Do Not Break What God Has Joined (Matt 18-19:9)

“And he answered and said unto them, Have you not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they two shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder” (Matt 19:4-6).

We don’t separate what God has joined. He made man male and female in the beginning, taking the woman out of the man, and joining her to him in marriage. Now, we are not, under our rules, violating God’s rules for our convenience. He gives us MARRIAGE, and He gives us proper reason for divorce. But, He does not allow us to live as we see fit – “And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, commits adultery: and whoso marries her which is put away does commit adultery” (Matt 19:9).

Some say, “What does it matter? They don’t love each other; they have met someone else. What does it matter, so long as we are happy?” But, man’s HAPPINESS in sin is not God’s will. He doesn’t relinquish His authority because sin makes you happy, but He calls us to holiness, because He is HOLY.

The Christian is CONFORMED into the image of God. We serve Christ to be like Christ, God’s servant.

1. God gives us good works, so that we can glorify God and be inoffensive to the world – “Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go you to the sea, and cast a hook, and take up the fish that first comes up; and when you have opened his mouth, you shall find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and you” (Matt 17:24-27). People may hate us for doing good, but they won’t have the ability to say that the Christian is an evil person.

We have SUPERNATURAL power that OVERRULES our folly and pride. Peter spoke hastily, but Christ CLEANED it up, even as He cleans up after us, teaching us to do good. Miracles CAN’T be stopped, so God’s people LIVE holy, godly, and uprightly in this world. We are not perfect, but we are holy in deed and truth.
2. Sin is important to be stopped – “Wherefore if your hand or your foot offend you, cut them off, and cast them from you: it is better for you to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire” (Matt 18:6-9). The Son of Man was so zealous that He never sinned, and BELIEVERS are taught to repent, so that sin doesn’t rule us. We are not among those who say, “Sin that grace might abound”, or “Sin because the Savior cannot help you”. We are those that BELIEVE unto the actual saving of the life and soul. We are forgiven and cleansed.

God’s grace in Christ is power.
3. We love sinners, even among the saints – “Take heed that you despise not one of these little one [who believe in Jesus]; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven” (Matt 18:6, 10-14). We don’t allow the failures of brethren to put us off. We were SINNERS before He called us, and His glory is saving us, though we are SINNERS still.

So, rather than devour each other over failures, and set up a merit system of works, we love one another for Christ’s sake, help the afflicted, teach the weak, and encourage every child of God in the blood of Christ. We point people to God’s power to SAVE, rather than hating each other over sin. Christ’s CHARACTER is to save the lost, and it is our PLEASURE to help the fallen and see saint’s RECOVERED.
4. We uphold the standard of the gospel – “And if he shall neglect to hear [two or three], tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto you as a heathen man and a publican” (Matt 18:15-18). Our LOVE is not unholy. We don’t say, “Sin all you want, because Christ died, and we love you”. Instead, LOVE causes us to hold people accountable. When you have been baptized, you enter into a relationship that DEMANDS accountability. We are not spying on each other, but CONFESSING the name of Christ is no light matter of indifference. You and I will either lift up the Name, repenting of sins, or we will be removed from the assembly of the saints. God’s LOVE does NOT allow sinners to live as we see fit, “And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed” (II Thess 3:14).
5. We are not concerned about numbers, and neither is God, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matt 18:18-20). If numbers were the issue, He could have saved everyone, devils included. But, the Lord Jesus makes people CONCERNED about His glory, His presence, and His will. As we meet in the blood to do God’s will, God in Christ is among us, pleased with our worship and our prayers. Our interest isn’t “how many”, but WHO is with us, and it is Christ that we seek.
6. We are FORGIVING – “Should not you also have had compassion on your fellow servant, even as I had pity on you? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if you from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses” (Matt 18:21-35). We have been forgiven, so to make us like Christ, He teaches us to forgive, at all costs. Forgiveness is SO important, that we cannot be God’s children, unless it is real. This means that we get grace from God to be like God because it is important to Him and us.

Jesus Only (Matt 17:1-21)

“While he yet spoke, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear you him… And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only (vs5, 8).”

Seeing God in His glory is seeing “Jesus only” in the salvation of sinners. Other than this, there is wrath. If we’d know God gracious, then we will not see the law and the prophets, but they will point us to Christ. We will not see preachers and brothers, but we will see Jesus only. And, seeing Jesus is OBEYING the gospel by His merit unto conformity to His will.

The gospel of God’s grace is “Jesus only”, and the more of Him, the better.

First, Hear Jesus only, not a mixture of law and grace, and not a moral sermon, but the unfolding of the scriptures in the Light of Jesus (Matt 17:3-5). If Christ is not preached, then the glory of the text has not been preached. The law is good, but there is NO WAY to holiness, except by God’s grace through Jesus’ blood. Take out or even mix Christ, and you corrupt the gospel, so that it cannot save – “Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; you are fallen from grace” (Gal 5:4).

Second, even though you and I are sinners, even though you have blasphemed God, short changed Jesus Christ, and done every foolish thing imaginable after being exalted by Him, you are still saved by grace – “And Jesus came and touched them, and said, “Arise, and be not afraid” (Matt 17:6-7). You were never on merit; you were always saved upon the basis of Christ’s accomplishments, and He has returned to teach you to serve Him better. Take no salvation by merit, and take no salvation without works of faith and love being wrought in us by faith in Christ.

Thirdly, we are hateful sinners by nature, the worst in the world: haters of God, “But I say unto you, That Elijah is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they willed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them” (Matt 17:10-12). Do not judge a man by what he does BEFORE he hears Christ, for he doesn’t know the grace of God. But, to HEAR and not repent, when so great a grace is preached, when a way so easy is opened, and when God is GRACIOUS through Christ, exposes the hate of man towards holiness.

Men act confused, but they are not. They merely make excuses not to believe, doing away with Christ. Even believers, in our sin, can silence God’s messengers unto our own hurt and pain. We are wise to repent of every false way in us and be turned from all wickedness, because it leads to fruitlessness and so much needless pain. Obedience is the path of the believer, and Christ’s death JUSTIFIES God to walk with us hand and hand, not condemning but TEACHING His children. Don’t reject the Christ, for you expose hate towards God that shall be punished, even as these men were slow to hear, and the unbelievers were moved to murder.

Lastly, the only way the worst demons are cast out is by bringing it to Jesus only – “Howbeit this kind goes not out but by prayer and fasting” (Matt 17:14-21). We must be emptied of all strength, and the fasting comes because the failure is known. The prayer comes because the sin is repeated. But, in due time, the Lord Jesus unfolds the Lord Jesus is the reason that the Lord Jesus is going to conform you into the image of the Lord Jesus, “Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you? Bring him here to me” (vs17). The gospel is bringing everything to Christ, and PRAYER and FASTING is the way. We rely on Him before God, even though we’re sinners, entirely by faith, desiring what God gives. God makes us WANT salvation, so that we ASK Him to save, and then He saves the man He humbled.