“Divorce and Oaths”, A Closer Look by Roger Martin

This week’s passage (Matthew 5.31-37) covers oaths and divorce which fit together because a divorce signifies a broken oath. Our passage begins,

“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of marital unfaithfulness, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.” – Matthew 5:31-32

Jesus speaks again about divorce in Mark 10:1-12:
“And he left there and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and crowds gathered to him again. And again, as was his custom, he taught them. And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, ‘Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?’ He answered them, ‘What did Moses command you?’ They said, ‘Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.’ And Jesus said to them, ‘Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. 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.” What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.’ And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. And he said to them, ‘Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.’”

When Jesus was questioned about the idea of divorce, He referred back to the writings in Genesis. It is evident from the Scriptures that God’s design for marriage was one man and one woman for a lifetime. As with most of God’s commands, people fail and deviate from God’s ideal. Divorce is not the unpardonable sin but the failure of a marriage relationship seldom affects only the couple involved. Children, family, and friends feel the tension from such situations.

In Jesus’ day, exercising divorce proceedings was normally done by the man, possibly for very petty reasons. Jesus was addressing a Jewish audience which contained at least two schools of thought about divorce. The School of Shammai held that “something indecent” meant “marital unfaithfulness or sexual immorality” – the only allowable cause for divorce. The Hillel interpretation refers to an account beginning in Deuteronomy 24:1: “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,....” Hillel emphasized the preceding clause, “who becomes displeasing to him” or “finds no favor in his eyes.” He would allow a man to divorce his wife if she did anything he disliked – even if she burned his food while cooking it. Jesus clearly took the side of Shammai but only after first pointing back to God’s original ideal for marriage in Genesis 1:27 and 2:24.

Physical and/or mental abuse in a marriage is unacceptable and there may come a time when the only remedy is a divorce. It takes two to make a marriage, but only one to dissolve it. The causes of divorce may be hidden or obvious but once the step is taken, the sin is treated like all sins – forgivable by a loving Lord to a penitent child.

The phrase, “‘Have you ever considered divorce?’ ‘Divorce never, murder frequently.’” has been attributed to Jack Benny, Jessica Tandy, Dr. Joyce Brothers, and the wife of evangelist Billy Graham, Ruth Bell Graham. The statement was probably made a bit “tongue in cheek” but it does point to the fact that some “ideal” marriages may have a bit of discord. After nearly 50 years, Ann and I have enjoyed a mostly harmonious relationship. We do not espouse to be experts on marriage but as the years march on, perhaps we have more credibility. When our team introduced ourselves in Kenya, we told them we were a husband to one wife. That statement said much in a country where polygamy is common place. When I announced at one village that we had been married nearly fifty years, an older man said that was not possible and that I was lying. I was more cautious about it when I made the statement after that.

Two secrets to longevity in marriage are principles Jesus lived by – put the feelings and desires of others first and be forgiving or your mate when you think they are not. There have been ups and downs but it is amazing how when we stick to God’s ideal, we reflect on the good times and enjoy the companionship of each other.

As with divorce, there are numerous references to oaths in the Bible. For example, our passage:
“Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.” – Matthew 5:33-37

The Wycliffe commentary suggests that Jesus was addressing the Jewish abuse of oath taking, whereby they swore by everything under the sun, literally. In these verses, Jesus indicated that we should not swear an oath at all but if we do swear an oath to the Lord we should keep it. Jesus taught in these verses that we should not be swearing by things that are not ours or over things of which we have no control. As far as Jesus was concerned, all we should have to say is “yes” or “no”.

An additional idea suggests that swearing an oath would indicate someone is not in the habit of telling the truth so the swearing of an oath was necessary to assure the legitimacy of one’s statements. I hardly think that most couples enter into marriage and require an oath of allegiance because they doubt the truthfulness of one another. We do, however, enter into marriages with promises to love, honor, and cherish each other and keep ourselves pure. The fulfillment of those vows may be very difficult.

Looking at the rest of Scripture, in Genesis 14:22-23, Abram swore to the king of Sodom about his honesty “he wouldn’t take a thread or a thong of a sandal from the king.” In Genesis 25:33, Esau swore to Jacob that he would give up his birthright for a bit of stew. In Judges 11:10, the elders of Gilead swore to Jephthah, an outcast of questionable birth, to elevate him to the head of those in Gilead. In Matthew 26:71-74, Peter denied with an oath three times that he had any knowledge of Jesus. In 2 Corinthians 1:23, Paul testified, “I call God as my witness” that he was not dealing unjustly, unfairly, or untruthfully about his change of plans to visit the believers again at Corinth. In Galatians 1:20, Paul assured believers before God that his account of his calling by God to preach to the Gentiles was indeed accurate. The account in Hebrews 6:13-18 recalls God’s promise to Abraham to “bless you and give you many descendants.” God swore by Himself, making His Word in itself absolutely trustworthy and doubly dependable.

It would seem from these accounts that the oaths given were for man’s benefit, not God’s. Men often find it necessary to add extra emphasis to statements or proclamations to be more assured of their authenticity. In our country, “lying under oath” results in a greater penalty then just lying. Curious don’t you think?

“Evangelize the Sinner”, A Closer Look by Roger Martin

Let us first define the subject:

Evangelize – “to convert or seek to convert [someone] to Christianity” (Google definition), to teach the gospel.  The word “evangelize” is an action word.

Sinner – a person who transgresses against divine law by committing immoral acts.  KJV – one that has voluntarily violated the divine law; a moral agent who has voluntarily disobeyed divine precept or neglected any known duty.

The idea of “evangelizing” will often bring up thoughts of having an evangelistic crusade and asking a professional evangelist to come and assist a church in presenting the gospel. The evangelist is, in some ways, a performer on a stage seeking to convince others of the error of their present lifestyle. In years past, we have had “revivals” to stimulate the church and community by introducing the gospel from the perspective of a fresh voice in the church. Revivals are great and many people can point to such an event as the catalyst for their Christian faith but I am not sure we can depend upon such grand galas as the primary source for sharing the gospel.

The “who” of our evangelistic endeavors may be very close to home. James 5:19 says, “My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.” The “wanderer” is either a professing Christian whose faith is not genuine or a sinning Christian who needs to be restored.  

The results are no different, but evangelism on a personal level often takes much more time and the development of a relationship with the person being witnessed to. These persons may or may not have affiliation with the church of any kind. The most influential evangelists often have a story to tell about coming to the Lord; we are no different. Again, evangelism should strive to convince others of the error of their present lifestyle and point them to the answer – Christ Jesus. The very real result is the promise of eternal salvation and presence with the Lord.

Many times in our minds we justify our inaction by thinking potential followers would never believe because of their present lifestyle. But remember, we did, I did, you did.
Jesus preached to the average man and woman, boy and girl. They weren’t special people with preferential treatment (although some were more willing to receive than others).
1 John 4:19-21 says, “We love because He first loved us.  If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.  And this commandment we have from Him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.”

While on a mission trip to Huatulco, Mexico I asked if there would be greater effect if the money spent on the mission trip was just sent to the missionary. The reply was that those native to the area needed to know that we came because we had an interest in them and were willing to invest time and energy in them. The personal contact has a greater effect than the money.

This idea is no less true for those across the world than those close at hand.

“Unite: In Christ We Are One”, A Closer Look by Roger Martin

Koinonia (koy-nohn-eé-ah) is a transliterated form of the Greek word, κοινωνία, which means communion, joint participation; the share which one has in anything, participation, a gift jointly contributed, a collection, a contribution, etc.

The early Christians enjoyed a Koinonia fellowship of sharing with one another.  This would include prayer and meals together. Pastor Andy mentioned the word “swallowship,” a food in mouth term to indicate a gathering together in the church to enjoy a meal.  Baptists and probably most Christians tend to enjoy such fellowships. We tend to gather together with others to eat when we have something in common—with people such as business associates, family, loved ones, neighbors, and friends.

The Bible has much to say about the joining together of believers. In 1 Corinthians 1:10, Paul writes,
“I appeal (beseech) to you, brothers in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.” 

While it is virtually impossible for everyone to agree on everything, the goal for our church (and Christians in general) is to have a common thread running through all worship activities.

Pastor Andy has been promoting the idea of making disciples; I believe that also includes the notion of growing disciples.  Many of us have been followers of Christ for many years but can point to precious few times when we have been diligent in sharing the Word of God with others. To be successful in mentoring disciples, we must be of one mind, of one accord, hence, we must be united with something to share, namely the Love of Christ and the indwelling of the Spirit.

Paul writes in his letter to the church at Philippi,
“If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in Spirit and purpose.  Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.  Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:1-4)

This scripture points to a oneness in worship towards which we all should subscribe. As we strive to grow in strength with the believers in our church we should strive to copy Paul’s petition for the Philippian Christians.  We are to be trustworthy companions on the road to an eternity with Christ.  

The Psalmist writes in Psalm 133,
“How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!  It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down upon the collar of his robes. It is as if the dew of Hermon where falling on Mount Zion.  For there the Lord bestows His blessing, even life forevermore.”

Jesus’ prayer for His disciples, and by extension for all believers, is quoted in John 17:20-23:
“My prayer is not for them alone.  I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.  May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one.  I in them and you in me.  May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”

This may truly be the Lord’s prayer.