1

BE YE HOLY Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance; but as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy, for I am holy (1 Pet. 1:13-16). Peter is quoting a series of passages, from Leviticus (11:44,45; 19:2; 20:7,26; 21:8). After the verses cited above, Peter reminds the believers that they have been redeemed by the blood of Christ out of their former useless way of life (1 Pet. 1:18,19), so as to be a holy nation, a purchased people, kings and priests who have been delivered out of darkness into light (2:9,10). The basic ideas of both the Old and New Testament words for holy (Hebrew kadesh and Greek hagios) are quite similar: they signify set apart, pure, sanctified. This process of being called out to form a distinct community or congregation is the means by which the ecclesia is formed. Under Christs law, the ecclesia is to be a congregation of called out and set-apart ones. They are to be a city set on a hill, an island of light in a sea of darkness (Matt. 5:14-16), harmless and blameless in the midst of a crooked and perverse people (Phil. 2:14,15). Their holiness is to be not merely one established by physical barriers between themselves and that which is unholy (such as was the essence of the Law of Moses), but it is to be a spiritual separation and preparation of mind, attitude and conduct. 1 Peter 1:16 is an echo of Matthew 5:48: Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. The word perfect (again, both in Hebrew and Greek) means to be complete or finished, as a perfect heart one that is whole and undivided in its loyalties, and complete in its integrity. A consideration of holiness, therefore, leads us naturally to Christs Sermon on the Mount: the living heart of the Truth. If ye love me, said the Master, keep my commandments. And here they are: prayer, selfdenial, loving ones enemies, giving, preaching. Be ye therefore perfect. Does Christ really expect us to be perfect? What he does require is that we exert every effort in that direction. He requires no more than the very best we can do, but he expects no less. His words leave us absolutely no excuse for relaxing our efforts at any point short of perfection, or complete holiness. The great example is God Himself, awesome as that example may be: Be ye holy, for I am holy. Be ye perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect. Holiness is both a state of mind and a series of acts. It cannot be one without the other. Growing complacent in our reliance on the mercy of God, we may come to accept holiness as nothing but a state of mind a vague feeling of righteousness without being over-concerned with deeds, because after all Christ can forgive and has forgiven us! It is true that Christ can and will forgive, and that salvation is by grace. But our works our acts of holiness are the only means of putting ourselves in the position where we may hope for forgiveness when we fail. The crucial truth is that God will not forgive our shortcomings unless we are seriously striving for holiness and perfection! Making Provision for the Flesh It is common, however, for man to offer objections (even if subconsciously, and only to himself) to a life of practical holiness. Such objections fall into several categories: (1) All people fall short of perfection and holiness, so I am content with my failings. But the question should not be: Is absolute perfection possible? but rather: Do I come as near perfect holiness as sincere intention and careful effort can take me? Jesus has said, Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able (Luke 13:24). Many will at the last fail to obtain salvation, not because they made no effort, but because they did not make effort enough! (2) I am so much better than most people; surely that is enough. This of course was the common mistake of the Pharisee, concerned as he was with the outward appearance. But it may be our mistake also. Are we, perhaps, better than the world in externals only? A little more Bible reading? more regular attendance at church meetings? a little more care in refraining from the grosser and more obvious sins? Such a self-perception may be terribly dangerous, because it can lull us into a complacent, sleepy satisfaction. And we shall find at last that we have been no more than white-wash jobs!: Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead mens bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and ini-quity (Matt. 23:27,28).

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(3) Love is the important thing; works are secondary. But Jesus has said, If ye love me, keep my commandments. Where in the Bible is love an emotion, and not an action? What is love, after all, if it is not obedience? Can disobedience be a manifestation of love? Seeking Christs Mind It is evident, then, that Scriptural holiness is the mind of Christ, assimilated to ourselves (Phil. 2:5). To the degree we make his mind ours, we are united and single and perfect in our loyalties (Matt. 6:21-24). Life is too short to serve two masters, whether it be God and business, or God and gardening, or God and physical fitness. Holiness, then, involves the first step of choosing the Kingdom. If we have not chosen first the kingdom of God (v. 33), it will make no difference what we have chosen instead! Is this last statement true? Will it really make no difference whether we choose drugs, or a business promotion? Whether we choose politics, or football? Money, or family? A life of fornication, or a life of public service? Whether we choose, in short, the disreputable, obviously unworthy pursuits or the respectable, society-pleasing pursuits? Surely it will make no difference that really matters, for we will have missed the purpose for which we were formed, and rejected the one thing that has any lasting value. Does it matter to a man dying in the desert, by which wrong road he missed the only well? A Constant, Consistent Effort It has been well said that ecclesial membership does not make one a Christadelphian any more than owning a piano makes one a musician. There must also be a constant, consistent effort toward the holiness exemplified by Jesus expressed in both its positive and negative aspects. The story is told of an old man, an accomplished artist, who was applying the finishing touches to a sculpture. He kept filing, scraping, and polishing every little surface of his masterpiece. When will it be done? asked an impatient observer. Never, came the reply. I just keep working and working until they come and take it away. And so it should be with our lives: we must continue working toward that perfection of holiness, never achieving it but at the same time never ceasing our efforts until Christ comes to tell us that our work is finished. Can We Have the Best of Both Worlds? Acts 5 records the sad tale of Ananias and Sapphira, early disciples who pretended to be something more than they were. Caught between two worlds, desiring to have one foot in each, imperfect in their devotions, they lied to the Holy Spirit. They kept back part of the sale price of their possessions, and were struck dead for their pains. We have sold the old man and laid the proceeds at the feet of Jesus. Have we also kept back part of the price? I will do this and that for Jesus and then Surely, if the cross of Christ is worth anything, it is worth everything. Surely, if Jesus is the Son of God, we must serve him and him alone. Surely, if we recognize that we need the cure for sin and death, we must sign up for the full treatment. Surely, there can be, in this war, no battles of containment or limited objectives, but a fight to the finish: Be ye holy, as I am holy. Be ye perfect, as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. That demands our complete dedication. Others May! You Cannot! If God has called you to be really like Jesus in all your spirit, He will draw you into a life of crucifixion and humility, and put on you such demands of obedience, that He will not allow you to follow other Christians, and in many ways He will seem to let other good people do things which He will not let you do. Other Christians may push themselves forward, pull strings, and work schemes to carry out their plans, but you cannot do it; and attempting it, you will meet with such failure and rebuke from the Lord as to make you sorely penitent. Others may brag on themselves, on their work, on their successes; but the power of Gods spirit will not allow you to do any such thing. And if you begin it, He will lead you into some deep mortification that will make you despise yourself and all your good works. Others will be allowed to succeed in making money, or in having a legacy left to them, or in having luxuries, but it is likely God will keep you poor, because He wants you to have something far better than gold: a helpless dependence on Him, that He may supply your needs day by day out of an unseen treasury. The Lord will let others be honored, and put forward, and keep you hidden away in obscurity, because He wants to produce fruit for His coming glory, which can only be produced in the shade. He will let others be great, but keep you small. He will let others do a work for Him, and get the credit for it, but He will make you work and toil on without knowing how much you are doing. And then to make your work more precious still, He will let others get the credit for the work you have done, and this will make your reward ten times greater when Jesus returns. He will put a strict watch over you, with a jealous love, and will rebuke you for little words and feelings or for wasting your time, which other Christians never seem something else for myself. If we have taught ourselves to think this way as a matter of course, then we will never be holy. We will never even be really happy. The natural man, like a little parasite, just will not quite let go. The less he is fed, the more he will complain and make a muisance of himself until he is truly killed!

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distressed over. So make up your mind that God is an infinite Sovereign, and has a right to do as He pleases with His own, and that He will not explain to you a thousand things which may puzzle your reason in His dealings with you. He will take you at your word; and if you absolutely sell yourself to be His slave, He will wrap you up in a jealous love, and let other people say and do many things that you cannot say or do. Settle it forever, that you are to deal directly with Him, and that He is to have the privilege of tying your tongue, or chaining your hand, or closing your eyes, in ways that He does not use with others. And then, when you are so possessed with the living God that you are, in your secret heart, pleased and delighted over this peculiar, personal, private, jealous guardianship and management by Gods Spirit in your life, then, and only then, will you have found the key to the Kingdom of God!

16. Courtship CORINTH

LETTERS: CITY. IN

WAS

VERY AND

WICKED IMPLIED

SPECIFICALLY

STATED

THE

THIS IS BOTH CORINTHIAN

BODY

(1
THE WORLD RELATIONS. OR

COR.
AROUND US HOW THINKS CAN

6:20).
NOTHING IT WHEN OF IT

OF
TO YOU IN MY LETTER YOU NOT TO ASSOCIATE TO GO

COURSE,

PREMARITAL

INDEED,

I
OF OUT

WROTE THIS

TOLERATES SO ONE AMONG

ENCOURAGES

INTERCOURSE

BETWEEN ONLY

THOSE FOR BY

WITH IMMORAL MEN; NOT AT ALL MEANING THE IMMORAL WORLD...SINCE THE THEN WOULD NEED OF WORLD

WHO HAVE NO INTENTION TO MARRY? US. IS FOR

BUT

IT SHOULD NOT BE AND MIND

INTERCOURSE
AN EXPRESSION PERSON. JOY OF BEING ONE FROM

IS OF

INTENDED HEART

(1

COR.

5:10).

MARRIAGE DESTROY INTIMACY, BOND AND

AND THE

PERSON

THIS COR.

LETTER WHICH TODAY. SHOULD

REREADING BELIEVERS

PAUL WROTE TO IT SETS OUT SHUN, OR FLEE

THESE CONVERTS NEEDS SEVEN FROM, REASONS IMMORALITY WHY

PROPER

APART

PREMARITAL RELATIONS MARRIAGE. INDISCRIMINATE WHOLLY UN-CHRISTIAN AND

AFTER OF OF MARRIAGE. BEHAVIOR

(1 6:18):
THE THE

LOOSE, MAKES NONSENSE OF THE SANCTITY OF THE MARRIAGE ENCOURAGES THE UNFAITHFULNESS PRECEPTS

RIGHT (1) THE KINGDOM

IMMORAL OF WILL BE YOU EXCLUDED NOT KNOW FROM THAT

BEHAVIOR BEGINS IN THE MIND.

CHRISTIAN

FOLLOWS

CHRIST. GOD

GOD: DO

UNRIGHTEOUS WILL NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF WILL CP. INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF

GOD? DO

THE THERE FAITH, ONES

CALL

NOT BE DECEIVED; NEITHER THE IMMORAL...NOR ADULTERERS

GAL.

GOD (1 COR. 6:9,10; 5:19-21).

IS LITTLE HARM IN MAKING FRIENDSHIPS OUTSIDE THE IF TWO THINGS ARE THOROUGHLY CLEAR AND FIRM IN MIND.

(2)

YOU WERE SEPARATED FROM IMMORALITY AT BAPTISM: YOU HAVE BEEN WASHED...SEPARATED...AND JUSTIFIED (1 COR. 6:11). (3) YOUR
YOU AND ARE THE NOT IS BODY FREE NOT BELONGS TO FOR FOR WILL DO

THE

BODY

LORD
BODY YOUR

LORD: THEREFORE WITH YOUR BODY: FORNICATION, BUT FOR THE LORD, THE BODY (1 COR. 6:13).
TO THE AS YOU WISH BE BY THE THE SUBJECT OF BY A FUTURE

CALLED YOU OUT OF THE SPECTRUM OF THIS LIGHT INCLUDES THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD AND OF JESUS, THE AWARENESS OF HIS KINDNESS AND SEVERITY, AND THE REVELATION OF HIS TRUTH. GOD CALLED US TO THIS LIGHT AND WE OBEYED HIS CALL. THIS IS THE IMPORTANT FACTOR. PAUL WROTE THAT UPON THOSE WHO DO NOT OBEY THE TRUTH WOULD COME INDIGNATION AND WRATH.
THAT HAS DARKNESS INTO HIS MARVELLOUS LIGHT.

FIRST,

GOD

(4) THE
WILL RAISE

THIS THUS
THE

CALL

OF

GOD

MUST

BE

KEPT TO

FIRMLY

IN

MIND, TO

FOR

RESURRECTION:

GOD
BODY

WHO RAISED

CHRIST

SAME

HIS POWER POWER (1 COR.

UPON FAITHFULNESS TO IT DEPENDS ONES ETERNAL FUTURE. EVERYTHING MUST A YIELD ONES LOYALTY

GOD
AND THIS:

6:14). (5) YOUR

NOT KNOW BODY THAT IS A MEMBER ARE OF

AND TO

JESUS,

EVEN AN AFFAIR OF THE HEART REALITY.

THAT IS IF

FAITH

IS

JESUS
ABOUT

WAS

CLEAR

YOUR

BODIES

CHRIST: DO YOU MEMBERS OF CHRIST?

UNCOMPROMISING

(1 COR. 6:15). IMMORAL UNIONS VIOLATE THE ONENESS WITH CHRIST. THE BELIEVER IS ONE SPIRIT WITH HIS SAVIOR. THE ONE SPIRIT IS A ONENESS IN THINKING AND ATTITUDE (JOHN 17). YOU CANNOT BE OF ONE SPIRIT WITH THE SAVIOR AND OF ONE FLESH BY UNION WITH AN IMMORAL PERSON (1 COR. 6:16). (6)
BODY

HE
IS

THAT

LOVETH OF MORE EACH WILL WHY THINGS

FATHER ME: ME

OR IS HIS IS

MOTHER THAT NOT OWN HER)

MORE LOVETH

THAN SON OF

ME OR

NOT

WORTHY

AND

HE

DAUGHTER

THAN WILL

WORTHY CLOSE

ME.

OBVIOUSLY
AND MAKE EACH SURE

LOVE HIS FOR THAT

RELATIVES ABOVE FOR

LOVE WAIT

(OR
HIS

SWEETHEART AND

THAT

NEITHER

ELEVATED COMING ARE

BUT JESUS.
THE US?

FORNICATION (1 YOU
ARE

IS

SIN

AGAINST

ONES

OWN

OTHERWISE
GREAT

ALL

COR.
YOUR OWN:

6:18). YOU
HAVE BEEN

PROMISED BE CLEAR IS

(7)

NOT

THE

SECOND

FACT

THAT

NEEDS

TO

THAT

PURCHASED WITH A PRICE; THEREFORE GLORIFY

GOD

IN YOUR

WHOEVER HAS NOT OBEYED THE TRUTH IS STILL IN DARKNESS

4
IN

GODS

SIGHT.

THIS

IS

HIS

JUDGMENT, AND

NOT

OURS. A

SO WHEN
WERE WORDS THE TOLD

HOWEVER

CHARMING,

TENDER,

KIND

GENTLE

PERSON

ISRAELITES
THAT WHICH THEY

WERE

DELIVERED NOT

FROM

EGYPT

THEY

MAY BE, HE

(OR SHE) IS IN DARKNESS UNTIL THE TRUTH HAS BEEN OBEYED. GOD WANTS ALL THESE ATTRIBUTES IN A PERSON, BUT THEY MUST BE THE QUALITIES OF A PERSON OBEDIENT TO HIM. IF
ONE MEETS AND IS ATTRACTED TO SOMEONE WHO IS NOT IT IS ALSO

SHOULD ARE

MAKE

MARRIAGES TODAY:

WITH THE PEOPLES OF

CANAAN. MOSES

GAVE THE REASON IN

RELEVANT

THY
NOR OF THE MUTUAL

DAUGHTER THOU SHALT NOT GIVE UNTO HIS SON, DAUGHTER WILL THEY SHALT AWAY MAY THOU THY TAKE SON UNTO FROM THY SON. TURN FOLLOWING GODS...

HIS

FAITH,

WHAT IS ONE TO DO? IS NOT ONLY

FIRST

REMEMBER THAT

ATTRACTION

PHYSICAL,

FOR ME, PAUL DO

WHAT

THEY THAT

SERVE

OTHER

INTELLECTUAL. AND

THERE

WILL BE SIMILAR INTERESTS IN BOOKS,

ART, MUSIC, GAMES AND HOBBIES. VIOLENCE, RACIAL SO STRUGGLES, FINE WHO, WHEN MANY

AND

IN A WORLD OF HATE AND POLITICAL DREAD TO A THE PEOPLE

HAD MUCH THE SAME THING TO SAY WHEN HE WROTE: NOT BE MISMATED HAVE HAS WITH LIGHT UNBELIEVERS. AND WITH

DISCRIMINATION YOUNG AND AND SWEEP START

FOR

WHAT

FUTURE WITH ITS THREAT OF NUCLEAR WARFARE, ONE HAS A OPPORTUNITY SUPREME THROUGH IS THE REASONABLY IN TO TO IS TACTFULLY LOYALTY THESE A TO REVEAL ONES INTEREST

PARTNERSHIP ACCORD BELIEVER HAS IN

RIGHTEOUSNESS WITH

INIQUITY? WHAT

FELLOWSHIP

DARKNESS?

OR WHAT
A

JESUS,

HERE

PLACE

FATHER AWAY. RELATIONSHIP.

THINGS IN THE BE JOIN AND FRIENDSHIP, SHOULD TO

CHRIST

BELIAL? OR
WITH AN

HAS

COMMON

UNBELIEVER?

MARRIAGE, THIS INTRODUCTION OF ONES SPIRITUAL FAITH SHOULD BE MADE AT THE START
AND YOU ITS AT OVERWHELMING IMPORTANCE CAN TO BE AND EMPHASIZED. YOUR SISTERS, INTEREST OF A YOU THE SYMPATHY, LEARNED. WILL BE

PROPERLY UNDERSTOOD AND LIVED, IS A PART OF FELLOWSHIP UNDERSTANDING IN AND WHICH LOVE, CAN PATIENCE, BE TRULY SERVICE

DIVINE

FOR THE THE THE

HAPPY
THE

IS THE COUPLE FROM WHOM THESE FLOW TO ETERNAL BLESSING THE THE WITH OF THE OF

IF

YOUR SO

FRIEND

PERSUADED

THE REST OF THE HOUSEHOLD OF FAITH, FOR THEIR REWARD

MEETINGS

MEET

BROTHERS

FATHER. ALIEN
NOT

MUCH OUTSIDE

BETTER.

IN THE
DANGER HOPE OF OF FRIENDSHIPS THE

BEING

PREPARED LIKE

AGAINST

PROBLEM LORD

FAITH
MAY THE

IS NOT

THAT BE

MARRIAGE, IT IS NOT SUFFICIENT MERELY TO QUOTE ONE OR TWO PASSAGES SEE IS OF

ONES

COMING BY THE

KINGDOM
THOUGHT OF OF BE

ONLY

IN

AND

BE
IS

REVEALED UNTIL ONE IS EMOTIONALLY AND DEEPLY INVOLVED WHEN, FRIGHTENED POSSIBLE OF TO IS CONSEQUENCES OF MARRIAGE OUT OF THE EVERY THE EFFORT TO PERSUADE CAN A HE AT TOLD SUCH THE FRIEND

UNEQUALLY SHOULD GENERAL BOUGHT

YOKED FAR

TOGETHER MORE AND IS A

UNBELIEVERS. THAT. THAT THE

WE
THE WHO THE THE IN

CLEARLY

THAN TO TO WE

IT
TO

FAITH, THE

ONE MAKES

REALIZATION WILFUL AND OUR IT US,

APPRECIATION FAILURE

MARRY

THE MERITS EXPECTED RESPONSE LAST THE

OUTSIDE
LOFTINESS

DISOBEDIENCE

LORD
TO BE

TRUTH. HOW I

(OR

SHE)

UNDERSTAND BE ASSOCIATED WHOLE OF

UNDERSTAND LIKELY TO BE: WASNT EFFORTS TO MAY

LATE

DATE?

CALLING.

WE

ARE

INVITED

WHAT
HAVE

IS ALL THE FUSS ABOUT?

OR WHY
MINUTE FRIEND,

BRIDE
THE

OF

CHRIST. HOW
ONES

THEN IN

CAN

BEFORE? AN

THUS

ONES ON

THE CLOSEST INTIMACY WITH ONE WHO IS NOT A MEMBER OF CALLED-OUT OF

ADVERSE

EFFECT

CHRIST? THE
THIS OUR NECESSARY

THE

RATHER THAN OTHERWISE, AND ONE HAS DONE A DISSERVICE

WORD THE

GOD

REQUIRES ALL

SEPARATENESS. AND

GOD AND Marriage Only in the Lord THE

HIS

TRUTH. LORD
KNOWS CIRCUMSTANCES

HE

ARRANGES THAT WHICH IS BEST FOR US.

IF

IN ALL OUR WAYS

SCRIPTURES ABOUND IN WARNINGS AGAINST ALIEN MARRIAGE: THE SONS OF GOD MARRYING THE DAUGHTERS OF MEN RESULTED AT LAST IN THE FLOOD (GENESIS 6-9). ABRAHAM AND ISAAC, FAITHFUL SOJOURNERS LOOKING FOR THE KINGDOM, OPPOSED SUCH MARRIAGES FOR THEIR SONS (24:3; 28:1). THE LAW OF MOSES FORBADE THE YOKING TOGETHER OF THE CLEAN OX AND THE UNCLEAN ASS (DEUT. 22:10). MOSES SAID TO TAKE NO ALIEN SPOUSES (DEUT. 7:3,8). SOLOMONS ALIEN WIVES TURNED HIS HEART FROM GOD (1 KINGS 11:1-11). EZRA (CH. 9;10) AND NEHEMIAH (13:23-29) TELL US OF THE EVILS OF SUCH ALLIANCES, AND PAUL HAS STRESSED THE DEVIATION OF SUCH A UNION (2 COR. 6:14-18). THOSE
BE AND WHO MUST ARE ONLY COURTING THAT IT IS WHEN OR ARE THE CONTEMPLATING HAPPINESS IS NO UNITY CAN OF AND

WE ACKNOWLEDGE IN THE THE

HIM, HE
WAIT US CAN FIND THAT

WILL DIRECT OUR PATHS. PATIENTLY FINALLY FOR

REST
THE THEE THE BEST WERE PASS.

LORD
OF

AND

HIM
WILL IN ARE

AND GIVE IN

PSALMIST LORD,
FOR US BETTER,

ASSURES THEN IN WE WE THE

HE

DESIRES

THINE

HEART. REST

IF

WE

THUS THAT

REST

ASSURED

WHATEVER THE TO

CIRCUMSTANCES THEN

OURSELVES,

THOSE

THE

ULTIMATE.

IF

OTHER BRING

CONDITIONS THEM

LORD

WOULD

IT MAY BE, PERHAPS, THAT LORD KNOWS. IF, ON THE

WILL THE SEE TO IT THAT THE

CELIBACY IS BEST FOR US OTHER PROPER HAND, MARRIAGE

THE A

WITH

TRUE COMPANION IS THE BETTER CONDITION, THEN THE PARTNER HANDS HANDS, IT IS

SOMETIMES
WHOLE THERE.

SUCH COMES TO PASS LATER ON MATTER ALL, IN THE DONT IT IN

LORD COMES ALONG. IN LIFE. PLACE

AND LEAVE IT THE RUSH DONT THE

LORDS
TRY TO

ABOVE
AFTER INTO A

SHORT-CIRCUIT

MARRIAGE

REMEMBER SHOW

COMPLETE

ACHIEVED

IN

LORD. HISTORY GOD

LORD:
HASTILY DOING.

PUTTING THE

HIS

MARRIAGE

PRETENDING

LORDS
IS THE EYES.

EXPERIENCE

THAT

WHERE

THERE

THOUGHT AND PURPOSE, WHETHER IT BE BETWEEN

WHEN

LORD
IT

MOVES IN THE MATTER THERE WILL

ISRAEL, CHRIST AND THE ECCLESIA, OR BETWEEN A HUSBAND AND WIFE, THERE MAY FOLLOW A BREAK IN FELLOWSHIP AND UNITY. HOW COULD IT BE OTHERWISE? THAT IS THE SADNESS AND THE TRAGEDY OF DIVORCE OR SEPARATION.

BE NO MISTAKING IT, AND THEN ONE MAY SAY:

THIS
OUR

LORDS

DOING,

AND

IS

MARVELLOUS

IN

5
BEING MARRIED
TO AN

UNBELIEVER

But to the rest speak I, not the Lord: If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away. And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband...But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace. For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife? (1 Cor. 7:12-16). In this section of his letter to the Corinthians, Paul is answering questions from the ecclesia (7:1). Therefore we need to reconstruct the original questions which were put to him. The believers had probably asked something like: What is the position of a man or woman already married under Gentile law at the time of his or her baptism? Is he or she to be considered by the ecclesia as a married person? Or should the marriage entered into before learning the Truth be considered no marriage at all? If this is the case, can such a new brother or sister take steps to end the legal union and leave the unbelieving partner? In a situation like that described in Acts, where many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized (Acts 18:8), there would inevitably be a number of cases where one mate accepted the Truth but the other did not. How were they to react in this difficult situation? We note that the apostle describes the unbelieving partner as a wife or a husband who believes not. That is to say, he regards the brother or sister concerned as being truly and properly married to their partner, no matter under what situation or what law the ceremony had been performed. This ought therefore to be the attitude of the ecclesia in the matter. If two people are regarded as married by generally accepted law, then the ecclesia should also recognize them as married with all the Scriptural implications that such recognition carries with it. Thus the apostle lays upon the one believing partner in such a case exactly the same obligations to maintain the union (vv. 12,13) as he has previously laid upon two believing partners (vv. 10,11). The baptism of one partner in an existing marriage

does not give that one any authority or right to seek to terminate the marriage. In fact, the apostle Paul teaches the very opposite: the believing partner should use the marriage relationship (and the practical application of the spiritual lessons of marriage), even in trying circumstances, in such a way as to seek to bring the other to salvation(V.16) 18. MARRIAGE FAMILY LIFE

AND

It must be remembered that marriage is the most exalted parable of the spiritual relationship between Christ and the Church, his Bride: Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church for we are members of his body. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This is a profound mystery but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband (Eph. 5:2233). Marriage was never intended by God merely to be an end in itself, however great its benefits. Rather it is intended to be a living parable or replica of the relationship of Christ and the ecclesia, or church. It ought to be the ideal of every marriage to reflect the relationship of Christ to his bride the ecclesia. Is this what others see when they look at your marriage? Can they see the pattern of Christ and the ecclesia one in which the headship of the husband is respected and the submission of the wife practiced; one in which the wife is nourished and cherished being herself holy and without spot and blemish?

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This ideal is in marked contrast to the breakdown of marriage in the world around us. Nearly all Western societies are experiencing an increase in divorce rates. Educators and social workers are attempting to pick up the pieces from the broken homes. The task is immense and growing. Many of these children end up in special education classes with learning problems; others find their way into detention homes, and later into drug rehabilitation clinics or worse. These problems are the result of a world that does not know God. For the disciple there is a better way. Marriage is not a temporary arrangement until something better comes along. Many of the mistakes of yesterday we can, in part, correct, but marriage is not like changing a job or trading in a car. It is a lifelong relationship. The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth (1 Cor. 7:39). For this reason marriage should never be undertaken lightly, nor without a commitment to its lifelong permanence. The relationship of Christ and the ecclesia as a pattern for marriage provides a continuing exhortation to right conduct. Does Christ betray the ecclesia? Is he unreliable so that the ecclesia cannot trust him? Does the true bride take another husband? Far from being unfaithful, Christ continually seeks the wellbeing of the ecclesia; and the true ecclesia for its part steadfastly remains loyal to him. God sets before us a pattern to be followed, an ideal for which to strive. He has designed that two might become one, one in concern for the others welfare, one in submission to the others need, one in objective in raising a godly family. He requires a binding together in holiness and humility, a uniting epitomized by a total loyalty in their physical union, a uniting that reflects in its beauty the uniting of His Son with his own beloved. When Gods perspective is appreciated, His concern for the state of the mind in this matter is understood. As a yearning in our thoughts after mammon is called covetousness, which is idolatry (Col. 3:5), so a seeking in our hearts after another partner is adultery (Matt. 5:28). We are to have our hearts set on a right course, with our eyes looking to the ideal pattern and desiring in our inner man to emulate it. Right conduct in this matter is to be more than outward compliance. It is to be governed by more than fear of ecclesial censure or public shame or financial complication. Right conduct is a matter of recognizing and controlling even our thoughts, as we earnestly strive to live out a relationship that reflects the pattern of Christ and the ecclesia. Woman was taken from mans side... ot from his head to rule over him, not from his foot to be trodden down, but from his side to be his companion, from under his arm to be protected, from near his heart to be loved.