WEBVTT

00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.599
 Turn to the Gospel according to Mark as we continue to look at Mark's account of the life, death, and resurrection of our friend Jesus.

00:00:08.599 --> 00:00:13.439
! As you're turning, I'm discovering that this lectern is too steep to put a stack of books on.

00:00:16.399 --> 00:00:16.839
 Okay.

00:00:20.179 --> 00:00:24.080
 Turn to chapter 10 beginning in verse 1. We'll read 12 verses together.

00:00:24.079 --> 00:00:36.460
 And he left there and went to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan, and crowds gathered to him again, and again, as was his custom, he taught them.

00:00:37.219 --> 00:00:42.920
 And Pharisees came up, and in order to test him, asked, Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?

00:00:43.459 --> 00:00:46.219
 He answered them, What did Moses command you?

00:00:46.899 --> 00:00:51.560
 They said, Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.

00:00:51.560 --> 00:00:55.600
 And Jesus said to them, Because of your hardness of heart, he wrote you this commandment.

00:00:55.980 --> 00:00:59.460
 But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female.

00:01:00.240 --> 00:01:05.900
 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.

00:01:06.200 --> 00:01:08.740
 So they're no longer two, but one flesh.

00:01:09.439 --> 00:01:12.879
 What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.

00:01:13.820 --> 00:01:17.079
 And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter.

00:01:17.079 --> 00:01:21.659
 And he said to them, Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her.

00:01:22.120 --> 00:01:26.340
 And if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.

00:01:27.759 --> 00:01:32.179
 This is God's word to us, written for his glory and our good.

00:01:32.519 --> 00:01:36.620
 We would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises and obey its commands.

00:01:37.019 --> 00:01:37.900
 Let's pray together.

00:01:37.900 --> 00:01:41.640
 Father, we do thank you.

00:01:41.800 --> 00:01:45.660
 We praise you this morning for your written word to us.

00:01:46.520 --> 00:01:50.900
 It is by your word that we have the salvation of our souls.

00:01:51.020 --> 00:01:56.060
 Your spirit combined with your truth and changed our hearts.

00:01:56.060 --> 00:02:08.379
 And I pray this morning, Father, you will give me ability to speak with care and with clarity about the issue of marriage, remarriage, and divorce.

00:02:09.159 --> 00:02:12.759
 And that you help us all to apply it appropriately to our hearts.

00:02:13.259 --> 00:02:15.199
 And we pray this in the name of Christ.

00:02:15.840 --> 00:02:16.159
 Amen.

00:02:16.159 --> 00:02:24.599
 So we're moving through the gospel according to Mark, verse by verse, as is our custom here.

00:02:25.099 --> 00:02:30.400
 And we see now that he has now left this region that he's been working in.

00:02:30.439 --> 00:02:36.079
 And he's moving through and gone to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan.

00:02:36.319 --> 00:02:40.900
 We've entered now into kind of the second act, so to speak, of Mark's gospel.

00:02:40.900 --> 00:02:50.719
 He's moved from his primarily public Galilean ministry to now this journey on his way to Jerusalem where he's finishing off the disciples.

00:02:50.939 --> 00:02:57.460
 He's giving them the final teaching, the things they need to know to be devoted to him after he leaves.

00:02:58.140 --> 00:03:05.159
 And we've seen this series beginning in the second part of verse 8 where he heals a blind man at Bethsaida.

00:03:05.280 --> 00:03:10.240
 And he heals him in varying degrees, not because he didn't have the power to do it in one fell swoop.

00:03:10.240 --> 00:03:16.520
 But he's communicating, as Mark's recording it for us, that Jesus is the Lord of spiritual blindness.

00:03:16.760 --> 00:03:24.860
 And we see this to be the case with the disciples as they're coming to further dawning revelation of who it is that Jesus is.

00:03:25.439 --> 00:03:31.820
 We see Peter's confession in chapter 8 at Caesarea Philippi that Jesus is the Christ.

00:03:32.060 --> 00:03:36.939
 And then Jesus teaches them about the cost of discipleship, the surety of the coming kingdom.

00:03:36.939 --> 00:03:44.900
 And we see the transfiguration, the necessity of faith, the excellence of service, the radical nature of discipleship,

00:03:44.979 --> 00:03:48.939
 which Kyle so poignantly taught on last week.

00:03:49.719 --> 00:03:53.960
 And then we come to this teaching on the nature of marriage.

00:03:54.599 --> 00:03:56.919
 They're now in a region called Perea.

00:03:56.919 --> 00:04:02.439
 Perea, Mark and Matthew both skip over Jesus' Judean ministry.

00:04:02.579 --> 00:04:05.500
 Luke records it for us, but Mark and Matthew skip right over the top of it.

00:04:05.699 --> 00:04:12.139
 And he's now moved south of the Sea of Galilee and out to the east to this area called Perea,

00:04:12.259 --> 00:04:14.379
 an area that was full of Jews.

00:04:14.479 --> 00:04:22.000
 So he's moved from a primarily Gentile region now to a primarily Jewish region.

00:04:22.000 --> 00:04:24.639
 And again, the crowds are gathering to him.

00:04:24.740 --> 00:04:28.920
 And as was his custom, praise God, Jesus is teaching them once again.

00:04:29.040 --> 00:04:32.819
 And here we find again in verse 2, the Pharisees.

00:04:33.720 --> 00:04:39.319
 In order to test him, they ask him, is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?

00:04:39.519 --> 00:04:41.879
 This was the job of the Pharisees.

00:04:41.920 --> 00:04:46.740
 This is what they were all about as they surrounded Jesus, following him around, lurking around every corner,

00:04:46.740 --> 00:04:52.500
 hiding behind every bush, looking for a way for him to slip up as he was a man coming,

00:04:52.720 --> 00:04:56.500
 declaring to be the Christ, declaring to be the Son of God.

00:04:56.560 --> 00:04:59.920
 They wanted to do away with this understanding.

00:05:01.400 --> 00:05:03.120
 And so they ask him a question.

00:05:04.280 --> 00:05:07.740
 Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?

00:05:07.780 --> 00:05:11.519
 And we must ask at this point, why would that have been a test?

00:05:11.519 --> 00:05:16.819
 Why would they have asked this question in order to test him?

00:05:17.680 --> 00:05:21.099
 If you remember back in chapter 3 of Mark, verse 6,

00:05:21.819 --> 00:05:27.779
 we immediately see the Pharisees going out and holding counsel with the Herodians against him,

00:05:28.060 --> 00:05:30.879
 how to destroy him.

00:05:31.519 --> 00:05:37.899
 And if you recall in John chapter 6, we see John the Baptist arrested by Herod.

00:05:37.899 --> 00:05:41.039
 So you see them holding counsel with the Herodians,

00:05:41.179 --> 00:05:46.560
 and then we see John the Baptist being taken prisoner by Herod.

00:05:46.819 --> 00:05:47.359
 Why?

00:05:48.039 --> 00:05:53.519
 The reason being, this group of Herodians were loyal to Herod the Great,

00:05:53.620 --> 00:05:58.539
 which was the father of Herod Antipas, which is the one who arrested John the Baptist.

00:05:58.899 --> 00:06:04.060
 And John the Baptist was telling Herod Antipas that it was not okay

00:06:04.060 --> 00:06:09.620
 for him to have left his wife and taken his brother's wife.

00:06:09.759 --> 00:06:13.100
 This was the circumstance, the situation that was going on.

00:06:13.180 --> 00:06:15.740
 The woman he married's name was Herodias.

00:06:15.920 --> 00:06:19.939
 She was the one that demanded John's head on a platter.

00:06:19.939 --> 00:06:24.220
 So remember that John the Baptist had been arrested and beheaded

00:06:24.220 --> 00:06:30.379
 for speaking against the situation that occurred with Herod.

00:06:30.379 --> 00:06:34.959
 And so they're trying to trick him into the same thing, this large Jewish population.

00:06:34.959 --> 00:06:39.060
 They're trying to get him to be also against what Herod had done

00:06:39.060 --> 00:06:43.259
 in order for him to be arrested and therefore put to death.

00:06:43.839 --> 00:06:46.240
 So this is a major loaded question.

00:06:46.420 --> 00:06:47.319
 For us, we just read it.

00:06:47.500 --> 00:06:49.659
 This was loaded when they asked the question.

00:06:49.759 --> 00:06:53.180
 But Jesus does not back down from the challenge.

00:06:53.180 --> 00:07:00.840
 But rather, he responds with a very bold proclamation about divorce and remarriage.

00:07:00.939 --> 00:07:05.519
 I hope you were wrapping your mind around it as we read it together.

00:07:06.400 --> 00:07:08.680
 He begins by asking them a question.

00:07:08.939 --> 00:07:11.199
 What did Moses command you?

00:07:11.899 --> 00:07:14.939
 And they said Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce

00:07:14.939 --> 00:07:19.500
 and to send her away, verses 3 and 4.

00:07:19.500 --> 00:07:24.199
 Now, it's important for us to understand what was going on culturally

00:07:24.199 --> 00:07:28.540
 around the issue of divorce and remarriage at the time.

00:07:29.540 --> 00:07:33.800
 The reigning opinion in the matter was given by a rabbi named Hillel.

00:07:34.339 --> 00:07:37.740
 And it was common in this day that rabbinic traditions,

00:07:38.019 --> 00:07:39.759
 rabbis that would interpret the scriptures,

00:07:40.339 --> 00:07:43.319
 make doctrinal statements about them, and people would follow those things.

00:07:43.500 --> 00:07:46.319
 In fact, to the degree that they no longer study the scriptures,

00:07:46.319 --> 00:07:49.599
 but they simply studied the teachings of the rabbi.

00:07:50.480 --> 00:07:53.620
 And Rabbi Hillel, having died 20 years previous,

00:07:53.740 --> 00:07:57.420
 this was his prevailing understanding about divorce.

00:07:57.680 --> 00:07:58.379
 And he had said,

00:07:58.959 --> 00:08:01.800
 For any reason, unload that woman.

00:08:02.060 --> 00:08:04.680
 That was his phrase concerning the matter.

00:08:04.899 --> 00:08:10.560
 And in this day, the religious understanding was that you could divorce a woman for any reason.

00:08:10.959 --> 00:08:12.519
 Any offense given to you.

00:08:12.620 --> 00:08:14.639
 Dinner's on the table a little bit too late.

00:08:14.860 --> 00:08:15.939
 She spoke out of turn.

00:08:15.939 --> 00:08:18.540
 Any reason that you found her unsatisfactory,

00:08:18.759 --> 00:08:21.300
 you were able to divorce her.

00:08:21.459 --> 00:08:25.160
 So this is the common thing that's happening in this day.

00:08:26.259 --> 00:08:29.180
 Now, we get some Old Testament reference.

00:08:29.360 --> 00:08:33.059
 And it's very important that we understand what is Jesus talking about

00:08:33.059 --> 00:08:34.679
 when he asks the question,

00:08:34.840 --> 00:08:36.000
 What did Moses command you?

00:08:36.039 --> 00:08:36.919
 And they respond,

00:08:37.340 --> 00:08:39.799
 Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce

00:08:39.799 --> 00:08:41.500
 and to send her away.

00:08:41.620 --> 00:08:42.639
 And Jesus says to them,

00:08:42.720 --> 00:08:43.399
 Verse 5,

00:08:43.399 --> 00:08:45.159
 Because of your hardness of heart,

00:08:45.579 --> 00:08:47.480
 he wrote you this command.

00:08:47.759 --> 00:08:49.459
 We have to get our minds around us.

00:08:49.519 --> 00:08:51.699
 We have to understand what's going on here.

00:08:51.740 --> 00:08:53.319
 And the first thing I want to point out to you

00:08:53.319 --> 00:08:55.679
 is that when Jesus says,

00:08:55.899 --> 00:08:57.699
 What did Moses command you?

00:08:58.259 --> 00:08:59.279
 And then in verse 5,

00:08:59.279 --> 00:09:00.240
 Because of your hardness of heart,

00:09:00.299 --> 00:09:02.299
 he wrote you this commandment.

00:09:02.299 --> 00:09:06.039
 That both the verb and the noun that he uses there,

00:09:06.179 --> 00:09:08.139
 the verb in the Greek for command

00:09:08.139 --> 00:09:10.159
 and the verb in the Greek for commandment

00:09:10.159 --> 00:09:13.399
 are much softer words than we would take them to be.

00:09:13.719 --> 00:09:16.019
 Command is a definite command.

00:09:16.120 --> 00:09:18.159
 You do the thing that you're commanded to do.

00:09:18.240 --> 00:09:20.319
 Many of you on this side saw me command Cademan

00:09:20.319 --> 00:09:22.620
 to sit still during Aletheia Way,

00:09:22.659 --> 00:09:23.359
 and he did it, right?

00:09:23.399 --> 00:09:24.459
 That's a command.

00:09:24.539 --> 00:09:27.120
 It's a softer form of that verb.

00:09:27.120 --> 00:09:28.500
 And we get a little bit of insight into that

00:09:28.500 --> 00:09:29.580
 in the same account,

00:09:29.679 --> 00:09:31.080
 the parallel account in Matthew,

00:09:31.220 --> 00:09:31.960
 chapter 19,

00:09:32.820 --> 00:09:34.899
 second half of verse 6 through 8.

00:09:35.639 --> 00:09:36.080
 Jesus says,

00:09:36.200 --> 00:09:38.279
 What therefore God has joined together,

00:09:38.759 --> 00:09:39.919
 let not man separate.

00:09:40.860 --> 00:09:41.419
 Verse 7,

00:09:41.779 --> 00:09:42.659
 They, being the Pharisees,

00:09:42.740 --> 00:09:43.299
 said to him,

00:09:43.720 --> 00:09:45.820
 Why then did Moses command

00:09:45.820 --> 00:09:47.120
 one to give a certificate of divorce

00:09:47.120 --> 00:09:48.139
 and to send her away?

00:09:48.220 --> 00:09:49.179
 And listen to Jesus' response.

00:09:49.279 --> 00:09:49.620
 Verse 8,

00:09:49.700 --> 00:09:50.360
 He said to them,

00:09:50.759 --> 00:09:52.060
 Because of your hardness of heart,

00:09:52.220 --> 00:09:55.620
 Moses allowed you to divorce your wives.

00:09:55.620 --> 00:09:57.080
 But from the beginning,

00:09:57.620 --> 00:09:58.980
 it was not so.

00:09:59.080 --> 00:09:59.980
 So you see the difference there.

00:10:00.220 --> 00:10:01.080
 Moses didn't, in fact,

00:10:01.360 --> 00:10:01.879
 command it,

00:10:01.899 --> 00:10:03.779
 but rather he just allowed it to happen,

00:10:03.860 --> 00:10:04.940
 and he put some parameters

00:10:04.940 --> 00:10:07.379
 on the result of divorce.

00:10:08.840 --> 00:10:09.580
 So let's go.

00:10:09.620 --> 00:10:10.519
 I want you all to turn

00:10:10.519 --> 00:10:11.399
 in your copy of God's Word

00:10:11.399 --> 00:10:13.519
 to Deuteronomy, chapter 24.

00:10:24.220 --> 00:10:25.480
 Now remember in this day,

00:10:25.480 --> 00:10:26.399
 as it is in our day,

00:10:26.500 --> 00:10:27.899
 it was proper,

00:10:28.100 --> 00:10:28.860
 and it was common

00:10:28.860 --> 00:10:30.980
 to quote from the Old Testament

00:10:30.980 --> 00:10:33.300
 in a loose manner.

00:10:33.340 --> 00:10:34.180
 We do that all the time.

00:10:34.240 --> 00:10:35.460
 We talk all the time to each other

00:10:35.460 --> 00:10:36.500
 about biblical truths,

00:10:36.539 --> 00:10:37.899
 and we don't directly quote.

00:10:38.320 --> 00:10:39.560
 We'll say the scriptures say

00:10:39.560 --> 00:10:40.560
 in Ephesians,

00:10:40.700 --> 00:10:42.800
 and we'll make a loose quotation

00:10:42.800 --> 00:10:43.340
 of something.

00:10:43.420 --> 00:10:44.159
 This is okay,

00:10:44.420 --> 00:10:46.940
 provided that we can firmly back it

00:10:46.940 --> 00:10:49.200
 with the actual recorded Word of God.

00:10:49.240 --> 00:10:50.800
 They were doing this as well

00:10:50.800 --> 00:10:51.480
 in this day,

00:10:51.539 --> 00:10:53.240
 and when we see New Testament,

00:10:53.720 --> 00:10:54.779
 loose quotations,

00:10:54.940 --> 00:10:56.500
 citations of Old Testament,

00:10:56.500 --> 00:10:58.000
 we can also take those

00:10:58.000 --> 00:10:59.580
 as the inspired Word of God as well.

00:10:59.659 --> 00:11:00.200
 So often,

00:11:00.360 --> 00:11:01.980
 we get some clarity on things

00:11:01.980 --> 00:11:03.060
 when we look at the New Testament

00:11:03.060 --> 00:11:05.460
 as it compares to the Old Testament.

00:11:05.620 --> 00:11:06.039
 Sometimes,

00:11:06.180 --> 00:11:07.220
 the reverse is true.

00:11:07.419 --> 00:11:08.139
 We go to the Old Testament

00:11:08.139 --> 00:11:09.159
 to get greater clarity

00:11:09.159 --> 00:11:10.860
 about what they were talking about.

00:11:11.120 --> 00:11:11.960
 That's the case here.

00:11:12.259 --> 00:11:13.060
 Deuteronomy 24,

00:11:13.240 --> 00:11:14.279
 verses 1 through 4.

00:11:14.279 --> 00:11:17.939
 When a man takes a wife

00:11:17.939 --> 00:11:18.819
 and marries her,

00:11:19.319 --> 00:11:21.699
 if then she finds no favor in his eyes

00:11:21.699 --> 00:11:24.059
 because he has found some indecency in her,

00:11:24.419 --> 00:11:26.220
 and he writes her a certificate of divorce

00:11:26.220 --> 00:11:27.539
 and puts it in her hand

00:11:27.539 --> 00:11:29.179
 and sends her out of the house,

00:11:29.339 --> 00:11:31.199
 and she departs out of his house,

00:11:31.759 --> 00:11:34.159
 and if she goes and becomes another man's wife,

00:11:34.579 --> 00:11:36.220
 and the latter man hates her

00:11:36.220 --> 00:11:37.899
 and writes her a certificate of divorce

00:11:37.899 --> 00:11:39.459
 and puts it in her hand

00:11:39.459 --> 00:11:40.740
 and sends her out of his house,

00:11:40.740 --> 00:11:42.720
 or if the latter man dies

00:11:42.720 --> 00:11:44.000
 who took her to be his wife,

00:11:44.539 --> 00:11:45.659
 then her former husband

00:11:45.659 --> 00:11:46.680
 who sent her away

00:11:46.680 --> 00:11:48.860
 may not take her again to be his wife

00:11:48.860 --> 00:11:50.659
 after she has been defiled,

00:11:50.820 --> 00:11:52.560
 for that is an abomination before the Lord,

00:11:52.620 --> 00:11:54.279
 and you shall not bring sin upon the land

00:11:54.279 --> 00:11:55.580
 that the Lord your God is giving you

00:11:55.580 --> 00:11:56.379
 for an inheritance.

00:11:56.580 --> 00:11:56.720
 Okay?

00:11:56.860 --> 00:11:58.100
 So follow the logic through there.

00:11:58.180 --> 00:11:59.440
 If you couldn't stick with it,

00:11:59.860 --> 00:12:00.419
 that's okay.

00:12:00.480 --> 00:12:01.940
 It took me a couple of times as well.

00:12:02.620 --> 00:12:03.480
 If a man gets married,

00:12:03.759 --> 00:12:05.200
 and he finds for any reason,

00:12:05.200 --> 00:12:07.399
 this was Hillel's understanding of this,

00:12:07.460 --> 00:12:08.080
 for any reason,

00:12:08.180 --> 00:12:09.360
 some indecency,

00:12:09.360 --> 00:12:11.720
 some reason he no longer wanted her to be his wife,

00:12:11.980 --> 00:12:13.399
 and gives her a certificate of divorce,

00:12:13.560 --> 00:12:14.539
 and she goes off

00:12:14.539 --> 00:12:16.139
 and is married to another man,

00:12:16.320 --> 00:12:18.019
 and then that man does the same thing,

00:12:18.080 --> 00:12:19.700
 also finds some indecency in her

00:12:19.700 --> 00:12:20.720
 and gives her a certificate of divorce,

00:12:20.779 --> 00:12:21.800
 or he dies,

00:12:22.139 --> 00:12:23.139
 the only thing,

00:12:23.519 --> 00:12:24.779
 the only thing

00:12:24.779 --> 00:12:26.399
 that Moses is forbidding here

00:12:26.399 --> 00:12:28.340
 is for the first man

00:12:28.340 --> 00:12:30.120
 to take her again for his wife.

00:12:30.779 --> 00:12:31.820
 It's the only thing

00:12:31.820 --> 00:12:33.539
 that he's forbidding in this case.

00:12:33.899 --> 00:12:34.980
 And what he's doing here

00:12:34.980 --> 00:12:35.500
 is he's saying,

00:12:35.620 --> 00:12:37.039
 you can't on a whim divorce your wife

00:12:37.039 --> 00:12:37.740
 and then change your mind

00:12:37.740 --> 00:12:38.620
 and go back and remarry her.

00:12:38.620 --> 00:12:38.980
 Right?

00:12:39.019 --> 00:12:39.560
 She goes off.

00:12:39.799 --> 00:12:41.080
 She's married to another man.

00:12:41.399 --> 00:12:45.139
 There's another one flesh union happening there.

00:12:45.200 --> 00:12:48.279
 He can't go reclaim her for his own.

00:12:50.019 --> 00:12:52.220
 So back in our text today,

00:12:52.580 --> 00:12:53.460
 Mark chapter 10,

00:12:54.500 --> 00:12:56.980
 Jesus clarifies this whole situation.

00:12:59.379 --> 00:13:01.720
 Jesus is clarifying it for them.

00:13:01.799 --> 00:13:02.879
 I think they got it in their context.

00:13:02.980 --> 00:13:04.039
 We have to do a bit more work.

00:13:04.039 --> 00:13:05.539
 But beginning of verse 6,

00:13:05.939 --> 00:13:06.279
 he says,

00:13:06.839 --> 00:13:06.860
 but,

00:13:07.360 --> 00:13:08.039
 but,

00:13:08.139 --> 00:13:10.139
 what did Moses command you?

00:13:10.199 --> 00:13:10.879
 They respond.

00:13:10.959 --> 00:13:11.519
 And he says,

00:13:11.839 --> 00:13:12.120
 but,

00:13:13.339 --> 00:13:15.000
 from the beginning,

00:13:15.519 --> 00:13:17.419
 he starts out with the very beginning

00:13:17.419 --> 00:13:18.839
 of the way God created things to be.

00:13:19.159 --> 00:13:21.759
 God made them male and female.

00:13:22.759 --> 00:13:22.980
 Therefore,

00:13:23.159 --> 00:13:24.079
 a man shall leave his father and mother

00:13:24.079 --> 00:13:25.099
 and hold fast to his wife.

00:13:25.199 --> 00:13:27.000
 Quoting there from Genesis 2.24,

00:13:27.000 --> 00:13:28.259
 and the two shall become one flesh.

00:13:28.580 --> 00:13:29.659
 So they are no longer two,

00:13:29.720 --> 00:13:30.659
 but one flesh.

00:13:31.279 --> 00:13:32.700
 What therefore God has joined together,

00:13:32.779 --> 00:13:33.539
 let not man separate.

00:13:34.340 --> 00:13:34.460
 Right?

00:13:34.500 --> 00:13:34.940
 Later on,

00:13:34.980 --> 00:13:35.720
 they're in a house,

00:13:35.840 --> 00:13:36.419
 the house.

00:13:36.519 --> 00:13:37.519
 The disciples asked him again

00:13:37.519 --> 00:13:38.220
 about this matter.

00:13:38.840 --> 00:13:39.100
 He says,

00:13:39.179 --> 00:13:40.360
 then whoever divorces his wife

00:13:40.360 --> 00:13:40.899
 and marries another

00:13:40.899 --> 00:13:41.980
 commits adultery against her.

00:13:42.000 --> 00:13:43.059
 And if she divorces her husband

00:13:43.059 --> 00:13:44.139
 and marries another,

00:13:44.500 --> 00:13:46.580
 she commits adultery.

00:13:46.659 --> 00:13:48.740
 A rather absolute statement

00:13:48.740 --> 00:13:49.600
 given by Jesus

00:13:49.600 --> 00:13:50.960
 concerning divorce and remarriage.

00:13:51.060 --> 00:13:52.920
 And if we stop at this point,

00:13:52.980 --> 00:13:54.480
 if we simply open Mark

00:13:54.480 --> 00:13:55.180
 and read this,

00:13:55.280 --> 00:13:56.860
 I don't think there's any wiggle room

00:13:56.860 --> 00:13:57.600
 in this.

00:13:58.580 --> 00:13:59.000
 Do you?

00:13:59.600 --> 00:14:00.840
 We just read this text.

00:14:00.920 --> 00:14:01.920
 I don't think that there is.

00:14:02.300 --> 00:14:02.660
 However,

00:14:03.360 --> 00:14:04.460
 there is a hermeneutic principle

00:14:04.460 --> 00:14:05.280
 that we let Scripture

00:14:05.280 --> 00:14:06.120
 interpret Scripture.

00:14:06.300 --> 00:14:07.580
 We look at the Bible

00:14:07.580 --> 00:14:08.340
 on the topic,

00:14:08.460 --> 00:14:09.700
 and there are some other texts

00:14:09.700 --> 00:14:11.259
 that certainly refer

00:14:11.259 --> 00:14:14.320
 to divorce and remarriage.

00:14:15.120 --> 00:14:17.340
 This has led to a spectrum

00:14:17.340 --> 00:14:18.440
 of views.

00:14:18.900 --> 00:14:19.800
 Not a couple of views,

00:14:19.900 --> 00:14:20.860
 but a spectrum

00:14:20.860 --> 00:14:23.440
 of views on this issue.

00:14:24.200 --> 00:14:26.720
 There are two widely held,

00:14:27.200 --> 00:14:29.460
 I'll call them conservative views,

00:14:30.100 --> 00:14:31.279
 views held by people

00:14:31.279 --> 00:14:32.180
 that we would respect

00:14:32.180 --> 00:14:34.300
 and that we align ourselves

00:14:34.300 --> 00:14:35.120
 with theologically

00:14:35.120 --> 00:14:36.220
 in other regards.

00:14:37.620 --> 00:14:38.879
 I'll give some detail

00:14:38.879 --> 00:14:39.539
 to these shortly,

00:14:39.740 --> 00:14:40.700
 but I'm going to call them

00:14:40.700 --> 00:14:41.300
 this morning,

00:14:41.620 --> 00:14:42.220
 number one,

00:14:42.279 --> 00:14:43.840
 the more permissive view,

00:14:44.220 --> 00:14:45.019
 and number two,

00:14:45.100 --> 00:14:46.080
 the more restrictive view.

00:14:46.139 --> 00:14:48.480
 Not to give any value

00:14:48.480 --> 00:14:49.639
 in the way I'm saying that,

00:14:49.680 --> 00:14:50.600
 but the more permissive view

00:14:50.600 --> 00:14:53.100
 and the more restrictive view,

00:14:53.180 --> 00:14:56.460
 these two commonly held views.

00:14:56.600 --> 00:14:57.960
 But before we get to those things,

00:14:58.040 --> 00:14:59.040
 I want to talk first

00:14:59.040 --> 00:15:00.500
 about some non-negotiables.

00:15:01.040 --> 00:15:02.180
 Things that both of these views

00:15:02.180 --> 00:15:03.139
 completely agree upon.

00:15:03.460 --> 00:15:04.259
 Things that if we're going to be

00:15:04.259 --> 00:15:04.899
 biblically faithful,

00:15:05.060 --> 00:15:06.960
 we must agree upon.

00:15:07.139 --> 00:15:07.460
 Five.

00:15:07.519 --> 00:15:08.320
 I'm sure there are more,

00:15:08.460 --> 00:15:09.860
 but five that I came up with

00:15:09.860 --> 00:15:11.000
 this week.

00:15:11.000 --> 00:15:11.800
 Number one,

00:15:11.799 --> 00:15:15.819
 God presided over the first marriage

00:15:15.819 --> 00:15:20.779
 and presides over every subsequent marriage.

00:15:21.120 --> 00:15:22.559
 End of Genesis chapter 2.

00:15:22.799 --> 00:15:23.899
 The first marriage happens.

00:15:24.459 --> 00:15:25.359
 Jesus quotes from it

00:15:25.359 --> 00:15:26.679
 in verses 7 and 8.

00:15:26.819 --> 00:15:27.740
 Genesis 2, 24.

00:15:28.299 --> 00:15:31.099
 What therefore God has joined together,

00:15:31.439 --> 00:15:33.099
 let not man separate.

00:15:33.179 --> 00:15:34.479
 We don't join ourselves together.

00:15:34.839 --> 00:15:36.319
 A priest or a pastor

00:15:36.319 --> 00:15:37.699
 does not join us together.

00:15:37.700 --> 00:15:38.520
 The state,

00:15:38.879 --> 00:15:39.800
 the federal government

00:15:39.800 --> 00:15:40.940
 doesn't join us together.

00:15:41.180 --> 00:15:43.640
 God joins us together.

00:15:44.300 --> 00:15:45.060
 And just as an aside,

00:15:45.160 --> 00:15:46.000
 let this bake your noodle.

00:15:46.360 --> 00:15:47.700
 God created marriage

00:15:47.700 --> 00:15:48.600
 before the fall.

00:15:49.879 --> 00:15:50.280
 Secondly,

00:15:51.080 --> 00:15:52.340
 God created marriage

00:15:52.340 --> 00:15:54.060
 to give us a shadow

00:15:54.060 --> 00:15:56.160
 of the blessed relationship

00:15:56.160 --> 00:15:57.220
 between Christ

00:15:57.220 --> 00:15:58.700
 and the church.

00:15:58.700 --> 00:15:59.180
 Right?

00:15:59.560 --> 00:16:00.740
 Creates marriage before the fall.

00:16:00.879 --> 00:16:02.580
 This is what it's created for.

00:16:02.820 --> 00:16:03.900
 This is the reason.

00:16:04.399 --> 00:16:06.039
 There are subservient reasons.

00:16:06.179 --> 00:16:07.059
 There are other reasons

00:16:07.059 --> 00:16:07.899
 that marriage exists.

00:16:08.000 --> 00:16:09.079
 But the primary reason,

00:16:09.319 --> 00:16:10.559
 the overarching reason,

00:16:10.860 --> 00:16:12.679
 this is the reason.

00:16:12.799 --> 00:16:14.120
 If we must put a reason,

00:16:14.259 --> 00:16:15.199
 God created marriage

00:16:15.199 --> 00:16:16.620
 to give us a shadow,

00:16:16.759 --> 00:16:17.360
 a glimpse

00:16:17.360 --> 00:16:18.720
 of what the relationship

00:16:18.720 --> 00:16:19.399
 between Christ

00:16:19.399 --> 00:16:20.139
 and the church

00:16:20.139 --> 00:16:21.240
 looks like.

00:16:21.319 --> 00:16:22.579
 What that kind of covenant,

00:16:22.959 --> 00:16:24.220
 committed love

00:16:24.220 --> 00:16:25.120
 looks like.

00:16:25.179 --> 00:16:26.319
 You can read more about this

00:16:26.319 --> 00:16:27.199
 in Ephesians 5,

00:16:27.279 --> 00:16:28.240
 22 through 33.

00:16:28.379 --> 00:16:29.240
 For the sake of time,

00:16:29.319 --> 00:16:30.360
 we won't go there today.

00:16:30.360 --> 00:16:31.539
 This is why, though,

00:16:31.539 --> 00:16:34.559
 marriage was created.

00:16:35.919 --> 00:16:37.379
 For these reasons,

00:16:37.819 --> 00:16:38.399
 thirdly,

00:16:38.939 --> 00:16:40.319
 God hates divorce.

00:16:41.699 --> 00:16:42.919
 God hates divorce.

00:16:44.259 --> 00:16:45.519
 Malachi 2, 16.

00:16:46.039 --> 00:16:48.000
 And this is in the ESV rendering of it.

00:16:48.059 --> 00:16:49.500
 Malachi 2, 16 says,

00:16:49.879 --> 00:16:51.339
 The man who does not love his wife

00:16:51.339 --> 00:16:52.339
 but divorces her,

00:16:52.659 --> 00:16:53.439
 says the Lord,

00:16:53.599 --> 00:16:54.500
 the God of Israel,

00:16:54.779 --> 00:16:56.679
 covers his garment with violence,

00:16:56.819 --> 00:16:57.779
 says the Lord of hosts.

00:16:57.779 --> 00:17:00.099
 So guard yourselves in your spirit

00:17:00.100 --> 00:17:02.320
 and do not be faithless.

00:17:03.460 --> 00:17:04.720
 Now, there's a lot of weight

00:17:04.720 --> 00:17:06.539
 to the way in which

00:17:06.539 --> 00:17:07.660
 we deal with our marriages

00:17:07.660 --> 00:17:08.259
 and the way in which

00:17:08.259 --> 00:17:08.980
 we deal with divorce

00:17:08.980 --> 00:17:10.480
 in Malachi 2, 16

00:17:10.480 --> 00:17:11.779
 in the ESV rendering.

00:17:12.200 --> 00:17:12.480
 However,

00:17:12.660 --> 00:17:14.400
 I think that they fell a bit short

00:17:14.400 --> 00:17:16.460
 in their rendering here.

00:17:16.599 --> 00:17:18.319
 If you read it from the NASB,

00:17:18.539 --> 00:17:19.319
 another translation

00:17:19.319 --> 00:17:20.240
 that I respect highly,

00:17:20.480 --> 00:17:22.400
 and most other translations,

00:17:22.920 --> 00:17:23.700
 it reads this way.

00:17:24.480 --> 00:17:26.460
 For I hate divorce,

00:17:26.700 --> 00:17:27.900
 says the Lord,

00:17:28.140 --> 00:17:28.860
 the God of Israel,

00:17:28.859 --> 00:17:30.339
 and him who covers his garment

00:17:30.339 --> 00:17:30.879
 with wrong,

00:17:31.019 --> 00:17:31.759
 says the Lord of hosts.

00:17:31.799 --> 00:17:32.979
 So take heed to your spirit

00:17:32.979 --> 00:17:35.740
 that you do not deal treacherously.

00:17:35.939 --> 00:17:36.679
 Now, I think both

00:17:36.679 --> 00:17:38.000
 are true statements,

00:17:38.339 --> 00:17:40.000
 but I think the other,

00:17:40.279 --> 00:17:41.659
 the NASB rendering of it,

00:17:41.679 --> 00:17:43.059
 has much greater weight to it.

00:17:43.119 --> 00:17:43.459
 God says,

00:17:43.639 --> 00:17:46.139
 I hate divorce.

00:17:47.359 --> 00:17:48.740
 And this is why we do too.

00:17:49.759 --> 00:17:51.079
 Like, I know that everyone

00:17:51.079 --> 00:17:52.119
 in this room,

00:17:52.459 --> 00:17:53.659
 there's not a single person

00:17:53.659 --> 00:17:54.299
 in this room

00:17:54.299 --> 00:17:55.339
 or in my hearing

00:17:55.339 --> 00:17:56.799
 in some later recording of this

00:17:56.799 --> 00:17:58.419
 that hasn't in some way

00:17:58.419 --> 00:17:59.139
 been touched.

00:17:59.240 --> 00:17:59.799
 I have divorced.

00:18:00.019 --> 00:18:01.099
 Whether you've been part of one,

00:18:01.279 --> 00:18:02.399
 your parents have been divorced,

00:18:02.619 --> 00:18:03.240
 you know people

00:18:03.240 --> 00:18:03.899
 that have been divorced,

00:18:04.079 --> 00:18:05.839
 it's a rampant issue

00:18:05.839 --> 00:18:06.759
 in our culture today.

00:18:06.839 --> 00:18:09.059
 We have all been affected

00:18:09.059 --> 00:18:09.779
 by this,

00:18:09.819 --> 00:18:11.819
 and no one loves it.

00:18:12.079 --> 00:18:14.139
 No one celebrates it.

00:18:14.440 --> 00:18:14.619
 Right?

00:18:14.639 --> 00:18:15.539
 We don't rejoice

00:18:15.539 --> 00:18:17.359
 in the breaking of unions

00:18:17.359 --> 00:18:18.279
 in this way.

00:18:18.960 --> 00:18:20.259
 God hates divorce.

00:18:20.259 --> 00:18:22.599
 Number four.

00:18:22.980 --> 00:18:23.940
 These are non-negotiables,

00:18:24.039 --> 00:18:24.259
 remember.

00:18:25.819 --> 00:18:26.980
 The marriage covenant

00:18:26.980 --> 00:18:28.680
 is temporal.

00:18:29.579 --> 00:18:30.619
 That means it exists

00:18:30.619 --> 00:18:31.660
 in this realm.

00:18:33.140 --> 00:18:34.039
 That is that death

00:18:34.039 --> 00:18:35.059
 breaks that covenant

00:18:35.059 --> 00:18:37.339
 and gives a remaining spouse

00:18:37.339 --> 00:18:39.119
 the ability to remarry.

00:18:39.819 --> 00:18:39.960
 Right?

00:18:40.720 --> 00:18:42.279
 So, marriage is

00:18:42.279 --> 00:18:44.200
 a lifetime commitment.

00:18:44.460 --> 00:18:45.960
 When somebody dies,

00:18:46.079 --> 00:18:47.299
 you're freed from that commitment.

00:18:47.440 --> 00:18:49.519
 Romans 7, 2 and 3.

00:18:49.519 --> 00:18:50.579
 Paul writes,

00:18:50.660 --> 00:18:51.180
 For a married woman

00:18:51.180 --> 00:18:51.940
 is bound by law

00:18:51.940 --> 00:18:52.440
 to her husband

00:18:52.440 --> 00:18:53.359
 while he lives.

00:18:53.519 --> 00:18:54.400
 But if her husband dies,

00:18:54.480 --> 00:18:55.059
 she was released

00:18:55.059 --> 00:18:55.940
 from the law of marriage.

00:18:56.879 --> 00:18:57.279
 Accordingly,

00:18:57.299 --> 00:18:57.879
 she will be called

00:18:57.879 --> 00:18:58.379
 an adulteress

00:18:58.379 --> 00:18:58.740
 if she lives

00:18:58.740 --> 00:18:59.400
 with another man

00:18:59.400 --> 00:19:00.019
 while her husband

00:19:00.019 --> 00:19:00.579
 is alive.

00:19:00.639 --> 00:19:01.660
 But if her husband dies,

00:19:02.000 --> 00:19:02.700
 she is free

00:19:02.700 --> 00:19:03.460
 from that law.

00:19:03.680 --> 00:19:04.359
 And if she marries

00:19:04.359 --> 00:19:04.799
 another man,

00:19:04.859 --> 00:19:06.639
 she is not an adulteress.

00:19:06.639 --> 00:19:08.200
 So, death frees us

00:19:08.200 --> 00:19:08.900
 from the covenant

00:19:08.900 --> 00:19:10.119
 commitment to our spouses

00:19:10.119 --> 00:19:11.079
 and we are then

00:19:11.079 --> 00:19:13.079
 able to remarry.

00:19:13.639 --> 00:19:14.660
 Don't take this

00:19:14.660 --> 00:19:15.359
 as an endorsement

00:19:15.359 --> 00:19:15.900
 of murder.

00:19:17.400 --> 00:19:17.900
 Number five.

00:19:20.299 --> 00:19:21.019
 Divorce

00:19:21.019 --> 00:19:22.680
 and or

00:19:22.680 --> 00:19:23.819
 remarriage

00:19:23.819 --> 00:19:24.779
 after divorce

00:19:24.779 --> 00:19:26.400
 is not

00:19:26.400 --> 00:19:28.180
 an unpardonable

00:19:28.180 --> 00:19:29.319
 sin.

00:19:30.480 --> 00:19:32.000
 Whatever stance

00:19:32.000 --> 00:19:33.480
 you or I,

00:19:33.660 --> 00:19:34.879
 we take

00:19:34.879 --> 00:19:35.519
 on this issue,

00:19:35.619 --> 00:19:36.259
 whichever camp

00:19:36.259 --> 00:19:37.519
 we decide to align with

00:19:37.519 --> 00:19:38.480
 in this matter,

00:19:39.059 --> 00:19:39.259
 right?

00:19:39.359 --> 00:19:40.680
 So, whatever you deem

00:19:40.680 --> 00:19:41.660
 in your convictions

00:19:41.660 --> 00:19:42.500
 in your reading of Scripture

00:19:42.500 --> 00:19:43.700
 as sinful

00:19:43.700 --> 00:19:44.579
 in this,

00:19:44.579 --> 00:19:47.439
 whatever it may be,

00:19:47.579 --> 00:19:48.359
 it's not

00:19:48.359 --> 00:19:50.039
 an unpardonable

00:19:50.039 --> 00:19:50.500
 sin.

00:19:51.379 --> 00:19:51.720
 In fact,

00:19:51.740 --> 00:19:52.480
 the only unpardonable

00:19:52.480 --> 00:19:53.539
 sin is the sin

00:19:53.539 --> 00:19:54.559
 of unbelief.

00:19:55.419 --> 00:19:56.199
 The sin of grieving

00:19:56.199 --> 00:19:56.839
 the Spirit,

00:19:56.960 --> 00:19:57.500
 which is to say

00:19:57.500 --> 00:19:58.960
 that we don't

00:19:58.960 --> 00:19:59.980
 respond to the

00:19:59.980 --> 00:20:00.460
 convictions

00:20:00.460 --> 00:20:01.000
 that the Spirit

00:20:01.000 --> 00:20:01.679
 brings on us,

00:20:01.720 --> 00:20:02.199
 that we don't

00:20:02.199 --> 00:20:03.559
 repent of sin.

00:20:04.220 --> 00:20:05.139
 Both views hold

00:20:05.139 --> 00:20:05.619
 that if someone

00:20:05.619 --> 00:20:07.039
 is wrongly divorced

00:20:07.039 --> 00:20:08.039
 and or wrongly

00:20:08.039 --> 00:20:08.500
 remarried,

00:20:08.919 --> 00:20:09.240
 that these are

00:20:09.240 --> 00:20:09.720
 acts of sin.

00:20:10.139 --> 00:20:11.419
 Not perpetual sin,

00:20:11.500 --> 00:20:12.139
 they're an act

00:20:12.139 --> 00:20:12.639
 of sin.

00:20:13.100 --> 00:20:13.880
 You're not living

00:20:13.880 --> 00:20:14.500
 in that sin,

00:20:14.560 --> 00:20:15.340
 but you've committed

00:20:15.340 --> 00:20:16.240
 a sin,

00:20:16.340 --> 00:20:17.360
 as so many of us

00:20:17.360 --> 00:20:17.940
 have committed sins,

00:20:18.000 --> 00:20:19.259
 as so many wrongs

00:20:19.259 --> 00:20:20.820
 have been issued up

00:20:20.820 --> 00:20:21.920
 against our Lord.

00:20:22.720 --> 00:20:23.580
 And that is that

00:20:23.580 --> 00:20:24.540
 they should be confessed

00:20:24.540 --> 00:20:25.680
 from the past

00:20:25.680 --> 00:20:26.380
 and should be avoided

00:20:26.380 --> 00:20:27.820
 in the future.

00:20:28.080 --> 00:20:28.860
 So, divorce and or

00:20:28.860 --> 00:20:29.700
 remarriage after divorce

00:20:29.700 --> 00:20:31.740
 is not an unpardonable

00:20:31.740 --> 00:20:32.380
 sin.

00:20:32.480 --> 00:20:33.620
 It does not separate

00:20:33.620 --> 00:20:34.280
 you from the love

00:20:34.280 --> 00:20:35.100
 of God in Christ.

00:20:36.880 --> 00:20:37.320
 Okay.

00:20:38.140 --> 00:20:38.720
 A few details

00:20:38.720 --> 00:20:39.440
 about the two views

00:20:39.440 --> 00:20:40.460
 to get your

00:20:40.460 --> 00:20:42.300
 theological minds

00:20:42.299 --> 00:20:43.220
 primed.

00:20:44.519 --> 00:20:45.440
 Firstly, a few details

00:20:45.440 --> 00:20:46.019
 about the more

00:20:46.019 --> 00:20:47.879
 permissive view.

00:20:48.019 --> 00:20:48.579
 The more permissive view

00:20:48.579 --> 00:20:49.299
 would say that divorce

00:20:49.299 --> 00:20:50.259
 is permitted

00:20:50.259 --> 00:20:52.500
 under three circumstances.

00:20:52.639 --> 00:20:53.099
 And you get into

00:20:53.099 --> 00:20:54.039
 some of the spectrum

00:20:54.039 --> 00:20:55.240
 of different

00:20:55.240 --> 00:20:56.099
 understandings here,

00:20:56.159 --> 00:20:56.619
 but I'm going to

00:20:56.619 --> 00:20:57.359
 present it to you

00:20:57.359 --> 00:20:57.759
 in this way.

00:20:58.079 --> 00:20:59.059
 Under three circumstances,

00:20:59.700 --> 00:21:00.519
 when a spouse

00:21:00.519 --> 00:21:01.619
 deserts the relationship,

00:21:02.460 --> 00:21:03.440
 when a spouse

00:21:03.440 --> 00:21:04.440
 commits adultery,

00:21:05.039 --> 00:21:06.180
 or when a spouse

00:21:06.180 --> 00:21:07.359
 is dangerously abusive.

00:21:08.659 --> 00:21:09.639
 They also believe

00:21:09.639 --> 00:21:10.319
 that remarriage

00:21:10.319 --> 00:21:10.879
 is permitted

00:21:10.879 --> 00:21:12.779
 to the non-offending

00:21:12.779 --> 00:21:13.379
 spouse

00:21:13.379 --> 00:21:15.519
 when divorce

00:21:15.519 --> 00:21:16.039
 has occurred

00:21:16.039 --> 00:21:16.819
 for the

00:21:16.819 --> 00:21:18.259
 aforementioned reasons.

00:21:18.419 --> 00:21:19.419
 So, the non-offending

00:21:19.419 --> 00:21:20.099
 spouse, the one

00:21:20.099 --> 00:21:20.839
 who didn't sin

00:21:20.839 --> 00:21:21.879
 in the severing

00:21:21.879 --> 00:21:22.399
 of the covenant

00:21:22.399 --> 00:21:22.980
 relationship,

00:21:23.139 --> 00:21:24.399
 they are then

00:21:24.399 --> 00:21:25.919
 free to remarry

00:21:25.919 --> 00:21:27.779
 in that case.

00:21:29.779 --> 00:21:30.339
 Secondly,

00:21:31.259 --> 00:21:31.899
 that was brief,

00:21:31.980 --> 00:21:32.279
 wasn't it?

00:21:33.159 --> 00:21:33.919
 The more restrictive

00:21:33.919 --> 00:21:35.480
 view would say

00:21:35.480 --> 00:21:36.720
 the divorce

00:21:36.720 --> 00:21:37.539
 is only permitted

00:21:37.539 --> 00:21:39.099
 when a believer

00:21:39.099 --> 00:21:39.879
 is married

00:21:39.879 --> 00:21:41.500
 to an unbelieving

00:21:41.500 --> 00:21:42.099
 spouse

00:21:42.099 --> 00:21:43.099
 who demands

00:21:43.099 --> 00:21:44.000
 a divorce.

00:21:44.899 --> 00:21:45.240
 Paul says

00:21:45.240 --> 00:21:45.740
 in 1 Corinthians,

00:21:45.819 --> 00:21:46.579
 for the sake of peace,

00:21:46.639 --> 00:21:47.440
 you grant it to him.

00:21:47.779 --> 00:21:49.159
 An unbelieving spouse,

00:21:49.319 --> 00:21:50.500
 being a person

00:21:50.500 --> 00:21:51.000
 who's not under

00:21:51.000 --> 00:21:51.639
 church discipline,

00:21:52.019 --> 00:21:53.039
 demands a divorce

00:21:53.039 --> 00:21:54.720
 and you grant it

00:21:54.720 --> 00:21:55.059
 to him.

00:21:55.700 --> 00:21:56.819
 And remarriage

00:21:56.819 --> 00:21:57.539
 is not permitted

00:21:57.539 --> 00:21:59.059
 under any circumstance

00:21:59.059 --> 00:21:59.940
 provided

00:21:59.940 --> 00:22:01.200
 that the spouse

00:22:01.200 --> 00:22:01.859
 is still alive.

00:22:01.940 --> 00:22:02.480
 Now, remember

00:22:02.480 --> 00:22:03.259
 that these things

00:22:03.259 --> 00:22:03.819
 are simply

00:22:03.819 --> 00:22:04.660
 an act

00:22:04.660 --> 00:22:05.960
 of sin.

00:22:07.500 --> 00:22:08.740
 It's not really

00:22:08.740 --> 00:22:10.740
 a super clear-cut

00:22:10.740 --> 00:22:12.579
 simple issue.

00:22:13.140 --> 00:22:14.220
 I have a typo

00:22:14.220 --> 00:22:14.619
 in my notes

00:22:14.619 --> 00:22:14.839
 that says

00:22:14.839 --> 00:22:15.720
 this isn't a clear-cut

00:22:15.720 --> 00:22:16.579
 smile issue.

00:22:16.759 --> 00:22:17.519
 It's not that either.

00:22:17.740 --> 00:22:18.819
 It's a rather

00:22:18.819 --> 00:22:19.700
 complex issue.

00:22:20.559 --> 00:22:21.259
 And it's an issue

00:22:21.259 --> 00:22:21.839
 that can't really

00:22:21.839 --> 00:22:23.099
 be weighed in a vacuum.

00:22:23.359 --> 00:22:24.700
 And it's so easy.

00:22:24.819 --> 00:22:25.720
 Some things in the scriptures

00:22:25.720 --> 00:22:26.579
 are so easy.

00:22:26.660 --> 00:22:28.000
 Some theological wrestling,

00:22:28.299 --> 00:22:28.920
 you can stand

00:22:28.920 --> 00:22:29.660
 way back

00:22:29.660 --> 00:22:30.980
 from any real circumstance,

00:22:31.220 --> 00:22:32.279
 any real consequence,

00:22:32.279 --> 00:22:33.559
 and you can muse

00:22:33.559 --> 00:22:34.039
 about it

00:22:34.039 --> 00:22:34.799
 and you can wonder

00:22:34.799 --> 00:22:35.799
 what did God mean

00:22:35.799 --> 00:22:36.379
 by this?

00:22:36.480 --> 00:22:37.799
 But this isn't that way.

00:22:38.420 --> 00:22:39.379
 It means things

00:22:39.379 --> 00:22:40.200
 for our living.

00:22:40.359 --> 00:22:40.899
 It means things

00:22:40.899 --> 00:22:41.420
 for the life

00:22:41.420 --> 00:22:42.779
 of our church.

00:22:42.899 --> 00:22:44.660
 It's a challenging one.

00:22:45.460 --> 00:22:46.460
 In addition to that,

00:22:46.559 --> 00:22:49.000
 it's a widely contested one.

00:22:49.839 --> 00:22:50.859
 The more permissive view

00:22:50.859 --> 00:22:52.059
 is held by modern pastors

00:22:52.059 --> 00:22:52.619
 and scholars

00:22:52.619 --> 00:22:53.559
 like John MacArthur

00:22:53.559 --> 00:22:55.940
 and Andreas Kostenberger.

00:22:56.099 --> 00:22:56.740
 You don't have to know

00:22:56.740 --> 00:22:57.160
 who that is.

00:22:58.119 --> 00:22:59.759
 It's the most widely held

00:22:59.759 --> 00:23:00.759
 evangelical view,

00:23:00.920 --> 00:23:01.839
 which is not necessarily

00:23:01.839 --> 00:23:02.659
 a reason to believe it.

00:23:03.339 --> 00:23:04.299
 It's historically held

00:23:04.299 --> 00:23:05.079
 by Protestants

00:23:05.079 --> 00:23:06.000
 like John Murray.

00:23:06.899 --> 00:23:07.359
 And in fact,

00:23:07.439 --> 00:23:08.519
 the Westminster Confession

00:23:08.519 --> 00:23:10.179
 of 1647 reads,

00:23:10.679 --> 00:23:11.779
 in case of adultery

00:23:11.779 --> 00:23:12.559
 after marriage,

00:23:12.659 --> 00:23:13.199
 it is lawful

00:23:13.199 --> 00:23:14.139
 for the innocent party

00:23:14.139 --> 00:23:16.119
 to sue out a divorce

00:23:16.119 --> 00:23:17.259
 and after the divorce

00:23:17.259 --> 00:23:17.859
 to marry another

00:23:17.859 --> 00:23:19.339
 as if the offending party

00:23:19.339 --> 00:23:20.379
 were dead.

00:23:21.399 --> 00:23:22.879
 The more restrictive view

00:23:22.879 --> 00:23:24.459
 is held by modern pastors

00:23:24.459 --> 00:23:25.019
 and scholars

00:23:25.019 --> 00:23:25.959
 like Votie Bauckham

00:23:25.959 --> 00:23:27.019
 and John Piper.

00:23:27.980 --> 00:23:28.579
 Historically,

00:23:28.679 --> 00:23:29.559
 the Baptists of England,

00:23:29.659 --> 00:23:30.199
 when they adopted

00:23:30.200 --> 00:23:31.400
 the Westminster Confession,

00:23:31.740 --> 00:23:32.700
 omitted the previously

00:23:32.700 --> 00:23:33.279
 read paragraph.

00:23:33.480 --> 00:23:34.180
 They just took it out

00:23:34.180 --> 00:23:35.400
 altogether in the

00:23:35.400 --> 00:23:36.460
 Second London Confession

00:23:36.460 --> 00:23:38.279
 of 1689.

00:23:38.799 --> 00:23:38.980
 So,

00:23:39.180 --> 00:23:39.600
 you've got,

00:23:39.660 --> 00:23:40.740
 this is just some examples

00:23:40.740 --> 00:23:42.400
 of opinions,

00:23:42.759 --> 00:23:43.740
 respected,

00:23:44.360 --> 00:23:45.799
 scholarly opinions,

00:23:46.200 --> 00:23:47.880
 on both sides

00:23:47.880 --> 00:23:49.440
 of this coin.

00:23:50.799 --> 00:23:51.559
 All of this

00:23:51.559 --> 00:23:52.039
 should cause us

00:23:52.039 --> 00:23:52.480
 to pause.

00:23:52.580 --> 00:23:53.460
 It should really cause us

00:23:53.460 --> 00:23:55.080
 to weigh these things out,

00:23:55.160 --> 00:23:55.819
 to give attention.

00:23:56.220 --> 00:23:57.240
 Some theological stances

00:23:57.240 --> 00:23:58.019
 you can just dismiss

00:23:58.019 --> 00:23:59.460
 altogether from the source

00:23:59.460 --> 00:24:00.380
 that it's coming from,

00:24:00.559 --> 00:24:00.759
 right?

00:24:00.859 --> 00:24:01.240
 You know,

00:24:01.339 --> 00:24:02.140
 that guy's crazy.

00:24:02.220 --> 00:24:02.880
 Don't listen to anything

00:24:02.880 --> 00:24:03.500
 he has to say.

00:24:03.819 --> 00:24:05.059
 But these are respected men

00:24:05.059 --> 00:24:06.240
 that are holding

00:24:06.240 --> 00:24:07.259
 varying opinions,

00:24:07.500 --> 00:24:08.240
 not only now,

00:24:08.319 --> 00:24:09.599
 but through history.

00:24:11.539 --> 00:24:12.920
 I have been vexed

00:24:12.920 --> 00:24:13.559
 by this issue

00:24:13.559 --> 00:24:14.200
 for the last

00:24:14.200 --> 00:24:15.640
 three or four weeks.

00:24:16.140 --> 00:24:16.539
 In fact,

00:24:16.579 --> 00:24:17.440
 I've spent a good deal

00:24:17.440 --> 00:24:18.099
 of my time

00:24:18.099 --> 00:24:19.220
 on this issue

00:24:19.220 --> 00:24:19.880
 over the past

00:24:19.880 --> 00:24:21.799
 three or four weeks.

00:24:22.079 --> 00:24:22.859
 I brought up here

00:24:22.859 --> 00:24:23.579
 the things I was complaining

00:24:23.579 --> 00:24:24.460
 about not stacking.

00:24:24.460 --> 00:24:26.039
 Just some of the books

00:24:26.039 --> 00:24:26.620
 that I've been reading

00:24:26.620 --> 00:24:28.019
 on the matter.

00:24:28.559 --> 00:24:29.480
 This doesn't include

00:24:29.480 --> 00:24:30.460
 the online resources

00:24:30.460 --> 00:24:31.440
 that I've been looking at,

00:24:31.500 --> 00:24:32.680
 trying to gather

00:24:32.680 --> 00:24:34.180
 and glean and listen.

00:24:34.620 --> 00:24:35.480
 Many of you in this room

00:24:35.480 --> 00:24:36.640
 I've had conversations with.

00:24:36.720 --> 00:24:37.799
 We've been talking at length

00:24:37.799 --> 00:24:39.400
 about what this means

00:24:39.400 --> 00:24:40.100
 and what the truth

00:24:40.100 --> 00:24:41.180
 could be.

00:24:42.600 --> 00:24:43.720
 I came to a great deal

00:24:43.720 --> 00:24:44.279
 of conviction

00:24:44.279 --> 00:24:44.840
 in the matter

00:24:44.840 --> 00:24:45.840
 because I have given

00:24:45.840 --> 00:24:46.620
 advice

00:24:46.620 --> 00:24:47.840
 concerning,

00:24:48.019 --> 00:24:48.980
 counsel concerning

00:24:48.980 --> 00:24:49.940
 divorce and remarriage

00:24:49.940 --> 00:24:51.440
 without first carefully

00:24:51.440 --> 00:24:52.259
 consulting the scriptures.

00:24:52.440 --> 00:24:53.180
 I realized

00:24:53.180 --> 00:24:53.940
 that whether,

00:24:53.940 --> 00:24:54.759
 whatever view

00:24:54.759 --> 00:24:55.580
 may be right

00:24:55.580 --> 00:24:56.640
 that I had just

00:24:56.640 --> 00:24:57.700
 wholeheartedly swallowed

00:24:57.700 --> 00:24:58.980
 the more widely accepted view

00:24:58.980 --> 00:24:59.740
 and had never really,

00:24:59.940 --> 00:25:00.860
 really searched the scriptures

00:25:00.860 --> 00:25:02.840
 myself on the issue.

00:25:02.940 --> 00:25:03.539
 What a great deal

00:25:03.539 --> 00:25:04.039
 of conviction

00:25:04.039 --> 00:25:05.400
 that brought for me

00:25:05.400 --> 00:25:06.519
 as a pastor.

00:25:07.380 --> 00:25:08.220
 It's possible,

00:25:08.840 --> 00:25:09.380
 it's possible

00:25:09.380 --> 00:25:09.880
 that I've been

00:25:09.880 --> 00:25:10.740
 partied to sin,

00:25:10.860 --> 00:25:11.340
 that I've actually

00:25:11.340 --> 00:25:12.120
 encouraged it

00:25:12.120 --> 00:25:13.220
 in some ways.

00:25:13.640 --> 00:25:14.360
 If not,

00:25:14.660 --> 00:25:15.180
 if not,

00:25:15.240 --> 00:25:16.200
 if I was right

00:25:16.200 --> 00:25:16.960
 in the counsel

00:25:16.960 --> 00:25:17.640
 that I gave,

00:25:18.160 --> 00:25:18.660
 the conviction

00:25:18.660 --> 00:25:19.220
 is still there

00:25:19.220 --> 00:25:20.039
 that I didn't really

00:25:20.039 --> 00:25:21.559
 give it from a biblical stance.

00:25:21.640 --> 00:25:22.200
 I hadn't planted

00:25:22.200 --> 00:25:23.059
 my foot firmly

00:25:23.059 --> 00:25:24.240
 firmly on the word

00:25:24.240 --> 00:25:24.960
 of God

00:25:24.960 --> 00:25:25.619
 as I gave

00:25:25.619 --> 00:25:26.960
 that counsel.

00:25:28.399 --> 00:25:29.159
 Much repentance

00:25:29.159 --> 00:25:30.179
 was necessary for me

00:25:30.179 --> 00:25:31.159
 on that part.

00:25:32.039 --> 00:25:32.500
 It's been a bit

00:25:32.500 --> 00:25:33.480
 of crisis of faith

00:25:33.480 --> 00:25:33.879
 for me

00:25:33.879 --> 00:25:35.019
 to be totally honest

00:25:35.019 --> 00:25:35.480
 with you.

00:25:36.200 --> 00:25:36.679
 It's caused me

00:25:36.679 --> 00:25:38.119
 to really look

00:25:38.119 --> 00:25:39.059
 at the word of God

00:25:39.059 --> 00:25:39.599
 on the matter

00:25:39.599 --> 00:25:41.700
 and wrestle with it.

00:25:42.559 --> 00:25:43.579
 To say,

00:25:43.740 --> 00:25:45.079
 if this is God's word,

00:25:45.159 --> 00:25:45.639
 am I willing

00:25:45.639 --> 00:25:46.399
 to submit to it

00:25:46.399 --> 00:25:47.200
 no matter what

00:25:47.200 --> 00:25:47.839
 it requires

00:25:47.839 --> 00:25:48.940
 of me?

00:25:49.440 --> 00:25:50.099
 No matter what

00:25:50.099 --> 00:25:51.339
 uncomfortable situation,

00:25:51.639 --> 00:25:52.119
 no matter what

00:25:52.119 --> 00:25:53.000
 apologies I may

00:25:53.000 --> 00:25:53.579
 have to issue,

00:25:53.779 --> 00:25:54.579
 no matter what

00:25:54.579 --> 00:25:55.339
 it says,

00:25:55.379 --> 00:25:55.779
 am I willing

00:25:55.779 --> 00:25:56.599
 to submit myself

00:25:56.599 --> 00:25:56.959
 to it?

00:25:57.139 --> 00:25:57.439
 Am I going

00:25:57.439 --> 00:25:58.019
 to put myself

00:25:58.019 --> 00:25:58.879
 under it,

00:25:59.459 --> 00:26:00.619
 be governed by it,

00:26:00.639 --> 00:26:01.159
 or put myself

00:26:01.159 --> 00:26:02.240
 over it to judge it

00:26:02.240 --> 00:26:03.199
 and to make my own

00:26:03.199 --> 00:26:04.659
 calls based on

00:26:04.659 --> 00:26:05.399
 the circumstances

00:26:05.399 --> 00:26:06.619
 in my life

00:26:06.619 --> 00:26:07.079
 and those

00:26:07.079 --> 00:26:07.839
 in the lives

00:26:07.839 --> 00:26:08.319
 of people

00:26:08.319 --> 00:26:09.459
 around me?

00:26:10.139 --> 00:26:10.539
 No.

00:26:10.939 --> 00:26:11.240
 No,

00:26:11.319 --> 00:26:12.179
 of course not.

00:26:12.679 --> 00:26:13.279
 Of course not.

00:26:13.339 --> 00:26:14.019
 This is the very

00:26:14.019 --> 00:26:14.699
 word of God

00:26:14.699 --> 00:26:15.119
 to us

00:26:15.119 --> 00:26:16.039
 and it's not ours

00:26:16.039 --> 00:26:16.740
 to piecemeal

00:26:16.740 --> 00:26:17.419
 and treat the way

00:26:17.419 --> 00:26:18.159
 we would like to.

00:26:18.920 --> 00:26:19.860
 God has spoken

00:26:19.860 --> 00:26:21.080
 to us

00:26:21.080 --> 00:26:21.700
 and we must

00:26:21.700 --> 00:26:22.380
 submit ourselves

00:26:22.380 --> 00:26:22.900
 to it

00:26:22.900 --> 00:26:23.580
 whatever

00:26:23.580 --> 00:26:25.480
 it may say.

00:26:26.759 --> 00:26:27.920
 I'm very thankful

00:26:27.920 --> 00:26:28.920
 this past couple

00:26:28.920 --> 00:26:29.320
 of weeks

00:26:29.320 --> 00:26:30.660
 for our

00:26:30.660 --> 00:26:32.040
 general habit

00:26:32.040 --> 00:26:32.820
 of verse-by-verse

00:26:32.820 --> 00:26:33.440
 exposition

00:26:33.440 --> 00:26:34.720
 because I've got

00:26:34.720 --> 00:26:35.040
 to tell you,

00:26:35.080 --> 00:26:35.500
 the temptation

00:26:35.500 --> 00:26:36.000
 for me would

00:26:36.000 --> 00:26:36.279
 have been

00:26:36.279 --> 00:26:36.940
 to skip over

00:26:36.940 --> 00:26:37.580
 chapter 10.

00:26:38.120 --> 00:26:38.500
 I just would

00:26:38.500 --> 00:26:38.740
 have gotten

00:26:38.740 --> 00:26:39.880
 really far away

00:26:39.880 --> 00:26:40.480
 from the teaching

00:26:40.480 --> 00:26:41.100
 on divorce.

00:26:41.200 --> 00:26:41.340
 We'd have just

00:26:41.340 --> 00:26:41.519
 gone,

00:26:41.860 --> 00:26:42.040
 yeah,

00:26:42.120 --> 00:26:42.580
 chapter 10,

00:26:42.680 --> 00:26:42.900
 it's a great

00:26:42.900 --> 00:26:43.120
 chapter.

00:26:43.340 --> 00:26:43.660
 We're going

00:26:43.660 --> 00:26:44.060
 to start off

00:26:44.060 --> 00:26:44.759
 in chapter 11

00:26:44.759 --> 00:26:45.980
 now just to

00:26:45.980 --> 00:26:46.640
 distance myself

00:26:46.640 --> 00:26:47.259
 from having to

00:26:47.259 --> 00:26:47.640
 wrestle

00:26:47.640 --> 00:26:48.759
 the issues

00:26:48.759 --> 00:26:49.660
 and the

00:26:49.660 --> 00:26:50.620
 outcome,

00:26:50.759 --> 00:26:51.420
 the outworkings

00:26:51.420 --> 00:26:52.520
 of such

00:26:52.520 --> 00:26:53.060
 issues.

00:26:53.160 --> 00:26:53.560
 I'm thankful

00:26:53.560 --> 00:26:53.960
 for it.

00:26:54.000 --> 00:26:54.440
 I thank you

00:26:54.440 --> 00:26:55.740
 that you put

00:26:55.740 --> 00:26:56.640
 up with slow,

00:26:56.840 --> 00:26:57.100
 careful,

00:26:57.200 --> 00:26:57.620
 verse-by-verse

00:26:57.620 --> 00:26:58.140
 exposition

00:26:58.140 --> 00:26:58.620
 for that

00:26:58.620 --> 00:27:00.180
 very reason.

00:27:02.400 --> 00:27:02.960
 So what

00:27:02.960 --> 00:27:03.320
 opinion

00:27:03.320 --> 00:27:04.440
 did I arrive

00:27:04.440 --> 00:27:04.640
 at?

00:27:06.340 --> 00:27:07.040
 I haven't.

00:27:09.280 --> 00:27:09.840
 I know you

00:27:09.840 --> 00:27:10.180
 probably would

00:27:10.180 --> 00:27:10.560
 like for me

00:27:10.560 --> 00:27:11.040
 to have arrived

00:27:11.040 --> 00:27:11.480
 at opinion,

00:27:11.880 --> 00:27:13.060
 but I haven't.

00:27:13.100 --> 00:27:14.180
 I haven't set

00:27:14.180 --> 00:27:15.480
 my feet firmly.

00:27:15.580 --> 00:27:16.020
 We can talk

00:27:16.020 --> 00:27:16.520
 later if you'd

00:27:16.519 --> 00:27:17.720
 like I'm leaning,

00:27:18.220 --> 00:27:19.180
 but I haven't

00:27:19.180 --> 00:27:19.500
 yet.

00:27:19.579 --> 00:27:19.859
 I'm still

00:27:19.859 --> 00:27:20.420
 working it

00:27:20.420 --> 00:27:20.639
 through.

00:27:20.759 --> 00:27:21.019
 I'm still

00:27:21.019 --> 00:27:21.539
 trying to

00:27:21.539 --> 00:27:22.819
 carefully search,

00:27:22.940 --> 00:27:23.900
 prayerfully consider

00:27:23.900 --> 00:27:25.180
 what it is the

00:27:25.180 --> 00:27:25.660
 Word of God

00:27:25.660 --> 00:27:26.440
 has to say to

00:27:26.440 --> 00:27:27.420
 us about

00:27:27.420 --> 00:27:27.839
 marriage,

00:27:28.000 --> 00:27:28.379
 divorce,

00:27:29.379 --> 00:27:30.279
 and remarriage.

00:27:31.339 --> 00:27:32.019
 But here's a

00:27:32.019 --> 00:27:32.759
 realization that I

00:27:32.759 --> 00:27:33.259
 came to

00:27:33.259 --> 00:27:34.200
 together.

00:27:35.180 --> 00:27:35.980
 It would be

00:27:35.980 --> 00:27:37.099
 arrogant of me.

00:27:37.500 --> 00:27:38.220
 It would be

00:27:38.220 --> 00:27:39.139
 an improper

00:27:39.139 --> 00:27:40.559
 abuse of my

00:27:40.559 --> 00:27:41.379
 position if I

00:27:41.379 --> 00:27:41.940
 stood up here

00:27:41.940 --> 00:27:42.599
 and told you

00:27:42.599 --> 00:27:43.680
 what I believed

00:27:43.680 --> 00:27:44.579
 and then expected

00:27:44.579 --> 00:27:45.059
 that you all

00:27:45.059 --> 00:27:45.480
 would believe

00:27:45.480 --> 00:27:46.139
 it too.

00:27:47.139 --> 00:27:47.819
 This is not

00:27:47.819 --> 00:27:48.559
 the way our

00:27:48.559 --> 00:27:49.679
 church is

00:27:49.679 --> 00:27:50.039
 governed.

00:27:50.199 --> 00:27:50.720
 I certainly

00:27:50.720 --> 00:27:51.439
 am entitled

00:27:51.439 --> 00:27:52.619
 to my opinion

00:27:52.619 --> 00:27:53.240
 and my

00:27:53.240 --> 00:27:53.639
 convictions.

00:27:53.939 --> 00:27:54.379
 There are many

00:27:54.379 --> 00:27:54.919
 cases in the

00:27:54.919 --> 00:27:55.379
 scripture I'm

00:27:55.379 --> 00:27:55.879
 going to tell

00:27:55.879 --> 00:27:56.259
 you what I

00:27:56.259 --> 00:27:56.639
 think it

00:27:56.639 --> 00:27:57.019
 means,

00:27:57.139 --> 00:27:57.619
 but often

00:27:57.619 --> 00:27:58.119
 those things

00:27:58.119 --> 00:27:58.799
 don't have

00:27:58.799 --> 00:27:59.619
 real implication.

00:28:00.079 --> 00:28:00.399
 They don't

00:28:00.399 --> 00:28:00.980
 work out in

00:28:00.980 --> 00:28:01.619
 any practical

00:28:01.619 --> 00:28:02.539
 way in our

00:28:02.539 --> 00:28:03.199
 living together.

00:28:03.460 --> 00:28:03.939
 Romans chapter

00:28:03.939 --> 00:28:04.599
 11, the very

00:28:04.599 --> 00:28:05.000
 end is an

00:28:05.000 --> 00:28:05.679
 example of that.

00:28:05.799 --> 00:28:06.119
 What does it

00:28:06.119 --> 00:28:06.779
 mean by all

00:28:06.779 --> 00:28:07.519
 Israel will be

00:28:07.519 --> 00:28:07.919
 saved?

00:28:08.139 --> 00:28:08.559
 I presented

00:28:08.559 --> 00:28:08.859
 to you a

00:28:08.859 --> 00:28:09.099
 bunch of

00:28:09.099 --> 00:28:09.480
 options.

00:28:09.740 --> 00:28:10.059
 I told you

00:28:10.059 --> 00:28:10.399
 this is what

00:28:10.399 --> 00:28:10.980
 I think it

00:28:10.980 --> 00:28:11.279
 means,

00:28:11.399 --> 00:28:12.099
 but the general

00:28:12.099 --> 00:28:12.500
 point of the

00:28:12.500 --> 00:28:12.919
 text is that

00:28:12.920 --> 00:28:13.200
 we shouldn't

00:28:13.200 --> 00:28:13.740
 be haughty

00:28:13.740 --> 00:28:14.140
 towards the

00:28:14.140 --> 00:28:14.420
 Jews.

00:28:15.140 --> 00:28:15.300
 Right?

00:28:16.180 --> 00:28:16.800
 Acceptable in

00:28:16.800 --> 00:28:17.940
 this case.

00:28:19.180 --> 00:28:19.900
 I don't think

00:28:19.900 --> 00:28:20.340
 I have the

00:28:20.340 --> 00:28:21.279
 power, though,

00:28:21.440 --> 00:28:22.759
 to say this

00:28:22.759 --> 00:28:23.480
 is what our

00:28:23.480 --> 00:28:24.019
 church will

00:28:24.019 --> 00:28:25.120
 believe on

00:28:25.120 --> 00:28:25.740
 this particular

00:28:25.740 --> 00:28:26.800
 issue.

00:28:27.539 --> 00:28:28.259
 Let me read

00:28:28.259 --> 00:28:30.200
 to you from

00:28:30.200 --> 00:28:30.600
 our statement

00:28:30.600 --> 00:28:31.220
 of faith the

00:28:31.220 --> 00:28:32.039
 current statement

00:28:32.039 --> 00:28:32.560
 on the

00:28:32.560 --> 00:28:33.000
 family.

00:28:34.320 --> 00:28:34.860
 I'm going to

00:28:34.860 --> 00:28:35.340
 give you five

00:28:35.340 --> 00:28:36.140
 reasons why I

00:28:36.140 --> 00:28:36.700
 think we need

00:28:36.700 --> 00:28:37.160
 to make a

00:28:37.160 --> 00:28:38.120
 doctrinal stance

00:28:38.120 --> 00:28:38.900
 concerning divorce

00:28:38.900 --> 00:28:39.460
 and remarriage

00:28:39.460 --> 00:28:39.920
 as a church

00:28:39.920 --> 00:28:40.320
 together.

00:28:40.820 --> 00:28:41.300
 Let me read

00:28:41.300 --> 00:28:41.940
 to you first

00:28:41.940 --> 00:28:43.640
 what I

00:28:43.640 --> 00:28:44.000
 think needs

00:28:44.000 --> 00:28:44.640
 to be amended

00:28:44.640 --> 00:28:44.920
 in our

00:28:44.920 --> 00:28:45.240
 statement of

00:28:45.240 --> 00:28:45.519
 faith to

00:28:45.519 --> 00:28:46.000
 bring some

00:28:46.000 --> 00:28:46.940
 more clarity

00:28:46.940 --> 00:28:47.600
 to the

00:28:47.600 --> 00:28:48.100
 issue for

00:28:48.100 --> 00:28:48.640
 our church.

00:28:49.320 --> 00:28:49.519
 It says,

00:28:49.620 --> 00:28:49.779
 of the

00:28:49.779 --> 00:28:50.100
 family,

00:28:51.019 --> 00:28:51.559
 we believe

00:28:51.559 --> 00:28:52.120
 that marriage

00:28:52.120 --> 00:28:52.480
 is the

00:28:52.480 --> 00:28:52.900
 lifelong

00:28:52.900 --> 00:28:53.640
 uniting of

00:28:53.640 --> 00:28:54.220
 one man

00:28:54.220 --> 00:28:54.559
 and one

00:28:54.559 --> 00:28:55.320
 woman in

00:28:55.320 --> 00:28:55.640
 covenant

00:28:55.640 --> 00:28:56.059
 commitment,

00:28:56.539 --> 00:28:56.840
 that the

00:28:56.840 --> 00:28:57.220
 husband and

00:28:57.220 --> 00:28:57.580
 wife are

00:28:57.580 --> 00:28:57.920
 of equal

00:28:57.920 --> 00:28:58.420
 worth before

00:28:58.420 --> 00:28:58.740
 God,

00:28:58.799 --> 00:28:59.240
 being created

00:28:59.240 --> 00:28:59.420
 in the

00:28:59.420 --> 00:28:59.759
 image of

00:28:59.759 --> 00:29:00.019
 God,

00:29:00.100 --> 00:29:00.320
 and in

00:29:00.320 --> 00:29:00.600
 equal

00:29:00.600 --> 00:29:01.019
 measure,

00:29:01.799 --> 00:29:02.360
 dependest

00:29:02.360 --> 00:29:02.799
 on his

00:29:02.799 --> 00:29:03.220
 grace,

00:29:03.420 --> 00:29:03.620
 and that

00:29:03.620 --> 00:29:04.000
 the marriage

00:29:04.000 --> 00:29:04.440
 is God's

00:29:04.440 --> 00:29:04.680
 unique

00:29:04.680 --> 00:29:05.420
 revelation of

00:29:05.420 --> 00:29:05.740
 the union

00:29:05.740 --> 00:29:06.039
 between

00:29:06.039 --> 00:29:07.259
 Christ and

00:29:07.259 --> 00:29:07.860
 his church.

00:29:08.180 --> 00:29:08.380
 There's

00:29:08.380 --> 00:29:08.740
 some further

00:29:08.740 --> 00:29:09.340
 things about

00:29:09.340 --> 00:29:10.440
 the roles that

00:29:10.440 --> 00:29:11.059
 we play in

00:29:11.059 --> 00:29:11.679
 that relationship,

00:29:11.759 --> 00:29:12.139
 but that's

00:29:12.139 --> 00:29:12.379
 what it

00:29:12.379 --> 00:29:13.359
 currently says,

00:29:14.179 --> 00:29:14.960
 and it

00:29:14.960 --> 00:29:15.619
 leaves some

00:29:15.619 --> 00:29:16.819
 wondering.

00:29:17.000 --> 00:29:17.299
 It seems

00:29:17.299 --> 00:29:17.720
 actually to

00:29:17.720 --> 00:29:18.500
 be a fairly

00:29:18.500 --> 00:29:18.940
 restrictive

00:29:18.940 --> 00:29:19.399
 statement,

00:29:19.559 --> 00:29:20.099
 but are

00:29:20.099 --> 00:29:20.579
 there other

00:29:20.579 --> 00:29:21.279
 circumstances

00:29:21.279 --> 00:29:21.720
 in which

00:29:21.720 --> 00:29:22.460
 it's okay,

00:29:22.799 --> 00:29:23.339
 and how

00:29:23.339 --> 00:29:23.759
 do we deal

00:29:23.759 --> 00:29:24.779
 with remarriage?

00:29:24.799 --> 00:29:25.119
 It doesn't

00:29:25.119 --> 00:29:25.919
 say anything

00:29:25.919 --> 00:29:27.319
 about that.

00:29:28.559 --> 00:29:29.179
 Some people

00:29:29.179 --> 00:29:29.619
 may say that

00:29:29.619 --> 00:29:29.960
 this just

00:29:29.960 --> 00:29:30.379
 doesn't really

00:29:30.379 --> 00:29:30.879
 matter.

00:29:31.279 --> 00:29:31.539
 It's not

00:29:31.539 --> 00:29:32.519
 that important.

00:29:32.639 --> 00:29:33.039
 Let people

00:29:33.039 --> 00:29:33.639
 follow their

00:29:33.639 --> 00:29:34.440
 personal convictions,

00:29:34.679 --> 00:29:35.359
 but I say

00:29:35.359 --> 00:29:35.659
 to you that

00:29:35.659 --> 00:29:36.119
 it does

00:29:36.119 --> 00:29:36.500
 matter.

00:29:36.599 --> 00:29:37.019
 It matters

00:29:37.019 --> 00:29:38.039
 immensely.

00:29:39.379 --> 00:29:39.980
 How am I

00:29:39.980 --> 00:29:40.619
 to know

00:29:40.619 --> 00:29:41.599
 that's

00:29:41.599 --> 00:29:41.619
 true?

00:29:41.619 --> 00:29:42.039
 But on my

00:29:42.039 --> 00:29:42.699
 personal convictions,

00:29:42.979 --> 00:29:43.979
 what ceremony

00:29:43.979 --> 00:29:44.859
 should I perform

00:29:44.859 --> 00:29:45.659
 and not perform?

00:29:46.699 --> 00:29:47.179
 Someday,

00:29:47.359 --> 00:29:47.739
 if we have

00:29:47.739 --> 00:29:48.500
 leadership and

00:29:48.500 --> 00:29:49.379
 multiple pastors

00:29:49.379 --> 00:29:50.299
 and one holds

00:29:50.299 --> 00:29:50.979
 one view and

00:29:50.979 --> 00:29:51.500
 another holds

00:29:51.500 --> 00:29:52.099
 another view,

00:29:52.419 --> 00:29:52.719
 isn't that

00:29:52.719 --> 00:29:52.979
 going to be

00:29:52.979 --> 00:29:54.219
 horribly confusing

00:29:54.219 --> 00:29:54.799
 for someone who

00:29:54.799 --> 00:29:55.419
 comes and asks

00:29:55.419 --> 00:29:56.000
 the question,

00:29:56.579 --> 00:29:56.959
 I've been

00:29:56.959 --> 00:29:57.239
 divorced,

00:29:57.319 --> 00:29:57.739
 can I be

00:29:57.739 --> 00:29:58.199
 remarried?

00:29:58.319 --> 00:29:58.659
 Shouldn't we

00:29:58.659 --> 00:29:59.339
 have the same

00:29:59.339 --> 00:30:00.379
 answer to

00:30:00.379 --> 00:30:00.899
 that question?

00:30:01.000 --> 00:30:01.819
 I think we

00:30:01.819 --> 00:30:02.579
 should.

00:30:03.579 --> 00:30:04.139
 So let me

00:30:04.139 --> 00:30:04.619
 give you five

00:30:04.619 --> 00:30:06.000
 reasons that

00:30:06.000 --> 00:30:06.299
 I'm going to

00:30:06.299 --> 00:30:06.939
 lead us to

00:30:06.939 --> 00:30:07.539
 make a doctrinal

00:30:07.539 --> 00:30:08.259
 stance concerning

00:30:08.259 --> 00:30:08.659
 divorce and

00:30:08.659 --> 00:30:09.039
 remarriage.

00:30:09.039 --> 00:30:10.159
 Number one,

00:30:11.119 --> 00:30:11.659
 our church

00:30:11.659 --> 00:30:12.480
 believes in

00:30:12.480 --> 00:30:13.680
 a congregational

00:30:13.680 --> 00:30:15.500
 church polity.

00:30:15.680 --> 00:30:16.019
 That means

00:30:16.019 --> 00:30:16.639
 governance,

00:30:16.839 --> 00:30:18.059
 that the final

00:30:18.059 --> 00:30:18.920
 say in

00:30:18.920 --> 00:30:19.519
 matters of

00:30:19.519 --> 00:30:20.720
 doctrine and

00:30:20.720 --> 00:30:21.299
 in matters of

00:30:21.299 --> 00:30:22.220
 discipline belong

00:30:22.220 --> 00:30:22.940
 to the church,

00:30:23.019 --> 00:30:24.460
 not to elected

00:30:24.460 --> 00:30:25.680
 officials of any

00:30:25.680 --> 00:30:27.399
 sort, but to

00:30:27.399 --> 00:30:28.519
 the congregation.

00:30:29.279 --> 00:30:29.940
 It's one example,

00:30:30.039 --> 00:30:30.879
 Galatians 1.8,

00:30:31.200 --> 00:30:31.980
 Paul says to

00:30:31.980 --> 00:30:32.200
 them,

00:30:32.200 --> 00:30:33.279
 but even if we,

00:30:33.659 --> 00:30:34.680
 the apostles,

00:30:35.139 --> 00:30:35.940
 or an angel from

00:30:35.940 --> 00:30:36.339
 heaven,

00:30:36.339 --> 00:30:37.299
 should preach to

00:30:37.299 --> 00:30:37.939
 you a gospel

00:30:37.939 --> 00:30:38.699
 contrary to

00:30:38.699 --> 00:30:39.079
 the one we

00:30:39.079 --> 00:30:39.480
 preached to

00:30:39.480 --> 00:30:40.059
 you, let him

00:30:40.059 --> 00:30:40.720
 be accursed,

00:30:40.839 --> 00:30:41.819
 or cast out,

00:30:42.019 --> 00:30:42.679
 or separated

00:30:42.679 --> 00:30:43.439
 away.

00:30:44.240 --> 00:30:45.079
 Paul's saying

00:30:45.079 --> 00:30:45.980
 to the church

00:30:45.980 --> 00:30:46.720
 at Galatia,

00:30:47.179 --> 00:30:48.639
 hold everyone

00:30:48.639 --> 00:30:49.419
 accountable.

00:30:49.839 --> 00:30:50.399
 The apostles,

00:30:50.980 --> 00:30:51.359
 angels,

00:30:51.539 --> 00:30:52.399
 and anyone else,

00:30:52.639 --> 00:30:53.259
 hold them

00:30:53.259 --> 00:30:54.220
 accountable to

00:30:54.220 --> 00:30:55.119
 the truth of

00:30:55.119 --> 00:30:55.379
 God.

00:30:57.079 --> 00:30:57.639
 Secondly,

00:30:57.779 --> 00:30:58.259
 these matters

00:30:58.259 --> 00:30:59.139
 have bearing

00:30:59.139 --> 00:31:00.079
 on how we

00:31:00.079 --> 00:31:01.019
 function together

00:31:01.019 --> 00:31:02.220
 as a faith

00:31:02.220 --> 00:31:02.639
 family.

00:31:03.079 --> 00:31:03.379
 What will

00:31:03.379 --> 00:31:03.699
 permit,

00:31:03.819 --> 00:31:04.039
 what we

00:31:04.039 --> 00:31:05.179
 won't permit.

00:31:05.180 --> 00:31:06.140
 I mentioned

00:31:06.140 --> 00:31:06.460
 before,

00:31:06.539 --> 00:31:06.940
 how strange

00:31:06.940 --> 00:31:07.340
 would it be

00:31:07.340 --> 00:31:07.660
 if the

00:31:07.660 --> 00:31:07.880
 leadership

00:31:07.880 --> 00:31:09.000
 had varying

00:31:09.000 --> 00:31:09.880
 views on

00:31:09.880 --> 00:31:10.340
 something.

00:31:10.620 --> 00:31:11.060
 If one

00:31:11.060 --> 00:31:11.799
 person says

00:31:11.799 --> 00:31:12.519
 you need to

00:31:12.519 --> 00:31:13.560
 confess a sin

00:31:13.560 --> 00:31:13.799
 and the other

00:31:13.799 --> 00:31:14.220
 person says

00:31:14.220 --> 00:31:15.000
 it's not sin

00:31:15.000 --> 00:31:15.480
 at all.

00:31:16.380 --> 00:31:17.220
 How horrible

00:31:17.220 --> 00:31:18.220
 and confusing

00:31:18.220 --> 00:31:19.160
 that matter

00:31:19.160 --> 00:31:19.620
 would be.

00:31:21.480 --> 00:31:22.080
 Thirdly,

00:31:22.600 --> 00:31:23.799
 we must

00:31:23.799 --> 00:31:24.840
 contend for

00:31:24.840 --> 00:31:25.519
 the truth

00:31:25.519 --> 00:31:26.960
 in this

00:31:26.960 --> 00:31:27.480
 generation

00:31:27.480 --> 00:31:28.100
 concerning

00:31:28.100 --> 00:31:28.600
 marriage.

00:31:28.740 --> 00:31:29.480
 We must.

00:31:29.779 --> 00:31:30.100
 As the

00:31:30.100 --> 00:31:30.539
 people of

00:31:30.539 --> 00:31:30.940
 God,

00:31:31.140 --> 00:31:31.860
 we should

00:31:31.860 --> 00:31:32.539
 be set

00:31:32.539 --> 00:31:33.279
 apart

00:31:33.279 --> 00:31:34.519
 concerning

00:31:34.519 --> 00:31:34.940
 marriage.

00:31:35.340 --> 00:31:35.519
 There's a

00:31:35.519 --> 00:31:35.720
 lot of

00:31:35.720 --> 00:31:36.100
 statistics

00:31:36.100 --> 00:31:36.700
 running around

00:31:36.700 --> 00:31:37.100
 out there

00:31:37.100 --> 00:31:37.620
 and statistics

00:31:37.620 --> 00:31:38.140
 get skewed

00:31:38.140 --> 00:31:38.640
 in all kinds

00:31:38.640 --> 00:31:39.080
 of ways.

00:31:39.220 --> 00:31:39.600
 For many,

00:31:39.700 --> 00:31:39.779
 many,

00:31:39.880 --> 00:31:40.380
 many years

00:31:40.380 --> 00:31:40.860
 people have

00:31:40.860 --> 00:31:41.320
 said that

00:31:41.320 --> 00:31:42.299
 the statistics

00:31:42.299 --> 00:31:42.860
 outside of

00:31:42.860 --> 00:31:43.120
 the church

00:31:43.120 --> 00:31:43.600
 for marriage,

00:31:43.700 --> 00:31:44.200
 half of

00:31:44.200 --> 00:31:44.940
 marriages end

00:31:44.940 --> 00:31:45.340
 in divorce

00:31:45.340 --> 00:31:46.160
 and those

00:31:46.160 --> 00:31:46.620
 within the

00:31:46.620 --> 00:31:46.880
 church,

00:31:47.080 --> 00:31:47.860
 half end

00:31:47.860 --> 00:31:48.320
 in divorce.

00:31:48.559 --> 00:31:48.900
 They're the

00:31:48.900 --> 00:31:49.400
 same.

00:31:50.460 --> 00:31:50.960
 Some more

00:31:50.960 --> 00:31:51.519
 recent studies

00:31:51.519 --> 00:31:51.940
 have come out

00:31:51.940 --> 00:31:52.160
 and said,

00:31:52.259 --> 00:31:52.380
 no,

00:31:52.460 --> 00:31:52.799
 that's not

00:31:52.799 --> 00:31:53.200
 the case.

00:31:53.320 --> 00:31:53.759
 Actually,

00:31:54.120 --> 00:31:54.700
 people within

00:31:54.700 --> 00:31:55.059
 the church

00:31:55.059 --> 00:31:55.480
 are more

00:31:55.480 --> 00:31:56.120
 successful in

00:31:56.120 --> 00:31:56.539
 their marriages

00:31:56.539 --> 00:31:57.120
 but it's

00:31:57.120 --> 00:31:57.519
 still like

00:31:57.519 --> 00:31:58.460
 30%.

00:31:58.460 --> 00:31:58.840
 It's still

00:31:58.840 --> 00:31:59.840
 a dramatic

00:31:59.840 --> 00:32:00.820
 rate in

00:32:00.820 --> 00:32:01.180
 which people

00:32:01.180 --> 00:32:01.400
 are getting

00:32:01.400 --> 00:32:01.580
 married.

00:32:02.380 --> 00:32:02.820
 Whichever

00:32:02.820 --> 00:32:03.500
 one of those

00:32:04.940 --> 00:32:06.360
 shows that

00:32:06.360 --> 00:32:06.860
 we're not

00:32:06.860 --> 00:32:07.200
 setting

00:32:07.200 --> 00:32:07.519
 ourselves

00:32:07.519 --> 00:32:07.920
 apart

00:32:07.920 --> 00:32:08.440
 from the

00:32:08.440 --> 00:32:08.720
 culture.

00:32:08.860 --> 00:32:09.360
 We haven't

00:32:09.360 --> 00:32:09.820
 separated

00:32:09.820 --> 00:32:10.440
 ourselves

00:32:10.440 --> 00:32:11.620
 and fought

00:32:11.620 --> 00:32:13.320
 for marriage

00:32:13.320 --> 00:32:13.940
 and what

00:32:13.940 --> 00:32:14.680
 it's for.

00:32:14.740 --> 00:32:15.000
 If we have

00:32:15.000 --> 00:32:15.360
 a right

00:32:15.360 --> 00:32:15.900
 understanding

00:32:15.900 --> 00:32:16.180
 of it,

00:32:16.259 --> 00:32:16.600
 marriage is

00:32:16.600 --> 00:32:17.400
 not primarily

00:32:17.400 --> 00:32:17.940
 about our

00:32:17.940 --> 00:32:18.420
 happiness.

00:32:19.140 --> 00:32:19.480
 Marriage is

00:32:19.480 --> 00:32:19.880
 about the

00:32:19.880 --> 00:32:20.340
 glory of

00:32:20.340 --> 00:32:20.799
 God.

00:32:22.019 --> 00:32:22.460
 So whatever

00:32:22.460 --> 00:32:22.840
 the truth

00:32:22.840 --> 00:32:23.380
 may be,

00:32:23.500 --> 00:32:23.920
 we have to

00:32:23.920 --> 00:32:24.559
 contend for

00:32:24.559 --> 00:32:24.799
 it.

00:32:25.400 --> 00:32:25.759
 We have to

00:32:25.759 --> 00:32:26.380
 set down

00:32:26.380 --> 00:32:27.500
 firm lines

00:32:27.500 --> 00:32:28.200
 and stand

00:32:28.200 --> 00:32:28.660
 on those

00:32:28.660 --> 00:32:29.180
 things,

00:32:29.360 --> 00:32:30.100
 not let the

00:32:30.100 --> 00:32:30.460
 culture

00:32:30.460 --> 00:32:31.380
 influence

00:32:31.380 --> 00:32:32.400
 who we are.

00:32:32.480 --> 00:32:33.000
 We can't

00:32:33.000 --> 00:32:33.299
 let the

00:32:33.299 --> 00:32:33.700
 culture at

00:32:33.700 --> 00:32:34.799
 large define

00:32:34.799 --> 00:32:35.980
 truth for

00:32:35.980 --> 00:32:36.180
 us.

00:32:36.240 --> 00:32:36.639
 We must

00:32:36.639 --> 00:32:37.440
 let God's

00:32:37.440 --> 00:32:38.940
 word do

00:32:38.940 --> 00:32:39.279
 that.

00:32:41.399 --> 00:32:41.799
 Fourthly,

00:32:42.519 --> 00:32:43.440
 working together

00:32:43.440 --> 00:32:43.799
 through a

00:32:43.799 --> 00:32:45.339
 process to

00:32:45.339 --> 00:32:45.659
 make a

00:32:45.659 --> 00:32:46.059
 doctrinal

00:32:46.059 --> 00:32:46.559
 statement,

00:32:46.799 --> 00:32:47.539
 as I said,

00:32:47.599 --> 00:32:47.899
 I'm going to

00:32:47.899 --> 00:32:48.460
 suggest that we

00:32:48.460 --> 00:32:48.899
 just make a

00:32:48.899 --> 00:32:49.379
 change to the

00:32:49.379 --> 00:32:49.740
 statement of

00:32:49.740 --> 00:32:49.980
 faith.

00:32:50.079 --> 00:32:50.339
 We could

00:32:50.339 --> 00:32:51.159
 write a

00:32:51.159 --> 00:32:51.419
 paper.

00:32:51.500 --> 00:32:51.819
 There's many

00:32:51.819 --> 00:32:52.139
 ways we

00:32:52.139 --> 00:32:52.559
 could accomplish

00:32:52.559 --> 00:32:52.839
 this.

00:32:53.619 --> 00:32:54.119
 But to

00:32:54.119 --> 00:32:54.480
 form this

00:32:54.480 --> 00:32:54.740
 kind of

00:32:54.740 --> 00:32:55.119
 doctrinal

00:32:55.119 --> 00:32:55.779
 statement is

00:32:55.779 --> 00:32:56.059
 going to

00:32:56.059 --> 00:32:56.419
 be a

00:32:56.419 --> 00:32:56.759
 test,

00:32:56.819 --> 00:32:57.079
 I think,

00:32:57.119 --> 00:32:57.339
 a really

00:32:57.339 --> 00:32:57.779
 healthy

00:32:57.779 --> 00:32:58.440
 test of

00:32:58.440 --> 00:32:59.220
 our love

00:32:59.220 --> 00:33:00.879
 for the

00:33:00.879 --> 00:33:01.480
 truth.

00:33:02.599 --> 00:33:02.919
 Do we

00:33:02.919 --> 00:33:03.240
 love the

00:33:03.240 --> 00:33:03.599
 truth?

00:33:03.599 --> 00:33:04.500
 Do we

00:33:04.500 --> 00:33:04.819
 want to

00:33:04.819 --> 00:33:05.299
 walk in

00:33:05.299 --> 00:33:05.819
 the truth

00:33:05.819 --> 00:33:06.719
 regardless of

00:33:06.719 --> 00:33:07.039
 what it

00:33:07.039 --> 00:33:07.819
 says or

00:33:07.819 --> 00:33:08.139
 what it

00:33:08.139 --> 00:33:09.259
 means for

00:33:09.259 --> 00:33:09.659
 our living?

00:33:09.740 --> 00:33:10.019
 Are we

00:33:10.019 --> 00:33:11.919
 subservient to

00:33:11.919 --> 00:33:12.819
 the truth?

00:33:13.740 --> 00:33:14.119
 Let me read

00:33:14.119 --> 00:33:14.639
 from you again

00:33:14.639 --> 00:33:15.019
 from our

00:33:15.019 --> 00:33:15.439
 statement of

00:33:15.439 --> 00:33:15.919
 faith on

00:33:15.919 --> 00:33:16.379
 the scriptures.

00:33:16.379 --> 00:33:16.980
 We believe

00:33:16.980 --> 00:33:17.199
 that the

00:33:17.199 --> 00:33:17.359
 holy

00:33:17.359 --> 00:33:18.459
 bible was

00:33:18.459 --> 00:33:18.859
 written by

00:33:18.859 --> 00:33:19.799
 men divinely

00:33:19.799 --> 00:33:20.639
 inspired and

00:33:20.639 --> 00:33:20.879
 is a

00:33:20.879 --> 00:33:21.179
 perfect

00:33:21.179 --> 00:33:22.279
 treasure of

00:33:22.279 --> 00:33:22.659
 heavenly

00:33:22.659 --> 00:33:23.299
 instruction.

00:33:23.959 --> 00:33:24.139
 That it

00:33:24.139 --> 00:33:24.759
 has God

00:33:24.759 --> 00:33:25.059
 for its

00:33:25.059 --> 00:33:25.459
 author,

00:33:25.919 --> 00:33:26.379
 salvation

00:33:26.379 --> 00:33:26.859
 for its

00:33:26.859 --> 00:33:27.179
 end,

00:33:27.379 --> 00:33:28.019
 and truth

00:33:28.019 --> 00:33:29.079
 without any

00:33:29.079 --> 00:33:29.919
 mixture of

00:33:29.919 --> 00:33:30.819
 error for

00:33:30.819 --> 00:33:31.319
 its matter.

00:33:31.319 --> 00:33:32.460
 that it

00:33:32.460 --> 00:33:33.059
 reveals the

00:33:33.059 --> 00:33:33.500
 principles

00:33:33.500 --> 00:33:33.879
 by which

00:33:33.879 --> 00:33:34.279
 God will

00:33:34.279 --> 00:33:34.919
 judge us

00:33:34.919 --> 00:33:35.579
 and therefore

00:33:35.579 --> 00:33:36.259
 is and

00:33:36.259 --> 00:33:36.960
 shall remain

00:33:36.960 --> 00:33:37.419
 to the end

00:33:37.419 --> 00:33:37.619
 of the

00:33:37.619 --> 00:33:38.359
 world the

00:33:38.359 --> 00:33:39.079
 true center

00:33:39.079 --> 00:33:39.720
 of Christian

00:33:39.720 --> 00:33:40.740
 union and

00:33:40.740 --> 00:33:41.319
 the supreme

00:33:41.319 --> 00:33:41.939
 standard by

00:33:41.939 --> 00:33:42.399
 which all

00:33:42.399 --> 00:33:43.319
 human conduct,

00:33:43.679 --> 00:33:44.159
 creeds,

00:33:44.519 --> 00:33:45.460
 and opinions

00:33:45.460 --> 00:33:46.639
 should be

00:33:46.639 --> 00:33:47.139
 tried.

00:33:47.659 --> 00:33:48.579
 What a lofty

00:33:48.579 --> 00:33:49.899
 statement about

00:33:49.899 --> 00:33:50.559
 what we believe

00:33:50.559 --> 00:33:50.939
 about the

00:33:50.939 --> 00:33:51.460
 scriptures and

00:33:51.460 --> 00:33:52.099
 this will be a

00:33:52.099 --> 00:33:53.599
 test of that.

00:33:54.279 --> 00:33:54.879
 John 17

00:33:54.879 --> 00:33:55.220
 7,

00:33:55.299 --> 00:33:55.619
 Jesus is

00:33:55.619 --> 00:33:55.899
 saying a

00:33:55.899 --> 00:33:56.419
 high priestly

00:33:56.419 --> 00:33:57.000
 prayer and

00:33:57.000 --> 00:33:58.679
 he's laying

00:33:58.679 --> 00:34:00.079
 out his

00:34:00.079 --> 00:34:00.799
 hopes for

00:34:00.799 --> 00:34:01.379
 his apostles

00:34:01.379 --> 00:34:02.079
 and therefore

00:34:02.079 --> 00:34:03.059
 for us,

00:34:03.139 --> 00:34:03.759
 he says to

00:34:03.759 --> 00:34:04.059
 God,

00:34:04.220 --> 00:34:05.079
 sanctify them

00:34:05.079 --> 00:34:05.740
 in the

00:34:05.740 --> 00:34:06.200
 truth.

00:34:06.700 --> 00:34:07.599
 Your word

00:34:07.599 --> 00:34:08.860
 is truth.

00:34:09.960 --> 00:34:10.219
 Are we

00:34:10.219 --> 00:34:10.380
 going to

00:34:10.380 --> 00:34:10.800
 arrange our

00:34:10.800 --> 00:34:11.659
 lives by

00:34:11.659 --> 00:34:13.239
 common

00:34:13.239 --> 00:34:14.340
 philosophy,

00:34:14.900 --> 00:34:16.860
 by our

00:34:16.860 --> 00:34:17.099
 own

00:34:17.099 --> 00:34:17.579
 circumstance,

00:34:18.960 --> 00:34:20.179
 or on

00:34:20.179 --> 00:34:20.599
 revelation?

00:34:21.500 --> 00:34:21.759
 It will be

00:34:21.759 --> 00:34:22.920
 a test of

00:34:22.920 --> 00:34:23.380
 our love

00:34:23.380 --> 00:34:24.099
 for the

00:34:24.099 --> 00:34:24.420
 truth.

00:34:26.699 --> 00:34:27.300
 Fifthly,

00:34:27.320 --> 00:34:27.480
 it will be

00:34:27.480 --> 00:34:27.940
 a test of

00:34:27.940 --> 00:34:28.519
 our love

00:34:28.519 --> 00:34:29.900
 for one

00:34:29.900 --> 00:34:30.400
 another.

00:34:30.800 --> 00:34:32.440
 a test of

00:34:32.440 --> 00:34:32.780
 our love

00:34:32.780 --> 00:34:33.080
 for one

00:34:33.080 --> 00:34:33.360
 another.

00:34:34.200 --> 00:34:34.720
 If you're

00:34:34.720 --> 00:34:35.140
 a member,

00:34:35.340 --> 00:34:35.780
 and I know

00:34:35.780 --> 00:34:36.120
 that many

00:34:36.120 --> 00:34:36.380
 of you

00:34:36.380 --> 00:34:37.000
 right now

00:34:37.000 --> 00:34:37.480
 in this

00:34:37.480 --> 00:34:37.740
 room are

00:34:37.740 --> 00:34:38.120
 not,

00:34:38.240 --> 00:34:38.519
 but if

00:34:38.519 --> 00:34:38.700
 you're

00:34:38.700 --> 00:34:39.000
 a member,

00:34:39.120 --> 00:34:39.380
 you did

00:34:39.380 --> 00:34:39.820
 not

00:34:39.820 --> 00:34:40.220
 commit

00:34:40.220 --> 00:34:41.400
 to this

00:34:41.400 --> 00:34:41.900
 church

00:34:41.900 --> 00:34:42.940
 as a set

00:34:42.940 --> 00:34:43.720
 of programs

00:34:43.720 --> 00:34:44.539
 and presentations.

00:34:45.280 --> 00:34:45.760
 At least I

00:34:45.760 --> 00:34:46.100
 hope you

00:34:46.100 --> 00:34:46.340
 didn't.

00:34:46.400 --> 00:34:46.720
 I hope we

00:34:46.720 --> 00:34:46.960
 made it

00:34:46.960 --> 00:34:47.400
 very clear

00:34:47.400 --> 00:34:47.600
 to you

00:34:47.600 --> 00:34:47.920
 that that's

00:34:47.920 --> 00:34:48.240
 not what

00:34:48.240 --> 00:34:48.660
 you should

00:34:48.660 --> 00:34:49.140
 be

00:34:49.140 --> 00:34:49.700
 committing

00:34:49.700 --> 00:34:50.000
 to,

00:34:50.539 --> 00:34:51.400
 but rather

00:34:51.400 --> 00:34:51.980
 you committed

00:34:51.980 --> 00:34:52.440
 to a group

00:34:52.440 --> 00:34:53.039
 of people,

00:34:53.700 --> 00:34:54.060
 a group

00:34:54.060 --> 00:34:54.600
 of people

00:34:54.600 --> 00:34:55.780
 who love

00:34:55.780 --> 00:34:56.539
 Christ and

00:34:56.539 --> 00:34:56.980
 want to

00:34:56.980 --> 00:34:57.480
 pursue

00:34:57.480 --> 00:34:58.440
 the truth,

00:34:58.699 --> 00:34:58.960
 a group

00:34:58.960 --> 00:34:59.300
 of people

00:34:59.300 --> 00:34:59.579
 that you

00:34:59.579 --> 00:34:59.980
 can pursue

00:34:59.980 --> 00:35:00.480
 the truth

00:35:00.480 --> 00:35:01.099
 with,

00:35:01.119 --> 00:35:01.500
 even when

00:35:01.500 --> 00:35:01.800
 we don't

00:35:01.800 --> 00:35:02.059
 get it

00:35:02.059 --> 00:35:02.780
 exactly right

00:35:02.780 --> 00:35:03.420
 sometimes.

00:35:03.960 --> 00:35:04.240
 You want

00:35:04.240 --> 00:35:04.639
 to walk

00:35:04.639 --> 00:35:05.139
 through those

00:35:05.139 --> 00:35:06.340
 things together.

00:35:08.460 --> 00:35:08.900
 Doctrine

00:35:08.900 --> 00:35:09.179
 is not

00:35:09.179 --> 00:35:09.820
 something given

00:35:09.820 --> 00:35:10.300
 to us

00:35:10.300 --> 00:35:10.559
 that we

00:35:10.559 --> 00:35:11.199
 can hurl

00:35:11.199 --> 00:35:11.480
 at each

00:35:11.480 --> 00:35:11.760
 other

00:35:11.760 --> 00:35:12.719
 carelessly,

00:35:12.900 --> 00:35:13.300
 not giving

00:35:13.300 --> 00:35:14.519
 any respect

00:35:14.519 --> 00:35:15.460
 to situation

00:35:15.460 --> 00:35:16.099
 and what

00:35:16.099 --> 00:35:16.559
 people have

00:35:16.559 --> 00:35:17.280
 walked through.

00:35:17.940 --> 00:35:18.320
 We don't

00:35:18.320 --> 00:35:18.920
 use doctrine

00:35:18.920 --> 00:35:19.240
 to beat

00:35:19.240 --> 00:35:20.139
 each other

00:35:20.139 --> 00:35:20.619
 over the

00:35:20.619 --> 00:35:21.079
 head with

00:35:21.079 --> 00:35:21.240
 it,

00:35:21.380 --> 00:35:21.699
 but on

00:35:21.699 --> 00:35:22.019
 the other

00:35:22.019 --> 00:35:22.519
 side,

00:35:23.119 --> 00:35:23.599
 there's so

00:35:23.599 --> 00:35:24.119
 many churches

00:35:24.119 --> 00:35:24.619
 this day

00:35:24.619 --> 00:35:24.960
 that just

00:35:24.960 --> 00:35:26.000
 go along

00:35:26.000 --> 00:35:26.859
 to get

00:35:26.859 --> 00:35:27.279
 along,

00:35:27.559 --> 00:35:27.739
 right?

00:35:27.880 --> 00:35:28.359
 Peace at

00:35:28.359 --> 00:35:28.960
 any cost,

00:35:28.980 --> 00:35:29.159
 and they

00:35:29.159 --> 00:35:29.900
 dismiss truth

00:35:29.900 --> 00:35:30.639
 altogether,

00:35:31.199 --> 00:35:31.380
 right?

00:35:31.420 --> 00:35:31.679
 So there's

00:35:31.679 --> 00:35:32.420
 this false

00:35:32.420 --> 00:35:32.960
 sense of

00:35:32.960 --> 00:35:34.000
 unity in

00:35:34.000 --> 00:35:34.579
 the church

00:35:34.579 --> 00:35:35.440
 which typically

00:35:35.440 --> 00:35:36.259
 has to do

00:35:36.259 --> 00:35:37.139
 with a piece

00:35:37.139 --> 00:35:37.719
 of property,

00:35:38.359 --> 00:35:39.000
 the building,

00:35:39.159 --> 00:35:39.359
 and what

00:35:39.359 --> 00:35:39.980
 they've accomplished

00:35:39.980 --> 00:35:40.739
 together that

00:35:40.739 --> 00:35:41.019
 they can

00:35:41.019 --> 00:35:41.799
 physically see

00:35:41.799 --> 00:35:43.079
 and touch.

00:35:43.960 --> 00:35:44.579
 Shame on

00:35:44.579 --> 00:35:44.920
 them and

00:35:44.920 --> 00:35:45.420
 shame on

00:35:45.420 --> 00:35:46.920
 us if

00:35:46.920 --> 00:35:47.199
 that's what

00:35:47.199 --> 00:35:47.619
 we do.

00:35:48.699 --> 00:35:49.279
 A wise

00:35:49.279 --> 00:35:49.719
 man once

00:35:49.719 --> 00:35:50.099
 said to me

00:35:50.099 --> 00:35:50.359
 that there's

00:35:50.359 --> 00:35:50.920
 a great deal

00:35:50.920 --> 00:35:51.420
 of difference

00:35:51.420 --> 00:35:51.839
 between

00:35:51.839 --> 00:35:52.719
 compliance

00:35:52.719 --> 00:35:54.339
 and commitment.

00:35:54.619 --> 00:35:55.839
 I'm just

00:35:55.839 --> 00:35:55.980
 kidding,

00:35:56.079 --> 00:35:56.219
 dad.

00:35:56.279 --> 00:35:56.559
 My dad

00:35:56.559 --> 00:35:56.960
 said that.

00:35:58.039 --> 00:35:58.319
 I mean,

00:35:58.420 --> 00:35:58.699
 he's a

00:35:58.699 --> 00:35:59.139
 wise man.

00:36:03.299 --> 00:36:03.659
 Sometimes

00:36:03.659 --> 00:36:03.940
 I don't

00:36:03.940 --> 00:36:04.259
 think about

00:36:04.259 --> 00:36:04.480
 what I'm

00:36:04.480 --> 00:36:04.579
 going to

00:36:04.579 --> 00:36:04.880
 say before

00:36:04.880 --> 00:36:05.179
 I say

00:36:05.179 --> 00:36:05.359
 it,

00:36:05.500 --> 00:36:06.059
 and it

00:36:06.059 --> 00:36:06.380
 comes out

00:36:06.380 --> 00:36:06.819
 all wrong.

00:36:09.559 --> 00:36:09.880
 That's

00:36:09.880 --> 00:36:10.059
 right.

00:36:10.239 --> 00:36:10.319
 That's

00:36:10.319 --> 00:36:10.579
 exactly

00:36:10.579 --> 00:36:10.839
 right.

00:36:14.460 --> 00:36:15.119
 I often

00:36:15.119 --> 00:36:15.579
 plagiarize

00:36:15.579 --> 00:36:15.960
 my dad

00:36:15.960 --> 00:36:16.639
 unknowingly.

00:36:16.960 --> 00:36:17.259
 He says

00:36:17.259 --> 00:36:17.539
 things to

00:36:17.539 --> 00:36:17.880
 me a lot

00:36:17.880 --> 00:36:18.119
 that I

00:36:18.119 --> 00:36:18.339
 end up

00:36:18.339 --> 00:36:18.619
 repeating.

00:36:18.859 --> 00:36:19.119
 I knew

00:36:19.119 --> 00:36:19.500
 this one

00:36:19.500 --> 00:36:19.880
 that time.

00:36:20.000 --> 00:36:20.199
 Anyway,

00:36:20.759 --> 00:36:21.159
 a wise

00:36:21.159 --> 00:36:21.440
 man,

00:36:21.500 --> 00:36:22.000
 my father,

00:36:22.380 --> 00:36:22.659
 said to

00:36:22.659 --> 00:36:22.739
 me,

00:36:22.779 --> 00:36:22.960
 there's a

00:36:22.960 --> 00:36:23.480
 big difference

00:36:23.480 --> 00:36:23.819
 between

00:36:23.819 --> 00:36:24.059
 just

00:36:24.059 --> 00:36:24.759
 compliance

00:36:24.759 --> 00:36:25.299
 and

00:36:25.299 --> 00:36:25.719
 commitment.

00:36:25.960 --> 00:36:26.440
 Just going

00:36:26.440 --> 00:36:27.000
 along with

00:36:27.000 --> 00:36:27.460
 things,

00:36:27.679 --> 00:36:27.900
 right?

00:36:28.179 --> 00:36:28.719
 Taking a

00:36:28.719 --> 00:36:29.159
 look at

00:36:29.159 --> 00:36:30.380
 reports that

00:36:30.380 --> 00:36:30.799
 we give

00:36:30.799 --> 00:36:31.279
 and budgets

00:36:31.279 --> 00:36:31.639
 that we

00:36:31.639 --> 00:36:32.099
 vote on

00:36:32.099 --> 00:36:32.360
 and just

00:36:32.360 --> 00:36:32.960
 going along

00:36:32.960 --> 00:36:33.579
 because it's

00:36:33.579 --> 00:36:34.059
 easier to

00:36:34.059 --> 00:36:34.519
 go along

00:36:34.519 --> 00:36:34.799
 than to

00:36:34.799 --> 00:36:35.099
 raise your

00:36:35.099 --> 00:36:35.380
 hand and

00:36:35.380 --> 00:36:35.719
 ask a

00:36:35.719 --> 00:36:36.079
 question,

00:36:36.420 --> 00:36:36.579
 right?

00:36:36.699 --> 00:36:37.219
 It's easier

00:36:37.219 --> 00:36:37.559
 to go

00:36:37.559 --> 00:36:38.440
 along and

00:36:38.440 --> 00:36:38.980
 not search

00:36:38.980 --> 00:36:39.440
 the scriptures

00:36:39.440 --> 00:36:40.659
 yourself.

00:36:41.159 --> 00:36:41.619
 Beloved,

00:36:41.840 --> 00:36:42.360
 as members of

00:36:42.360 --> 00:36:42.980
 this church,

00:36:43.159 --> 00:36:43.440
 you have

00:36:43.440 --> 00:36:44.239
 doctrinal

00:36:44.239 --> 00:36:44.920
 responsibility.

00:36:45.880 --> 00:36:46.159
 You have

00:36:46.159 --> 00:36:47.119
 responsibility to

00:36:47.119 --> 00:36:47.559
 hold me

00:36:47.559 --> 00:36:48.199
 accountable to

00:36:48.199 --> 00:36:48.659
 the truth.

00:36:48.739 --> 00:36:49.159
 If I get up

00:36:49.159 --> 00:36:49.599
 here and say

00:36:49.599 --> 00:36:50.179
 something and I

00:36:50.179 --> 00:36:50.940
 err in some

00:36:50.940 --> 00:36:51.119
 way,

00:36:51.400 --> 00:36:51.960
 it's your

00:36:51.960 --> 00:36:53.340
 job to

00:36:53.340 --> 00:36:53.820
 tell me that

00:36:53.820 --> 00:36:54.539
 I erred,

00:36:54.820 --> 00:36:55.039
 right?

00:36:55.340 --> 00:36:55.840
 Not to be

00:36:55.840 --> 00:36:56.320
 arrogant,

00:36:56.440 --> 00:36:56.880
 not to say

00:36:56.880 --> 00:36:57.440
 you figured

00:36:57.440 --> 00:36:58.079
 something out

00:36:58.079 --> 00:36:58.679
 ahead of me

00:36:58.679 --> 00:36:59.320
 and I'm

00:36:59.320 --> 00:36:59.760
 the pastor

00:36:59.760 --> 00:37:00.119
 and you're

00:37:00.119 --> 00:37:00.599
 so smart

00:37:00.599 --> 00:37:01.059
 sitting in

00:37:01.059 --> 00:37:01.440
 the pew,

00:37:02.079 --> 00:37:02.300
 right?

00:37:02.440 --> 00:37:02.800
 But so that

00:37:02.800 --> 00:37:03.099
 we can

00:37:03.099 --> 00:37:04.300
 preserve truth

00:37:04.300 --> 00:37:05.039
 together,

00:37:05.639 --> 00:37:06.220
 we can walk

00:37:06.220 --> 00:37:06.820
 together in it

00:37:06.820 --> 00:37:07.099
 because it's

00:37:07.099 --> 00:37:08.099
 best for

00:37:08.099 --> 00:37:09.260
 all of us

00:37:09.260 --> 00:37:10.619
 when we do

00:37:10.619 --> 00:37:11.139
 this.

00:37:12.639 --> 00:37:13.539
 1 Corinthians

00:37:13.539 --> 00:37:13.940
 13.

00:37:14.099 --> 00:37:14.340
 2,

00:37:14.340 --> 00:37:16.160
 Paul says

00:37:16.160 --> 00:37:16.780
 if I have

00:37:16.780 --> 00:37:17.940
 prophetic powers

00:37:17.940 --> 00:37:18.920
 and understand

00:37:18.920 --> 00:37:20.360
 all mysteries

00:37:20.360 --> 00:37:21.700
 and all

00:37:21.700 --> 00:37:22.320
 knowledge and

00:37:22.320 --> 00:37:22.640
 if I have

00:37:22.640 --> 00:37:23.539
 all faith so

00:37:23.539 --> 00:37:24.120
 as to remove

00:37:24.120 --> 00:37:24.559
 mountains,

00:37:24.780 --> 00:37:25.180
 he's setting

00:37:25.180 --> 00:37:25.539
 up this

00:37:25.539 --> 00:37:26.160
 hypothetical

00:37:26.160 --> 00:37:26.720
 scenario,

00:37:27.059 --> 00:37:27.200
 right?

00:37:27.240 --> 00:37:27.620
 I'm the most

00:37:27.620 --> 00:37:28.480
 brilliant person

00:37:28.480 --> 00:37:28.940
 ever.

00:37:29.500 --> 00:37:30.579
 I can discern

00:37:30.579 --> 00:37:31.200
 from right and

00:37:31.200 --> 00:37:31.780
 wrong with

00:37:31.780 --> 00:37:33.380
 flawless ability.

00:37:33.519 --> 00:37:34.120
 I can move

00:37:34.120 --> 00:37:34.740
 mountains with

00:37:34.740 --> 00:37:35.260
 my face,

00:37:35.360 --> 00:37:36.079
 but have

00:37:36.079 --> 00:37:37.440
 not love.

00:37:37.980 --> 00:37:38.700
 I'm nothing.

00:37:39.880 --> 00:37:40.280
 I am

00:37:40.280 --> 00:37:40.600
 nothing.

00:37:41.800 --> 00:37:42.280
 Ephesians

00:37:42.280 --> 00:37:42.880
 chapter 4,

00:37:43.019 --> 00:37:43.360
 Paul writes

00:37:43.360 --> 00:37:44.140
 again to us,

00:37:44.340 --> 00:37:45.039
 verses 11

00:37:45.039 --> 00:37:46.400
 through 16.

00:37:46.620 --> 00:37:47.160
 And he gave

00:37:47.160 --> 00:37:47.620
 the apostles,

00:37:47.780 --> 00:37:48.160
 the prophets,

00:37:48.280 --> 00:37:48.860
 the evangelists,

00:37:48.920 --> 00:37:49.400
 the shepherds

00:37:49.400 --> 00:37:49.940
 and teachers

00:37:49.940 --> 00:37:51.620
 jobs given

00:37:51.620 --> 00:37:52.100
 to the church

00:37:52.100 --> 00:37:52.640
 to equip

00:37:52.640 --> 00:37:53.220
 the saints

00:37:53.220 --> 00:37:54.180
 for the work

00:37:54.180 --> 00:37:54.760
 of ministry,

00:37:55.180 --> 00:37:55.900
 for building

00:37:55.900 --> 00:37:56.680
 up the body

00:37:56.680 --> 00:37:57.539
 of Christ

00:37:57.539 --> 00:37:58.840
 until we all

00:37:58.840 --> 00:37:59.420
 attain to the

00:37:59.420 --> 00:37:59.900
 unity of the

00:37:59.900 --> 00:38:00.420
 faith and of

00:38:00.420 --> 00:38:00.820
 the knowledge

00:38:00.820 --> 00:38:01.200
 of the Son

00:38:01.200 --> 00:38:01.579
 of God

00:38:01.579 --> 00:38:02.180
 to mature

00:38:02.180 --> 00:38:02.680
 manhood

00:38:02.680 --> 00:38:03.400
 to the

00:38:03.400 --> 00:38:04.260
 measure of

00:38:04.260 --> 00:38:04.900
 the stature

00:38:04.900 --> 00:38:05.780
 of fullness

00:38:05.780 --> 00:38:06.340
 of Christ.

00:38:06.460 --> 00:38:06.840
 This is our

00:38:06.840 --> 00:38:07.320
 great goal

00:38:07.320 --> 00:38:07.660
 together,

00:38:07.780 --> 00:38:08.320
 so that we

00:38:08.320 --> 00:38:09.100
 may no longer

00:38:09.100 --> 00:38:09.760
 be children

00:38:09.760 --> 00:38:10.920
 tossed to

00:38:10.920 --> 00:38:11.400
 and fro

00:38:11.400 --> 00:38:12.240
 by the waves

00:38:12.240 --> 00:38:13.039
 and carried

00:38:13.039 --> 00:38:13.460
 about by

00:38:13.460 --> 00:38:14.320
 every wind

00:38:14.320 --> 00:38:15.340
 of doctrine,

00:38:15.600 --> 00:38:16.260
 by human

00:38:16.260 --> 00:38:16.660
 cunning,

00:38:17.019 --> 00:38:17.860
 by craftiness

00:38:17.860 --> 00:38:18.860
 in deceitful

00:38:18.860 --> 00:38:19.380
 schemes.

00:38:20.059 --> 00:38:20.539
 Rather,

00:38:21.340 --> 00:38:22.100
 speaking the

00:38:22.100 --> 00:38:22.539
 truth

00:38:22.539 --> 00:38:23.580
 in love,

00:38:24.260 --> 00:38:24.539
 we are to

00:38:24.539 --> 00:38:24.920
 grow up in

00:38:24.920 --> 00:38:25.240
 every way

00:38:25.240 --> 00:38:25.600
 into him

00:38:25.600 --> 00:38:25.960
 who is the

00:38:25.960 --> 00:38:26.240
 head,

00:38:26.600 --> 00:38:27.320
 into Christ,

00:38:27.800 --> 00:38:28.240
 from whom

00:38:28.240 --> 00:38:28.600
 the whole

00:38:28.600 --> 00:38:28.940
 body,

00:38:29.180 --> 00:38:29.700
 joined and

00:38:29.700 --> 00:38:30.180
 held together

00:38:30.180 --> 00:38:30.660
 by every

00:38:30.660 --> 00:38:31.460
 joint with

00:38:31.460 --> 00:38:31.800
 which it

00:38:31.800 --> 00:38:32.280
 is equipped,

00:38:32.539 --> 00:38:33.059
 when each

00:38:33.059 --> 00:38:33.539
 part is

00:38:33.539 --> 00:38:34.200
 working properly,

00:38:34.320 --> 00:38:34.680
 makes the

00:38:34.680 --> 00:38:35.180
 body grow

00:38:35.180 --> 00:38:35.500
 so that it

00:38:35.500 --> 00:38:36.039
 builds itself

00:38:36.039 --> 00:38:37.220
 up in

00:38:37.220 --> 00:38:37.600
 love.

00:38:37.599 --> 00:38:37.639
 love.

00:38:38.659 --> 00:38:39.279
 And what I

00:38:39.279 --> 00:38:39.599
 want you to

00:38:39.599 --> 00:38:39.960
 take away

00:38:39.960 --> 00:38:40.480
 from that

00:38:40.480 --> 00:38:41.279
 is that

00:38:41.279 --> 00:38:42.420
 we have

00:38:42.420 --> 00:38:43.420
 the capacity

00:38:43.420 --> 00:38:44.339
 to walk

00:38:44.339 --> 00:38:44.739
 in truth

00:38:44.739 --> 00:38:45.079
 together.

00:38:45.199 --> 00:38:45.500
 We've been

00:38:45.500 --> 00:38:46.000
 given the

00:38:46.000 --> 00:38:46.299
 scriptures,

00:38:46.799 --> 00:38:47.519
 we've been

00:38:47.519 --> 00:38:47.960
 given the

00:38:47.960 --> 00:38:48.599
 spirit of

00:38:48.599 --> 00:38:49.000
 God,

00:38:49.059 --> 00:38:49.599
 and we've

00:38:49.599 --> 00:38:50.179
 beheld

00:38:50.179 --> 00:38:51.139
 Christ.

00:38:51.940 --> 00:38:52.480
 We're being

00:38:52.480 --> 00:38:53.519
 built together

00:38:53.519 --> 00:38:54.380
 into his

00:38:54.380 --> 00:38:54.779
 body.

00:38:55.039 --> 00:38:55.539
 So working

00:38:55.539 --> 00:38:55.920
 through a

00:38:55.920 --> 00:38:56.679
 process like

00:38:56.679 --> 00:38:57.579
 this is

00:38:57.579 --> 00:38:57.860
 going to be

00:38:57.860 --> 00:38:58.519
 a great

00:38:58.519 --> 00:38:59.839
 test of

00:38:59.839 --> 00:39:00.360
 our love

00:39:00.360 --> 00:39:01.219
 for one

00:39:01.219 --> 00:39:01.519
 another.

00:39:01.519 --> 00:39:03.139
 I hope

00:39:03.139 --> 00:39:03.739
 that encourages

00:39:03.739 --> 00:39:04.599
 you to

00:39:04.599 --> 00:39:05.199
 work on

00:39:05.199 --> 00:39:05.719
 this process,

00:39:05.840 --> 00:39:06.039
 to be

00:39:06.039 --> 00:39:07.139
 involved in

00:39:07.139 --> 00:39:07.820
 this process,

00:39:08.079 --> 00:39:08.619
 to begin

00:39:08.619 --> 00:39:09.980
 wrestling with

00:39:09.980 --> 00:39:10.719
 these doctrinal

00:39:10.719 --> 00:39:11.519
 issues.

00:39:12.639 --> 00:39:13.300
 So how

00:39:13.300 --> 00:39:13.619
 will we go

00:39:13.619 --> 00:39:14.039
 about all

00:39:14.039 --> 00:39:14.400
 this?

00:39:15.880 --> 00:39:16.440
 I'm going

00:39:16.440 --> 00:39:16.820
 to form a

00:39:16.820 --> 00:39:17.800
 committee made

00:39:17.800 --> 00:39:18.199
 of the elders

00:39:18.199 --> 00:39:18.699
 of the church

00:39:18.699 --> 00:39:19.139
 and a few

00:39:19.139 --> 00:39:19.719
 other members

00:39:19.719 --> 00:39:19.960
 of our

00:39:19.960 --> 00:39:20.340
 congregation

00:39:20.340 --> 00:39:20.920
 just to

00:39:20.920 --> 00:39:21.699
 broaden the

00:39:21.699 --> 00:39:22.460
 scopes and

00:39:22.460 --> 00:39:23.619
 perspectives on

00:39:23.619 --> 00:39:24.019
 things.

00:39:24.619 --> 00:39:25.000
 And we're

00:39:25.000 --> 00:39:25.199
 going to

00:39:25.199 --> 00:39:26.119
 work really,

00:39:26.259 --> 00:39:26.759
 really hard

00:39:26.759 --> 00:39:27.460
 to present

00:39:27.460 --> 00:39:28.360
 to you a

00:39:28.360 --> 00:39:29.179
 paper of

00:39:29.179 --> 00:39:29.759
 some sort

00:39:29.759 --> 00:39:30.340
 for your

00:39:30.340 --> 00:39:30.800
 review.

00:39:31.580 --> 00:39:31.860
 Let me

00:39:31.860 --> 00:39:32.539
 again encourage

00:39:32.539 --> 00:39:32.820
 you, you

00:39:32.820 --> 00:39:33.080
 should be

00:39:33.080 --> 00:39:33.680
 studying this

00:39:33.680 --> 00:39:34.120
 on your

00:39:34.120 --> 00:39:34.420
 own.

00:39:34.539 --> 00:39:34.780
 If you're

00:39:34.780 --> 00:39:35.039
 a member

00:39:35.039 --> 00:39:35.360
 of this

00:39:35.360 --> 00:39:36.220
 church, I

00:39:36.220 --> 00:39:36.460
 will be

00:39:36.460 --> 00:39:36.860
 sending out

00:39:36.860 --> 00:39:37.260
 an email

00:39:37.260 --> 00:39:37.860
 later in

00:39:37.860 --> 00:39:38.260
 this week.

00:39:38.360 --> 00:39:38.740
 I'll link

00:39:38.740 --> 00:39:39.380
 this sermon

00:39:39.380 --> 00:39:39.960
 to it for

00:39:39.960 --> 00:39:40.580
 those who

00:39:40.580 --> 00:39:41.260
 weren't here

00:39:41.260 --> 00:39:41.920
 this Sunday.

00:39:42.440 --> 00:39:42.760
 And I

00:39:42.760 --> 00:39:43.340
 will also

00:39:43.340 --> 00:39:44.640
 include some

00:39:44.640 --> 00:39:45.180
 links and

00:39:45.180 --> 00:39:46.640
 resources on

00:39:46.640 --> 00:39:47.760
 both sides

00:39:47.760 --> 00:39:48.400
 of the

00:39:48.400 --> 00:39:48.760
 doctrinal

00:39:48.760 --> 00:39:49.039
 debate.

00:39:49.140 --> 00:39:49.420
 You need to

00:39:49.420 --> 00:39:50.100
 begin working

00:39:50.100 --> 00:39:51.220
 through it

00:39:51.220 --> 00:39:52.019
 on your

00:39:52.019 --> 00:39:52.440
 own.

00:39:53.600 --> 00:39:53.780
 We'll

00:39:53.780 --> 00:39:54.400
 together as

00:39:54.400 --> 00:39:54.700
 a committee

00:39:54.700 --> 00:39:55.160
 will present

00:39:55.160 --> 00:39:55.740
 a paper to

00:39:55.740 --> 00:39:56.400
 you and

00:39:56.400 --> 00:39:56.680
 then we're

00:39:56.680 --> 00:39:56.880
 going to

00:39:56.880 --> 00:39:57.240
 meet to

00:39:57.240 --> 00:39:57.700
 discuss.

00:39:58.160 --> 00:39:58.440
 And we're

00:39:58.440 --> 00:39:58.600
 going to

00:39:58.600 --> 00:39:58.860
 meet to

00:39:58.860 --> 00:39:59.460
 discuss and

00:39:59.460 --> 00:39:59.720
 we're going to

00:39:59.720 --> 00:40:00.019
 meet to

00:40:00.800 --> 00:40:01.220
 keep on

00:40:01.220 --> 00:40:01.760
 working at

00:40:01.760 --> 00:40:01.920
 it and

00:40:01.920 --> 00:40:02.280
 keep on

00:40:02.280 --> 00:40:02.780
 working at

00:40:02.780 --> 00:40:03.560
 it, loving

00:40:03.560 --> 00:40:04.440
 one another

00:40:04.440 --> 00:40:05.300
 in the

00:40:05.300 --> 00:40:06.660
 truth until

00:40:06.660 --> 00:40:06.880
 we can

00:40:06.880 --> 00:40:08.500
 arrive at

00:40:08.500 --> 00:40:08.980
 I hope a

00:40:08.980 --> 00:40:09.500
 unanimous

00:40:09.500 --> 00:40:09.940
 decision,

00:40:10.320 --> 00:40:10.940
 maybe just

00:40:10.940 --> 00:40:11.900
 a consensus

00:40:11.900 --> 00:40:13.360
 among us,

00:40:13.460 --> 00:40:14.039
 but this is

00:40:14.039 --> 00:40:14.539
 something I

00:40:14.539 --> 00:40:14.900
 think is

00:40:14.900 --> 00:40:15.539
 incredibly,

00:40:15.980 --> 00:40:16.460
 incredibly

00:40:16.460 --> 00:40:17.140
 important that

00:40:17.140 --> 00:40:17.660
 we wrestle

00:40:17.660 --> 00:40:18.640
 through

00:40:18.640 --> 00:40:19.960
 together.

00:40:20.800 --> 00:40:21.220
 This will

00:40:21.220 --> 00:40:21.700
 likely be a

00:40:21.700 --> 00:40:22.400
 lengthy process.

00:40:23.260 --> 00:40:23.940
 I think it's

00:40:23.940 --> 00:40:24.240
 going to take

00:40:24.240 --> 00:40:24.680
 us time,

00:40:25.080 --> 00:40:25.460
 but I think

00:40:25.460 --> 00:40:25.840
 that the

00:40:25.840 --> 00:40:26.920
 time and

00:40:26.920 --> 00:40:27.340
 the energy

00:40:27.340 --> 00:40:27.920
 invested in

00:40:27.920 --> 00:40:28.260
 it will be

00:40:28.260 --> 00:40:28.580
 ultimately

00:40:28.580 --> 00:40:29.260
 really healthy

00:40:29.260 --> 00:40:29.600
 for the

00:40:29.600 --> 00:40:30.240
 long-term

00:40:30.239 --> 00:40:31.299
 life of

00:40:31.299 --> 00:40:31.839
 this church

00:40:31.839 --> 00:40:32.959
 and ultimately

00:40:32.959 --> 00:40:35.259
 glorifying to

00:40:35.259 --> 00:40:35.500
 God.

00:40:36.919 --> 00:40:37.519
 Now in all

00:40:37.519 --> 00:40:38.019
 of this,

00:40:38.199 --> 00:40:38.639
 as I said

00:40:38.639 --> 00:40:38.879
 before,

00:40:38.919 --> 00:40:39.199
 we've all

00:40:39.199 --> 00:40:39.659
 been touched

00:40:39.659 --> 00:40:40.799
 by divorce,

00:40:41.079 --> 00:40:41.599
 remarriages,

00:40:41.859 --> 00:40:42.479
 some of those

00:40:42.479 --> 00:40:43.219
 exist in our

00:40:43.219 --> 00:40:43.839
 congregation.

00:40:44.599 --> 00:40:45.439
 Don't hear any

00:40:45.439 --> 00:40:45.919
 of this as

00:40:45.919 --> 00:40:46.500
 condemnation

00:40:46.500 --> 00:40:47.059
 towards you.

00:40:48.059 --> 00:40:49.139
 My sins are

00:40:49.139 --> 00:40:49.719
 as deep as

00:40:49.719 --> 00:40:50.000
 yours.

00:40:50.179 --> 00:40:50.739
 We have all

00:40:50.739 --> 00:40:51.439
 failed in so

00:40:51.439 --> 00:40:52.159
 many respects.

00:40:52.159 --> 00:40:53.139
 If we arrive

00:40:53.139 --> 00:40:53.719
 at a position

00:40:53.719 --> 00:40:54.779
 where you find

00:40:54.779 --> 00:40:55.539
 that you need

00:40:55.539 --> 00:40:56.059
 to repent,

00:40:56.159 --> 00:40:56.579
 just repent

00:40:56.579 --> 00:40:57.239
 and move

00:40:57.239 --> 00:40:57.659
 on.

00:40:58.299 --> 00:40:58.980
 Know that

00:40:58.980 --> 00:40:59.699
 you're accepted

00:40:59.699 --> 00:41:00.480
 in this

00:41:00.480 --> 00:41:01.179
 faith family,

00:41:01.259 --> 00:41:01.579
 that we

00:41:01.579 --> 00:41:02.639
 love you.

00:41:03.239 --> 00:41:03.799
 We want to

00:41:03.799 --> 00:41:04.380
 lead each

00:41:04.380 --> 00:41:05.259
 other in

00:41:05.259 --> 00:41:05.500
 truth.

00:41:05.679 --> 00:41:06.360
 This is one

00:41:06.360 --> 00:41:06.799
 thing.

00:41:06.900 --> 00:41:07.420
 There are so

00:41:07.420 --> 00:41:08.000
 many other

00:41:08.000 --> 00:41:08.799
 things we need

00:41:08.799 --> 00:41:09.299
 to be talking

00:41:09.299 --> 00:41:09.480
 about.

00:41:09.539 --> 00:41:09.860
 There's so

00:41:09.860 --> 00:41:10.400
 much other

00:41:10.400 --> 00:41:11.360
 sin we need

00:41:11.360 --> 00:41:11.940
 to be working

00:41:11.940 --> 00:41:13.059
 out in our

00:41:13.059 --> 00:41:13.659
 body together.

00:41:13.759 --> 00:41:14.179
 This is just

00:41:14.179 --> 00:41:15.259
 one part of a

00:41:15.259 --> 00:41:16.179
 greater process

00:41:16.179 --> 00:41:16.659
 of living

00:41:16.659 --> 00:41:17.940
 together as a

00:41:17.940 --> 00:41:19.299
 community of

00:41:19.299 --> 00:41:19.679
 faith.

00:41:21.059 --> 00:41:21.799
 We're going to

00:41:21.799 --> 00:41:22.179
 fail.

00:41:22.360 --> 00:41:23.340
 I am confident

00:41:23.340 --> 00:41:23.840
 that in our

00:41:23.840 --> 00:41:24.900
 discussions and

00:41:24.900 --> 00:41:25.300
 in the things

00:41:25.300 --> 00:41:25.760
 we do,

00:41:26.019 --> 00:41:26.440
 we're going

00:41:26.440 --> 00:41:26.700
 to get

00:41:26.700 --> 00:41:27.380
 prideful.

00:41:27.840 --> 00:41:28.160
 We're going

00:41:28.160 --> 00:41:28.360
 to have to

00:41:28.360 --> 00:41:28.960
 repent of

00:41:28.960 --> 00:41:29.280
 that.

00:41:29.960 --> 00:41:30.460
 We're just

00:41:30.460 --> 00:41:30.760
 going to get

00:41:30.760 --> 00:41:31.559
 mad at each

00:41:31.559 --> 00:41:31.860
 other.

00:41:32.079 --> 00:41:32.780
 I hope not,

00:41:32.880 --> 00:41:33.420
 but I bet it

00:41:33.420 --> 00:41:34.019
 happens.

00:41:34.820 --> 00:41:35.500
 Praise God

00:41:35.500 --> 00:41:36.000
 that for all

00:41:36.000 --> 00:41:36.680
 these things,

00:41:37.099 --> 00:41:37.700
 there's grace

00:41:37.700 --> 00:41:38.800
 upon grace

00:41:38.800 --> 00:41:39.800
 upon grace,

00:41:39.920 --> 00:41:40.780
 infinite grace

00:41:40.780 --> 00:41:41.660
 given to those

00:41:41.660 --> 00:41:42.639
 who are His.

00:41:43.180 --> 00:41:44.039
 We have been

00:41:44.039 --> 00:41:45.519
 redeemed in

00:41:45.519 --> 00:41:46.820
 Christ.

00:41:47.000 --> 00:41:47.740
 As such,

00:41:47.880 --> 00:41:48.559
 our natural

00:41:48.559 --> 00:41:49.440
 response should

00:41:49.440 --> 00:41:49.900
 want to be

00:41:49.900 --> 00:41:50.840
 obedience,

00:41:51.059 --> 00:41:51.920
 discipleship.

00:41:52.039 --> 00:41:52.440
 This is what

00:41:52.440 --> 00:41:53.180
 Mark's pressing

00:41:53.180 --> 00:41:53.639
 us to,

00:41:53.960 --> 00:41:54.380
 that we would

00:41:54.380 --> 00:41:54.820
 follow,

00:41:54.900 --> 00:41:55.180
 Jesus,

00:41:55.559 --> 00:41:56.599
 with all

00:41:56.599 --> 00:41:57.639
 that we

00:41:57.639 --> 00:41:57.840
 are.

00:41:58.460 --> 00:41:58.900
 Let's pray

00:41:58.900 --> 00:41:59.180
 together.