[Biblemat] A) GOD HAS SPOKEN

[J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com]

Brethren and Friends, Jim Sasser here.  A very good Friday morn-
ing to each and everyone.  May God bless you and yours.  Here
is an article from my recent files:

GOD HAS SPOKEN

     God instituted marriage in the beginning, as asserted by
Jesus Christ (Matt. 19:4,5; Gen. 2:18-25).  He designed it to be lifelong, 
ended by the death of one or both of the spouses
(Rom. 7:1-3; Matt. 19:6).  Through this marriage relationship
the family is built, and it serves as life's first school.  Even as
husbands and wives learn together to build a life together and be one, they 
are the primary teachers, examples, and dis-
ciplinarians of their children.  The health of the family is the
basis of the well-being of a community and nation.  If God is
acknowledged and obeyed, the family is on solid ground, and
a nation prospers.  As the family declines, so does the streng-
th of a community or nation.  Most of the woes of our nation
today can be traced back to lack of faith in God, failure to obey Him, and 
thus the decline of the family.  When the divine
origin of marriage is rejected, marriage becomes an ever-changing 
relationship with no solid structure.

     God hates divorce (Mal. 2:16).  Jesus and the Father are
in perfect agreement on this and all other matters (Jno. 10:30
17:21,23).  Jesus authorized divorce only on the unfaithful-
ness of one spouse to the other -- that is, for adultery.  The
one guilty of adultery can be put away (Matt. 5:32; 19:9; Mk.
10:11,12; Lk. 16:18).  People have the capability of divorcing
their spouses for other reasons, but all such divorces are un-
lawful and sinful before God.  Sinful divorces are real (Matt.
5:32; 19:9), but they are transgressions of the law of God.
The world in which we live has almost utterly rejected the law
of God in this and other matters when God's law is deemed
inconvenient to them.  What a sorry mess such people make
of their lives and the lives of their children!

     The path to a successful and enduring marriage is simple,
but often difficult.  Husbands and wives must learn patience,
unselfishness, godly love, sacrifice, and contentment.  They
must be true to one another and to themselves, enduring the
trials that are a part of all unions in marriage.  Discretion, 
chastity, leadership and submission, goodness, and an abid-
ing sense of responsibility before God are essential to a good
marriage (Titus 2:4,5; Eph. 5:22-33).

     It is a sad day for the church of our Lord when the ways
of the world are adopted and excuses are made for sinful
divorces, when the Scriptures are tortured and twisted beyond recognition in 
order to justify those living in sinful
relationships.  There was a time in the lifetime of aged ones
that divorce was catastrophic, shameful, and practically un-
heard of among the people of God.  What has happened to 
faith in God and in the faith?  ------ Gilbert Alexander.   </HTML>
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