in God’s eyes! On the contrary, a Christian who divorces his wife (except in a case of her infidelity), and remarries, commits adultery and drives his wife into an adulterous relation should she remarry!

Through the inspiration of God’s Spirit, the apostle Paul grounds his teaching on Jesus’ declarations:

-- “For those who are married I have a command that comes not from me, but from the Lord. A wife must not leave her husband.... And the husband must not leave his wife.” (1 Corinthians 7:11-10)

-- “When a woman marries, the law binds her to her husband as long as he is alive. But if he dies, the laws of marriage no longer apply to her. So while her husband is alive, she would be committing adultery if she married another man. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law and does not commit adultery when she remarries.” (Romans 7:2-3)

-- “Are you married? Do not seek a divorce.” (1 Corinthians 7:27)

The Epistle to the Hebrews also confirms Jesus’ declarations and warns of the consequence of disobedience: “Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery.” (Hebrews 13:4)

Yet, also for reborn children of God there might be heart-rending situations in which a marriage doesn’t survive, in spite of the powerful presence of God’s Spirit who would be able to kindle Christlike love. What is God’s will in such circumstances?

Through the apostle Paul, God says: “Now, for those who are married I have a command that comes not from me, but from the Lord. ... If she [the wife] does leave him [her husband], let her remain single or else go back to him.” (1 Corinthians 7:10-11)

This command from the Lord is in keeping with the earlier-mentioned declaration of Jesus that according to the New or Messianic Covenant the bond of marriage is unbreakable and even an arranged divorce amongst God’s reborn children does not dissolve their marriage in God’s eyes!

Interestingly, based on Jesus’ declarations, the apostle personally advises the church in Corinth, saying: “I will speak to the rest of you, though I do not have a direct command from the Lord. If a Christian man has a wife who is an unbeliever and she is willing to continue living with him, he must not leave her. And if a Christian woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he is willing to continue living with her, she must not leave him. For the Christian wife brings holiness to her marriage, and the Christian husband brings holiness to his marriage.” (1 Corinthians 7:12-14)

Well, on the matter of divorce, God’s Word gives us much food for thought. Here in the West, we see how the near ‘epidemic’ of divorce and remarriage ravages many churches, not only ‘infecting’ some members but likewise some church leaders.

That’s why I would like us to take some time to assess our own personal situations and the state of affairs in our churches:

-- Am I familiar with Jesus’ declarations with regard to divorce and remarriage? Do I adhere to God’s statement that remarriage during my first spouse’s lifetime is adultery in God’s eyes?

-- Does my church abides by Jesus’ declarations regarding divorce and remarriage? Does my church teach and act in accordance with God’s statement that remarriage during the lifetime of one’s first spouse is adultery in His eyes?          

-- Do I and my church know fellow-Christians who have left their spouses and remain single in accordance with God’s will, whatever the cost?

-- Do I and my church know fellow-Christians who stick to their non-believing spouses? In what way do they practically bring Christlike holiness to their marriages?

-- Amidst our permissive society, does my church train its members how to stand firm on God’s Word, especially with regard to divorce and remarriage?

-- Does my church have awareness programmes to teach my church about God’s Word and His will regarding divorce and remarriage?

-- Does my church have wise and Christlike counsellors to care compassionately for those church members who go through a divorce and in obedience to God have decided to remain single whatever agony that brings?

-- Is my church prepared to firmly use Christlike church discipline in a loving and compassionate way to deal with unrepentant members? (see Meditation 88)

 

Matthew 19:9 and 1 Corinthians 7:27 are quotes from the New International Version. All other quotes are from the New Living Translation.