Let's open our Bibles now to
Matthew chapter 19. The subject of our lesson this
morning, which I believe will be at least in two parts, if
not three, is controversial issues. In the first 15 verses of Matthew
chapter 19 are three things which were strongly debated in the
day of our Lord And they're still being strongly debated today
in churches all over the country. These three subjects are concerning,
first of all, divorce. How is that to be seen as it
concerns the kingdom of God? Divorce. And then he talks about
celibacy. In these verses here where he
talks about the eunuch, He's talking about celibacy and how
that is to be viewed concerning the kingdom of God. And then
thirdly, he talks about small children in their coming to Christ. Not just small children in general,
but small children as they are concerned in this thing of coming
to Christ and the kingdom of God. I don't know his reasons for
including these second two subjects of celibacy and small children,
except that Jesus Christ was God come into the flesh, and
he knew the minds and hearts of all men. And these men who
came to him, tempting him with this question over marriage,
I'm going to say he presupposed the other two questions because
these three things are the most debated things in religion over
all of its history. And what he has to say about
these things are given to those who have been enabled of God
to understand spiritual things. When he was finished, the Pharisees
knew no more about these things than they did when they asked
the question. Because they didn't come there to learn. They didn't
come there and ask those questions to be edified. They came and
asked them, tempting him. Tempting him. Not everyone who hears is able
to receive the truth. Don't you think about that for
a minute. Not everybody. Not everybody. Not everybody
who comes into this place. There'll be some here this morning
that when I'm finished and everything I have to say is very simple
to be understood. But they'll leave here having
not received a knowledge and understanding of what I said.
Not all men can receive these things. Not everybody who hears
is able to receive the truth. They all have ears. They all
have minds. But they all have the limitations
of a fallen nature. To receive the Word of God is
a divine gift. That's a gift of God. Just simply
to sit here in your pew this morning and be able to hear what
I'm saying and rejoice in it and receive it, having it applied
to your heart is the gift of God. It's the gift of God and
we're to offer thanksgiving to God for that. Paul time and again
offered thanks to God for those that he wrote to because they
had an understanding because God gave them the gift of revelation. And I know this, this receiving
the word of God, this divine gift, this sovereign gift of
God's grace begins with a preacher. That's how it began here with
a preacher. And it begins also with a special
ordering of God's providence. He's going to bring you and the
preacher together at some point. He may do it in the form of a
book, but he's going to bring you together. He's going to cross
your paths with the truth. I'm not going to debate this
this morning, but the scripture says this. How shall you hear
without a preacher, and how shall he preach except he be sent?
There's the providence of God, and there's God's means, and
God's man, and God's message in these two things. And I didn't
ask these questions. The Holy Spirit of God asked
these questions. You don't have to answer these
things to me. Answer them to him. Ask him. Debate with him
over these things. And these questions may have
been asked and answered a thousand times by a thousand men, but
on this day they were asked of the Son of God. On this day they
were asked of a man who was faithfully executing his office as a preacher,
and twice, twice in verses 11 and 12, he tells us that not
everybody who was there would be able to hear what he was about
to say. He tells us in verse 11, he said, all men cannot receive
this saying save they to whom it is given. You see that? That's
everything that he had to say about divorce. And then in the last line of
verse 12 concerning what he just said about celibacy and the eunuch,
he says, he that is able to receive it, let him receive it. And they
did. They did. Now let's take this
chapter in its natural outline, and I'll do my best to teach
these things to you as they're set before us here. In verses
1 and 2, he tells us that the Lord finished His ministry in
Galilee. He finished those sayings. He
finished His message, His teaching. And He came into the coast of
Judea beyond Jordan. And we're also told here that
great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there. Now,
there's two things about this healing of the sick that I need
to point out to you before we get into the study about the
vote. First of all, that these miracles
were done by God the Father. They were done to ratify His
Son. They were done to prove this
man, Jesus, to be the Christ. That's why they were dumb. Peter
said, he was a man approved of God among you by miracles and
wonders and signs which God did by him in your midst. God approved
him right before your eyes, and you had no excuse. And then secondly,
this thing of miracles and this thing of healing, Our sins are
not set before us in the ministry of Christ and His apostles as
a debt we owe. Don't you think about that for
a minute. It's never set before us as a debt we owe, but it's
set before us rather as a disease, an infirmity of the flesh from
which we must be cured. Our sins were charged to Christ.
When did he do that? When he chose me and put me in
Christ before the foundation of the world. He became my representative
when God appointed him as my surety before the world was. God was in Christ, the scripture
said, reconciling. Reconciling. How did He do that?
Not imputing their trespasses unto them. That's how He did
it. That's how He did it. But those
sins were imputed to Him. They were charged to Him. And
then again, the psalmist tells us this. He said, blessed is
the man to whom God will not charge sin. There are some chosen
of God to whom God will not charge sin. Well, what if they do gross
sins? Well, you can't get much more
of a gross sin than David committed, but God wouldn't charge him to
his account. Would not do it. Would not do it. But sin in God's elect, it's
still a debilitating disease and an infirmity of the flesh.
And I thought as I looked at this, what a glorious thing it
must have been to see all these men and women. Now, when he says
great multitudes, he's talking, he called that a multitude, a
great multitude, I believe is the word he used. I might be
mistaken there. But a multitude, he called that the 5,000 men
plus women and children. So we know we're talking about
a, when he says great multitudes following, he's talking about
what we would consider to be the size of a small city followed
him out there in the wilderness. And what a thing it must have
been to look at that multitude and see these men and women and
boys and girls coming to Christ by the thousands, thronging Him,
waiting in line, coming to Him. And they came in a simple act
of submission and faith. They came as they were. They
came full of corruption and sin and presented themselves without
condition, unconditionally presented themselves before the fountain
of all mercy. And said, do for us what we cannot
do for ourselves. Would to God I could learn that.
Simple lesson. Just come to Him in simple faith. and without condition present
myself before Him seeking mercy." What a sight it must have been.
But our Lord had enemies. He had enemies. Religious enemies. Enemies who sought to unmask Him as a pretender. They sought to cause division
between him and these sinners who were coming to him for mercy. They saw him as an enemy to themselves. And they hounded him like a pack
of dogs. And that's what he calls them
in the Scripture. Dogs. Beware of dogs, Paul said. Listen
to this. Matthew 19, verse 4. The Pharisees also came unto
him, tempting him, and saying unto him, is it lawful for a
man to put away his wife for every cause? Now, I want you
to listen to me for just a minute, and let me see if I can describe
what was going on here, put you in the proper setting. These
Jews had so far removed themselves from the truth of the law. that
their worship was, to say the least, an abomination to God.
It was all based on their self-righteousness. It was all based on them as a
people and their bloodline. They had no knowledge or understanding
of the righteousness of God as it related to the Messiah or
to those substitutionary sacrifices which they offered and their
fathers before them offered. They had no understanding of
what this holy priesthood was all about or any of these ceremonies
and holy days. They had so far removed themselves
from them that they didn't worship God by faith anymore. They worshiped God as they saw
God in themselves. They worshiped themselves. And any holy days and ceremonies
and traditions which they kept, they kept only for the sake of
self-righteousness. And that's what Paul said. He
was one of them. He practiced this thing exactly
as they practiced it. And he took all that righteousness
that he thought he gleaned from doing those things, and he said,
I carried it out and threw it on the dunghill because that's
where it belonged. And then secondly, I know this.
They were now under Roman rule. What's that got to do with anything?
If you've ever heard or read anything in school about the
Romans, I'm telling you this, they were one of the most wicked,
perverse cultures to ever dwell on the face of God's earth. The
things they practiced and was acceptable to them is just beyond
your imagination. And it was just commonplace,
just commonplace. And these were the rulers of
the people. Now, I'm not saying that these Pharisees, they didn't
bow themselves to take part of this, but the common people to
whom he ministered did. They were influenced by these
things heavily, heavily. Marriage hardly meant anything. It didn't mean anything to them.
It might have been useful to the aristocrats as it What do
I mean by that? I mean these aristocrats, it
was valuable to them for title. It was valuable to them for monetary
gain. It was vital to them for some
future security. But to the average Joe, it didn't
mean anything. It didn't mean anything. And
I might add this. This country that we're living
in and this generation that we're living in is becoming a mirror
image It's just like looking in the mirror at that Roman civilization. All of the things that they practiced
that become commonplace is becoming commonplace in our own country.
People in our day now, they prepare to get married and they have
prenuptial agreements. You know what a prenuptial agreement
is? That's preparation for a future
divorce. That's what that is. Now, we're
going to get married, but before we do, I'm going to make myself
a way out because I'm not planning on staying married. That's what
that is. Most in our day, marriage isn't
even thought of. It's not even considered. They
just find somebody they like and shack up. I meant it just
exactly the way I said it. And those multitudes to whom
our Lord was now ministering practiced these things. They
practiced these things. This is how they viewed these
things. They were heavily influenced by the Roman government. And
I think the Pharisees hoped to accomplish two things when they
came and asked Him this question about divorce. First of all,
they wanted to turn these multitudes against him and try to drive
a wedge between him and them. If he answered this question
lawfully, boy, I mean, he's going to sit down on this multitude. It's just like I could come in
here and I could get off on a certain point. when I know in my own
mind and heart that somebody in here is practicing that very
thing or guilty of that very thing, and that person is going
to sit there and just get red in the face. They knew that.
They knew that. And they knew that this multitude
now was going to stop everything that's going on, and they're
going to listen to what the master has to say about divorce. And
those Pharisees just knew if he come down and put this thing
down as Moses stated this thing in the law, They're going to
drive a wedge between him and them because they're all guilty
of it. That's the way they saw. They saw everybody out there
guilty and themselves innocent. That's how Pharisees looked at
the world. So that's the first thing they
wanted to accomplish. And then secondly, they wanted
to expose him. If he didn't state this thing,
as Moses put it forth in the law, if he didn't state this
thing in a godly fashion, then he was going to be revealed as
a hypocrite. He's going to be revealed as
a pretender. So they wanted, they was hoping to expose some
flaw in his understanding of the law or some flaw in his principles
to compromise rather than to lose the multitudes. Marriage and divorce were not
things that these men truly wanted to understand. What they wanted
was to get rid of the competition. They wanted to get rid of Christ.
Because everywhere Christ went, He exposed them for what they
were. They were His enemies. They were
His enemies. They pretended to be friends
of the people, but they were their enemies also. Now, let's
listen. With these things in mind, let's
listen to what the Lord says about divorce. Matthew 19, verse
4. And he answered and said unto
them, have you not read that he which made them at the beginning
made them male and female? And after he'd made them, he
said this, for this call shall a man leave father and mother,
and shall cleave to his wife, and they twain shall be one flesh. Now, this third verse here has
to do with divorce. Has to do with divorce. Wherefore,
they are no more twain, but one flesh. One flesh. What therefore God hath joined
together, let not man put asunder. God took the woman from the man,
and He created her for him. That's how she came to be. She
was created for Him, to be His helpmate, to be His partner,
to be His bride. And He gave her to Him, and He
blessed that sacred union forever. And then He manifested that union. That for which this union was
ordained, He manifested that when the Word become flesh and
dwelt among us. When our husband, the God of
glory, robed himself in human flesh and appeared in this world,
he become one. He manifested that oneness which
God ordained before the world was. He manifested that when
he took to himself our flesh, become one flesh forever. Forever. He didn't make any prenuptial
agreements. He didn't make a way out for
himself. But he robed himself in our flesh
forever, forever. And then he manifested that thing
when he become flesh. And then through the gospel and
the internal working of the Holy Ghost, that union becomes a reality
in the hearts and minds of his people. He makes them to understand
what this union is all about. He becomes one with them. God
moves in, abides in them, and reveals these things too. So
marriage is a picture of that blessed and holy union of Christ
and His church. And there is no going back. There
is no parting of the ways. There is no divorce. What makes
marriage sacred? What makes it sacred is what
it represents. It's why it was given. It's why
that relationship was formed. And divorce for a believer is
a total denial of that eternal union with Christ. That's what
it is. Now, he may not be aware of it,
and he may do it. He may even do it. But it's a
denial. When the Lord shows him what
it is, he'll see it that way. It's a denial of that eternal
union with Christ. Are you with me so far? All right. Matthew 19, 7. Now, this is what
He told him. This is what it is. This is the
way it was from the beginning. This is what God had in mind
when He took the woman from the man and gave her to him. That's
what He had in mind. Matthew 19, 7. Here's the trap. They set the bait. He took the
bait. Here's the trap. Why did Moses
then command to give a writing of divorcement and put her away? If that's what God intended,
if this is the will of God in this thing of marriage, why did
Moses grant them a divorce paper? Why did Moses grant them a writing
of divorcement to put her away? And he said to them, Moses, because
of the hardness of your hearts, suffered you to put away your
wives. But from the beginning, it was
not so. It was not so. These self-righteous Pharisees
standing before him, trying to slam the trap door shut on him,
he puts a finger in their face and he said, because of the hardness
of your heart. That's something they couldn't
understand. They didn't see their hearts as hard. They didn't see
themselves as transgressors. They didn't see themselves as
enemies of God. And he said further in verse
9, And I say unto you, whosoever shall put away his wife, except
it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery. And whosoever marrieth her which
is put away doth commit adultery. Now the Lord is not teaching
here that all divorces are unlawful. He gives two reasons. Actually,
there are two reasons in the Bible for divorce that I've read. Maybe somebody else found something
else out. But I only found two reasons
in the Word of God. One is right here where our Lord
tells them fornication. Fornication. Because of the hardness
of our hearts, The wife or the husband commits fornication with
another, and it's a hurdle we can't get over because of the
hardness of our heart. We can't get over it. Can't get
over it. And so he grants to us a bill
of divorce. And the other was given by divine
inspiration by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 7, verse 15. And that reason is abandonment. Abandonment. He or she won't
submit themselves one to another. They just can't do it. Can't
do it. Can't give themselves to one
another. Can't live together as one under
the same roof. Just can't do it. Can't do it. Now, I'm going to tell you this.
I personally know many believers who've been married and divorced,
and some of them several times. Some of them several times. Does that mean that they're to
be rejected from the church? That mean I need to, as pastor
of this church, I need to go through here and ask questions
and find out who is and who isn't and find out why and all these
things, and then we're going to have a business meeting next
Wednesday and figure this thing out, and everybody is out the
door. Is that what he's teaching here? Does that mean that maybe we're
to keep them in here, but they're to be marked for life? Put the
mark of Cain on them? You make a good preacher, but
you've been double married. That's what the language they
used to use up in the mountains. You've been double married. It
means you've been married more and more. You can stay and be a part of
this church, but you can't ever be a deacon. You can't ever be
an elder. How should these folks be treated?
How am I to treat these kind of people? The same as every
other sinner saved by grace. That's how you treat them. Ain't
that what we are? Sinners saved by grace. Sick
folk coming to be healed. Sinners, corrupt, covered with
leprosy head to toe, coming to Him for mercy. Nobody, I'm telling you now,
nobody but a legalist. And I'm talking about a legalist
at heart. I don't care what he says from
his mouth. A legalist from the heart. A self-righteous man could
point his finger at another because of divorce and say, you can't
be here because basically you're not as moral as I am. I don't know why, but churches
have made divorce to be the unforgivable crime. The unpardonable sin is
divorce. It's no bigger crime than idolatry,
is it? It's no bigger crime than blasphemy
or spiritual rebellion or murder, is it? And at the same time, I want
you to understand this. Whether sinner or saint, There
is no excuse for divorce. There is no excuse. The Lord
Himself says in Malachi 2, verse 16, that He hateth putting away. He hates it. He hates it. He despises it. He tells us in
Hosea 2, verse 19, He said, I will betroth thee to Me forever. Forever. I will betroth thee
unto Me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness,
and in mercy. I will even betroth thee unto
Me in faithfulness, both His and Ours. And thou shalt know
the Lord." How will they know Him? How will they know this
betrothal? How will they know the Lord in
this? Jeremiah 3, verse 1. He said, Thou hast played the
harlot with many lovers. yet return again to Me, saith
the Lord." That's how you're going to know Him. That's how you're going to know
the Lord. This is exactly the experience of every true believer.
They see themselves as the wicked harlot and Christ as the faithful
husband. They see their faithful husband
as Gomer saw Hosea when that harlot was down on the auction
block being sold to the highest bidder. And her husband came
down there and bought her. That's how God's people see their
husband. That's how the bride views the
husband. Listen to this over in Jeremiah
chapter 3 verse 13. He said, Only acknowledge thine
iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the Lord thy God, and
has scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree.
And you've not obeyed my voice, saith the Lord. Turn, O backsliding
children, saith the Lord, for I'm married to you. I'm married
to you. And I'll take you, one of a city,
two of a family. And I'll bring you to Zion. I'll
bring you to the church. I'll bring you to the place of
worship. I'll bring you to the assembly of God's people. Verse
15, and I'll give you pastors according to mine heart, which
shall feed you with the knowledge and understanding. That's how we know Him. That's
how we know Him. We're taught to know Him through
the gospel of His sovereign grace. My friend, every child of God
has played the harlot, and he does so a thousand times a day. But by the faithfulness of our
beloved husband, and according to his tender mercies, he will
not put us away. Matthew 19, verse 10. Now, his
disciples have been listening to what he's been saying, and
all excuses taken away. And His disciples say unto Him,
if the case of a man be so with his wife, it's not good to marry. Let's just not marry. Let's just
not marry. Now, He goes on to tell us that
marriage is honorable and all, and to be it undefiled. And our
Lord is a faithful prophet, preacher, and the very Son of God put His
stamp of approval on marriage at Cana of Galilee, and not in
reluctance, and not as an evil thing, but in celebration, turning
the water into wine. But there's a sense in which
it is hurtful. And we'll take that up next week.
So I'm going to leave the victim on the railroad track, and the
train's coming, and she's tied up. You'll just have to wait
till next week to get the answer for it. But in order to have
a good and successful marriage, both me and my wife must learn
to assume our places as God has ordained them. And in so doing,
we'll ordain that union. And this world will be able to
see that this relationship, they'll be able to see it and glorify
our Father who ordained it.