6/6/13

From Jim McGuiggan... Are mixed marriages sinful?


Are mixed marriages sinful?

You understand, it may be very unwise for a Christian to marry a non-Christian; it may even be contrary to the will of God but we don't have the right to say it is by using texts that have nothing to do with the matter. A truth may be taught by verses A and B and C but that's no excuse for saying it's taught by verse D when D has nothing to do with the issue. It's critically important for those of us who stress the importance of having textual support for our views to make sure the texts we're using to support ours really do that!
I believe in relying on the drift of scripture or the big picture or the principle as part of our approach to learning but what can't be supported by some actual texts, well handled, should be viewed with suspicion.
2 Corinthians 6:14-18 has this trenchant opening sentence: "Do not be yoked together with unbelievers." The entire paragraph is required reading. Does this text forbid marriage to a non-believer?

Paul doesn't say he's speaking of marriage
Some commentators aren't sure what else Paul means when he forbids this yoke but they're sure beyond persuasion that he means marriage even though he doesn't spell out what he has in mind. Since he doesn't say he's talking about marriage its risky business to say he is and its risky to say he isn't talking about business ventures, investment agreements or any other legal/moral agreement that a Christian could conceivably enter with a non-Christian.
The stakes are too high for us to settle for educated guesses and what makes sense. To tell sensitive, godly men and women that God forbids them to marry a non-Christian is a very serious step to take. Who knows what doors we're shutting and what hope we might be killing?

Paul deals with marriage in 1 Corinthians 7
There's no certainty that marriage is in Paul's mind in 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 but we're certain he has marriage in mind in 1 Corinthians 7 where he deals with it from all angles. In the place where he expressly deals with marriage he says nothing about marriage between a believer and a non-believer being forbidden. There he even takes time to give his opinion on certain marital issues which he says they can take or leave; but he says nothing about marrying an unbeliever as an insult to God and a shaming of Jesus and his Church.
There he deals with people remaining single, he deals with widowers and widows, with divorce involving two Christians, with divorce involving a Christian and a non-Christian, with divorce where the believer does the putting away, with divorce where the believer is put away, with virgins contemplating marriage, with fathers or fiances wondering about a marriage and about widows thinking of remarrying--and more. But he says not a word about a Christian marrying a non-Christian as forbidden, nothing to suggest that a Christian who is a temple of God must not marry a non-Christian who is an idol temple. Nothing!
I accept that that doesn't settle the question about the yoke in 2 Corinthians 6:14 but--and especially in light of the fact that we can't be sure he's talking about marriage--it does appear that 1 Corinthians would have been the place to speak such strong doctrine.

1 Corinthians 6 speaks of individual Christians as temples
The above is all the more persuasive to me since he has already spoken in 1 Corinthians 6:13-20 about a Christian's body as a temple of the Holy Spirit (something he implies in 2 Corinthians 6:16). No word there about marriage to non-believers as a crime against Jesus Christ though he speaks of sexual immorality with temple prostitutes. [I'll return to the temple-prostitutes connection later.] Chapter 6 would have been the perfect place to say that marriage to a non-believer forces Jesus into union and harmony with Satan or that marriage with a non-believer was a Christian temple denigrating itself to the level of a pagan temple. [In fact, I personally know of a number of teachers who taught that 1 Corinthians 6:16 teaches that sex with a woman constitutes marriage to that woman.]
Chapter 6 would have been a perfect place to speak of marriage with a non-believer as a uniting of Christian and pagan temples; but there's not a word about that. Since that discussion is followed by a full length discussion of marriage questions it is more than surprising to find not a word about it being sinful to marry a non-Christian.
This makes it very difficult for me to believe that he speaks of marriage in 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; add to that the fact that he doesn't say he is speaking about it. 

The principle of separation
But some, finding that 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 won't stand on its own to make the case on mixed marriages, appeal to "the principle of separation". They interpret the forbidden yoke on that basis.
God has always required his people to keep themselves separated from unbelievers, so its obvious he would be opposed to their marrying them.
As reflected in Ezra and Nehemiah and passages such as Deuteronomy 7:3 God forbade Israel to marry with the nations around them. The returnees from Babylon married foreign women and were led into abominable practices and this put the nation at risk. Ezra and Nehemiah required that the remnant cut off all ties with foreigners and to put away their foreign wives and so they did if they wanted to remain as part of the Israelite community (Ezra 10:1-11; Nehemiah 13:23-30).
[This might be the background to the questions about the mixed couples in 1 Corinthians 7:12-16. Are those married to outsiders required to terminate the marriages? might have been one of their questions (see 1 Corinthians 7:1). Paul says no! The believer was not to terminate the marriage but if the non-believer insisted on terminating the marriage the believer is to let them (a concessive imperative is used).]
There are some unresolved issues about the OT teaching on mixed marriages. There are the war-brides taken as captives by the troops and the Lord's regulation of their marital status. It might be important, too, to say that God didn't forbid Israel to marry unbelievers--he forbade them to marry foreigners, that is, the non-elect nations. Jethro and his descendants may well have been believers but would the marriage prohibition include them since they were Abraham's descendants though not the elect line? Moses marriage to a Cushite (Numbers 12:1) would perhaps need to be examined. Was she an Ethiopian or an Arabian Cushite and does that have any bearing on this matter?
Still, the marital prohibition is clear and separation is stressed!
But there's this: the separation teaching was not confined to marriage. Israel was to do nothing that promoted the welfare of foreign nations (Deuteronomy 23:6, with Ammon and Moab particularly in view). See also Exodus 34:12,15, Deuteronomy 7:3, Judges 1:272:3 and Joshua 9 and elsewhere).
There's no denying the doctrine of separation for Israel but it isn't easy to tell how far-reaching it was and how it affected the respectful aliens that lived with Israel and how Israel's separation instruction should be brought over to the Christian context.
In the NT the Christians are repeatedly taught that they're a separated people and they're called to live as separated people but that truth needs to be worked out with sensitivity and care rather than following closely Israel's model--which Christians don't, of course.
We do hear preachers say that Christians should avoid close ties with non-Christians because bad companions corrupt good morals (Paul's 1 Corinthians 15:33 has a less general point). This is sensible, especially for the young and vulnerable who wish to spend a lot of time with people who are mentally and emotionally stronger than them but there are definite limits to this kind of thing, especially since were told to live out and proclaim the gospel among the nations.
Paul firmly denies that he taught Christians not to associate with the sexually immoral or greedy or swindlers. He said he wasn't talking about non-Christians; he was talking about professing Christians! (See 1 Corinthians 5:9-11.) Then you have Jesus who was always in trouble with the good people for spending so much time with the bad people (see Luke 15:1-2).
Jesus knew all about separation but look how he lived it out! His understanding of what separation meant and why God called for it but he lived it out by forever making friends of outsiders--Jewish and foreign. So what exactly is at the heart of the separation principle?
The trouble with basing our teaching on "principles" is that principles are slippery and hard to find and even when found they have to be applied and it's the application of principles that generates serious difficulties.
God says to Israel, Don't marry foreigners and don't seek their welfare (Deuteronomy 7:3 and 23:6). Are those texts "principles" Christians are to follow or God's specific instruction for a specific people? When Ezra and Nehemiah call the nation to obey those specific instructions are they acting on "a principle" or abiding by specific teaching?

Specific instructions and universally binding principles
It's a dangerous procedure to take specific instructions and turn them into universally binding principles.
The NT calls Christians to be a separate people but the writers aren't calling on a universal principle--they are declaring the will of the Lord in a new age for his new people. How that call to separation is to be understood and lived out is a matter of heart and prayerful, careful reflection and experience in living in our world in light of Jesus Christ.
[The rich young ruler was told to sell all he had, give it to the poor and follow Jesus. Certainly there's truth in that that speaks to us in any age; but what is it exactly and how do we know what it is? Will we bind what we think it is on others without some other supporting text?]
Some people practice NT separation in such a way that they won't use modern equipment or make business agreements with people outside their own community. This may be a legitimate way to interpret separation but is it the only way? Some question even the correctness of that way. I say this only to make the point that, in practice, there is uncertainty about what separation means even among those who believe with conviction that believers should be separate.
Ezra and Nehemiah understood that God had commanded the separation of Israel--a separation that included marriage but wasn't confined to it (again, we have no grounds for thinking they thought it was a principle). How did they apply that truth of separation? They said it was to cease and they commanded Jews to divorce their foreign wives.
Is that a principle? Is their interpretation of what separation meant for Israel to be the model for Christians?
Certainly, Paul wants the Corinthians to come out from them and be separate (2 Corinthians 6:17). Is he commanding Christians to divorce their unbelieving spouses? Should we? He told Christians not to divorce their unbelieving spouses (1 Corinthians 7:12-14).
(To be continued, God enabling)

©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.

Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, the abiding word.com.

From Mark Copeland... Two Great Commandments


                          "THE GOSPEL OF MARK"

                   Two Great Commandments (12:28-34)

INTRODUCTION

1. Having silenced the Pharisees,  Herodians, and Sadducees, Jesus was
   approached by a scribe...
   a. Who asked which is the first (foremost) commandment of the law
      - Mk 12:28
   b. Jesus replied by offering two great commandments - Mk 12:29-31
   c. With which the scribe agreed with grace and wisdom - Mk 12:32-33
   d. Prompting Jesus’ comment:  "You are not far from the kingdom of
      God" - Mk 12:34

2. Though part of the Law, these "Two Great Commandments" are very
   important to Christians...
   a. For they have their counterpart in the New Covenant
   b. And keeping the commandments of God is just as important now - cf.
      1Co 7:19; 1Jn 5:3

[Therefore it is proper to ask, do we love God and our neighbor?  Do we
understand what is involved?  By reflecting upon these "Two Great
Commandments" we can find the answer to such questions...]

I. THE COMMAND TO LOVE GOD

   A. UNDER THE OLD COVENANT...
      1. The Israelites were expected to love God (Deu 6:5)...
         a. "with all your heart"
         b. "with all your soul"
         c. "with all your strength"
         d. "with all your mind"
         e. Emotionally, physically, intellectually, they were to love
            God
      2. Thus they were to love God with their whole being, not like
         some who...
         a. Serve God emotionally, while committing intellectual suicide
         b. Serve God intellectually, but with no emotion
         c. Serve God emotionally and intellectually, but with no actual
            obedience requiring the exercise of strength (i.e., action)

   B. HOW WE ARE TO LOVE GOD TODAY...
      1. Does God expect any less of us?  Of course not!  We are to love
         God:
         a. With all our heart - cf. 1Co 16:22 (note the use the word
            "phileo")
         b. With all our soul (body and mind) - cf. Ro 12:1-2
         c. With all our strength - cf. He 10:36
         d. With all our mind - cf. Col 3:1; Php 4:8
      2. We demonstrate our love for God through keeping His
         commandments
         a. This is the love of God - 1Jn 5:3
         b. This is evidence that we love Jesus - Jn 14:15

   C. HOW TO GROW IN OUR LOVE FOR GOD...
      1. By letting God’s love for us to move us - cf. 1Jn 4:9-10; Ro 5:8
      2. By asking God to help us grow in love - cf. 2Th 3:5
      3. By praying, and growing in love when He answers - cf. Ps 116:1-2
      4. By keeping the word of God - cf. 1Jn 2:5

[Do we love God any less than what was expected of the Israelites?  We
certainly have compelling reasons to love Him even more (e.g., the gift
of His Son)!  Now let’s consider...]

II. THE COMMAND TO LOVE OUR NEIGHBOR

   A. ENJOINED UPON CHRISTIANS...
      1. We owe it to love our neighbor - Ro 13:8
      2. When fully applied, it fulfills what the Law required - Ro 13:8-10
      3. Five of the Ten Commandments spoke to working no ill toward our
         fellow man
      4. If one truly loves his neighbor, he will not kill, commit
         adultery, lie, steal, etc.

   B. ENHANCED BY A NEW COMMAND...
      1. Jesus taught us to love one another - Jn 13:34-35
      2. This new command takes our love to a higher level
      3. No longer do we just love one another as we love ourselves
      4. We must love one another as Christ loved us! - cf. Jn 15:13;
         2Co 8:9

   C. EXPERIENCED WHEN WE KEEP GOD’S COMMANDMENTS...
      1. We demonstrate true love of one another by keeping the
         commandments of God - 2Jn 1:5-6
      2. This is how we know that we really love one another - 1Jn 5:2
      3. Not by just claiming to love one another
      4. But by setting the proper example, and encouraging each other
         by the example we set!

   D. EDUCATED BY THE EXAMPLE OF GOD...
      1. We develop love for one another by being taught of God - cf.
         1Th 4:9-10
      2. The Thessalonians had been taught of God to love their brethren
      3. They did so remarkably, though there was always room for
         improvement
      4. Jesus by His own example demonstrates what true love is - 
         1Jn 3:16-18
      5. If we wish to learn how to love one another properly, look to
         God and Jesus!

CONCLUSION

1. How great were these two commandments...to love God, and to love your
   neighbor?
   a. "There is no greater commandment than these." - Mk 12:31
   b. "On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."
      - Mk 22:40
   c. "Love is the fulfilling of the Law." - Ro 13:9

2. When one truly loves God, and loves his neighbor as himself...
   a. They are on the path that leads to the kingdom of God! - cf. Mk 12:34
   b. They are on the road that leads to eternal life! - cf. Lk 10:28

If you wish to receive eternal life, and become a citizen of the
kingdom, then demonstrate your love for God by obeying His commands (cf.
Mt 28:18-20; Mk 16:16), and live a life of faith in Jesus that is
focused on loving God and others...!




Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2011

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From Gary... The Size that matters




It is raining in west Florida today; tropical storm Andrea is blessing us with several inches of much needed rain.  There have even been pre-tornado air disturbances, but nothing major yet.  While watching channel 9 weather, I was surprised to see how big the system was and even though it is centered 100 miles out in the gulf and traveling North, its effects are slowly increasing in our area (North of Tampa).  This is noteworthy, because it is only the 6th of June- we just started the hurricane season on June 1.  Somehow all this made me feel small and insignificant.  Then I went to the NASA picture of the day and really felt small.  (Click on the link labeled Size above to see this video from you-tube.) As I reflected on it, a couple of passages came to mind and please do read them; they are important...

Psalm 8
1  Yahweh, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth,
who has set your glory above the heavens!
  
2 From the lips of babes and infants you have established strength,
because of your adversaries, that you might silence the enemy and the avenger.

  3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have ordained;

  4 what is man, that you think of him?
What is the son of man, that you care for him?

  5 For you have made him a little lower than God,
and crowned him with glory and honor.

  6 You make him ruler over the works of your hands.
You have put all things under his feet:

  7 All sheep and cattle,
yes, and the animals of the field,

  8 The birds of the sky, the fish of the sea,
and whatever passes through the paths of the seas.

  9 Yahweh, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!


2 Corinthians, Chapter 12
1 It is doubtless not profitable for me to boast. For I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.  2 I know a man in Christ, fourteen years ago (whether in the body, I don’t know, or whether out of the body, I don’t know; God knows), such a one caught up into the third heaven.  3 I know such a man (whether in the body, or outside of the body, I don’t know; God knows),  4 how he was caught up into Paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.  5 On behalf of such a one I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except in my weaknesses.  6 For if I would desire to boast, I will not be foolish; for I will speak the truth. But I refrain, so that no man may think more of me than that which he sees in me, or hears from me. 7 By reason of the exceeding greatness of the revelations, that I should not be exalted excessively, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, that I should not be exalted excessively.  8 Concerning this thing, I begged the Lord three times that it might depart from me.  9 He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Most gladly therefore I will rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest on me. 

The heavens are truly immense and by comparison the tropical storm Andrea is really not worth mentioning.  And if that is true, then how about me?  Yet God has blessed the humans he created with this wonderful world and given us control over it. Once this sinks in, we begin to see how much HE thinks of us- to give us this responsibility.  The Earth is really only a tiny place compared to the vastness of the universe, but it is our gift- so manage it wisely!!!  And if we are faithful, perhaps HE will give us a glimpse of what lies beyond the stars- the third heaven.  In the meantime, just consider this: it is not the size of the universe that really matters- it is the size that we give God in our hearts!!!!