The Word Unleashed - Radio

In 1 John 4, the apostle John warns first-century Christians about false teachers and the dangerous and damning influence they have. At the same time, his warning is every bit as vital for us as Christians today. Scripture insists that we be informed and stay alert for this constant danger lurking across the entire world.

The Bible repeatedly acknowledges the reality of false teachers. This was true in the Old Testament, when false prophets arose among the people. The same is true in the New Testament, as false teachers in the first century sought to undermine the biblical Jesus and the biblical gospel. It is important to know that Scripture calls God’s people to recognize, identify, and avoid false teachers.

James urges his readers and us today not to merely understand the truth about God and His sovereignty but to apply that truth daily in the detailed circumstances of our lives—and even as we anticipate the future.

The sovereignty of God is a profound doctrine that is taught all throughout Scripture. One of the key passages that teaches this truth is James 4, where James encourages Christians to rest in God’s sovereignty at all times.

In the book of James, James calls us as believers to constantly acknowledge God's control over every facet of our lives. To live the Christian life to the fullest, we must embrace this crucial truth. But closely related to God’s sovereignty is His providence—that is, how God works everything out according to His will and our good.

As followers of Jesus Christ, we must constantly acknowledge and joyfully accept God's sovereignty over our lives, no matter the circumstances that this life may bring. Such a profound doctrine ensures us that nothing that happens in our lives is accidental and that God intends to use it for His glory and our good.

As we continue to live in a culture that devalues and is even hostile toward marriage while promoting divorce, it is critical for us to be confident in God and His Word. We can be confident that He has equipped us to uphold the truth and defend the institution of marriage.

In this powerful passage, Jesus Christ teaches that God hates divorce and will not allow it among His people, with only two exceptions. But it was common during Jesus’ day for the emphasis to be placed on the exceptions in order to get out of a marriage rather on its solidarity and importance as an institution before God. Jesus seeks to clear the air, sharing God’s heart for marriage, divorce, and even remarriage.

Jesus demonstrates that God established marriage and gave it a prominent place in His creation—this is clear in Genesis 1–2. God also established the parameters of marriage: male and female, and only two: one man and one woman. And he established the priority of marriage—you are to make that the highest human relationship in life. Finally, God established the permanence of marriage—the two becoming one indivisibly and inseparably.

Sadly, many professing Christians haven’t been adequately taught from Scripture on the topic of divorce, and many churches have neglected to equip their people to deal with this difficult but relevant issue. When Jesus taught His disciples about divorce, He set a precedent as it relates to God and His Word: we must believe what He has said and also obey it. And this applies to the issue of divorce.