June 18, 2007 8:23 PM The Truth About Divorce
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May 2004Biblical Grace vs. Divorce & Remarriage There is great distress in our nation as we watch all that has been sacred being desecrated, all in the name of “freedom and equal rights.” Much of the Church and our government are calling evil good and good evil. The clear lines of right and wrong have been blurred almost beyond distinction. When you try to insert some logical reasoning into the formula you are told you are being “judgmental and phobic;” and don’t understand God’s amazing grace. If only we understood the Grace of God, we would be more accepting. It is actually our judgmentalism that is causing all the distress in our society; not the destruction of all former moral standards as we have always known them. It is this “Grace of God” we need to examine and see if this accusation is true. So many times I have been told I have totally left out “the Grace of God” in my teachings. Let’s examine the true Biblical Grace of God and see if this is true.Romans 6:1 “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid, How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Here we are told we are not to live as we once did that we might manifest the true Grace of God. We are not to continue in it. Paul the Apostle said in II Corinthians 5:17; “Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new.”The word “passed away” in the Greek is aorist: “did pass away,: while our English idiom uses the perfect: “have passed away.” What Paul is saying here is, if we are truly saved, the old lifestyles are entirely discarded, and “all things are become new.” We aren’t the way we were, and will never be again! IF we are In Christ! This is the Holy Spirit’s answer for those who would say we can keep on sinning even though we are truly born again. If we do keep on, we are not walking in grace. Another portion of scripture regarding Grace is found in Titus 2:11-15. This portion does not describe, legalism, bondage or the Law. This portion speaks of “The grace of God that bringeth salvation” Now that’s the kind of Grace we need to heed, and not the sloppy agape so many are using to excuse all kinds of unscriptural behavior. What does this kind of grace bring? It teaches us to “Deny ungodliness..” What does that mean? What is ungodliness? If Godliness is God likeness; (Be ye holy even as the Lord your God is holy.”), What constitutes UNGodliness? Whatever is unlike God. Paul tells us to “deny ungodliness.” That means we are to utterly disown anything that is not like God. Inasmuch as this ministry emphasizes the ungodly practice of divorce and remarriage within the Church today, being promoted as one of the lifestyles covered by the Grace of God, we want to investigate to see if scripturally, it is an ungodly practice. Scripture clearly teaches God is married to Israel. (Jeremiah 3) God tells Israel how they have committed whoredoms and adulteries against Him over and over and how He has given them a “bill of divorcement.” This tell us how one can be Godly and divorce. God goes on to say, after the bill of divorcement, “vs.12, “Return thou backsliding Israel.” In verse 14, God shows us His way concerning a marriage relationship: (Turn, O backslideing children, saith the Lord; for I am married (Not Was married) I AM married unto you…” God was, and even after giving a certificate of divorce, says He is still married to Israel. If we are to be Godly like God Himself, we must realize it is UN-Godly to divorce and remarry. God didn’t: He is waiting to forgive His Bride even after all of these years, and is waiting for her to repent, be purified, and restored to Himself. If ever we act differently, we are being UN-godly, and we should deny that in our lives. The next phrase in Titus 2: “Worldly Lusts.” The Apostle John, in I John 2:16, says: “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” Whenever our goal in life is to be happy instead of holy, we are headed for spiritual trouble. Whenever we go against the clear teachings of the Word of God to satisfy our own desires, we are walking in the flesh, which ends in spiritual death. This is why Jesus said: “Whosoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery; and whosoever marries her that was put away in that divorce , causes her to commit adultery.” The principle in the Old Testament was to stone the guilty party to death. The New Testament principle is to “Forgive, even as thy Heavenly Father hath forgiven thee.” The first reaction to this thought by many is, “They don’t deserve to be forgiven!” We must quickly renounce such a thought and realize we don’t deserve forgiveness either. It is all the Grace of God, that leads us to true repentance and complete forgiveness.. If God, who is holy, refuses to cast aside His wife, and marry another in spite of her continuous adulteries and Whoredoms; If He is willing to faithfully wait until she repents and returns to Him; for us to do any differently constitutes ungodliness, which we are commanded to “DENY.” In I Thessalonians 4:1-8; Paul says: “Furthermore, then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as you have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: (all form of sexual sins.) That every one of you should know how to possess (have personal control of ) his vessel in sanctification and honour; Not in the lust of concupiscence,(sensual, lustful desires.) even as the Gentiles which know not God: That no man go beyond and defraud (to gain an advantage over, or make a gain of ) his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. For God hath not called us unto (sensual, physical) uncleanness, but unto holiness. He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us His Holy Spirit.” As we teach the permanence of marriage based upon the fact that it is God who causes us to be one flesh for life, through our covenant vows, We must attack the teaching that says God’s grace covers adultery or it is an unpardonable sin. We must remember, it is not the sin we are dealing with. It is the COVENANT! “NO MAN can separate what God has joined together.” God may forgive our rebellion and refusal to obey His eternal Word, but He cannot break the covenant which He declared in the Garden of Eden without violating His own Holiness, Righteousness and Justice. Paul the Apostle, who declared he received his revelation directly from Jesus Christ, said in I Corinthians 6:9 & 10; “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? BE NOT DECEIVED: neitherfornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers,…shall inherit the kingdom of God.” Jesus gave us a clear definition of what constituted an adulterer in Luke 16:18. “Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery.” Paul reaffirmed what Jesus said, and said if anyone preached any other message than this, he should be accursed. Romans 7:1-3: Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law, how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, SHE SHALL BE CALLED AN ADULTERESS: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.” The Scripture couldn’t be clearer. Divorce and remarriage is ungodly and lustful. It is saying God cannot heal my situation, so I will take it into my own hands and correct it. It is saying all things do not work together for good to those who love the Lord. It is doubt and unbelief and REBELLION! Solomon said, in Proverbs 14:12; “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are THE WAYS OF DEATH.” The Bible clearly tells us remarriage is not Godly; It is a covenant man can violate, but never break. Mark 10:9; “What therefore God hath joined (glued) together, let not man put asunder.” (More literally; No man may separate what God has joined together.) That means; no preacher, no judge, no priest, no divorce papers, no adultery, no abandonment; Only death. I Corinthians 7:39; “The wife is bound by the law a long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord.” God’s grace will never violate a covenant, nor violate the eternal, unchangeable Word of God which is “settled forever in the heavens.” God said it, and that settles it. I realize this teaching is very unsettling to many and cause some to get very angry. I had a man read the title of my book and get red in the face. Without having to say anything to him he said, “I am not the least bit interested in what that book has to say. My daughter married a no good bum and finally dumped him. She has now married a fine young man and is happier than she has ever been. No, I am not the least bit interested in what that book probably says.” I asked him if he was the least bit interested in knowing if what his daughter had done was consistent with God’s word and God’s will. He took a step backwards and said; “I am a Christian, but no, I do not want to know anything about that, my daughter is happy and that settles it.” I read some time ago of an evangelist who was having many people being saved every night in a series of meetings. One night, when he left the stage after the service, a group of men involved in inviting him to the meetings were there to talk to him. They told him how thrilled they were about the meetings, but felt they needed to let him know he was rubbing the fur of some very big influential cats in the meetings, the wrong way. His response was a blessing to me. He said, “If my messages are rubbing the fur on those big cats the wrong way, go and tell them to turn around.” How you or I receive this message is not important. What is important is to know our God speaks no unnecessary words, and it will be those words that will judge us in that day. He did not write them to make us miserable, or to punish us. Actually, “His thoughts towards us are continually good.” He wrote them that “we might have life and have it more abundantly.” Grace does not cover an adulterous lifestyle of which we have not repented. To think so is unscriptural presumption. AMEN! ...................................................................... STATEMENT OF PURPOSE WEBB MINISTRIES INC., was born out of a realization that the present day Church has forsaken it’s historical / Biblical position concerning the sanctity of marriage, the home, and family values. Webb Ministries is, therefore, committed by all means possible, to the establishment and restoration of Biblical families. This essential ministry will ONLY succeed as our Lord burdens and motivates other brothers and sisters in Christ, to join us by supporting this ministry. WEBB MINISTRIES INC. is committed to teaching Biblical Principles for Christian Families. This includes: Teaching fathers that God ha placed them in the homes to be loving, yet strong authorities and examples for their children to look up to and emulate; transparent when right or wrong. Men who keep their marriage covenant as a lifetime privilege; who love their wives regardless of their conduct, knowing that this alone will give a sense of well being and security to his family. We teach the husband and wife are one flesh in God’s sight, and they must strive everyday to become of one mind and spirit as they raise their families for the glory of God. In this way, as they walk together undivided, respecting each other, and preserving a united front, their children will learn scriptural authority and how to respond to God’s authority in their lives. We teach and believe faith and repentance are essential for a genuine salvation experience. Repentance means we agree with God and His assessment of our sins. If God calls it sin, so must we, by name, and renounce and forsake it in Jesus’ name. Then we can know genuine freedom from our past and victory in our daily lives. We teach the truly successful Christian life is not necessarily one of prosperity or poverty, but rather one that gratefully practices genuine Biblical Principles everyday, and allows the Lord to decide how He will use us, or where He will place us in His perfect will. We also teach Biblical order in the home:
We believe these truths, if followed consistently, will revolutionize the Church, and make it the light and salt our Lord Jesus declared it should be. We believe if our churches were filled with such families, our nation would see a genuine Holy Ghost revival. ......................................................................... AN EXCITING MINISTRY UPDATE Not only have we had opportunity to conduct more radio interviews and extensive counseling by phone and E mail, but we have had more doors of opportunity open to share this message around the country. In April we attended a Holiness Convention in Dayton, OH where close to five thousand attended. We, for the first time ever, set up a booth and handed out free literature to thousands who have never heard of Webb Ministries before. Many asked questions and requested to be placed on our mailing list. In May we just returned from Garden Grove, CA where we attended a Men’s Leadership Conference, with approximately four hundred men from all over the U.S., New Zealand, Korea, and Europe. Each received free literature and many came back to ask more questions about marriage. It was exciting to be able to reach out to many future leaders who have never heard this truth. We are asking the Lord to allow us, financially, to attend approximately six such conventions this year besides our regular number of seminars. Please pray with us about this. We have already passed out over ten thousand dollars worth of materials and believe the Lord will give the increase. Next month I will be conducting a seminar in CO where we are expected to have from one hundred to two hundred in attendance. Most of these folk will have never heard this teaching before. Please pray for us that many will be convinced and begin to help us in this crucial and vital message and ministry. In July I will be teaching for five days on Biblical Principles for Christian Families, in PA. We will be in a large church and teaching adults how to function biblically in their daily lives. We covet your prayers! In August we are tentatively planning a seminar in Ottowa, Canada with a group I have never met personally before. This will not be a large group, but they are hungry to hear this truth to share with others. We have several other potential seminars on the books but they have not been totally confirmed yet. While our world is sliding downhill very rapidly, the Lord is opening more doors of opportunity to share this truth. May I say again; There is no more important message. If the family fails, the nation will fail. If this generation does not get it’s act together concerning biblical families, we won’t have another chance. George Barna recently took a survey and found 75-85% of all born again, church attending teenagers, quit going to church within two years of graduating from high school. Can you grasp the enormity of that statement? Almost 8 out of every 10 young people in our churches today will not be attending within two years of graduating from High School. Where are we missing it? In our homes! If we ever needed to push forward with this message, it is now. We are praying many more of you will help support this work on a monthly basis to allow us to expand our outreach and influence all over the world. We ask you to pray and ask the Lord if you should be a partner with us. Webb Ministries has been in existence for 21 years and has increased our outreach every year. We are now on the Internet (bibleandmarriage.com) and upgrading all of our cassette tapes onto CDs since most new vehicles are no longer equipped with cassette players, but CD players. This transition is a very expensive and time consuming one but we are progressing every month.. We will soon have a list of CDs available to you. |
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