(This is not a personal letter.)
IRRELIGION
Do not be fooled, organized
religion--when the religion is irreligion--is
dangerous. Today, some churches are condoning
homosexual practice. Relatively, the tolerance of
remarriage after divorce is not so blatantly
immoral; it is in the guise of
"natural" lust! Even Billy Graham, a
famous evangelist whom I once revered, advised a
pernicious lie, "God never meant for people
to be divorced, but if you are already divorced,
ask God to forgive you, to cleanse you, to
straighten you out and make you a good wife or a
good husband to your present spouse, if you have
one."1 Good Lord! That is like
saying, "If you are already living in sin,
give God some lip service, and ask Him to help
you continue in your sin."
In regard to this subtle
deviation, the Bible clearly states, "The
wife is bound by the law for the length of time
her husband lives ... " (1 Cor. 7.39), and
"So then, if she be married to another man
while her husband lives, she shall be called an
adulteress" (Romans 7.3). Such immoral
activity is condemned: "Now the works of the
flesh are manifest, which are [adultery],
fornication ... that they who do such things
shall not inherit the kingdom of God"
(Galatians 5.19-21).
A divorced woman has two, and
only two, alternatives: (1) she may remain
divorced without ever marrying again, or (2) she
may be reconciled to the husband (1 Cor. 7.10,
11). Except for the death of a spouse, it is
either first or none. God forbid anyone to direct
otherwise, amen. A man is permitted to marry once
(monogamy), but not to remarry (1 Cor. 7.27).
Many other preachers and
teachers have promoted irreligion. Television,
radio, and the postal service are broad channels
for influence. Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart were
involved in scandals at the same time they were
ministering to the public (by the way, I do not
hold any grudges against any of these men whom I
have mentioned). The point I want to make is that
people should be on guard against listening to
leaders or advocates of an organized religion and
contributing money to them without knowing
whether what they teach is true or not and not
knowing how such people live.
In God's sight, there is only
one body of believers, and its sole source of
authority concerning truth and morality is the
Holy Bible. All of the members of the body are
different individuals with various gifts. We need
to become well acquainted with the written word
of God and pray that the Lord will work in our
hearts so that we will be more useful for Him. If
you know the Bible well enough, He will do just
that!
Br. Ken
1 Billy Graham, "Marriage, Your Home
and You," Decision, June 1986: 2.
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