Hard Teaching from a Loving Lord

July 19

(Luke 16:18 NIV) “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.””

(Matthew 19:3-11 NIV) ““Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?" {4} "Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,' {5} and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'? {6} So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." {7} "Why then," they asked, "did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?" {8} Jesus replied, "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. {9} I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery." {10} The disciples said to him, "If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry." {11} Jesus replied, "Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given.””

There are two mistakes the church can make in regard to sin. First, we can stop calling it sin. We can cheapen the grace of God by offering carte blanche forgiveness with no strings attached. We can adopt the philosophy that God is love, and everyone will be fine in the end. We can weaken God’s Law to suit our lifestyle. We can pervert the word of God for our pleasure. The second mistake we can make is to brand a person for life with the scarlet letter of their sin. We can crush them with the law and beat them into submission with guilt. Jesus didn’t make either mistake. If we listen to Him, we won’t be stoning divorced people -- nor will we simply smile and say, “Do whatever feels right to you.” We cannot take the bite out of His words, nor should we bite anyone with them. Jesus speaks God’s truth. Don’t look for how you can get around it -- look for how you can honor it. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day