Sermon Tone Analysis

Introductory questions:

Should a believer divorce his/her believing spouse?

Should a believer divorce his/her unbelieving spouse?

Introductory truths:

The wisdom of the cross has already been established.

The gospel (how God has acted towards us in Christ) has implications for every area of life, and this includes marriage and divorce.

Before we begin, we must understand the clear command of Jesus Christ concerning marriage & divorce.

,

Marital divorce was never God’s original intention

ILLUSTRATION: My brother and I were at a friend’s home one time playing baseball in his back yard.... by accident, a foul ball left the bat and screamed its’ way through the kitchen window....in that moment of trouble, a lot of thoughts flooded my mind: run away and go home, I’m in big trouble, who will get the blame…etc…as sin ravaged relationships of men, divorce seemed to become the chosen response; but it was never God’s intention.

Marital infidelity was the cause given by Christ for divorce

Some glaring omissions that the gospel confronts as it moves from a Jewish culture to a Gentile world:

How does this principle apply when one person of the marriage becomes a believer and the other does not?

What about the offspring of this kind of marriage - are they unholy?

Remembering that this text is founded upon the wisdom of the cross...

Proposition:

We must see how the gospel teaches believers to remain in their marriages, whether they are both believers or not.

(1) The command of Christ applied to believers in marriage (v. 10 - 11)

Explanation:

(a) Jesus spoke explicitly about divorce (v.

10)

(b) There were possibly women instigators in this (v.

10)

There are a couple of reasons for this thought.

First, Paul clearly begins here by addressed the women first and more explicitly than he does the men.

Notice how it appears that the men are just a passing thought.

In the Gentile, Corinthian culture it was alright for a woman to initiate divorce proceedings though this was not acceptable in Jewish culture.

This led to the belief that possibly Paul had received information that in Corinth, this was happening.

(c) Personal reconciliation to their believing husbands was commanded (v.

11)

Notice also how Paul urged the matter to be addressed.

He called for reconciliation.

In other words, Paul does not condone divorce; and he does uphold the instruction of Jesus Christ.

It is important to note here that it was a personal reconciliation that was to be accomplished.

There was not “well, the marriage just failed” as if the marriage is living and breathing apart from the individuals in the marriage.

(d) Note the command to the husband - amidst a misogynistic culture (v. 11)

Lastly, it should be noted that Paul does address the husbands as well.

This shows that he was not promoting some kind of misogyny.

The husband is not to put away and the wife is not to depart.

Principle:

For two people who have professed belief in Jesus as their Lord, the scripture is clear they have been enabled to reconcile with each other and NOT to divorce.

Reconciliation is not the easy way, but it is the way that reflects the glory of the gospel of God.

Illustration:

Shawna Pilat’s husband still wasn’t home from his Saturday night partying.

“It was very common for Rick to be out all night.

I always knew there was unfaithfulness,” said Shawna, who was home with her three-year-old son.

“That bothered me, naturally, but I was also worried that Rick was going to turn up some place dead.

And that morning I was at the end of my rope.”

As Shawna angrily washed dishes in the kitchen, she noticed a man speaking on television.

He was funny and warm, and seemed to be speaking to her. “I felt something come over me that I can’t explain,” she remembers.

“I couldn’t quit crying.

At the end of the program, it said, ‘Join us,’ and it gave the name of a church in Winnipeg.

I couldn’t get my son dressed fast enough.”

On the way to the church, Shawna had one purpose in mind: getting emotionally strong enough to kick Rick out.

But God had a surprise for her.

At the end of the message, the pastor invited people to give their lives to Christ.

Shawna raised her hand.

Three weeks later, Rick asked if he could join her at church.

After four or five weeks of attending church with his wife, Rick recognized his need for Christ.

Still, the following months weren’t easy.

“I was going to church and wanting to do right, but I kept doing wrong,” he said.

Larson, C. B., & Ten Elshof, P. (2008).

1001 illustrations that connect (pp.

258–259).

Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

Application:

Believers should be characterized by reconciliation, not by division; but what does reconciliation mean; and why would Paul use this word here?

Reconciliation means to change or exchange.

It means to change from enmity to friendship.

With regards to God and men, we see this accomplished in Jesus Christ - .

shows our prior enemy status that was overcome by Christ.

To overcome our separation from God, we needed someone to provide reconciliation and thereby bring us back into fellowship with God.

Paul says that God “through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself” ().

To overcome our separation from God, we needed someone to provide reconciliation and thereby bring us back into fellowship with God.

Paul says that God “through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself” (2 Cor.

5:18–19).

Grudem, W. A. (2004).

Systematic theology: an introduction to biblical doctrine (p.

580).

Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub.

House.To overcome our separation from God, we needed someone to provide reconciliation and thereby bring us back into fellowship with God.

Paul says that God “through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself” ().

Grudem, W. A. (2004).

Systematic theology: an introduction to biblical doctrine (p.

580).

Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub.

House.

It is not only the removal of enemy status; but it is a restoration of fellowship between two parties.

In the first part of reconciliation, we recognize our enmity removed; but here we note a fellowship restored.

Husbands & Wives: “Irreconcilable Differences”?

The fall-back option of “irreconcilable differences” in the believer’s life should be equated to “the gospel is not powerful enough to bring about unity.”

In consideration that both individuals have had insurmountable odds overcome to be reconciled to God, it would seem unthinkable that the gospel they’ve received is impotent in helping them overcome differences they have with each other.

This means that husbands and wives display the wisdom of the cross in their marriages when they reconcile rather than divide.

This means that when the husband does not meet your cleanliness standard, take time to remember how filthy and dirty you were before the Lord.

This means that when wives purposely and vindictively behave towards you husbands - you must take time to remember how purposely and vindictive your sin against Christ was.

All Believer’s Relationships:

This means that all relationships among believers should be characterized by continual reconciliation.

Children/Teens should make it a regular practice that when you have offended your parents through disobedience, you reconcile through seeking their forgiveness.

Adults who rub shoulders weekly at church should be reconciled together as a reflection of the gospel reconciliation they have received.

When an individual says, “I just can’t forgive them,” this is evidence of one or two things: (1) They have never received the enabling forgiveness of the Lord in salvation (2) They’ve such a high view of themselves that the other individual is less forgivable than they themselves ever were before God.

Unbeliever:

To the unbeliever, the application is quite clear.

You must be taken from your enemy status against God to part of His kingdom.

If you will live out this type of reconciliation, you must know the One who first extended an offer to be reconciled to you.

Otherwise, you are relegated to temporal things to produces temporal results.

You can go on binges, but there are tremendous and regretful side affects.

You could come to the Lord, be reconciled, and then be able to live in relationships that reflect reconciliation.

So, this was a message to the believers who were married to believers in marriage.