A Few Thoughts About the Gospel of Mark

Notes: Mark deals with Jesus the Servant.

B1 Example 1: Mark 10:45 NET For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

C1 It was prophesied: Isaiah 42:1-4 ESV Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law.

C2 It was fulfilled: Philippians 2:6-7 WEB who, existing in the form of God, didn’t consider equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men.

Commenting on this passage Marvin R. Vincent, D.D writes: Taking the word ἁρπαγμὸν (A.V., robbery) to mean a highly prized possession, we understand Paul to say that Christ, being, before His incarnation, in the form of God, did not regard His divine equality as a prize which was to be grasped at and retained at all hazards, but, on the contrary, laid aside the form of God, and took upon Himself the nature of man. The emphasis in the passage is upon Christ's humiliation. The fact of His equality with God is stated as a background, in order to throw the circumstances of His incarnation into stronger relief. Hence the peculiar form of Paul's statement Christ's great object was to identify Himself with humanity; not to appear to men as divine but as human. Had He come into the world emphasizing His equality with God, the world would have been amazed, but not saved He did not grasp at this. The rather He counted humanity His prize, and so laid aside the conditions of His preexistent state, and became man.

B2 Example 2: Mark 3:1-6 NLT Jesus went into the synagogue again and noticed a man with a deformed hand. Since it was the Sabbath, Jesus' enemies watched him closely. If he healed the man's hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath. Jesus said to the man with the deformed hand, "Come and stand in front of everyone." Then he turned to his critics and asked, "Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?" But they wouldn't answer him. He looked around at them angrily and was deeply saddened by their hard hearts. Then he said to the man, "Hold out your hand." So the man held out his hand, and it was restored! At once the Pharisees went away and met with the supporters of Herod to plot how to kill Jesus.

C1 His enemies’ solution is to kill: Psalms 37:32 WEB The wicked watches the righteous, and seeks to kill him.

C2 These Jews learned true religion, but they refused it, preferring their own teaching to God’s. Psalm 107:11 NET because they had rebelled against God's commands, and rejected the instructions of the sovereign king.

C3 They rejected God’s Laws and made God angry. This is definitely not wise. Let us beware! Isaiah 5:24-25 NLT Therefore, just as fire licks up stubble and dry grass shrivels in the flame, so their roots will rot and their flowers wither. For they have rejected the law of the LORD of Heaven's Armies; they have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. That is why the LORD's anger burns against his people, and why he has raised his fist to crush them. The mountains tremble, and the corpses of his people litter the streets like garbage. But even then the LORD's anger is not satisfied. His fist is still poised to strike!

C4 Manser (Themes 5764 ) identifies 10 evil attitudes (The following 8 points are quotes):

D1 5764 — attitudes, negative to God

D2 Scripture identifies a range of negative attitudes towards God, which believers are encouraged to avoid.

D3 Rejection: Isaiah 53:3 See also Leviticus 26:15-16; 1 Samuel 8:7; Ezekiel 5:6; 20:15-16; John 1:11

Example: John 1:11 NLT He came to his own people, and even they rejected him.

D4 Lack of faith: Mark 4:40 pp Matthew 8:26 pp Luke 8:25 See also Matthew 13:58 pp Mark 6:6

Example: Mark 6:6 NLT And he was amazed at their unbelief. Then Jesus went from village to village, teaching the people.

D5 Pride: Deuteronomy 8:14 See also Leviticus 26:19; Luke 1:51; James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5; Proverbs 3:34

Example: James 4:6 NLT But he gives us even more grace to stand against such evil desires. As the Scriptures say, "God opposes the proud but favors the humble.

D6 Stubbornness: Jeremiah 5:23 See also Psalm 78:8; Isaiah 48:4; Mark 3:5; 16:14; Romans 2:5

Example: Mark 3:5 NLT He looked around at them angrily and was deeply saddened by their hard hearts. Then he said to the man, "Hold out your hand." So the man held out his hand, and it was restored!

D7 Rebellion: Psalm 78:40 See also Deuteronomy 1:26; Isaiah 1:2; Jeremiah 2:29; Ezekiel 2:3; Hosea 7:13; Titus 1:10; Hebrews 3:16

Example: Hosea 7:13 NLT What sorrow awaits those who have deserted me! Let them die, for they have rebelled against me. I wanted to redeem them, but they have told lies about me.

D8 Hostility: Romans 8:7 See also Leviticus 26:21, 23-24, 27-28; Hosea 9:7

Example: Hosea 9:7 NLT The time of Israel's punishment has come; the day of payment is here. Soon Israel will know this all too well. Because of your great sin and hostility, you say, "The prophets are crazy and the inspired men are fools!

Let us beware. Let us pray to not have any of these traits. Let us encourage fellow believers to not have any of these traits. Let us repent, if we find we have these traits.

A Few Thoughts About the Gospel of Matthew

Notes

B1 Basically there are two parts.

C1 Part 1 has the Lord Jesus teaching all the people.

C2 Part 2 has the Lord Jesus emphasizing teaching the 12 Apostles.

B2 The Gospel (Good News) has been given recording the earthly life and teaching of the Messiah—Jesus (Yeshua).

B3 Little is given of his life before beginning His ministry.

B4 His genealogy is given to establish His credentials as a Jew. The rest of the Gospel is His ministry.

B5 He taught the true Law. He interprets it correctly which reveals that the teaching of the religious leaders had been corrupted.

B6 Matthew shows through prophecy and miracles that Jesus is Messiah. Jesus does many, even raising the dead. These are not false signs and wonders that might originate with God’s enemies (satan and evil people).

B7 At first, Jesus is widely accepted by the common people but not the leaders. When the people realize that He is not a conquering King but a suffering Messiah, they largely rejected Him and wanted Him dead. Their solution to problems is the death penalty.

C1 Messiah is prophesied in two comings—one as the suffering Messiah and the other as the conquering Messiah.

C2 Suffering Messiah (conquering death and sin): Isaiah 52:13-53:6 NLT See, my servant will prosper; he will be highly exalted. 14 But many were amazed when they saw him. His face was so disfigured he seemed hardly human, and from his appearance, one would scarcely know he was a man. 15 And he will startle many nations. Kings will stand speechless in his presence. For they will see what they had not been told; they will understand what they had not heard about. Isaiah 53:1 Who has believed our message? To whom has the LORD revealed his powerful arm? 2 My servant grew up in the LORD's presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground. There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him. 3 He was despised and rejected--a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. 4 Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! 5 But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. 6 All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God's paths to follow our own. Yet the LORD laid on him the sins of us all.

C2 Conquering Messiah is coming

D1 He conquers those who rebel against God

D2 He comes as the King of the Universe

D3 He comes to rescue Israel at the end of the Tribulation: Zechariah 14:1-4 NIV A day of the LORD is coming, Jerusalem, when your possessions will be plundered and divided up within your very walls. I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city. Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights on a day of battle. On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south.

B8 His sermons teach the character traits of God and the kingdom of God and its laws.

B9 Jesus teaches in parables because the people have rejected and refused to believe His first messages to repent. They did not believe The Light, so God will still tell them things of the Kingdom but in the style of parables. The Lord still taught them, but parables are punishment for rejecting plain truth.

C1 John 5:40 NIV yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

C2 Hebrews 12:25 NIV See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? 

C3 Matthew 12:41-42 NLT The people of Nineveh will stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for they repented of their sins at the preaching of Jonah. Now someone greater than Jonah is here--but you refuse to repent. The queen of Sheba will also stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for she came from a distant land to hear the wisdom of Solomon. Now someone greater than Solomon is here--but you refuse to listen.

C4 Matthew 12:41-42 NLT The people of Nineveh will stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for they repented of their sins at the preaching of Jonah. Now someone greater than Jonah is here--but you refuse to repent. The queen of Sheba will also stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for she came from a distant land to hear the wisdom of Solomon. Now someone greater than Solomon is here—but you refuse to listen.

B10 Chapter 24-25 deals mainly with prophecy during the Tribulation. Most of it has not happened. These are not signs of the Rapture.

B11 His is successful in His role as Redeemer.

C1 He predicts it: Matthew 26:2 NLT As you know, Passover begins in two days, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.

C2 He initiates the New Covenant.

D1 With Israel:

E1 Ezekiel 37:26 NLT And I will make a covenant of peace with them, an everlasting covenant. I will give them their land and increase their numbers, and I will put my Temple among them forever.

E2 Jeremiah 31:31-33 NLT The day is coming," says the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife," says the LORD. "But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day," says the LORD. "I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

E3 Jeremiah 32:40 NLT And I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good for them. I will put a desire in their hearts to worship me, and they will never leave me.

D2 With Christians: Matthew 26:27-29 PickNT And taking the cup and giving thanks He gave it to them saying: "Drink of it, all of you; 28 for this is my blood, that of the new covenant, that which is being shed on behalf of many for forgiveness of sins. 29 Furthermore, I tell you that I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.

E1 It is correct to read “New Covenant.”

E2 Wilbur Pickering in his translation notes writes: Here, and in Mark 14:24, perhaps 1% of the Greek manuscripts, of inferior quality, omit 'new' (as in the NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.). The original reading, as also in Luke 22:20 and 1 Corinthians 11:25, is new covenant.

D3 The relationship between the New Covenant (Matthew 26:28), the Church (Christians), and Israel (Jews): Rodney Decker is quoted by Tommy Ice: The New Covenant, prophesied in the Old Testament to be made with Israel, was ratified at the Cross and implemented as a replacement of the Mosaic Covenant. It is presently the basis on which anyone relates to God and it governs the life of all believers. The church, though not a formal partner of the New Covenant, participates in the covenant both as a subject of its rule of life and as a recipient of promised Abrahamic Covenant blessings for Gentiles that have come through the Seed of Abraham, Jesus Christ. 

C3 He dies suffering for sins, paying the penalty for our sins, and shedding His blood for our sins:

D1 Matthew 27:46, 50 NKJV And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" ... And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.

D2 Colossians 1:13-14 PickNT who delivered us out of the dominion of the darkness13 and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have the redemption through His blood,14 the forgiveness of our sins. (Pickering has this textual note: Through His blood" is omitted in some 40% of the Greek manuscripts, but the 60% include the best line of transmission. Without the shed blood of God's Lamb, we would have neither redemption nor forgiveness. Praise God for the Blood).

C4 He is buried: Matthew 27:59-60 NKJV When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed.

C5 He is risen: Matthew 28:5-6 NKJV But the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. "He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

C6 His success

D1 Hebrews 7:25 CSB Therefore, he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, since he always lives to intercede for them. 

D2 Hebrews 9:11-14 CSB But Christ has appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come. In the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands (that is, not of this creation), he entered the most holy place once for all time, not by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow, sprinkling those who are defiled, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works so that we can serve the living God? 

Matthew 28:18-20 WEL Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All power is given to me in heaven and in earth. 19 “Therefore, go, disciple all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. 20 “Teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you, and lo, I am always with you even to the end of the world.” Amen.

My Mission Statement

Mission Statement

Our mission is to preach and live the Gospel, defend the faith (apologetics), and serve God every moment of our lives.

Philosophical statement

We believe that the Bible is the only source of 100% truth. We are Christians who believe in Jesus Messiah, God the Son, and all He teaches. We are to live according to His teaching and rules. We are to serve and worship Him in love and thankfulness. Our purpose is to fellowship with God and serve Him forever.
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Action statement

We believe that we are to believe the Gospel, preach the Gospel, and live the Gospel according to the teaching of our King and Lord, Jesus Christ, as recorded in the Bible. To this end we worship in prayer, singing, and service as He commanded. We believe apologetics are very important to answer questions about God, the Bible, the Christian faith, family, marriage, social ills, etc.

Conditions For Christian Divorce Updated

Len Gane

2017 Update 19 Apr 19

Marriage

B1 God’s will

C1 Verses

D1 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. (Genesis 2:24, NKJV)

D2 “So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” (Matthew 19:6, NKJV)

C1 Some may not want marriage

C2 Some may want but won’t be married

D1 No one available

D2 Eunuchs for the kingdom, or by force (as from a King)

E1 But He said to them, “All cannot accept this saying, but only [those] to whom it has been given: “For there are eunuchs who were born thus from [their] mother’s womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He who is able to accept [it,] let him accept [it.”] (Matthew 19:11-12, NKJV)

E2 Jesus answered, “This teaching does not apply to everyone, but only to those to whom God has given it. For there are different reasons why men cannot marry: some, because they were born that way; others, because men made them that way; and others do not marry for the sake of the Kingdom of heaven. Let him who can accept this teaching do so.” (Matthew 19:11-12, GNB92)

D3 No one asked

B2 God blesses

C1 And the LORD God said, "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him." (Genesis 2:18, NKJV)

C2 Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge. (Hebrews 13:4, NKJV).

C3 Let your fountain be blessed, And rejoice with the wife of your youth. As a loving deer and a graceful doe, Let her breasts satisfy you at all times; And always be enraptured with her love. For why should you, my son, be enraptured by an immoral woman, And be embraced in the arms of a seductress? (Proverbs 5:18-20, NKJV).

C4 Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life which He has given you under the sun, all your days of vanity; for that is your portion in life, and in the labor which you perform under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 9:9, NKJV)

C5 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. (1 Corinthians 9:4-8a, NKJV)

C6 And many other verses

Divorce

B1 Not God’s will: This is another thing you do. You drown the LORD's altar with tears, weeping and wailing because he no longer accepts the offerings you bring him. You ask why he no longer accepts them. It is because he knows you have broken your promise to the wife you married when you were young. She was your partner, and you have broken your promise to her, although you promised before God that you would be faithful to her. Didn't God make you one body and spirit with her? What was his purpose in this? It was that you should have children who are truly God's people. So make sure that none of you breaks his promise to his wife. “I hate divorce,” says the LORD God of Israel. “I hate it when one of you does such a cruel thing to his wife. Make sure that you do not break your promise to be faithful to your wife.” (Malachi 2:13-16, GNB92)

B2 By permission

C1 Sexual sins

D1 Incest:

E1 The LORD gave the following regulations. Do not have sexual intercourse with any of your relatives. Do not disgrace your father by having intercourse with your mother. You must not disgrace your own mother. Do not disgrace your father by having intercourse with any of his other wives. Do not have intercourse with your sister or your stepsister, whether or not she was brought up in the same house with you. Do not have intercourse with your granddaughter; that would be a disgrace to you. Do not have intercourse with a half sister; she, too, is your sister. Do not have intercourse with an aunt, whether she is your father's sister or your mother's sister. --- Do not have intercourse with your uncle's wife; she, too, is your aunt. Do not have intercourse with your daughter-in-law or with your brother's wife. Do not have intercourse with the daughter or granddaughter of a woman with whom you have had intercourse; they may be related to you, and that would be incest. Do not take your wife's sister as one of your wives, as long as your wife is living. (Leviticus 18:6-18, GNB92)

E2 Compare the sin happening in Corinth. 1 Corinthians 5:1-5 PickNT It is actually reported that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as not even pagans talk about—that someone has his father's wife! 2 And you are puffed up and not even grieved, so as to exclude the one who has done this deed from your fellowship. 3 For I indeed, as present in spirit though absent in body, have already judged the one who created this situation, as though I were present: 4 in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, you and my spirit being together, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, 5 we must hand such a one over to Satan for a destruction of the 'flesh', that the spirit may be saved in the Day of the Lord Jesus.

D2 Adultery

E1 Verses

F1 When Jesus finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went to the territory of Judea on the other side of the Jordan River. Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there. Some Pharisees came to him and tried to trap him by asking, “Does our Law allow a man to divorce his wife for whatever reason he wishes?” Jesus answered, “Haven't you read the scripture that says that in the beginning the Creator made people male and female? And God said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and unite with his wife, and the two will become one.’ So they are no longer two, but one. No human being must separate, then, what God has joined together.” The Pharisees asked him, “Why, then, did Moses give the law for a man to hand his wife a divorce notice and send her away?” Jesus answered, “Moses gave you permission to divorce your wives because you are so hard to teach. But it was not like that at the time of creation. I tell you, then, that any man who divorces his wife for any cause other than her unfaithfulness, commits adultery if he marries some other woman.” (Matthew 19:1-9, GNB92)

F2 “But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery. (Matthew 5:32, NKJV)

E2 Comment

F1 Does not mean you must divorce

F2 Does mean it is allowed. Often this is preferred.

D3 Porn

E1 Verse: “But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery. (Matthew 5:32, NKJV)

E2 Comment

F1 The word for sexual immorality is πορνεία porneia.

F2 The word includes adultery, incest, and porn

F3 This is a serious addiction that God hates.

F4 It is adultery in the heart.

F5 Can be repented of but not common.

C2 Desertion

D1 Physical leaving

E1 Verse: But if the unbelieving partners leave, let them go. Under these circumstances a Christian man or Christian woman is not bound by a marriage vow. God has called you to live in peace. (I Corinthians 7:15 [GodsWord])

E2 Comment

F1 Not all agree with this interpretation

F2 Many do

F3 The individual must decide

D2 Spiritual leaving

E1 This is becoming an agnostic, atheist, or abandoning Christ for another religion.

E2 This is allowed, because it is a denial of one’s vows and a spiritual danger to the believing spouse.

E3 Divorce is recommended.

E4 Remarriage is allowed.

D3 Abuse

E1 This is not because the toilet paper unrolls the wrong way.

E2 It is physical, sexual, spiritual, financial, mental, emotional, verbal, etc. abuse.

E3 This is desertion of the marriage vows.

E4 Divorce is recommended.

E5 No contact to low contact is necessary.

E6 Remarriage is allowed.

E7 1 Corinthians 5:11 GW Now, what I meant was that you should not associate with people who call themselves brothers or sisters in the Christian faith but live in sexual sin, are greedy, worship false gods, use abusive language, get drunk, or are dishonest. Don't eat with such people.

C3 If you stay, you or your children may lose salvation and faith

D1 A relationship that might lead to a denial of Jesus Christ

E1 Verses

F1 All these men had foreign wives. They divorced them and sent them and their children away. (Ezra 10:44, GNB92)

F2 “The LORD your God will bring you into the land that you are going to occupy, and he will drive many nations out of it. As you advance, he will drive out seven nations larger and more powerful than you: the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. When the LORD your God places these people in your power and you defeat them, you must put them all to death. Do not make an alliance with them or show them any mercy. Do not marry any of them, and do not let your children marry any of them, because then they would lead your children away from the LORD to worship other gods. If that happens, the LORD will be angry with you and destroy you at once. So then, tear down their altars, break their sacred stone pillars in pieces, cut down their symbols of the goddess Asherah, and burn their idols. Do this because you belong to the LORD your God. From all the peoples on earth he chose you to be his own special people. (Deuteronomy 7:1-6, GNB92)

E2 Comment

F1 Marrying non-Israelite women within the boundaries of Israel was forbidden for the reason given above. Deuteronomy 7:1-6

F2 Marrying non-Israelite women outside the boundaries of Israel was allowed

G1 “When you go to attack a city, first give its people a chance to surrender. If they open the gates and surrender, they are all to become your slaves and do forced labor for you. But if the people of that city will not surrender, but choose to fight, surround it with your army. Then, when the LORD your God lets you capture the city, kill every man in it. You may, however, take for yourselves the women, the children, the livestock, and everything else in the city. You may use everything that belongs to your enemies. The LORD has given it to you. That is how you are to deal with those cities that are far away from the land you will settle in. (Deuteronomy 20:10-15, GNB92)

G2 “When the LORD your God gives you victory in battle and you take prisoners, you may see among them a beautiful woman that you like and want to marry. Take her to your home, where she will shave her head, cut her fingernails, and change her clothes. She is to stay in your home and mourn for her parents for a month; after that, you may marry her. Later, if you no longer want her, you are to let her go free. Since you forced her to have intercourse with you, you cannot treat her as a slave and sell her. (Deuteronomy 21:10-14, GNB92)

D2 Might lead to a type of abuse, spiritual abuse.

Remarriage

B1 Not necessary

B2 If wished

C1 Allowable for

D1 Death: For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to [her] husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of [her] husband. So then if, while [her] husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man. (Romans 7:2-3, NKJV)

D2 Permissible reasons (listed above)

C2 Only in the Lord: A wife is bound by law as long as her husband lives; but if her husband dies, she is at liberty to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord. (1 Corinthians 7:39, NKJV)

Summary:

For sexual sins as incest (Leviticus 18:6-18), adultery (Matthew 19:1-9), porn, which is adultery (Matthew 19:1-9), desertion (1 Corinthians 7:15), if spouse causes spiritual danger (false religion, religiously militant, violent)(Ezra 10:44, Deuteronomy 7:1-6), abuse (including physical, spiritual, verbal, financial, sexual, emotional, etc. This is a desertion of marriage vows, and they always need to divorce)(see 1 Corinthians 5:11, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10).

My Vision Statement

Gospel

To know the Gospel, to defend the Gospel, to believe the Gospel as taught in the New Testament

Doctrine

To know doctrine, to defend doctrine, to believe New Testament doctrine

Life

To know the Christian life, worldview, and lifestyle as taught in the New Testament

A Few Thoughts About Oneness and Intimacy in Marriage

This comment was received on Love Honor Vacuum:

I’m sorry to be so blunt, but no woman in the world is worth the aggravation you guys described. It seems to me that, before marriage, women are usually “hot to trot,” but once they get control of your life and (mostly) your wallet, they turn off the spiggot, and make everything into a thankless chore. After listening carefully to the whole podcast, I admit to being a little like Aquaman. What I heard was “somethin’, somethin’, somethin’, no sex for you.”

Even men who take their “shepherding” role seriously, get to the point of desperation. We usually have ONE item on our list of Requirements-for-a-good-marriage. Women seem to have 100 or more.

And if we don’t fulfill all 100 to perfection on a daily basis, they feel justified in becoming serial refusers. It seems to me that the problem your ministry you need to work hardest to defeat with is women and their OUTRAGEOUSLY UNREALISTIC expectations. It is those unmeetable expectations that are destroying marriages today; not porn, not affairs, and certainly not “evil white men” and their “evil penises.” It’s women and their insurmountable “Prince Charming Complex.”

Bill

You can read the response at the link about.

My thoughts:

This man, Bill, is either ignorant, willfully ignorant, or evil. It appears from his last statement that he wants sex on his demand and ignores his wife’s feelings. He needs to submit to his wife’s feelings, too.

B1 Submitting to one another: Ephesians 5:21 NIV Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

B2 He needs to love his wife as HIMSELF: Ephesians 5:33 CSB To sum up, each one of you is to love his wife as himself, and the wife is to respect her husband.

The Bible teaches oneness in marriage. This is oneness in body, soul, and spirit.

When we say oneness we are not referring to Eastern religious oneness. Oneness is understood to be of the same mind, the same spirit, the same goals, etc.

B1 The Trinity is one, not as oneness theology (which is unbridled heresy). John 17:21 NLT I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. (Also Deuteronomy 6:4 and John 10:30)

B2 The church: 1 Corinthians 12:13 CSB For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and we were all given one Spirit to drink.

B3 Marriage: Genesis 2:24 NLT This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.

Oneness in spirit

B1 This is spiritual oneness.

B2 This is done when husband and wife pray, read and study the Scriptures, memorize Scriptures, pray, etc. together.

B3 On a greater level is when the family is worshiping in the congregation together. The oneness is the family is worshiping together.

B4 This is fellowship.

C1 Enoch with God: Genesis 5:22 NLT After the birth of Methuselah, Enoch lived in close fellowship with God for another 300 years, and he had other sons and daughters.

C2 Elkanan and wives: 1 Samuel 1:19 NKJV Then they rose early in the morning and worshiped before the LORD, and returned and came to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the LORD remembered her.

Oneness in soul

B1 This is emotional, intellectual, oneness.

B2 This is done when we spend time together for friendship, planning, problem solving, helping each other, etc.

B3 It is for comfort and listening when in trials or the hard day at work.

B4 It is for rejoicing together.

B5 You don’t need date night. It is to be the every day experience of having each other.

B6 This is not to mean you spend every breathing moment together. Everyone needs their space. The idea is in general there is to be oneness.

Oneness in body

B1 This is physical oneness

B2 If the husband enjoys pleasure, so should his wife.

B3 If he does not give her pleasure, he is either ignorant or does not love his wife.

C1 Consider

D1 1 Corinthians 13:5 WEL love...is not self-seeking…

D2 A wife is the closest neighbor there is: Galatians 5:14 WEL For all the law is fulfilled in one saying, namely, “You must love your neighbor as yourself.

C2 Abraham gave Sarah, his wife, pleasure: Genesis 18:12 NKJV Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, "After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?"

C3 The Song of Solomon

D1 This inspired book was and is to be read and interpreted in its plain, normal sense.

D2 It is a manual of oneness in physical and emotional spheres.

D3 It is part of God’s standards for husband and wife.

D4 A husband is to enjoy his wife’s beauty. Release is not the goal. Enjoying her beauty is the most important. We are not to enjoy another’s person’s beauty, but we are to enjoy our wife’s beauty. It takes more than 2 minutes. Song of Songs 1:10 NLT How lovely are your cheeks; your earrings set them afire! How lovely is your neck, enhanced by a string of jewels.

D5 Song of Songs 2:14 NLT Young Man My dove is hiding behind the rocks, behind an outcrop on the cliff. Let me see your face; let me hear your voice. For your voice is pleasant, and your face is lovely.

D6 All of Song of Songs Chapter 4

B4 Release is relief from the build up of pleasure. If a man releases without his wife being able to relax and have pleasure, he will not have any enjoyment of his wife’s beauty, which is most important for physical oneness in marriage.

B5 The wife has needs, too. Both husband and wife should fulfill each other’s needs: 1 Corinthians 7:3 NLT The husband should fulfill his wife's sexual needs, and the wife should fulfill her husband's needs.

B6 A husband does not own his wife; she can refuse. They are to help each other: 1 Corinthians 7:4 NLT The wife gives authority over her body to her husband, and the husband gives authority over his body to his wife.

B7 He has an obligation to fulfill her sexual needs as well as she his: 1 Corinthians 7:3 CSB A husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise a wife to her husband.

C1 The Greek word for duty is ὀφειλή opheilḗ.

C2 It means

D1 Cognate: 3782 opheilḗ (a feminine noun) – a specific (applied) kind of indebtedness, implying an "applied obligation" due to the debt (what is owed). See 3781 (opheiletēs).

D2 3781 opheilétēs (a masculine noun) – a debtor; someone under obligation to pay back (discharge) a debt.

C3 The husband has a debt to fulfill his wife’s sexual needs.

Love in marital oneness

B1 Love is a choice

B2 The actions of love are 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a WEL Love is very patient and kind; love is not envious; love doesn’t brag about itself, is not haughty, 5 Doesn’t behave improperly, is not self-seeking; love isn’t easily aggravated, doesn’t keep a list of wrongs, 6 Doesn’t rejoice in injustice, but rejoices in the truth, 7 Bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, calmly endures all things. 8 Love never ends

B3 Bill does not do this. He completely and miserable fails God’s standards.

C1 This is truly a time for repentance.

D1 Confession of sin

E1 This is a public sin and needs to be publicly confessed and forgiveness sought.

E2 A sin that only God knows needs to be confessed only to God and forgiveness sought from Him.

E3 A sin that only one person knows needs to be confessed to God and that person then forgiveness sought from both.

E3 A public sin is sin know by many people. It needs to be confessed to God and publicly then forgiveness sought from all.

D2 Asking forgiveness

E1 All sin is against God’s laws.

E2 Sin can be in thoughts, desires, words, and deeds.

E3 We live what we really believe.

E4 Sin comes from our evil hearts. We are not compelled to sin. God does not decree sin.

D3 Change of attitude

D4 Change of life

D5 Consistency and persevering changes in public and private

B4 Ecclesiastes 9:9 NLT Live happily with the woman you love through all the meaningless days of life that God has given you under the sun. The wife God gives you is your reward for all your earthly toil.

Bill you are in great error and great sorrow. You are harming your wife.

Psalm 4 and a Few Comments

Psalm 4 (NLT)

For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be accompanied by stringed instruments.

1 Answer me when I call to you, O God who declares me innocent. Free me from my troubles. Have mercy on me and hear my prayer.

2 How long will you people ruin my reputation? How long will you make groundless accusations? How long will you continue your lies? Interlude 3 You can be sure of this: The Lord set apart the godly for himself. The Lord will answer when I call to him.

4 Don’t sin by letting anger control you. Think about it overnight and remain silent. Interlude 5 Offer sacrifices in the right spirit, and trust the Lord.

6 Many people say, “Who will show us better times?” Let your face smile on us, Lord. 7 You have given me greater joy than those who have abundant harvests of grain and new wine. 8 In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe.

The Psalmist challenges his enemies: how long will you people ruin my reputation, make groundless accusations, and continue your lies?

The Psalmist then gives some advice: God knows those who are His, if you are angry, wait until morning to make a decision, offer sacrifices with a proper attitude, and trust God.

The Psalmist finally asks for God's blessings and thanks God for His gift of joy, comfort of peace in the day and at night, and the only real safety for our souls.