Matthew 5:27-28 | Not Behavior, HEART. The notion that any of us could be righteous by our behavior is destroyed by Jesus! Whoever looks at someone with lust has ALREADY COMMITTED ADULTERY.
Matthew 19:5-6 | There are no loopholes! Jesus does not provide a system of approving certain divorces and not approving others. Instead He clarifies Genesis by adding: “What God had joined together, let no man separate!” Any attempt we make to “lower” or “soften” the law of God is always an attempt to provide a righteousness that is our own!
Dig Deeper: Genesis 1:26-28, 2:24-25; Matthew 19:1-15 (yep, include 13-15!); the short book of Hosea
Truth & Grace | The Biblical story calls us to follow Jesus, to participate in the Restoration of All Things! This comes through HOLY RELATIONSHIPS, regardless if one is single, married or divorced. Holy means: “utterly different” or “set apart”. This always happens through the Gospel, which is what Jesus does! So, we don’t aim for a “culture of purity,” but a people who are being restored.
Dig Deeper: 1 Corinthians 6:12-7:39, Ephesians 5
Colossians 2:8, 13 & Matthew 11:28-29 | Human Tradition and the Basic Principles of this World (Do more! Try Harder! Get Better!) will always seek to shift the burden upon us, upon our behavior. Jesus is relentless in centering upon our hearts! He invites those who are “weary and burdened” to come to HIM. He promises that we will find REST! For when we were DEAD (note how incapable dead people are) HE made us ALIVE!