from Pleasant Grove Baptist Church https://ift.tt/2GietWm
via IFTTT Adultery. A sin worthy of death according to the law of Moses, yet often openly participated in through the guise of serial manogomy. Will God turn a blind eye? Jesus' own words here are quite specific and clear. Replacing a spouse with another is adultery and therefore punishable by death. The only justifiable reason for divorce, without causing the sin of adultery, is the sin of fornication (intimate relations outside of marriage). This is a painful truth for the millions of people today who have openly practiced serial monogamy (multiple committed marriages). Jesus' words condemn that specific practice. Serial monogamy is an attempt by man to justify sin, to make it acceptable. Justifying sin is, itself, sin! Our society has fallen to a point where each participant in a relationship now believes themselves to be the most important part of that relationship. Marriages are built on what the other person does for us. If the spouse fails to be a positive part of our life, we feel justified in leaving and starting over. Jesus calls this sin, worthy of death penality because of its severity. Let us not think that avoiding legal "marriage" in an intimate relationship prevents this sin and allows us freedom to leave when things get uncomfortable. Marriage, by biblical standards, is defined by intimate relations, not ceremony. Follow the logic here and we see why America is in such dire straits! Why the church is so powerless, why our families are falling apart, why struggle in our own lives. When we embrace sin as normal, we simply can not experience God's presence. So what to do? If we accept what Jesus says here as truth, how can we possibly go on? How many of us are guilty of violating this deeply grevious sin, and feeling ok about it? How many divorced and remarried people sit in the pews without a twang of guilt for their abhorrently selfish behaviour? How many are already planning another switch of partners in an ever failing search for the perfect mate? What to do? Simple.... Repent. Adultery is no different from any other sin. Sin is sin. All is death, all is forgivable upon repentance. The lists of sin in the new testament puts things like gluttony right along with homosexuality, adultery. How dare any of us think our sins are any less or any greater than another's? How dare we pick and choose sin to accept and sin to condemn. Sin is sin. But repentance requires fruit. It requires a realization of the gravity of pain we cause by our sin. God hates divorce. We must come to terms with our own sin, our own selfishness. We must experience the deep heart wrenching conviction of realization that our own selfish rebellion against God caused this. We must see our own sin as the ugliness that God sees. We must make retribution to those we have hurt. We must admit and confess or faults. And we must willingly die to self. But what does that mean? STOP LIVING FOR YOURSELF! Die on the cross with Jesus and rise with Him to live again without care for your own welfare, feelings, treatment. Put aside selfishness! Stop worrying about how YOU are treated. YOU are supposed to be dead! What do you care if your spouse or significant other isn't perfect to you, why do you care if they aren't the person you want to make you feel good? You, Mr or Mrs Christian, are dead to self! Your life is not about YOU but THEM. Your life is dedicate to helping THEM. Your every day is spent seeking how to be a better partner for them, not find a better partner for yourself. Selfishness is a sin. Adultery is a sin. Serial relationship, including marriage, is a sin. One may reply, "wait, what about cheating? Do we just accept it and ignore?" No... That is the one exception that frees us from the commitment of marriage. The only one. Another would say "wait, what about a physically or emotionally abusive relationship? Should one just stay in that situation and be abused?" Of course not! That is why God allowed Divorce through Moses, because of the hardness of men's hearts. But.. Jesus said divorce and remarry, that is adultery. Not my words, His. Repent of these sins and bring to God the fruits of your repentance. Then and only then can you experience the life that God has for you.
