Hubba, Hubba, Hubba, Money, Money, Money… Who Do You Trust? - Mark 10:17-31 - September 20, 2020

These are the Sermon Notes for September 20, 2020. We are now meeting at the church with limited seating and specific procedures and protocols that need to be followed. Read our Returning to Worship plan here. You can still watch our livestream service every Sunday at 9:37 am on our facebook page or watch the livestream recordings any time.

 Mark 10:17-31 Hubba, Hubba, Hubba, Money, Money, Money… Who Do You Trust?

Good morning! Turn with me in your Bibles to Mark 10:17-31, page 846 in the pew Bibles.

It seems like every Sunday for the past month I have said the same thing as we get started in our study of Mark, “I’m glad you came back after that last one…” The truth is, the Lord has really been working on me through these texts and these studies, and you get to witness it. I only pray that He is working on you as well through it.

Our passage for this morning picks up right where we left off last week where Jesus had proclaimed to His disciples and all those around to, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”

It’s right after this that we pick up the account in ark 10:17-31, page 846 in the pew Bibles.

17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’ ” 20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. 

23 And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” 28 Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” 29 Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, 30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

Let’s pray.

So Jesus and His disciples were in the region called Perea, east of the Jordan River, and after spending time there and teaching the people they were just beginning the next leg of their journey to Jerusalem and to the cross. 

No sooner than they had started out then a rich young ruler ran up to Jesus and bowed down at His feet.

It’s in Luke’s account of this event that we learn that this rich young man was a ruler of some kind, a member of the aristocrats somehow. Some speculate that this young man was Mark himself for various interesting reasons that don’t really add to the value of our discussion today.

Either way, this young man ran up to Jesus, and knelt at His feet, both actions unbefitting a member of the ruling class, and asked Him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

I’m sure that this young man had heard Jesus’ teaching prior to this event, maybe he was even there in the back when Jesus taught about the little children.

Jesus’ response is curious, He says to this young man, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.” 

This is an affirmation from Jesus that He is in fact God, He is One with the Father and the Holy Spirit. He doesn’t say, “Don’t call me good,” or, “Only God is good and I’m not Him.” He simply asked, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.” He doesn’t condemn or correct the man, it almost as if He is saying, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. Are you calling me God?” And the young man would have been right if he said yes. Christ’s goodness is founded in His oneness with the Father.

So then, Jesus moves on to the young man’s question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”

Jesus recites the second table of the Ten Commandments in verse 19, You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’ 

I say, the second table, as the first table includes the first four commandments: “You shall have no other God’s before me, You shall not make any graven images to bow down to, you shall not take the Lord’s Name in vain, and keep the Sabbath holy.”

Jesus asked about the Commandments because they are God’s standard for judgment, God’s mirror that mankind can look into and see our unrighteousness and need for forgiveness. No one but Jesus has ever fulfilled all of the Ten Commandments, even though this rich young man claims to have nailed at least six.

But what do you notice about these six commandments listed by Jesus? Anything look out of place? Where is the Tenth Commandment, “you shall not covet?” it was replaced with, “do not defraud.”

Since the young man said that he had kept all these from his youth, we can only assume that he accumulated his wealth honestly and not by cheating anybody like a tax collector. But what is the significance of replacing coveting with defrauding? Is Jesus changing the Law? By no means! He said Himself that not the least stroke of the pen in Law would pass away.

Defrauding someone, cheating them out of their possessions, is the fruit of coveting.

 20 And [the young man] said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. 

Jesus looked at this young man and saw through his error and his confusion, He saw through his self-righteousness, and saw his heart. He saw his simple, direct, childlike seed of faith, and loved him.

And in seeing this young man’s heart he saw His real problem. “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. 

The word, “disheartened,” is the same word translated, “shocked, and, appalled.” He went away sad and greatly distressed because he had great possessions. More accurately, great possessions had him.

The young man was faced with a choice, give up your possessions, leave that all behind and follow Jesus, or, keep it all and remain on the outside of God’s kingdom, without eternal life. In that moment the rich young man, in essence, sold his soul. What a sad story.

The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 6:6-10,

6 …Godliness with contentment is great gain, 7 for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. 8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

Verse 10 is one of the most misquoted verses in the Bible. Money is not the root of all evil, the LOVE of money is a root of ALL KINDS of evil.

Who can regard riches as an advantage when they stand in the way of salvation? The rich young man held with closed fists that which should be held with open hands.

23 And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”

Squeezing a camel through the eye of a needle is a ridiculous endeavor, it’s impossible, no matter how small the camel!

But why is it easier than for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God?

It’s a question of who you worship. Jesus asked the rich young man to exchange his gods. In his self-righteousness he didn’t realize that money was his god. He was nice enough on the outside, I’m sure everybody in town thought he was a good guy, but he was an idol worshipper, he bowed before his wealth and worshipped that which was created instead of the Creator.

But the answer for that young man was the same as it is for us, and that is: the grace of God. Getting that camel through the eye of a needle is easier than getting any sinner into God’s eternal kingdom, whether rich or poor.

Jesus said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”

So is wealth the problem? Should we all just give up all we have to the poor in order to follow Jesus? Was Jesus command to the rich young man a command for all believers for all time?

Some have taken it to be so, as if poverty in and of itself is somehow a virtue. But that was not what Jesus was teaching here. Jesus was exposing idolatry in the heart of this young man, not teaching that having possessions itself was idolatry.

But the disciples didn’t really get what He was saying…

28 Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” 29 Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, 30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

If after reading that and thinking that, “Hey, this kinda sounds like I’m due a hundred houses…” I would encourage you to go back and see the camel…

Jesus explains here the upside down economy of His church. Society tells us that the rich and powerful come first, that it is much better to be rich in this life, forget about the life to come. Big house, fancy car, powerful position, respected career, that’s what’s important. A lot has changed but not much has changed over the last two thousand years.

Rich or poor, privileged or oppressed, we all come to Jesus in the same way, in desperate need of His grace. And we have all been entrusted certain things as stewards, caretakers of things that are not ours whether it’s talent or treasure, and we must hold those things with open hands not clenched fists.

Idolatry was the young man’s problem and Jesus exposed it for all to see. But instead of repenting of his idolatry, he was shocked and appalled and went away sorrowful. Let’s take a lesson from that, do not refuse God’s grace, confess your sins to Jesus and repent, turn from them to follow Him. 

Being wealthy is not a sin, trusting in your wealth instead of trusting in our Redeemer is.

1 Timothy 6:17-19,

17 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. 18 They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, 19 thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

Amen.

Little Children - Mark 10:13-16 - September 13, 2020

These are the Sermon Notes for September 13, 2020. We are now meeting at the church with limited seating and specific procedures and protocols that need to be followed. Read our Returning to Worship plan here. You can still watch our livestream service every Sunday at 9:37 am on our facebook page or watch the livestream recordings any time.

 Mark 10:13-16 Little Children

Good morning! Well we have certainly been going through the meat grinder in the Gospel of Mark for the last few weeks, haven’t we? I know I have at least.

My first thought when I read this week’s text was: whew! Don’t worry, that feeling didn’t last long… 

We are going to look at Mark 10:13-16, page 846in the pew Bibles, a section marked, “Let the children come to me.”

Before we read our text this morning, I’d like to ask you, when do you remember reading about Jesus getting angry in Scripture? Any specific examples? Turning over the tables in the Temple

Whether you remember it or not, our text for this morning is one of those times where Jesus is said to be “indignant.” So we have that to look forward to!

Mark 10:13-16

13 And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 15 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” 16 And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.

Let’s pray.

So round about the time that Jesus had been teaching on divorce in the region of Perea, east of the Jordan River, some people brought children to Jesus so that He would bless them.

Seeking the blessing of rabbis and prophets was an ancient and well known practice, like getting your picture taken with some famous person or getting their autograph. 

I have a great picture of Daniel, when he was a baby, being held by Irving Friar, a former wide receiver for the New England Patriots. We went to hear him speak, not necessarily to bless my children or anything.

Well, on this occasion, people were seeking the Lord to bless their children, to lay His hands on them and bless them. Unfortunately, the people who were bringing the children ran into the disciples first.

When the people came with the kids the disciples strongly disapproved of the request and would have prevented them from going to Jesus. Why do you think that was?

This was just another of many examples of the disciples’ pride, they still did not understand how the kingdom of God worked. They didn’t want these people to trouble the Lord with all these dirty, snotty, noisy, little kids, “ain’t nobody got time for that!”

In just the last chapter the disciples were guilty of trying to get a guy who was casting out demons in Jesus’ Name to stop because he wasn’t part of their group, and they had been busted for arguing over which one of them was the greatest, and even though Jesus had held up a child and told them that whoever receives one such child in His Name received Him and the Father who sent Him, they still had a huge self-importance problem.

Can’t you just hear the disciples saying to these parents and care-givers, “get these kids out of here, don’t trouble the Master with babies, He’s got more important things to do than to bother with you all!”

They were obviously doing more than just looking down their noses on the kids for Jesus to become indignant with them. That word, “indignant,” in verse 14 is a strong word, Jesus was angry, what they were doing was wrong.

The children who were brought to Jesus weren’t in need of healing, they simply wanted His blessing, there is a lesson just in that. 

But the disciples in their pride and sense of self-importance would have denied them, and in response, Jesus gave us some of the most poignant and memorable words in Scripture: “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.”

So the moral of the story is to be nice to children because Jesus is nice to children. Let’s close in prayer…

Well, the teaching here in this passage is simple but not that simple.

In examining the characters in this account, we can already see that the disciples were in the wrong, in their pride they would turn away these unimportant little nuisances.

But where the disciples were in the wrong, the parents and the people who brought the children were certainly in the right, bringing their children to Jesus. That is the most important responsibility of any parent, to teach their children who Jesus is and what He has done for them. Pastors can help, Sunday school teachers can help, youth pastors can help, but it is the primary responsibility of parents to show their children who Jesus is.

As Alistair Begg said, the expectations of those who brought the children were understandable, the response of the disciples was unacceptable, and the indignation of the Lord was unmistakable. 

The disciples denied the children because they are weak, helpless, and unimportant. They were the low men on society’s totem pole, the bottom rung of the ladder.

And Jesus said, the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. The kingdom of God does not belong to the self-important and the proud, one cannot earn their way in based on their merits and accomplishments or heritage, and, we will see later in this chapter, the kingdom of God does not belong to the rich in this world, as if one could buy their way in with their wealth, prestige, and position.

The kingdom of God belongs to such as these, weak, helpless, unimportant. Unlike modern parenting, children were not seen as the center of their parent’s universe and given a false sense of importance and entitlement, they were seen as they are, dependent, weak, and humble.

That is exactly how one must receive the kingdom of God, recognizing that we are sinners in need of a Savior, unable to keep ourselves from sin we need rescuing, all we can do is  humbly reach our arms up to the Savior just as a child does to his mother.

Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”

Freidrich Schleiermacher wrote, “It is the proper nature of a child to live altogether and absolutely in the present. What the present moment brings, it receives with simplicity and joy; the past vanishes from its vision, of the future it knows nothing, and every passing instant suffices for the happiness of its innocent nature.”

Children are simple, direct, curious, full of wonder, teachable, and trusting, humble and utterly dependent. They are blank slates and such must our minds be to the pen of the blessed Holy Spirit.

If we do not accept the kingdom of God on the same basis as children, weak, helpless, unimportant, we will never enter it.

The moral of this little tale is not to simply be nice to children, but to let go of our pride and accept Jesus and His kingdom like children do, not based on our merits or accomplishments or power or position. We must recognize that Jesus did not choose us because we are particularly special or as if He needs exactly what we bring to the table, He’s not building a baseball team.

Jesus chooses us because He chooses us, it’s not because we are special, but because He is.

Romans 6:23 says that the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. What we earn is death, all of our self-importance and pride is bound for the maggoty burning trash heap. But by simple faith in Jesus, trusting Him, trusting His Word, we are set free from that awful fate and given the gift of eternal life with Him in His blessed kingdom, adopted as children of the Father to be with Him forever.

Childlike faith lays aside all thoughts of status and privilege, it redefines our definitions of significance. We are not accepted by Jesus because we are special, we are special because we are accepted by Jesus.

And like children are inquisitive and curious, always learning, always trusting, always dependent, so we must be inquisitive and curious about the Lord and His Word, always learning from Him and His teachers, always trusting Him for guidance and always dependent on Him for grace.

…And He took the children in His arms and blessed them, laying His hands on them…

I pray that He will take you into His arms and bless you as you trust Him as a little child.

Amen.

Soft Hearts Save Marriages - Mark 10:1-12 - September 6, 2020

These are the Sermon Notes for September 6, 2020. We are now meeting at the church with limited seating and specific procedures and protocols that need to be followed. Read our Returning to Worship plan here. You can still watch our livestream service every Sunday at 9:37 am on our facebook page or watch the livestream recordings any time.

 Mark 10:1-12 Soft Hearts Save Marriages

Good morning! Praise God for short memories! You forgot how brutal last week’s text was so you came back!

We are continuing in the Gospel of Mark with chapter 10, verses 1-12, page 845 in the pew Bibles. And we are going to be looking at a very popular topic, and that is Jesus’ teaching on divorce.

This is by no means an easy topic to deal with. I know many of you have dealt with this personally or at the very least know someone who has, or are possibly even going through this right now or are walking with loved ones who are. I’m not going to apologize for it but I want you to know that I recognize that this may be a difficult word for you today.

So let’s look at the text and then we’ll pray together.

And he left there and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and crowds gathered to him again. And again, as was his custom, he taught them. 

2 And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” 3 He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” 4 They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.” 5 And Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. 6 But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ 7 ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, 8 and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. 9 What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” 

10 And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. 11 And he said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, 12 and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”

Let’s pray

So Jesus and the disciples make their way south from Galilee down to Judea and a region to the east of the Jordan River called Perea. This region was still under the Jurisdiction of Herod Antipas which has a great deal to do with the question that the Pharisees brought to Jesus.

As you may remember, Herod Antipas was the same Herod that had John the Baptist imprisoned for condemning his divorcing his wife and marrying his own brother’s ex-wife, Herodias, which eventually led to John’s execution by beheading at the request of Herodias’ daughter. *yuck*

So you see, if Jesus came right out and condemned divorcing one’s wife it could put Him in danger from Herod.

But also among the Jews there were two prevailing schools of thought about divorce. On the one hand, the teaching of Rabbi Shammai who said that a man could divorce his wife only if she had been unfaithful to him, and on the other hand, the teaching of Rabbi Hillel who said that a man could divorce his wife for any reason at all, even burning his dinner.

This was a total setup where Jesus could not answer the question in a way that would not either divide His own followers or bring Him under the condemnation of Herod. But it was even worse than that!

Their question was very carefully worded, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”

If Jesus said, “no, it’s not lawful for a man to divorce his wife,” they would accuse Him of breaking the Law because of their interpretation of Deuteronomy 24, which we will look at in a minute.

If Jesus said, “yes, it is lawful for a man to divorce his wife,” The Pharisees would accuse Him of not being a prophet of God but a panderer to men.

There was no right answer for Jesus to give, so He did what He does. He asked them a question in response to their question.

Jesus ignored the debates of the day and focused on the Word of God, we can all take a lesson from that on just about every issue! We can also take a lesson from the Pharisees on what not to do. Don’t come to Jesus with a question that you’ve already answered in your own mind and expect Him to bow to your will or else expose Himself as a fraud. When we come to Jesus with our questions we must come to Him humbly desiring to know the mind of God on the matter and be satisfied with the answer that God’s Word gives. As John Calvin wrote, “What is sought in opposition to God’s Word is not a remedy.”

2 And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” 3 He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” 4 They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.”

Notice the different words that get used there. Jesus asked what Moses commanded, but they could only respond with what Moses allowed.

Moses acknowledged the presence of divorce in Israel but he didn’t institute it nor did he authorize it. He did, however, allow a man to write a certificate of divorce for his wife and send her away. The letter of divorce was not freedom for the husband, but it was protection for the wife.

Adultery in Israel was a capital offense, both adulterer and adulteress were to be stoned to death. By writing a certificate of divorce the husband was attesting that the wife was free from guilt of adultery.

So does that make divorce lawful? Before you jump to a response, listen to what else Jesus had to say.

5 And Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. 6 But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ 7 ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, 8 and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. 9 What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” 

Some of these words should sound familiar to you, they are recited at every Christian wedding! This is a wonderful reminder of God’s design for marriage, not a contract of temporary convenience but rather a covenant of mutual fidelity to a lifelong union before God.

Jesus said that Moses allowed men to divorce their wives due to their hardness of heart, a stubborn unwillingness to trust God in the midst of their circumstances. 

This stands in stark contrast to the sentimental excuses given for splitting up a marriage. “it just wasn’t working out, we’ve grown apart, we’re just too different…” the list goes on, but the reality remains the same, hardness of heart is the issue. 

Marriages depend on softness of heart, on humility, on selflessness, service, on love. Marriages depend on humble dependence on God and recognition of the need for God’s intervention in the relationship.

Simple, but not always easy.

Warren Wiersbe wrote, “The Lord then took them back beyond Moses to the record of the original creation. After all, in the beginning, it was God who established marriage, and he has the right to make the rules. According to Scripture, marriage is between a man and a woman, not two men or two women; and the relationship is sacred and permanent. It is the most intimate union in the human race, for the two become one flesh. This is not true of father and son or mother and daughter, but it is true of a man and wife.”

6 But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ 7 ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, 8 and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. 9 What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

What the Pharisees wanted was to trap Jesus and cost Him either His followers or His freedom. What they got instead was Jesus’ endorsement of God’s design for marriage: One man, one woman, one flesh, one lifetime.

Roy Zuck wrote, “As ‘one flesh’ [husband and wife] form a new unit comprising a sexually intimate, all-encompassing couple just as indissoluble in God’s present creation order as a blood relationship between parent and child.”

The disciples, those sharp, perceptive, incredibly intelligent, scholars… didn’t get it. So Jesus spelled it out in crayon for them…

10 And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. 11 And he said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, 12 and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”

It doesn’t get any plainer than that, but we still question it, don’t we?

When questioned on divorce, even though it was intended to be a trap, Jesus honored and upheld the Scripture in His response, He pointed to the Law-giver and His scribe, God the Father and Moses His prophet, and the Word of God did exactly what it always does, it exposes sin and drives us to grace.

God’s created order was, and is, and always will be: one man, one woman, one flesh, one lifetime. 

Jesus simply reminded the Pharisees what the Scripture says, and it says that marriage was created by God and is defined by God.

And this answers the question, is divorce a sin? The answer is, yes, divorce is a sin, it always has been and always will be. 

It also answers the question, is adultery a sin, having sexual relations with someone to whom you are not married or who is married to someone else? The answer is, yes, sex outside of marriage is a sin.

It also answers the question, is gay marriage a sin? The answer is, yes, it is, it is a violation of God’s created order and definition of marriage.

It also answers the question, is polygamy a sin, having multiple spouses at once? Yes, polygamy is also a sin, it is a violation of God’s order and definition of marriage.

But the most important question to consider, and you may be wondering this already, or have wrestled with it in the past: are these sins unforgivable? The answer is, no, they are not.

Ray Steadman said, “I know that when I am addressing an audience this large, some in it will have gone through divorce, perhaps with adultery involved. I do not intend to impose a sense of condemnation on anyone. But I do want to make clear what Jesus said -- that divorce is sin -- no if's, and's, or but's about it. Divorce is a violation of God's intention for marriage. It always is, and it always involves some form of sin. But thank God, although that is what the Law says, grace comes in to tell us that sin can be forgiven. There is the possibility of restoration, of healing, of God's beginning again the work of creating oneness -- either with the same couple, or perhaps as each goes on to a different union, they will have learned lessons which will facilitate the beauty of relationship that God has in mind.”

Sin is not to be celebrated, it is to be repented of, turned from, allowing the grace of God to cleanse you from it. That’s why Jesus came in the first place and gave His life on the cross, so that God, in His grace, would only see Jesus when He looks at us, and we, through faith in Him would find healing and restoration.

Whenever people are involved there are always problems, successful marriages aren’t marriages without problems. Successful marriages are those that two people, together, with soft hearts and a great measure of grace, overcome those problems to God’s glory.

Amen.