The Counter, Counter-Argument

He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.” (Matthew 19:8).

It is a dangerous thing to tolerate even the ‘slightest’ of sins. We love to categorize sin in order to justify ourselves and to make us feel better that we are not as sinful as most people. But it doesn’t matter - a lie is a lie regardless if it’s a ‘little white lie’ or a ‘double feature in full technicolor’. Stealing is stealing whether it is a candy bar from the local mini-mart or millions of dollars in a Ponzi scheme. And, according to Jesus, adultery is adultery whether it is looking at pornography or sleeping around with multiple partners.

Because we tolerate sin, it is difficult for us to appreciate the value of true holiness of character and righteousness of conduct. God’s moral law is not to our detriment, it’s for our benefit. Freedom is not freedom if it is unrestrained. A gardener knows if you don’t kill weeds they will take over your garden. An economist knows if you allow counterfeit currency to go unchecked it will destroy the economy. When a Christian tolerates even the slightest sins, he/she begins to travel down the road to a spiritually hard heart, backsliding, and apostasy.

In this text Jesus gets very pointed with the Pharisees. Although I wasn’t there to hear the Lord’s counter-argument to their counter-argument, I suspect Jesus ‘got in their face’ in His response. I sense He had enough of these ‘godless religionists’ as they manipulated Deuteronomy 24:1-4, and their interpretation of it, above the clear teaching of Genesis 1:27 and 2:24. 

Jesus said they were hard-hearted. The phrase means destitute of perception. A.T. Robertson said “It is a heart dried up (of spiritual life), hard and tough.” Sometimes God will allow what is less than ideal because people’s hard hearts make God’s ideal unattainable. Moses allowed divorce as a restraint toward injustice. It was a concession to human weakness. It was to be temporary and used in extreme cases. It became normative practice. We humans have not changed in 2,000 years.

The counter-argument to such issues is to go back and understand what God has said, why God said it, and to whom God said it. Context, context, context. Does this apply to Christians today? Absolutely. We are not under Mosaic Law, but we are accountable to the moral law of God. Does Jesus forgive us when we sin? Yes, when we confess and repent of it. What about divorce? In every area of life Christians are to strive for God’s ideal, not settle for man’s concession or compromise. Marriage comes before divorce. Let’s make sure we get marriage right before we begin to answer if divorce is right.

“Thank You, Lord, for Your Word which is truth. Thank You for Your wisdom, knowledge, and understanding, for Your commitment to God’s plan and man’s greater good. Teach us to hold to Your truth above our own opinions and judgments. To Your honor and glory I ask, Amen.”

Pastor