XXVI: Deliverance from this Crooked Generation

25 May 2006

And with many other words he testified, and exhorted them, saying, "Save yourselves from this crooked generation," (Acts 2:40).

Brethren, it is high time that we remember this summation of Peter's message and begin applying it in our own preaching and in our own lives.

I was looking through a certain bulletin today (it will remain nameless, because such is immaterial) and was struck by how entirely doctrinally fixated it was.

Now, I realize that doctrine is certainly important and it has its place, but it's not 1840 anymore. We don't live in a country that is mostly evangelical Protestant and therefore we do not have the luxury of just sitting around and arguing the finer parts of doctrine. Likewise, we cannot continue to labor under the delusion that most people know what they should be doing and therefore we can just gloss over matters of morality and Christian practice.

Probably the fastest religion growing in America is "no" religion. Biblical literacy is even more dismal....many adults who went to "Sunday school" in their childhood do not even know many of the basics of the Bible, let alone the large and growing number of entirely "unchurched" people out there.

In reality, the message of Peter is the message we need to get out today. We must strive to exhort people to save themselves from this crooked and perverted generation.

We need to exhort in the pulpit to the pews the need to save ourselves from this crooked and perverted generation. We have no hope of bringing people to the light of Christ if our assemblies have the hint of darkness. I fear that too often we get the idea that Christians know what they should be doing when it comes to moral practice and are out doing it, and therefore we can spend our time in the assembly talking either about more whimsical things or about purely theoretical matters. There are times for light-heartedness, and there are times for theoretical matters, but we cannot neglect the matters of Christian moral practice. Consider the New Testament letters, brethren: Paul, writing to Christians, constantly exhorted them to remain pure from the world, to not engage in the works of the flesh but strive for the fruit of the Spirit (cf. Galatians 5:19-23, Romans 12:1-2). This has not ceased in its relevance.

I have found a disturbing trend when it comes to some of the lessons I have preached both in Norwalk and previously in Rochelle, notably, that after some lessons brethren will come up to me and will say that they have never heard the subject matter preached like that before, or preached at all. I am not even speaking of lessons on certain doctrinal matters, but lessons regarding the practice of the Christian life. Are we so confident that everyone is doing what they need to be doing so much that we are not even willing to act as if we're reminding our brethren about these things? The Apostles were not that confident!

I realize that many times it is hard to preach on difficult subjects in Christian practice...but it needs to be done. Think about the assembly for a minute. The assembly is there as the refreshing station, the time we take out of our week when we hold off on the battles we fight against the temptations out in the world to encourage one another and to be encouraged ourselves. What, should we never talk about how to wage the battle out in the world when we're together? Is that really going to help people in their quest to fight the good fight and endure (Ephesians 6:10-18)? The time that we come together should be a time to recoup, a time to consider our fighting and our battle plans and spur one another on to keep going and keep doing better, and to provide the necessary equipment and reinforcement to fight the battle. In physical war every soldier must return to base to be briefed again, to re-arm, and to get reinforcements. In our spiritual war, do we make our assemblies to fit that need? Or do we just spend the time in our obtuseness, patting ourselves on the back continually because we've got it all figured out on the theoretical end? We're losing the battle on too many fronts, brethren, because we're not properly reinforcing one another and not having the camaraderie that leads to a close-knit community. It is only when people get involved spiritually, both with one another and in the assembly, that they are truly getting the assistance they need to fight the good fight. I am well aware that there are many who refuse to involve themselves so, and it should not surprise us when we see them lagging in the fight and being the weak. In the end, all we can do is the best we can-- and for those who preach and teach, consider the profitability of what is being preached and taught and whether it is truly keeping the saints armed and ready for the struggle.

Let me also speak about the assembly for a moment. The assembly is well and good, brethren, but we need to stop acting as if it is the sum of the Christian life. Now I know what you're going to say-- "but, Ethan, we all know that the assembly isn't everything!" If you think that's the case, then stop acting like it. Stop equating "faithful Christian" with "Christian always at least warming the pew". When you need to think of some sin, or someone not doing as they ought, think of something other than "forsaking the assembly". Realize that when one is not assembling with the brethren, there is a problem, but the problem is not the forsaking of the assembly...the problem lies somewhere else. The symptom you see is the forsaking of the assembly...and rebuking on account of that is as useful as fighting a fever while not working on trying to cure what caused the fever.

Why are Christians bored with Christianity? Why do we lose young people? There are many reasons, to be sure, but I am convinced that one of them is that we have reduced Christianity to being in a building three times a week. Hey, we've done well-- our numbers are better than the numbers of all denominations. But has that really led to people being saved, obeying Christ in all things as they ought?

If you want a church full of people there every service because they feel obligated to, accept theoretically what is said but do little about it, and feel complacent, well, you can continue to focus on the historical foci and keep going as always. Continue that trend long enough and see how many doors get permanently closed within a generation and a half. We need to return to the Bible, brethren, and make Biblical foci our foci. The assembly is a part-- a part-- of our life of service to God. It is the easiest part, the refreshing part, the time when we get to encourage one another. The hard part is going out there into the world and not only refuse to conform but demand transformation. That's the challenging and exciting part, and we've steamrolled it in order to "preserve" the assembly. Not only that, but be a part of the lives of your brethren outside of that assembly. Watch how much more encouraged your brethren will be when you are constantly with them, constantly engaged with them, and making them constantly feel a part of the community. You may just find that even though the assembly is not the only focus anymore, more people come to the assembly. Amazing!

Along with spreading the message inside the assembly, every one of us needs to be out spreading Peter's message to the world: save yourselves from this crooked and perverted generation! This message is going to force us to reconsider our assumptions and pre-conceived notions about the way people are in America. Let's face the facts:

1. Most are nominally Christian only.
2. Most cannot tell you the basics of the Biblical narrative.
3. Most people think that it's good enough to just be a "good person".
4. Many people are skeptical about organized religion based not in substantive ground but pre-conceived notions they have gained from their own limited experience and the general cultural idea of Christianity.
5. Most people have barely ever picked up a Bible.
6. When most people think of Christianity, they think of the odd but prevalent synthesis society holds: a bit of Catholic practice and hierarchy plus Puritanical concepts of sex and sin and hell with a bit of Evangelical conceptualization of America as God's Chosen Land and Americans as God's Chosen People, along with "once saved, always saved," and increasingly the idea of a megachurch with its entertainment-called-worship.

The long and short of it is, brethren, that we have to act as if people know nothing about God and the Bible and we have to go out and make the message relevant to them. You do not have to compromise God's Word to make it relevant-- you may have to cast aside your own perspective for a minute, but not God's Word. The Bible is relevant today-- I am convinced of that. But in order to show its relevance, we're going to have to accept the prophetic burden.

Yes, that's right, I said "prophetic burden". I know that anything regarding the modern day and "prophet" is immediately suspect in churches of Christ, and with understandable reason, and I am certainly not advocating the idea that we have to somehow find a source of inspiration and thus speak to people.

What I am saying, however, is that we need to look into the message of the prophets of old and make it our own. Prophets, brethren, did not just sit around and write various messages so that people 400-700 years later would know that Jesus was the Christ. While predicting various aspects of the future and heralding the coming King was certainly one aspect of prophecy, you will find that the majority of prophets and prophecy is God sending a message to the people via a prophet, and that message is normally the need to repent and why. Prophets of old were the critical link between God and the people, informing the people when they had strayed, how they had strayed, and how to return.

It is always amazing to me to read the prophets and see just how relevant their message is even today. The Hosea study in which we have engaged has shown this powerfully. Consider what Hosea said and think for yourselves how applicable it is today.

Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. There is nought but swearing and breaking faith, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery; they break out, and blood toucheth blood, (Hosea 4:1-2).

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I also will forget thy children. As they were multiplied, so they sinned against me: I will change their glory into shame. They feed on the sin of my people, and set their heart on their iniquity, (Hosea 4:6-8).

O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? for your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the dew that goeth early away. Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth: and thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth. For I desire mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings, (Hosea 6:4-6)

Woe unto them! for they have wandered from me; destruction unto them! for they have trespassed against me: though I would redeem them, yet they have spoken lies against me. And they have not cried unto me with their heart, but they howl upon their beds: they assemble themselves for corn and wine, they rebel against me. Though I have taught and strengthened their arms, yet do they imagine mischief against me, (Hosea 7:13-15).

Change a few of the details and you have a ready-made lesson to modern man, for the same ills plaguing Israel of old plague America today.

Now, as I have said and firmly believe, there are no prophets today. That is why I say that we have to pick up the prophetic burden-- the burden of delivering God's message to the people. Do not be concerned that God has not specifically called you and given you a specific message, for you have eyes and ears. You can see what is said in the Scriptures and understand God's message, and you can hear what is said in society and what is advocated in society and therefore proclaim how it is that people can save themselves from this perverted and crooked generation. The people have no knowledge of God; go out and tell them about God. The people are engaging in lawlessness; go out and rebuke the lawlessness. The people have forgotten their God; go and remind them. Yes, your reward might be similar to the persecution of the prophets, yet we must trust that we will obtain the prophet's reward. Regardless, remember-- if not you, who will? Paul felt the burden of preaching so acutely that he cried, "Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel!" (1 Corinthians 9:16)...that we would feel that burden so acutely!

Get up, brethren. The time is now, and it is fading fast. Souls need saving. Doctrine is well and good, and ought to be preached and reinforced, yet we must always keep in mind what is truly important. Let us not get complacent and think that everyone in the pews has it all figured out and knows exactly what to do; you'd be surprised. Let us not think that people of the world are entirely hostile to Christ; by in large they do not know enough to be hostile to Him. Teach your fellow man, not just by word, but in practice. Sure, your light might blind him so as to cause him to wish to return to the darkness, and there is no helping that situation-- but remember, your light can also attract such a one, and lead to that soul's salvation.

Are you tired of being in a dying, old, stuck-in-the-mud congregation? Get up and get converting, and the vitality will return. Get up and encourage your brethren, both within and without the assembly, and the vitality will return. Encourage people to have the proper perspective of the place of the assembly within the context of the Christian life, and the vitality will return.

We can speak in terms of doomsday or we can speak in terms of a renaissance of the church. The result will be on the basis of whether we accept the call to which we have been summoned.

"Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world," (Matthew 28:19-20).

ELDV

XXV: Hating Divorce

11 May 2006 Common Era

One of the perennial concerns that we as the Lord's people ought to have is being deadened to the deceitfulness of sin (cf. Hebrews 3:13). When a given sin is seen so often and consistently in society, it is easy to rationalize it or to accommodate it in order to save face. We have seen this very thing happen with the issue of homosexuality: many a denomination, whose consititutents not many generations before would have condemned homosexuality as the sin that it is, are now debating not whether to include homosexuals, but whether homosexuals should have positions of authority! Now the Biblical teachings regarding homosexuality are what happen to be under attack, not the sin itself which God condemned.

Most brethren will read the above paragraph and entirely agree...yet many are doing the same thing with another matter of sin which, if anything, is more heinous, more destructive, and more divisive.

Divorce.

Let us hear what God has said regarding this matter.

And did he not make one, although he had the residue of the spirit? And wherefore one? He sought a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth. For I hate putting away, saith the LORD, the God of Israel, and him that covereth his garment with violence, saith the LORD of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously, (Malachi 2:15-16).

"It was said also, 'Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:' but I say unto you, that every one that putteth away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, maketh her an adulteress: and whosoever shall marry her when she is put away committeth adultery," (Matthew 5:31-32).

And he answered and said, "Have ye not read, that ;he which made them from the beginning made them male and female,; and said, 'For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the twain shall become one flesh?; So that they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder," (Matthew 19:4-6).

"And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and he that marrieth her when she is put away committeth adultery," (Matthew 19:9).

But unto the married I give charge, yea not I, but the Lord, That the wife depart not from her husband (but and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband); and that the husband leave not his wife, (1 Corinthians 7:10-11).

These verses are sufficient to show God's feelings regarding marriage, divorce, and remarriage.

It should be clear to everyone that God hates divorce.

Do we ever stop and think what it must mean for God to really hate something-- and how we should view that which God hates?

Why does God hate divorce so? The answer is readily apparent. Divorce always represents the violation of God's intention for marriage and it always represents the presence of sin. It represents the presence of faithlessness. There is nothing good about divorce. Divorce represents the failure and breakdown of a marriage.

God hates divorce, therefore, because divorce is so damaging to mankind. Society can live in denial all it wants-- many of our social ills stem directly from houses torn apart by divorce. Children are not given the nurturing two-family home that was required from the beginning. They feel responsible for a divorce that in reality probably had very little to do with them. They enter adulthood and the prospect of marriage themselves with all kinds of emotional baggage that leads to far higher levels of divorce than in other groups.

Divorce is a serious sin. Yes, I am well aware that God has never made a hierarchy of sin, and that many times it is dangerous to do so, yet on a quantifiable level, divorce is one of those sins with far more fallout than many others. Divorce means that two people tried to maintain an intimate exclusive union that broke, and that will leave emotional scars for life. No one can fully recover from the kind of trauma that occurs when that which God established as one flesh separates again. When children are involved, the children will more likely than not have to not only shoulder their own emotional burdens but suffer the baggage of their parent(s). They will be forced to look wistfully at their peers who have both parents, and even if there is a remarriage, there will most likely always be some form of tension between the child and the step-parent. The child will grow up with scars from the problems of the parents' failed marriage, and themselves will look for partners who are not as committed as they ought to be to a relationship and/or will themselves carry so much baggage that they will shun the idea of marriage or will soon find themselves as divorced as their parents were. Even if the divorce occurs and no children are involved, any future children that either spouse may have will grow up and will face some form of resentment or other emotional difficulty based on the parents' previous divorce experiences.

These discussions do not even get into the economic costs of divorce, both for each party in the divorce and society at large. In the end, there is nothing good about divorce whatsoever.

Yet divorce is an ever-present reality today. We all know plenty of people who have gone through divorces. Many have gone through two or three. Its prevalence in the world has meant that the issue has infected the church, and all of a sudden students of God's Word are barraged by a rash of heart-wrenching yet true divorce scenarios and people wondering what to do. The clear obvious meaning of the texts are difficult to swallow and make for worse preaching and teaching, and every fiber of our being wants to assure all kinds of nice people that they have a way of being religious while enjoying the same privileges as we enjoy. Such, however, when taken to the point of action, attempts to cover up the disgusting face of divorce and its consequences.

I am tired of hearing about brethren talk about the "innocent put-away party", the "right" of marriage, and obsessing more about scenarios than the dictates of God's Word. Jesus does not speak of any "innocent" party, because one will search in vain to find a spouse who has not sinned against their spouse. Marriage is a privilege, a blessing from God, a gift and something to be cherished; since it involves covenant, it is no more a right than our salvation. Just as faithlessness in our covenant with God will lead to our condemnation, thereby guaranteeing that salvation is by no means a right, faithlessness in marriage often leads to the inability to have a marriage and be right with God.

Are these truths hard? Yes. Do we ache and hurt for people in their circumstances? Absolutely. On the other hand, difficult scenarios akin to the Gordion knot are not God's doing; they are man's doing. Hard truths about divorce are only hard because men are freely engaging in such faithlessness without giving it a second thought. Eternal consequences are of no importance in our selfish society.

Let's go back to how God designed marriage. A man was to leave father and mother and cleave to his wife, and the two were to become one flesh. Why did God establish marriage in this way? God tends to act in our best interest, and He designed marriage to be in our best interest. Marriage is set up the way it is for our protection, not our sentencing! The man is to become one flesh with his one wife so that she can be cherished and honored as she deserves, supported as is necessary, and her due conjugal rights maintained, her honor intact, and the opportunity to bear children given in a stable environment (1 Corinthians 7:2-4, Hebrews 13:4). The woman is to become one flesh with her one husband to provide him with his conjugal rights, to give to him offspring guaranteed to be his which can be his honor, and to maintain the household to which he himself cannot attend because of his breadwinning obligations (cf. 1 Corinthians 7:2-4, Titus 2:4-5). If God had not established marriage in this way, but let men divorce women at a whim, you have what is visible under the Law: men divorcing women at a whim, often reducing them to shame and poverty, shouldering a burden she cannot bear on her own. If God had let women divorce men at a whim, men would likewise have to shoulder a burden he cannot bear on his own, and his sexual desire would likely lead him into sin. Marriage without the prospect of divorce is absolutely critical for the establishment of the spiritual, balanced, godly, respectable home. It is when this intention for marriage is violated that compromise is introduced, because the protection God intended is not there.

Marriage is there for our benefit, yet it is reviled and spat upon. It is next to worthless anymore; no one takes a vow seriously, and our society has finally reached the idealism that inaugurated this country. Men and women are enlightened and free, and behold, they are unsatisfied. People run into ill-conceived marriages that are doomed to fail, and no one bats an eye.

Marriage is too important, too holy and honorable, to be treated so (Hebrews 13:4). Divorce is too disgusting, too heart-wrenching, too absolutely destructive to be accepted with merely a shrug of the shoulders as if, "that's life". No, it's not life. Look at societies throughout history: why is it that most all save America found divorce to be a greater social evil than allowing men to engage in extramarital sex? Sure, such adultery was wrong, and sure, it led to all kinds of problems in the home, yet the problems did not have nearly the social implications of rampant divorce. We have finally bested Rome; divorce is far more prevalent now than it was then. In a sick way, most societies have respected marriage more than America does.

Yet we, as Christians, are called to the higher path. It is not only possible to live in such a way as to have one spouse exclusively for life; it may even be found to be more enjoyable that way! God designed marriage for a man and a woman to have a special and intimate relationship, and sex was designed to cement that relationship. It is no accident nor chance that God said, "a man leaves father and mother and clings to his wife," and only after the clinging does He say, "the two become one flesh" (Genesis 2:24). Marriage, especially today in our marriage-for-love culture, ought to be when two people who have become interconnected emotionally and mentally want to take the next step. Marriage can be the most fulfilling relationship that a man and a woman can have, something that they would never exchange for anything. Marriage can also be a sentence for life to misery. It's all in the choices made.

I say all this because divorce is disgusting and marriage is honorable. This reality needs to be impressed upon all of us constantly, lest we become complacent and allow what the world thinks-- marriage is laughable and divorce is understandable-- to be what we think.

Young people, please recognize that when it comes to selecting a mate, you are making the second most important decision of your life, and it is one to be taken extremely seriously. Never marry a non-Christian; you're asking for the burden of being unequally yoked (2 Corinthians 6:14-16). Don't take my word for it; ask a man or woman in your congregation who is married to one who is not a believer and see how they have suffered. Young men, while it is good to appreciate the beauty of a nice young woman, realize that such will fade and that her personality and character are going to define your relationship far more than her attractiveness. Her prepration in housemaking and childrearing ought to be worth far more to you than normally is considered by young men. Avoiding argument and confrontation is ideal.

I'm going to speak frankly to young women right now. Young women, do not buy into what feminists want you to think. Do not be deceived into thinking that you have been loosed and that you can stand equal to men. You can't. It's a false delusion. It may be harsh-sounding to say this, but recognize that as a young Christian woman you are in a very prone situation. We are not far enough removed from the Austenian world where the big decision for the girl was which man she would marry to justify the utter carelessness too many girls now exhibit when it comes to their teenage and early twenty years. Remember that in the game of fornication, you as the young woman have everything to lose and nothing to gain. If you think that it is difficult to find a good husband, imagine not finding one and then trying to live as a single mother because of poor choices you made while younger. Think that feminism has gotten you anywhere in 50 years? Try being a poor single mother and see how far you can get. Desperation ought not enter into your factors, lest you end up miserable or divorced or both. Restraint and good thinking now can save you a lot of hassle later, and far too many women learn these lessons the hard way and too late.

And I know that I'm going to get lambasted for this, but I don't really care. Young women, do not get so enamored with what feminism has established for you in terms of the working world that you want to be there. That's not where you belong. You belong at home. You belong where you can be the ruler of your household, maintaining that house and raising the children. God did not give you the blessings He has bestowed upon you so that you can have a nanny or childcare raise your children. Yes, I know that many have to work because of economic necessity, and I have no quarrel with any woman who is forced into that position. I'm calling what I see in the church: too many girls, especially those who receive higher education, seeing their career as what will satisfy them in life and therefore looking with disdain at the role that God has determined for them. Women, your primary role is in the house. Men, look for a women with those characteristics, and then be the man and do the work and let your woman stay at home to do her job. How many marital conflicts would end if each spouse knew their God-given role and accepted it willingly and gladly!

And for all who are married: realize that it is for life. Mankind loves to have outs; the escape hatch always provides security. No one divorces because times are good; the option is only exercised during times of trial. The only way that trial can be overcome is by commitment-- that is just as true in terms of spiritual trials we face as Christians as it is for spouses in marriage. Only when you're committed to one another no matter what-- just what you promised-- will you reach the end of the trials in the condition you ought. What does not kill you makes you stronger-- what does not kill your marriage makes it stronger. Thinking that the marriage can be made temporary will guarantee that it will become temporary.

And finally, to return to the theme of this post-- always remember what divorce really is. Divorce is a disgusting fester on our society. It is despicable, the presence of sin and unrighteousness and failure. Its scars are deep and lasting, and even though we are to have compassion on those who suffer from it, we must never compromise with society so as to approve of it. It's hard to rationalize divorce when you know that God hates it. Hate divorce like God does.

A caveat: I have spoken of divorce very broadly. Yes, I know that many people, very likely even people who read this post, divorced their spouse because of the sexually deviant behavior committed against them. I am not trying to say that your divorce was illegitimate; God certainly made that exception, and there is a purpose to that exception: the faithlessness was when the spouse committed the sexually deviant behavior, and because of that sin the divorce was made. The real divorce in that situation was when the two flesh was violantly ripped apart when one part of said flesh decided to become one flesh with another. I am highly confident, however, that those of you who have gone through such a divorce will stand in agreement about how disgusting and terrible divorce situations are, since your situation reflects the terrible consequences of faithlessness that undergird any divorce. I decided to speak in such harsh and sweeping terms about divorce because far too many people desire to render any discussion of the matter impotent because of the exception clause. God's concession of divorce for sexually deviant behavior is not circumventing His hatred of divorce; instead, it confirms His hatred of faithlessness.

It is high time that brethren cease excusing faithlessness and expose the work of divorce for what it is-- darkness.

ELDV