How should we interpretation the creation account in Genesis 1:1–2:3?
Vern Poythress joins me on What in the Word? to discuss.
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Continue readingGenesis 2
How God Hates Divorce: His Merciful Allowance in a Fallen World
God hates divorce.
But that does not mean he opposes all divorce.
No, divorce was never God’s original intention for marriage. Divorce was not part of the equation when he created marriage: “from the beginning it was not so,” as Jesus said quoting Gen 2:24 (Matt 19:9).
Nonetheless, on this side of the fall, we find in scripture that, in his mercy, God gives certain allowances for divorce.
My experience as a pastor, counseling people with abusive spouses, helped me better understand God’s hatred of divorce. I’m not saying experience determines our theology or should be used to overrule scripture. But sometimes experience can expand our understanding.
God always hates divorce. But sometimes he hates it because it’s unwarranted, it’s wrong to pursue, he doesn’t allow it (like in Malachi 2:16). In other instances though, God hates divorce because, although he warrants it, he nonetheless hates the sin that made it warranted.
In other words, all divorce involves sin. But not all divorce is sinful.
I’ve seen first hand the negative impact when pastors fail to grasp this. Very practically, they see divorce as a greater evil than the abuse the spouse is enduring. Divorce is never seen as God’s mercy to the abused spouse.
Divorce is never the outcome we want for any marriage. But sometimes it’s God’s mercy in a fallen world—”because of your hardness of heart,” as Jesus says (Matt 19.8).
Divorce & Remarriage (with Andy Naselli)
Jesus taught that divorce “from the beginning … was not so” and that those who divorce commit adultery. Yet he also added, “except for sexual immorality” (Mt 5:31-32; 19:3-9). And Paul says believers are “not bound” if their unbelieving spouse leaves them (1 Cor 7:15). These texts are source of much debate. And yet their implications are extremely pressing and practical for many. What does the Bible have to say about divorce, and if divorce any possibility of remarriage thereafter? New Testament scholar Andy Naselli joins Kirk to discuss these matters.
Access the episode here. (Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, and more.)
From Andy Naselli, “What the New Testament Teaches about Divorce and Remarriage.”
Marriage as Death
The following was a wedding homily, which I’ve adapted here for written and public format.
“Marriage is…(fill in the blank?)” I wonder how we would finish that sentence, using just one word. “Marriage is (what?).” If we had the time, it’d be interesting to survey a range of people and hear all the different ways folks would answer that question.
Maybe some would say, especially at a wedding, “Marriage is… beautiful.” Or maybe others would say, “Marriage is a gift.”
And both of those are true. But what if I told you that we could also finish that sentence this way, “Marriage is death”?
Now if marriage is something of a death, I suppose that means a wedding is in fact a funeral. And if you’re the ones getting married, that means on your wedding day you’re actually attending your own funerals!
That’s what I would like us to consider: marriage as a death.
1. Leaving & Cleaving
First, marriage involves the death of two independent lives, as husband and wife come together to form “one flesh.”
Continue readingJustin Taylor, “Day” in Genesis 1-2, and Pre-Evolution Interpretation
In a recent post at The Gospel Coalition (also see this older post), Justin Taylor discusses “Biblical Reasons to Doubt the Creation Days Were 24-Hour Periods.”
I’ve written about the creation debates before. And if you’ve talked to me in person about these matters, you’ve probably heard make something like the following comment:
One of the reasons (it would seem to be the main reason) interpretation of Genesis 1 and 2 and the nature of God’s creative work have become so stinking controversial is the arrival of evolutionary theories. Since Darwin, proposing anything besides a 24-hour-day-view of the “days” in Genesis 1 immediately became way more controversial than it was prior to Darwin. This is due to the fact that anti-macroevolution Christians view Genesis 1-2 as a battle ground. If you walk there now, you’re going to step on a land mine even if you were not the originally intended target.
Kirk E. Miller 