____________________________________________________ THE GOSPEL OBSERVER "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20). ____________________________________________________ June 4, 1995 ____________________________________________________ Was Polygamy and Adultery Ever Legal? by Steve Klein Question: God's original marriage law was one man one woman, yet Moses allowed the Jews to divorce for many reasons. Many Jews had multiple wives including David who is said to have been a ``man after God's own heart.'' This was not ``acceptable'' under either law. How do we explain this and could we ``get by with'' the same today? Answer: The Old Testament was certainly ``written for our learning'' (Romans 15:4). A first glance at our question SEEMS to suggest that one thing we learn from the Old Testament is that a person may be acceptable to God while ignoring His laws for marriage. Genesis 2:24 states God's law from the beginning: ``a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.'' Monogamy, not polygamy, was God's design for marriage from the outset. TWO were to become ONE. Yet polygamy seems to have been tolerated by God even among great heroes of faith. The Questioner mentions David, but we could also add the names of Abraham, Jacob, Esau, Gideon and Solomon to the list, along with many other lesser notables from the Old Testament. However, this does not mean that we can ``get by with'' ignoring God's laws for marriage. Here are the reasons: (1) David and other heroes of faith committed some sins which the Old Testament records, but passes over without condemning. This does not necessarily mean that these sins were ``allowed'' or that correction was never made for them; we just do not have a record of it in the Old Testament. To conclude that we can ``get by with'' polygamy or adultery today because David was not specifically condemned for polygamy, one would also have to conclude that we can get by with lying, killing and dancing naked in public because David was not specifically condemned for these things either. However, it should be noted that God intended for David to have several wives for He gave Saul's wives to David (2 Samuel 12:8). As the following point proves, polygamy was not out of harmony with God's law at that time. (2) The law of Moses does in fact make allowance for polygamy. It is NOT ACCURATE to say that polygamy was ``not acceptable'' under the law of Moses. For one thing, a man was supposed to marry his brother's widow, apparently whether he already had a wife or not (Deuteronomy 25:5-10). Beyond this, the law of Moses allowed polygamous marriages because it contained specific regulations for them. Read Deuteronomy 21:15-16: ``If a man has two wives, one loved and the other unloved, and they have borne him children, both the loved and the unloved, and if the firstborn son is of her who is unloved, 16 then it shall be, on the day he bequeaths his possessions to his sons, that he must not bestow firstborn status on the son of the loved wife in preference to the son of the unloved, the true firstborn.'' Whether similar unrecorded allowances were made by God directly to the Patriarchs before the time of Moses is a matter of conjecture; but it is possible. (3) The New Testament plainly forbids both adultery and polygamy. Each man is to ``have his own wife'' and each woman is to ``have her own husband'' (1 Corinthians 7:2). The woman with a living husband who marries another ``shall be called an adulterous'' (Romans 7:3). And, we are promised that ``fornicators and adulterers God will judge'' (Hebrews 13:4). If we believe that God keeps His promises, there is no way we can believe that anybody is going to ``get by with'' adultery or polygamy today. -- Via The Exhorter, May 22, 1995 ___________________________________________ I CAN BE OPEN-MINDED AND WILLING TO LEARN Being ``open minded'' does not mean accepting everything one hears, nor does it mean being ``broadminded,'' at least not as many conceive of broadmindedness. It means being willing to accept any truths that are proved to be the truths; it means being ready to listen with an unbiased mind to the facts on a given subject; and it may even include reexamining what one has believed to see whether it is clearly taught in the Word of God. Some people find being open minded a very difficult challenge for a number of reasons: (1) they are satisfied with what they have accepted; (2) they feel it would be disloyal to their friends and family to change ideas or practices of long standing; (3) they feel that change is not a good indication of stability; (4) they are not interested enough to make or to hear a full investigation of the truth. The problem before us is certainly not a new one, for Jesus spoke of some whose hearts were gross, whose ears were dull of hearing, and whose eyes were closed. Even our Lord, the Master Teacher of all time, could not penetrate the hearts of these people. Those who will not open their minds to the truth will not repent of their sins. -- author unknown ___________________________________________ THE TEEN SCENE Begin preparing now for a successful Christian marriage. The high divorce rate we have in our country indicates that people are led into matrimony by their hormones instead of their heads. ``Beware of the June moon swoon. Midnight madness may turn to sadness by noon!'' Do not even date anyone who would not make a good mate. If you sow wild oats you will reap the results. You will never regret waiting until marriage for intimacy. I have not heard of anyone who was sorry he or she waited, but I have heard of many who are sorry that they did not. If you sincerely seek to serve God and follow His guidance, you will not make a big mistake in the area of dating and marriage. Take it slow and easy: a lasting relationship takes time to mature. -- Selected ___________________________________________ Why Such A Mystery? To many people the causes of delinquency and crime are a mystery. As one sits and reads the accounts in newspapers and magazines of the lurid happenings of youth and acts of misconduct, they cannot understand why. I had not been dealing with this problem very long until I came to the conclusion that the basic foundation of misconduct that ultimately leads to delinquency and crime is brought about by violation of the Word of God. Parents have failed to teach it to their children by work and by example which has resulted in the breakdown of parental authority with all of its anti-social consequences. These children are not being brought up in ``the nurture and admonition of the Lord'' nor do they honor their father and mother; consequently they do not so live that they may have glory in this life and eternal salvation in the end. Every day, I see the fulfillment of an old wise saying: `As the twig is bent, so will the tree be inclined.' -- Juvenile Judge Sam Davis Tatum, Nashville, Tennessee (via The Old Path II, May 7, 1995). ___________________________________________ The Gospel in One Sentence by Johnie Edwards The word gospel means good news and the gospel of Christ refers to the good news about Jesus Christ. The gist of the gospel was put in one sentence when Philip preached to the eunuch of Ethiopia, ''...and preached unto him Jesus'' (Ac. 8:35). Ever wonder what was preached when Jesus was preached? 1) The Kingdom of God. Acts 8:5 says, ``Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.'' The Bible, being its best commentary, indicates that among the things Philip preached were, ``things concerning the kingdom of God'' (Ac. 8:12). What the preacher said about the kingdom is not recorded. In preaching concerning the kingdom, one is preaching about the Lord's church for the kingdom is the church (Matt. 16:18-19). We are often told today, ``Just preach Jesus and forget about the church.'' There is no way that this can be done, for ``the church is the body of Christ'' (Col. 1:18). Paul told the Ephesians that there ``is one body'' (Eph. 4:4). In preaching Jesus, then one would preach about the one church, the Lord's church. In the process of preaching about the one body, it would have been pointed out that Christ is the ``saviour of the body'' (Eph. 5:23). This simply indicates that the church is the saved as Acts 2:47 reads, ''...and the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.'' 2) The Name Of Jesus Christ. To preach Christ is to preach about the name or the authority of Christ. Jesus himself said, ''...All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth'' (Matt. 28:18). To have power is to have authority. As Jesus taught among men while He was on the earth, ``the people were astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes'' (Matt. 7:28-29). If we understand about the name of Christ, we will realize that ``neither is their salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved'' (Ac. 4:12). In fact, we are to ``repent and be baptized...in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins'' (Ac. 2:38). This simply means that repentance and baptism is by the authority of Christ. Paul wrote the Philippians concerning the name of Jesus, ``Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow...'' (Phil. 2:9-10). 3) Baptism. When Philip ``preached unto him Jesus'' the eunuch said, ``see, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?'' (Ac. 8:36). How do you think the eunuch learned about being baptized? Only one way. To preach Jesus is to preach baptism. When Philip ``preached Christ'' to the Samaritans, ``they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women'' (Ac. 8:12). Preachers claiming to preach Christ while failing to teach what the Bible teaches about the church and the authority of Christ, telling one that baptism is not important, simply are not ``preaching unto him Jesus.'' -- Via Ellettsville Church Bulletin, May 25, 1995 ___________________________________________ Sentence Sermons Knowledge is like a snapshot. It can be enlarged; but if it gets out of focus, everything becomes a blur. Truth on any given point is very narrow--error covers all the rest of the ground. God's part we cannot do; our part He will not do. "...stand firm in the faith...." ________________________________________ Tri-State CHURCH OF CHRIST 1314 Montgomery Avenue, Ashland, Kentucky 41101 Sunday: 10:00 A.M. Bible class 10:50 A.M. Worship 6:30 P.M. Worship Wednesday: 7:30 P.M. Bible study evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (606) 325-9742 e-mail: tedwards@zoomnet.net Gospel Observer web site: http://www.zoomnet.net/~tedwards/go ________________________________________