When I spoke about Mark 2. Christ’s application of the Sabbath laws are very interesting. Technically…He broke the standards of the Sabbath Law as they were understood by the Legalists. To the accusations against Him Jesus said,
Mark 2:27
{2:27} And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath
I was reading a story from a man that was speaking about how the church teaches the laws of marriage and divorce - than of course remarriage.
To me this story made sense of how ridiculous we can get when we are to rigid with no mercy.
It can be said that man wasn’t made for the Law, but the Law made for man. Divorce is a stipulation of the Law. So too, like the Sabbath regulations, man wasn’t made to abide by divorce Law, but divorce Law was made for man.
How does this work? By principle. Divorce laws provided equity and justice in the dissolution of marriages. The writing of divorcement protected women from abuse and exploitation. In the New Covenant we are not bound by the Law. However, the principles of God’s Law are still very much alive. If a woman or her children are being abused physically, emotionally, or psychologically we should consider the Law’s purpose…the protection of women. The door swings both ways…sometimes it’s the protection of men.
Let’s say a woman or her children are being abused by her husband but he hasn’t committed adultery (or at least there isn’t any evidence for adultery). Under the traditional interpretation of biblical divorce laws this woman is forced to stay with this abuser…if she divorces him she is expected to live a single life with her children. If she remarries the church is forced to classify HER as an adulteress and dis-fellowship her. Should she seek a divorce and desire to remarry a godly man not only has she been abused by her ex-husband, but now she’s spiritually abused by the church…when she’s done nothing wrong. One thing I’ve noticed…the Legalist’s interpretation puts the victim in bondage and empowers the abuser. For example…
When we look at this man's comment about how Divorce Law was made for man - you have to stop and realize due to our sin this law was needed. We speak of the world and how they try to find loop holes in things, and yet when Christians do not side with mercy, compassion, grace, etc but use the law ARE we NOT doing the same THING?
The Sabbath's intent was to be of service to the man, and not man created for the purpose of keeping the sabbath, no matter what. The sabbath is to serve the man, not man supposed to serve the sabbath.
Are we to follow the law in extreme fashions that we do empower abusers, and leave victims in bondage? It seems we can't LOOK at circumstances, and use the discernment skills that the Lord has given us. We ask ourselves is separating this couple biblical? When we clearly see people being harmed why is it we struggle with what we know is right?
Why we question what is moral and ethical shows how we place the law before mercy - and in this case humans. The law served no one - not the family nor the abuser.
We use the law to say things are 'biblical', and yet use no common sense or compassion towards them. If that were correct way Jesus would be scolding those eating on the Sabbath, and not telling the extremists to basically GET WITH IT and GET REAL!
The strangest part to me? Christians sit and struggle with the above story. Do remember a while ago that
Saddleback church got themselves into hot water, because of comments about this 'struggle'?
"I wish there were a third [reason for divorce] in Scripture, having been involved as a pastor with situations of abuse," Holladay said. "There is something in me that wishes there were a Bible verse that says, 'If they abuse you in this-and-such kind of way, then you have a right to leave them.'"
Do you know WHY these people struggle? They place the law above all else. They don't feel the freedom like Jesus did when he told his followers to eat the grain on the Sabbath, and how they were NOT doing anything wrong!
When men can't see what Jesus pointed out in this story? They are not the leaders that they claim to be. When people STRUGGLE with the thought having to leave families 'as is', because they realize the abuse that is happening...then side on 'law' instead of common sense and mercy? They are going the same thing the Pharisees did in the story.
It reminds me of the story in the bible about the master and his servants, and how he left on trip giving three of them 'talents' to work with in his absence. The story is in
Matthew 25:14-30. As a small child this story kind of scared me, because at times I would do what was 'safe'. I was so afraid of failing, and being reamed for this - and that I could picture myself placing those talents in the ground myself. I would watch the others make a profit, but would be to scared to take that risk myself.
As I grew into maturity I realized there are times in which you must take a risk for the betterment.
We all must use discernment in circumstances, because one size doesn't always fit all. Mr. Holladay like many others bury their talents in the ground, because its the 'safe' thing to do as they see it. They 'wish' there was some form of rescue or mercy for abused parties. WHY they feel that leaving victims in abusive circumstances would be 'biblical' is mind blowing.
You might think that fear and suspicion will keep you out of trouble, but really they’ll just cause you suffering and pain. It this case? For everyone involved. You don’t need fear to avoid being a gullible idiot; for that you just need common sense. To live a life of abundance, you must ultimately move beyond fear and work to create abundance for others. Otherwise you’ll ultimately be cast out as worthless.
Mark 2:27
{2:27} And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath.
