Joseph Prince’s False Prophecy on DJ Glenn Ong & Jamie Yeo and these are the fruits of his ministry
– By Rev George Ong (Dated 12 Oct 2024)
Announcements:
Don’t miss the 2 links on Glenn Ong and Jamie Yeo,
2 videos on David Pawson & 1 video on Joseph Prince.
Appendix 1 and 2 contain David Pawson’s view
on Divorce and Remarriage.
Please do your own study on these 2 topics
and come to your own conclusion.
(This article was also sent to Rev Dr Ngoei Foong Nghian, General Secretary, National Council of Churches of Singapore (NCCS) office, and for the attention of the Executive Committee Members.)
In my recent article titled,
“Joseph Prince’s carnal guesswork of using ‘someone’ which could refer to anyone, and posturing that as a gift of knowledge, and a voice he had heard from God or Jesus, is slandering and lying against the Holy Spirit,”
Please click on the link below to view,
the following wrote these 2 YouTube comments:
@joejojo4805
“If one has attended New Creation Church long enough,
one would know
that Joseph Prince is very bad at prophesying.
During the period when I attended New Creation Church,
at least on 2 occasions, his “prophecy” backfired.
That was the year
when Radio DJ Glenn Ong won some best DJ award,
or something like that.
At that time,
Glenn Ong was married to radio presenter, Jamie Yeo
and both were attending New Creation Church.
During a Sunday service,
Joseph Prince called out both of them
(with camera penned on Glenn Ong & Jamie Yeo)
and he started prophesying some very “godly” things
about Glenn Ong’s career
and how his marriage with Jamie
will be blessed by the Lord.
Not long after, Glen and Jamie filed for divorce
and currently, both of them are in their third marriage.”
@randomdove007
“I can verify that;
I was in that service.
That time my friends and I
envied Glenn Ong and Jamie Yeo
for being such a beautiful couple.
But under the grace teaching of Joseph Prince,
their lifestyle and ungodly choices
reflect a bad testimony.”
I have checked with several other Ex New Creation Church members,
who have also confirmed that the above took place
– that Joseph Prince prophesied some very good things
on Glenn Ong and Jamie Yeo
during a worship service.
First, I don’t need to belabour the point
that Joseph Prince, is indeed, a false prophet,
who prophesied something good
about the marriage of Glenn Ong and Jamie Yeo
that didn’t happen at all.
In fact, they later divorced.
Second, I was also given to understand
by several Ex New Creation Church members
that Joseph Prince
officiated or solemnized or blessed
the marriage of Glenn Ong (second marriage) and Jamie Yeo
at New Creation Church,
and that Joseph Prince’s daughter, Jessica, was the flower girl.
Third, Lawrence Lim,
who is said to be Joseph Prince’s right-hand man
officiated or solemnized or blessed
Glenn Ong’s third marriage, after he divorced Jamie Yeo
in an Article, titled,
“Radio DJs Glenn Ong and Jean Danker marry,”
Please view
by clicking on the link below:
https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/entertainment/radio-djs-glenn-ong-and-jean-danker-marry
In this Article, Glenn Ong said his marriage vows:
“But glad that we didn’t fall for each other back then
because if we did, I would have gone to jail
of getting involved with a minor.
And I’m sure we would be leading very different lives today.
Baby, the Lord has blessed me greatly.
He has showered me with favour,
showed me grace,
given me wisdom
and given me you.
I’m sure He has a greater plan for bringing us together.
And I’m excited for us both.
I promised to look after you,
stand by your side when you need me most.
I promised to love you and protect you,
especially from all the creepy crawlies you are so afraid of.
Jean Olivier, my Baby Danker,
it’s going to be amazing
as we lived the Let-Go life
(Glenn Ong was quoting Joseph Prince’s Book, titled,
‘Live the Let-Go Life’)
and flow in His grace
because with Christ as the centre of our marriage,
we will always be strong.”
Lawrence Lim (Joseph Prince’s right-hand man) said:
“Come on, give them a round of applause.”
Fourth, for the Third Marriage of Jamie Yeo,
in an Article, titled,
“3rd time lucky? Jamie Yeo to get married again,”
Please view
by clicking on the link below:
https://stomp.straitstimes.com/singapore/3rd-time-lucky-jamie-yeo-to-get-married-again
This is the kind of grace
that people are learning and imbibing from Joseph Prince.
This is the kind of the Let-Go life
that Joseph Prince is inspiring people to live.
This is the kind of fruit
that Joseph Prince is producing.
In a sermon, Joseph Prince said;
“Never mind.
I always say, let the fruits speak for itself
because our Lord Jesus says,
by their fruits, you shall know them.
Not by the talk, Amen.”
Yes, indeed, the fruits have indeed spoken
about the cheap grace that Joseph Prince
has been poisoning the world.
In a teaching session, David Pawson said;
“And this teaching is now spreading around the world
from Singapore
and from here in America.
And it’s simply – Grace is free
– once you believe – that’s it.
And any sins you commit after that are cancelled.
Can you imagine the result that that’s having?
Well, I can tell you, this teaching of so-called Free Grace
has really captured the churches in South Africa.
And when I asked the Pastors,
what effect that was having on Christian living,
they all said the same thing.
They said,
‘We’re getting a vast increase
in divorce and remarriage.’
Isn’t that interesting?
Because even if it’s wrong to divorce and remarriage
– that’s okay – you’ve been forgiven in advance.
Doesn’t matter how you live now.
And that’s the fruit of that wrong teaching of grace.
And this teaching is now spreading around the world
from Singapore
and from here in America.”
In another teaching session, David Pawson said;
to view the 4-minute-30-second video:
“But first what Jesus said. His explanation.
Jesus took a stricter view of divorce and remarriage
than Moses, certainly.
And He went right back to Genesis 2
for the basis of His view.
But the explanation for His strict view,
extremely strict view,
a view that no other moral teacher has ever risen to.
The highest standard of all.
And you’ll find this in Luke and Mark.
In Luke chapter 16, verse 18, and in Mark chapter 10.
Now, this is very significant
because both Mark and Luke were written for unbelievers,
and written for Gentiles.
And to the Gentile world,
Jesus makes an absolute statement,
an absolute prohibition
with no exceptions,
with no qualifications.
The only qualifications He makes are in Matthew.
That’s very significant.
So, Mark and Luke gave us Jesus’ rule,
which is the heart of His teaching.
And that’s the very basis.
There’s no point in discussing exceptions
until you believe His rule.
And His rule is in Mark and Luke.
Mark 10, Luke 16.
And that rule is very simple and very clear.
And the rule is whoever divorces his wife
and marries another woman
is committing adultery.
And whoever marries a divorcee
is also committing adultery.
Now that simple rule needs to be unpacked a little.
Adultery is the sin of a married person.
Fornication is the sin of an unmarried (person).
But adultery for which the Greek word is ‘moichia’,
that is always the sin of a married person.
And, therefore, what Jesus is saying
is God doesn’t recognize divorce.
A divorce may be perfectly legal
and man may accept the marriage is over,
but God doesn’t.
And, therefore, if he marries again, after a divorce,
that’s adultery against his first partner,
to whom in God’s sight, he is still married.
Now, hope you follow that.
I’m just unpacking what He (Jesus) said.
Adultery, since it can only be the sin of a married person
means that after the divorce,
the person is still married in God’s sight, not in men’s.
In men’s the marriage is dissolved,
but in God’s sight, it’s still there.
And therefore, if he has sex with someone else,
even though it’s legal and it’s within marriage,
it’s actually adultery.
And whoever marries a divorcee
is doing the same thing.
They are committing adultery
against the woman’s first husband
because they are still married.
That’s the explanation of the very strict line
that Jesus took against divorce and remarriage.
Neither counts with God because they are all still married
to their original partners in His sight.
And therefore, are committing adultery.
They are living a life in an adulterous relationship
which God does not recognise.
That’s the heart of Jesus’ teaching.”
Rev George Ong
Appendix 1 and 2 contain David Pawson’s view
on Divorce and Remarriage.
Please do your own study on these 2 topics
and come to your own conclusion.
Appendix 1
In ‘Completing Luther’s Reformation,’
David Pawson wrote:
“I was on a special commission by the Evangelical Alliance in Britain, chaired by John Stott, to debate the new legislation that was coming in, whereby divorce could be on the ground of marriage breakdown, not any other, and that Britain would recognise that a marriage had broken, and therefore could be dissolved.
Christians were then faced with whether they stood by Jesus’ teaching or went along with new legislation. It was that particular issue that I believe began to destroy the
discipline of the Christian Church in Britain.
So, we had varying responses.
For the most part, the free churches were prepared to marry the innocent party in a divorce.
The Anglican Church was not prepared to remarry, but has blessed remarriages.
I for one cannot understand how we can ask God to bless a remarriage and yet be unwilling to conduct it.
That seems to me hypocrisy.
But there we are.
It is totally inconsistent.
The Roman Catholic Church has greatly increased what it calls “annulment of marriage” and finds some reason for declaring that a marriage was not a marriage at all in the first place.
So, they have taken their own line to this.
But right across the board we have the fact
that the majority of Christian churches in my country,
in one way or another,
are now blessing remarriage after divorce.
Leading Christian evangelists, pastors, and Bible teachers are now openly changing wives and justifying it by saying,
“My new wife is a much better partner in my ministry than the old one was.”
It is quite incredible. I could name names that you know and would recognise, of foremost Christian evangelists and leaders in my country who have simply divorced their wife and married someone else, usually an associate in the work, or a secretary, or somebody working closely with them.
I am openly speaking to that situation and making myself terribly unpopular for doing so, but I simply preach what Christ taught.
But having opened that door, I give you some figures from America. At first it was liberals who began to lower the standards of the sanctity of marriage.
Then it became evangelicals. The situation now in America is that the “Bible Belt”, as it is known, in the southern USA where the Southern Baptists (who are known as Bible believers), are the major denomination, now has a higher divorce rate – fifty percent higher than the rest of America.
And that is where the Bible is widely respected. Not only that, but eighty percent of all juvenile delinquency or child crime comes from broken homes and ended marriages. That is true of my country. We now have the highest divorce and remarriage rate in Europe.
It is right among the evangelical and Bible believers. They are changing partners like that. Well once the Church, as it were, reduced the sanctity of marriage in the sixties by going along with the idea that marriage could be dissolved and replaced, then all the other gender issues began streaming in behind that.
We now face the biggest gender issue of all: will the Church marry homosexuals? I turned on the television (the BBC) for a service of worship from a church in Somerset. Here was a minister “marrying” or pronouncing a “blessing” on two men in the name of Jesus. I honestly felt sick in my stomach.
Then there was another church in the same county where in one service the minister “dissolved” a marriage of a couple in his church and in the name of Jesus said, “You are now free and separate.”
In the same service he married the man to another woman in his congregation (or performed a “blessing”) and “married” the woman to another woman in the congregation—a former nun (or, again, gave a “blessing”).
All this in the name of Jesus in a Christian church, but I am sorry, that is where we are. This is going to be a great pressure on us:
whether we are going to be pressured by the State into a complete denial of the sanctity of marriage.
In Jesus’ teaching, nothing dissolves a marriage except death. That should be, I believe, our stand.
The exceptions that he made are both in Matthew for a reason, because Matthew is a Jewish Gospel written for Jews—for the early Jewish believers.
The exception is due to Jewish culture. The word he used was not “adultery” but “fornication”. When the word “fornication” (porneia) is used in the same context as “adultery” (moicheia), they are clearly two different things.
Jesus does that, and so does Paul in many of his references. Fornication is sex before marriage. Adultery is sex after marriage with someone else.
The only exception Jesus made was fornication, not adultery. But even the New International Version has changed that word to “marital unfaithfulness”, which is unwarranted mistranslation.
In Jewish culture, betrothal or engagement is far more serious than in our culture. Engagement can be broken in our culture. But in Jewish culture, that is as good as the promises made in a wedding.
Therefore, if the bridegroom discovers that his bride has already had sex before they are married, he is totally at liberty to divorce her.
The word “divorce” there is in an engagement context, not a marriage context.
Of course, Matthew also gives us a classic example of that with Mary and Joseph, where Joseph had not consummated marriage with Mary, but believed that she had already fornicated with someone else, so resolved to divorce her. That would have been the right thing to do.
He was a just and a righteous man. But an angel told him the whole truth and said, “You don’t need to be afraid of taking her as your wife; she has not been unfaithful to you. The child is by the Holy Spirit.”
That example, in the same Gospel as the two exceptions, tells you the context.
In a Jewish culture, a man was almost bound to put away his intended wife if she was found to be fornicating beforehand.
In Matthew 5, Jesus simply said that a man who gets rid of his wife is forcing her into adultery and is responsible for that, except if he divorces her for being unfaithful before the marriage—for fornication.
Therefore, I am convinced that based on a careful reading of Jesus’ words, his teaching made no exceptions.
In Mark and Luke, written for Gentile unbelievers, there is no mention of any exception whatsoever, because there isn’t the same Jewish culture of the binding betrothal from which there should and could be divorce before the marriage.
The Church went soft on divorce and remarriage, and it is now happening not just among members but also among
ministers.
All over, wherever I go, I find this. In Jesus’ eyes it is legalised adultery. As soon as the Church gave way on the sanctity of marriage the other things swept in.
In the same way, in the sixties the Church gave way on the sanctity of life by supporting the abolition of capital punishment, which the Lord laid on us in the Noahic Covenant, which was made with all mankind, and which God has kept, but we haven’t—that a murderer deserves to die and his life must be taken.
When we abolished that in the sixties I predicted then, “This is the end of the sanctity of life,” and therefore murder is no longer sacrilege, the destruction of God’s image.
I said, “The new thing will be abortion, and the thing after that will be euthanasia.” Once you have taken one step to reduce the sanctity of life, all these other things follow. So, we are now battling with abortion and we are battling with potential euthanasia.
In the sixties, two sacred things were reduced: the sanctity of life and the sanctity of marriage.
The result is what we are now grappling with and being crippled by today. But I just want to show you that it all began then. We are now reaping the harvest and being put in such pressurised situations.
The Church – if it doesn’t marry homosexuals – will be under persecution from the authorities. That will be regarded as treason, as anti-citizenship. I tell you that now. We as Christian leaders will have to decide whether we are going to compromise or not on these crucial issues.
It is going to be very costly to stand firm by the commandments of Jesus. He said, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them and teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”
Among those commandments is his clear teaching on the sanctity of life and the sanctity of marriage, that in God’s sight must never be broken.
The discipline of the Church is now suffering because we compromised back in the sixties without realising what…
Finally, I was asked this question: would I tell remarried people who discovered this to divorce? I believe that anybody living in sin must repent. “Repent” means turning away from that.
If they are in an adulterous relationship of any kind, repentance means leaving that relationship. I take my hat off to couples I know who separated when they realised that they were living in adultery in the sight of the Lord. We can only tell them to repent and warn them that the cost of not repenting could be eternal.”
Appendix 2
David Pawson
REMARRIAGE AFTER DIVORCE?
DG01-03
Biblical Principles
(a) What God Says
Genesis 2:22-24 gives God’s intention for marriage for all humans.
“For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.”
Or as the King James version states, there is a “leaving” and a “cleaving”.
So God’s intention from the beginning was monogamy – marriage with one person for life.
To be a marriage three things are necessary: consent, commitment and consummation.
The seventh commandment given to Moses by God shows the sanctity of marriage –
“You shall not commit adultery.” (Exodus 20:14)
And the penalty was death.
(b) What Moses Said
The only statement in the law of Moses on marriage and divorce is Deuteronomy 24:1-4: “If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, and if after she leaves his house she becomes the wife of another man, and her second husband dislikes her and writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, or if he dies, then her first husband, who divorced her, is not allowed to marry her again after she has been defiled. “
This legislation was given by Moses to control a particular situation that could arise after divorce and remarriage.
That is, a divorced wife who remarried could not go back to her first husband.
(c) What the Prophets Said
The prophets adopted a metaphorical approach. (eg Jer 3, Eze 16, Hos 1-3).
The covenant of marriage is shown to be a reflection of God’s covenants with His people.
Malachi 2:10-16
God hates divorce.
God is offended by mixed marriages, broken marriage covenants, and divorcing for a younger woman.
(d) What the Scribes Were Saying in Jesus’ Time
Divorce and remarriage were common in Jewish and Roman society.
Debate among the scribes centered on defining the “something indecent” which preceded the first divorce in Deuteronomy 24:1.
There were three Rabbinic views on the divorce and remarriage question:
Shammai – Strict view. Only on the grounds of adultery. (Ignored Mosaic law which said the penalty for adultery was death!)
Hillel – For any offensive behaviour.
Akiva – Because you met someone you liked better.
(e) What Jesus Said
THE RULE
The rule stated by Jesus is: Only death dissolves a marriage.
Therefore remarriage while a partner is alive is adultery in God’s sight.
This is the first time in history that anyone ever said remarriage after divorce is adultery.
This rule is recorded in Mark and Luke – the gospels for unbelievers – with no hint of any exceptions.
Luke 16:18 “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”
Applies to “anyone”.
Does not say divorce is a sin. It is the remarrying that is a sin (adultery).
Mark 10:2-12 “Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”
“What did Moses command you?” he replied.
They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.”
“It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,”
Jesus replied. “But at the beginning of creation God `made them male and female.’ For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”
When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this.
He answered, “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.”
Every marriage is joined by God, so humans shouldn’t break up what God has put together.
Moses permitted divorce to control something that was already happening.
Again, it is the remarriage that constitutes adultery. (Principle applied to both husband and wife.)
POSSIBLE EXCEPTIONS
Only possible exceptions are recorded in Matthew, the gospel for believers.
Matthew 5:31-32 “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.”
In context, Jesus is discussing adultery, not divorce and remarriage.
Jesus is saying: If you divorce your wife you are forcing her into adultery, except in the case where she has already committed “adultery” (ie fornication or any sexual activity outside marriage).
Matthew 19:3-10 “Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”
“Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator made them male and female, and said, `For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”
“Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”
Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery.”
The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.”
Verse 9, without the except clause, restates Jesus’ rule: “Anyone who divorces his wife ……… and marries another woman commits adultery.”
But verse 9 has been considered as ambiguous because of the position of the except clause.
Normally an except clause qualifies what precedes it.
So the exception applies only to divorce.
That is, adultery is a ground for divorce but not remarriage.
Alternatively, the except clause could be applied to both divorce and remarriage.
This has led to the popular view:
If you divorce for physical infidelity and marry another, you are not committing adultery.
That is, the innocent party can remarry.
Where there is an ambiguity look for clarification in scripture and outside it.
Immediate context – Disciples were astonished at Jesus’ teaching, as it was not in line with any of the current Rabbinical teaching.
Other scripture – Every other record of Jesus’ teaching is clear.
No remarriage after divorce.
– Paul was clear: be reconciled to your marriage partner or remain single. (1 Corinthians 7:10).
Outside scripture – All the church fathers (except one) for 500 years permitted divorce for adultery but prohibited remarriage altogether.
In practice the majority of divorces today, don’t come under this one possible exception allowing remarriage.
(f) What Paul Said
THE RULE
Only death dissolves a marriage, (as Jesus said).
Romans 7:1-3 “Do you not know, brothers–for I am speaking to men who know the law–that the law has authority over a man only as long as he lives?
For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage. So then, if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress, even though she marries another man.”
1 Corinthians 7:39 “A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord.”
1 Corinthians 7:10-11 “To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.”
POSSIBLE EXCEPTIONS
1 Corinthians 7:12-16 “To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise, your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. But if the unbeliever leaves, let him do so. A believing man or woman is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace. How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or, how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?”
Paul says nothing here about remarriage. He is saying if a non believer wants to leave a marriage let them go.
1 Corinthians 7:27-28 “Are you married? Do not seek a divorce. Are you unmarried? Do not look for a wife. But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this.”
If “if you do marry” is taken as a blank cheque for all divorce and remarriage it contradicts all other biblical teaching.
More likely Paul is talking about those whose partners have died and so are free to remarry.
Summary of Biblical Principles
Three biblical positions regarding the question of remarriage after divorce:
(a) Two exceptions (improbable)
– for adultery (the innocent party can remarry).
– for desertion by an unbeliever (the believer can remarry).
(b) One exception (possible)
– for adultery (the innocent party can remarry).
(c) No exceptions (probable)
– May divorce due to adultery but no remarriage.
However the majority of pastoral situations today don’t come within either of the possible exceptions.
Update
This series of messages was given by David Pawson in 2002.
Since then, David has had further insight
into “Matthew’s possible exception” (Matt 19:3-10).
In summary: Matthew’s gospel was written primarily for Jewish believers.
In their culture, engagement or betrothal was as binding as marriage.
The word used in Matthew for sexual relations is “fornication” (sex before marriage), not “marital unfaithfulness” as often translated.
Jesus is therefore saying that, for Jews, if a man discovers during the betrothal period that his “wife to be “had fornicated, he may divorce her. (Note Joseph’s intention to divorce Mary during their betrothal period.)
This passage therefore does not provide us with an exception to Jesus’ rule in Mark and Luke. That rule is, only death dissolves a marriage.
For a more detailed explanation of David’s current teaching on this, refer to messages given in 2007
(DM14 tracks 5 & 6) and 2008 (DN03 track 2).
Historical Practice
Four Periods in Church History
1. Early (0-500)
All (but one) of 25 church fathers and two church councils confirmed that Jesus permitted divorce for adultery but prohibited all remarriage.
2. Medieval (500-1500)
Church split in 1054 into western (catholic) and eastern (orthodox).
Western – Marriage became a sacrament and so could not be dissolved under any circumstances. So a system to annul marriages was developed.
Eastern – State rules applied to the church. So divorce and remarriage were allowed within limits even though it contradicted scripture.
3. Reformed (1500-1800)
The reformers, including Luther, started the “two exceptions” position, which led to the “compassionate Christ” argument.
Tindale introduced Luther’s ideas to England.
In 1603 separation or annulment were accepted (not divorce).
4. Contemporary (1800-2000)
In England up until 1857 there was no legal divorce (and so no remarriage) except by an act of Parliament.
In 1857, adultery was introduced as a ground for divorce.
Throughout the 20th century additional grounds were added – desertion, cruelty, incurable insanity and irretrievable breakdown.
Modern Trends:
The Bible gives the “ideal”.
No absolutes. Wouldn’t God prefer a loving second marriage to a hating first one?
Doesn’t God want us to be happy?
No consistent preaching or practice in the church.
Summary
The trend over 2000 years has been to become more liberal.
Discipline has disappeared from church life and no standards are set.
The church tends to follow state legislation.
Should the church be leading the world, rather than the world leading the church?
The 11 different views on divorce and remarriage are the church’s biggest handicap.
It is very difficult to draw the line when exceptions start to be made.
Pastoral Problems
Two requirements for the church before pastoral problems are addressed:
clear convictions and regular instructions.
Three ways to approach pastoral problems:
1. Bypass Scripture
This approach is used if you consider scripture is culturally conditioned, scripture is an ideal, love is the only command of Jesus, or applying scripture is just too hard.
If scripture is bypassed then you rely on either:
Situations – What is the best we can do in the circumstances?
No standards, rely on feelings.
or Precedents – What have other people done.
Remember that God’s blessing is evidence of His grace and not of His approval.
2. Limit Scripture
This approach limits the application of scripture in some way.
Limit the teachings of Jesus to believers.
This approach says: What you did before you became a believer no longer matters.
God does forgive and forget the past, but there are still ongoing human consequences to our actions.
Only the act of remarriage is adultery.
What other sin is only sin the first time you do it?
Leads to the practice of not getting married in church but having a blessing in church.
There is no such thing as Christian marriage. Every marriage is a marriage in God’s sight.
3. Apply Scripture
Jesus never lowered His standards to meet the people, but persisted in lifting the people to meet His standards.
Apply the following scriptural principles to each situation:
(a) SIN Remarriage is sin (adultery) – note any exceptions.
Get them to read Jesus’ words aloud.
Sin will be judged.
Ignorance is not innocence.
(b) FORGIVENESS
Adultery is not an unforgiveable sin.
Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sins.
You must forgive the wronged partner or God can’t forgive you.
(c) REPENTANCE
God can’t forgive a sin until it is repented of.
Repentance is not regret, remorse or being sorry.
It has three dimensions:
Thought – See sin from God’s angle (breaking His law, provoking His anger).
Word – Confess sins (be specific). “I was wrong.”
Deed – Involves restitution, renunciation, being sorry enough to stop.
For every other sin you would say – Stop It.
The question: Are you willing to do whatever God tells you to do to put the situation right in His eyes?
The action: Whatever God tells you to do, you must do.
© Copyright David Pawson 2013
Compiled on 10/4/09 by DJ and JM Suthers (Ph 07 5482 3074)
from a message by David Pawson.
For a full copy of this message quote (DG01-03) and contact:
David Pawson Ministries
PO Box 38 Moffat Beach Qld 4551
Tel: 07 5491 3899
Email: admin@davidpawson.com.au