Matt. 5:31, 32; 19:3-9; Lk. 16:18 On Divorce And Remarriage

[The Original Rooster]

I hope this settles this. Partiality is a sin too. Focus on mercy over judgement.

James Chapter 2 from the English Standard Version Bible

1 My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 2 For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in,3 and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” 4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?
8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. 9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. 11 For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

 

[brutally honest]

I ain't nowhere near perfect. I'm glad that some of you are, I guess.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that there are exactly zero Christian members of GON who think they are perfect.

 

[NCHillbilly]

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that there are exactly zero Christian members of GON who think they are perfect.

I will agree to disagree with you, big time. I don't understand the urge to mind other folk's business instead of their own. I happen to think that whatever you do is absolutely NONE of my business, unless you're hurting me or other people. YMMV.

 

[formula1]

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that there are exactly zero Christian members of GON who think they are perfect.

But I do know someone who is! And I rest in Him!

 

[Spotlite]

I will agree to disagree with you, big time. I don't understand the urge to mind other folk's business instead of their own. I happen to think that whatever you do is absolutely NONE of my business, unless you're hurting me or other people. YMMV.

YMMV.

Ok I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer so what does that acronym mean?

 

[kmckinnie]

Ok I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer so what does that acronym mean?

I believe
Your Mileage May Vary

 

[ClemsonRangers]

"Cain preferred contemporary music"-Pastor Ricky Cothren

 

[Milkman]

Are we coming up on a full moon or Halloween or something ???

I sure wish a moderator could have an ignore list for members and sub-forums.

 

[LittleDrummerBoy]

Everyone runs some risk of self-righteousness.

Consider that one's self-righteousness might be thinking they are not as self-righteous as someone else.

Consider that it is putting one's nose in the business of others to tell others that they are putting their nose in the business of others.

Consider that it is judging to conclude that others are judging.

But I should be clear - it is not casting stones to conclude or even accuse others of casting stones. That's just an error of Bible interpretation. Jesus did not use "cast the first stone" as some kind of metaphor for judging, accusing, or drawing a conclusion. When Jesus said, "... cast the first stone ..." he meant literally to throw the first stone at the women caught in adultery. Jesus himself told her, "Go now and leave your life of sin."

To equate telling someone to "leave your life of sin" with "casting stones" is to make Jesus himself into one who casts stones.

 

[tell sackett]

This could be a very cool experiment.

Each could pick the person they see or hear on here that they believe the most self righteous.

(Oh, you mean you've already done that?)

Hey, a little like "Secret Santa"!

See? We're already more than halfway there!

Oh, OK, so since that's done...just pray for them in whatever manner one does.

One wouldn't even have to pray "Lord, I ask that you reveal to this person their self righteousness" or anything like that.

But of course, one is free to.

(After all, I'm not suggesting that any intentionally hurt themselves! There is a spend limit.)

Or wait...is there?

Lord, make him as humble as me.

 

[The Original Rooster]

Hey, here's something new and another cool game we could play...it's called "Shoot the Messenger".

Oh, wait...

No one is shooting the messenger. We can all read what the Bible has to say about marriage, divorce, and adultery and it is well understood. We are all sinners on here and we know it. The question is why is the messenger only focused on sin and judgement and not mercy and forgiveness? Why is the messenger committing the sin of partiality? The messenger is only delivering half of the message. Read the book of James.
I'll edit to add that a simple internet search for divorce ministries will provide divorcees with any number of denominational ministries that can help divorcees specifically. Yes, divorce is a sin. No, it is not the end of your relationship with God.

 

[The Original Rooster]

Think of the opportunity then!

The opening for the delivery of the whole counsel! Who could ask for a more "open door"?

If you're called as an apostle...don't be skeered.

I met a few on here that ain't. God knows I need to hear from them.

I'm not called to be an apostle. I am a sinner struggling with my own sin. When I feel the Lord calls on me to speak, I do. I don't have all the answers but I do provide the answers I have. That's why I would refer divorcees to a ministry set up for them. I've never been divorced so I can't even speak from experience, but I can send them to someone who can.

 

[JustUs4All]

As I understand things, there is no rank among the sins. Any and all sin leads to perdition absent the intercession of Christ.

It must be a pretty tough row to hoe for one to receive that intercession too early. I would imagine that most of us sin regularly, even daily.

 

[The Original Rooster]

I am not sure if these statements were meant to be exclusionary:

They were. I cannot provide a good enough example for others to consider myself an apostle, teacher, leader, pastor, etc. I lead what I was called on to lead, my house, and that's all.

 

[Ruger#3]

To me it’s a simple matter of priorities. You can keep telling folks what evil sinners they are and see how that works at getting them in the church door or focus on their salvation.

If one decides to join the church or request to be wed in the church then each faith has processes for dealing with the marital construct. Until then it’s between them and God and no preachers business.

 

[Artfuldodger]

Yes it seems strange to tell someone they are a sinner, and that Jesus died for their sins, to continue to focus on their sins after they came over to the Church for that very reason.
It's like you gave them a promise and then took it away after they took you up on it. Just to lure them in for some ulterior motive or something.

 

[tell sackett]

Yes it seems strange to tell someone they are a sinner, and that Jesus died for their sins, to continue to focus on their sins after they came over to the Church for that very reason.
It's like you gave them a promise and then took it away after they took you up on it. Just to lure them in for some ulterior motive or something.

Would it not be equally strange to not teach them of the Biblical standards that Christians are called to live by?

 

[Spotlite]

No one is shooting the messenger. We can all read what the Bible has to say about marriage, divorce, and adultery and it is well understood. We are all sinners on here and we know it. The question is why is the messenger only focused on sin and judgement and not mercy and forgiveness? Why is the messenger committing the sin of partiality? The messenger is only delivering half of the message. Read the book of James.
I'll edit to add that a simple internet search for divorce ministries will provide divorcees with any number of denominational ministries that can help divorcees specifically. Yes, divorce is a sin. No, it is not the end of your relationship with God.

The question is why is the messenger only focused on sin and judgement

When you find out the message is the same one you have heard for the last 8 weeks and the fish are biting......................

 

[Spotlite]

Would it not be equally strange to not teach them of the Biblical standards that Christians are called to live by?

And that is why I say men that are called to be Pastors (like yourself) should teach these topics. Scripture says He will give us Pastors according to his heart, which shall feed us with knowledge and understanding. A Pastor knows his audience, it is done with wisdom.

A traveling evangelist should not be preaching certain subjects. Some subjects are Pastoral duties. Just my opinion.

 

[LittleDrummerBoy]

No one is shooting the messenger. We can all read what the Bible has to say about marriage, divorce, and adultery and it is well understood. We are all sinners on here and we know it. The question is why is the messenger only focused on sin and judgement and not mercy and forgiveness? Why is the messenger committing the sin of partiality? The messenger is only delivering half of the message. Read the book of James.
I'll edit to add that a simple internet search for divorce ministries will provide divorcees with any number of denominational ministries that can help divorcees specifically. Yes, divorce is a sin. No, it is not the end of your relationship with God.

I wonder which messengers you mean as "only focused on sin and judgement and not mercy and forgiveness"? Consider our dear brother Banjo Picker. Is not his very avatar, displayed next to every one of his posts, a reminder of Jesus dying on the cross to extend mercy and forgiveness? Perusing a number of his posts demonstrated a balanced Biblical message. Sure, one can always zoom in on a small subset of one's message and find more focus on sin in a selected text. But one can do this just as easily with Jesus' words or those of any Bible author. We can also all read what the Bible has to say about mercy and forgiveness.

I give a lot of thought to balance in my own ministry efforts- both how my own message is balanced as well as how well balanced a given audience is hearing. If it's been over a year since a given audience has heard about an important Bible topic, I begin to sense a need to speak on that topic. What are the odds many here have gone over a year without hearing about God's mercy and forgiveness? What are the odds most here have gone over a year without hearing what Jesus teaches on divorce? Having made over 1000 videos without discussing divorce, I thought it was time. I've asked my advisers to peruse my YouTube channel to suggest topics I'm leaving out, and you're welcome to do that as well.

Over the past couple years, I've begin using the intro and outro music to ensure no one goes very long without hearing of the redeeming work of Jesus (mercy and forgiveness) in my videos. Consider the video below - the main topic comes from the Ten Commandments, recalling that "the Law is the schoolmaster that leads us to Christ." But the intro song emphasizes that there is room at the cross for all who have sinned, and the outro song emphasizes that all sinners can be raised with Jesus from the dead.