The Church is Getting Back to Normal.

The Church is Getting Back to Normal

A church building in Nigeria burning from arson.

We're not quite there yet, but the Church is getting back to normal, and normal is going to take some getting used to.

What is “normal” for the Church?

Frankly, most of us have never really experienced “normal” as it relates to the Church. Here are some sample verses that explain what “normal” is like for those who follow Jesus.

"...all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution". -2Timothy 3:12 NKJV

"Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy." -1Peter 4:12-13 NKJV

Jesus specifically said:

"If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. "Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. "But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me." -John 15:19-21 NKJV

"For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom...Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake. "And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another." -Matthew 24:7-10 NKJV

If we look beyond our own geography and time, we will see that these verses accurately depict the normal state of affairs for most of the Christians who have ever lived as well as the normal state of affairs for most of those who are alive in the world today.

I expect that the church in America will soon have to acclimate to accelerating hostility from the world around it. We may lose our 501(c)3 tax status. Eventually we may have to surrender our real estate. We're already being laughed at and marginalized. We may go to jail for what we believe. Like it or not, those things are a state of “normal” for the Church. The one thing we cannot do is compromise the truth of the gospel.

What is “normal” for the world?

So will God place a specific curse on the United States because of her moral decline? I don't know. Maybe. He is certainly within his rights to do so. Like it or not, the moral fiber of our laws reflects the moral fiber of our country. There is, I think, some lag time, but eventually “water seeks its own level” so to speak, in the beaker of national morality. 

The United States is quickly becoming an immoral nation with an amoral mindset.

Here's the thing. God doesn't have to pass any new judgment on America. The world has been found guilty of sin and judged alreadyⁱ. Whatever “righteousness” we have ever had as a nationⁱⁱ was derived from faith in a Holy God, anyway.

We certainly know that “all have sinned.”ⁱⁱⁱ Truly, there is plenty of material in the history of this nation to find examples of individual and national sins. The thing that has made the United States stand out in history, as I see it, is not that we have had a collectively flawless character, but that we have had a collective consciousness of sin and an awareness of the need for repentance. In other words, as a group, we have had a consciousness of our responsibility to a holy God and within that consciousness, enough Christians to steer our nation fiber (our laws, if you will) toward righteousness and away from evil.

As our nation's consciousness of responsibility to God diminishes, so has the desire to be righteous by Biblical standards. In other words, our nation societal systems are morphing and merging with what the Bible calls “the world”, and “the world” is decidedly anti-God^iv. In Romans chapter 1, the Bible actually delineates the process by which a society that once knew God fully morphs in to the reprobate (rejected by God) world system. I can see America (or a large portion of it) in those verses. Unless they repent, those who participate in this system are already destined to be sentenced in God's judgment because of their sin.^v

Basically, the increasingly anti-Christian, self-destructive nature of the world around us is not an abnormal thing. It is the normal state of sinful humanity as it interacts with those who carry the gospel. Because it brings a consciousness of sin, the gospel is by nature offensive to those who revel in sin.

The third, and most important question is...

What is “normal” for Jesus?

1. Jesus loves sinners. For that reason gave his life on the cross.
2. Jesus expects his church to “go” and preach the gospel.
3. Jesus has prepared a place for his church.
4. Jesus is coming back.

Nothing in life surprises God. God isn't scared. He has no reason to be. Instead, because of his love for mankind, he has given us another day to fulfill the Great Commission. He still expects that we will do good to those who treat us badly. He expects that we will walk in the Spirit and be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks us about our hope. He expects us to hold fast the things that truly matter, and release the things of the world from our grasp.

So, what can we expect?

As the world around us becomes more hostile to the Gospel it is inevitable that those who hold to the truth of that Gospel will be rejected by the world around them. I believe we can expect:^vi

1. Churches to split, as the tension to compromise the gospel increases.
2. A newer “open minded” church to grow in place of those who hold to Biblical truth.
3. To see people whom you have trusted abandon the faith.
4. To be falsely accused. You will not be called out because you uphold the Bible. Instead you will be falsely vilified as a bigot, homophobe, tax-evader, child abuser or some other evil thing.
5. To be abandoned (even mistreated) by some of those you love dearly.
6. To be hated.
7. To see the church gain renewed purpose and purity.
8. To see Jesus.

As odd as it may seem, when these things happen, congratulations will be in order! You will have graduated into good company^vii. Though in may be foreign to us, persecution is not strange. It is very normal.

"And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."  -Philippians 4:7 

iJohn 12:31.

iiYes, it is possible for a nation to be righteous. cf. Genesis 20:4, Isaiah 26:2. Matthew 25:31-46.

iiiRomans 3:23

ivJohn 3:16-19; John 15:18

vActs 17:31, Romans 2

viMatthew 24:9-14, Matthew 5:10-12

viiMatthew 5:10-12

Greater Righteousness: Marriage and Divorce

Lesson 3: Recognizing Jesus' higher call for marriage.

In the light of verse 19, Jesus continues to explain to his disciples that his teaching does not do away with the law, rather his teaching supersedes the law. In effect Jesus is raising the standard of what it means to be a “righteous” individual. Then He illustrates this point with specific examples related to the Law. In fact, he places anger, lust, divorce, oaths, and retaliation on the same moral plane as murder, adultery, and perjury. Over the next few weeks we will go over these particulars that Jesus has given us.

Note: While Jesus raises the standard of righteous conduct in this passage, he does not reveal the mechanism by which we arrive at this level of righteousness. On its face, Jesus is placing the Kingdom of Heaven out of reach for everyone. Later passages in the New Testament reveal that the Christian’s righteousness is given to him or her by Jesus Christ and acted out in the Christian as he or she walks in the Holy Spirit. This does not mean that Christians are immune to sin, because believers can and do still sin; however, the spirit of the believer longs to not sin, that is, be righteous. A repentant heart can always find restoration to righteousness in Jesus Christ. [1 John 2, Romans 8]

Important Note: Jesus did not dismiss or abuse people who had been divorced. In fact, in John 4, Jesus goes out of his way to minister to a woman who had been divorced five times and was now living in adultery. According to the culture of his day he was violating numerous protocols. He was a Jew talking to a Gentile, a man talking to a woman, a rabbi talking to a sinner. Yet, he cared about her so deeply that he was willing to reveal his true identity to her. He revealed himself to be the Christ. It is important as we study Jesus' teaching on this subject that we remember Jesus doesn't hate divorced people. What he hates is a practice that damages lives and families, and destroys a union that God had declared to be holy.

The Sanctity of Marriage in an Age of Grace

[Mat 5:31-32 ESV] 31 "It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' 32 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.

Establishing the first premise:  God hates divorce.

[Mal 2:13-17 NLT] 13 Here is another thing you do. You cover the LORD's altar with tears, weeping and groaning because he pays no attention to your offerings and doesn't accept them with pleasure. 14 You cry out, "Why doesn't the LORD accept my worship?" I'll tell you why! Because the LORD witnessed the vows you and your wife made when you were young. But you have been unfaithful to her, though she remained your faithful partner, the wife of your marriage vows. 15 Didn't the LORD make you one with your wife? In body and spirit you are his. And what does he want? Godly children from your union. So guard your heart; remain loyal to the wife of your youth. 16 "For I hate divorce!" says the LORD, the God of Israel. "To divorce your wife is to overwhelm her with cruelty," says the LORD of Heaven's Armies. "So guard your heart; do not be unfaithful to your wife." 17 You have wearied the LORD with your words. "How have we wearied him?" you ask. You have wearied him by saying that all who do evil are good in the LORD's sight, and he is pleased with them. You have wearied him by asking, "Where is the God of justice?"

The prophecy of Malachi is the last prophecy recorded in the Old Testament. The book ends, leaving the story of redemption very much unfinished. In many ways, Jesus picks up where Malachi left off. This is one such instance. In Malachi, God is lodging several complaints against his people. One of those is the prevalence of divorce among their numbers. Then he tells them why. 

A. Divorce violates the vows of marriage.B. Divorce destroys a union God has created. [Matthew 19:6 , Mark 10:9   ESV]C. Divorce has an irreversible effect on children.D. Divorce brings heart-ache to the one you have vowed to protect.

Divorce in the case of sexual immorality.
Jesus does permit one to initiate divorce if the spouse has been sexually unfaithful, but divorce is not mandated in such a case. Jesus isn't creating a new exception. Rather he is restating the original provision in the Mosaic Law. In such a case, divorce is an option but not the only option. There are a number of factors which should be considered. 

If God hates divorce, why did he allow it in the first place?
The Law permited divorce only if a man takes a wife and then discovers that she has previously been with another man.

[Deuteronomy 24:1-4 ESV] 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, and she departs out of his house, 2 and if she goes and becomes another man's wife, 3 and the latter man hates her and writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, or if the latter man dies, who took her to be his wife, 4 then her former husband, who sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after she has been defiled, for that is an abomination before the LORD. And you shall not bring sin upon the land that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance.

This passage of the Law gave women legal standing in the nation of Israel. Rather that being bought and traded as property, they had to be treated as people. This provision of the Law stipulates that if a man divorced his wife and she became remarried, he could never again take her as his wife. Such a law protected women from being prostituted or swapped.
The Pharisees considered giving a "writ of divorce" to be a righteous act.

The entire emphasis of this portion of Matthew 5 is to exceed the common concept of righteousness.  Somehow, the Pharisees had twisted this scripture to mean that they could divorce their wives for any reason as long as they gave them a receipt on the way out the door. Jesus directly contradicts this erroneous belief.

Read and Discuss Matthew 19:3-10.

Jesus declaration (restatement really) that there was only one legitimate reason for divorce seems to catch his disciples by surprise as well. So much so, that they declare that a man shouldn't even get married.

Questions

• How should Jesus teaching on divorce affect our view of marriage?
• What instructions/advice  should we give those who are not yet married?
• How did Jesus treat those who had been divorced? [see John 4]
• How are we to treat those who have a history of divorce?
• Can you name one prominent groom in the New Testament who considered divorcing his bride? [see Matthew 1:19]
• Is a "lack of love" a legitimate reason for divorce? 
• Is love a decision, a feeling or a commitment?
• How do these verses apply to love in marriage? Ephesians 5:33, John 15:13, Matthew 5:44.
• Are "religious differences" a legitimate reason for divorce? [see I Corinthians 7:12-16]

To continue to the next lesson, click HERE.