Friday, January 25, 2008

Doctrinal Discourses

Question: Is Matthew 19:9 a part of New Testament doctrine?

I suppose there is not a subject anymore misunderstood and twisted than the biblical doctrine of marriage, divorce, and re-marriage. Marriage, the oldest institution created by God and is the basic foundation of society (Gen. 2:22-24). This sacred union is described by the apostle Paul as "honourable" (Heb. 13:4). Words from the very lips of Jesus instruct us concerning our responsibility to this covenant when he declared, "And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery" (Mat. 19:9).

This inspired passage (2 Tim. 3:16-17) has come under much scrutiny by brethren, many of whom have even attempt to place this text back under the "law of Moses”! The reasoning goes something like this; since Jesus spoke these words while He was alive they must be part of the Old Testament since He had not died yet. This unwarranted doctrine causes much turmoil to her advancers. First, how do they deal with Matthew 18, wherein Jesus gives teaching regarding how to handle an offense between brethren within the church? The church of Christ did not exist in the Old Testament, separate and apart from the mind of God (Eph. 3:10). It is obvious that Jesus was simply giving future inspired instruction to serve the church that was yet future in existence. Secondly, are we to conclude that all Bible passages that were spoken and or recorded before the death of Jesus belong under the Law of Moses? If so, that would cause insurmountable problems in proper hermeneutics of the Bible. If you have a comment on this subject we want to hear from you!

Brant

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