tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28988815.post8532766680385136693..comments2023-08-15T06:44:05.705-05:00Comments on Pure Church: The Cost of Following Jesus: Helping Andy and AngelaFellowElderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08590139703839397873noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28988815.post-45101314403995997392009-12-20T12:45:27.253-05:002009-12-20T12:45:27.253-05:00Wow.
My situation is exactly like Angela's ex...Wow.<br /><br />My situation is exactly like Angela's except that my ex-wife has knows the gospel of God and the Scriptures better than 90% of Christians (not an exaggeration) and she has outright rejected the gospel of God.<br /><br />Her words:<br />"I am not seeking redemption from God. I am running away from God. I believe that I can do enough good to make myself right-standing with God despite what the Bible says."<br /><br />Endquote.<br /><br />She is not a believer. I have been saved since then.<br /><br />What can I do in this case? <br /><br />For me, it comes down to the doctrine of election. I don't know if she will be saved. Yet, God does. Because my God is wonderfully sovereign, He is the only one who can save my ex-wife.<br /><br />Honestly, there is not else to discuss about my relationship with my ex-wife until she is reconciled to God.<br /><br />What do I get to do?<br /><br />1. Pray because my God is sovereign<br />2. Proclaim the gospel every miniscule chance that I get i.e. a chance equats talking to her 5 minutes<br /><br />As far as remarrying, I leave that on God. I know what I have been commissioned to do. It has been prophesied to me that I will be remarried (I take stock in this because the other prophecies made at that time have been confirmed). Now does that mean I get remarried now or when I 90? What God wants. Whatever brings Him glory.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28988815.post-62867778223472143592009-12-19T22:53:50.625-05:002009-12-19T22:53:50.625-05:00David,
Thanks for the great comment and question....David,<br /><br />Thanks for the great comment and question. In truth, it deserves another post. But in brief, I think I'd suggest a couple of things in that case:<br /><br />1. Do not take Angela into membership.<br /><br />2. Having counseled Andy against the marriage on the grounds of adultery, begin the process of restoring the brother in corrective love.<br /><br />3. Encourage repentance; which I think looks like annulmnet since we would not recognize the relationship as a marriage to begin with. Failing the annulment, I think the church works its way to Matt. 18:17.<br /><br />This is a sticky, sticky situation. A lot of teaching is necessary before a church can respond to a situation like this effectively. And in this scenario, a pastor and his leadership would be wise to also work through the entire process with Angela's pastors and church.FellowElderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08590139703839397873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28988815.post-16018318348180619182009-12-19T22:28:02.877-05:002009-12-19T22:28:02.877-05:00Hi Anonymous,
Good question. If the Angela's...Hi Anonymous,<br /><br />Good question. If the Angela's spouse is willing to be reconciled, she should be reconciled to her husband. At bottom, Angela already has a husband and should be living with him in love. 1 Cor. 7 removes any ability for Angela to leave her husband. Matthew 5 and 19 make any subsequent marriage adultery.<br /><br />Hope that helps.<br />T-FellowElderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08590139703839397873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28988815.post-73185934866781756182009-12-19T20:22:15.546-05:002009-12-19T20:22:15.546-05:00What about 1 Cor 7:13&15? ("And if a woma...What about 1 Cor 7:13&15? ("And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him... But if the unbeliever leaves, let him do so. A believing man or woman is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace.")<br /><br />How does that apply to Angela in this example?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28988815.post-23443377905488434362009-12-19T19:02:00.837-05:002009-12-19T19:02:00.837-05:00My question, which I suppose goes beyond this post...My question, which I suppose goes beyond this post, is what you do when Andy and Angela go get married somewhere else, and then come back and want to join your church. This is no hypothetical. I've seen it happen.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10658215452617342095noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28988815.post-20743799960443736342009-12-19T17:56:36.556-05:002009-12-19T17:56:36.556-05:00I'm not sure I have great advice in these situ...I'm not sure I have great advice in these situations, but I have a couple of observations:<br /><br />(1) the time to teach Biblical truth to a church is before someone comes with this type of situation.<br /><br />(2) if the cost of Christian obedience is high, the rewards of church fellowship should be considerable. If we are a group of people who show up on Sunday and have no fellowship during the week, then we have already failed.<br /><br />(3) there is a lot of unbiblical teaching on divorce and remarriage. I understand that not everyone would take as strong a stand as myself, but there are two important points that we should remember in trying to exegete passages like Matt 19:<br />(a) the "grace covers all" view is not true to the Biblical teaching. Whatever Jesus meant by "immorality" in Matt 19, he envisioned that there would be some people who would be denied the chance to remarry. Maybe it is a lot of people, or maybe it is just some people, but if you have a theology that allows all to be remarried, then your theology is insufficient.<br />(b) whatever Jesus meant by "immorality" in Matt 19, it shocked the disciples. They would have been aware of the two camps in Israel, one which allowed divorce for any reason and one that allowed divorce for adultery. Whatever Jesus meant, he would not have been agreeing with one of the two camps because it shocked the disciples to the point where they thought it better to not marry.Shawn Abigailhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09810173103807948064noreply@blogger.com