CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NEW COVENANT III – Tuesday April 4th 2017
Memorise:
He saith into them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts
suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not
so. Matthew 19:8
31 It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:
32 But
I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the
cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever
shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.
Bible in one year: Leviticus 8-9, Jeremiah 7:8-26, Hymn: Sing hymn 9
MESSAGE:
The
paradigm shifts introduced by the Lord Jesus Christ ever since He came
to reveal the perfect will of the Father to us are indeed numerous. One
of these is in the area of divorce and remarriage. The Jewish leaders
hated the teachings of Jesus and the change He came to introduce; for
this reason, they wanted him dead fast! Indeed, no man ever spoke like
Jesus did. The amazing thing is that these leaders believed they were
doing the will of God by killing Him. John 11:49-50 says,
“And
one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said
unto them, Ye know nothing at all, Nor consider that it is expedient
for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole
nation perish not.”
Just
like these Jewish leaders of yesteryears, some church leaders and
pastors today try to justify their error in the area of divorce and
remarriage, thinking that they are doing what is expedient for
themselves or for the parties concerned. In our Bible reading for today,
in opposition to the accepted standard of His time, Jesus revealed the
perfect will of God concerning this. Hear what He said:
“But
I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the
cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever
shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.”
Matthew 5:32
In Matthew 19:3-10,
when Jesus was confronted by the Pharisees on the issue of divorce as
applied from the time of Moses, they were shocked to learn His
standpoint on this matter. Jesus revealed to them that they had been
living under the permissive will of God in this area (Matthew 19:8),
and He also reinforced what He had already said about divorce and
remarriage in His Sermon on the Mount. Just as so many people are
perplexed by this teaching today, even the disciples of Jesus were also
perplexed by it (Matthew 19:10).
However, that is the verdict of the new covenant. We have to accept the
standard the Master has set and walk in it. Whoever has ears, let them
hear what Jesus Christ is saying to those who want to enjoy the
provision of the new covenant in His Blood.
Prayer Point
Father, help me to meet up to the standard of the requirements of the new covenant, and bless me through it, in Jesus Name.
Open Heaven Daily Devotional, written by Pastor E.A Adeboye,
The
General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the
largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ
the Redeemer's Ministries.
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