Monday, November 16, 2020

I Simply Don't Know The Answer Sometimes

1st Corinthians 13:12, “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” Daniel 2:22, “He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.” Daniel 12:8-9, “And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.”

Increasingly lately I find myself telling people that I just don't know the answers to their questions. People ask some hard things, and I find peace sometimes in simply admitting that I do not know all the answers. Sometimes I do 100% know the answers; such as, concerning the way of salvation and the King James Bible being God's inspired Word. But when people ask me about obscure Bible passages, I usually give them my opinion, but concede that I simply do not know for certain (and neither does anybody else). 

For example: There is much debate over the subject of marriage, divorce and remarriage (especially remarriage). You can talk with ten different preachers, and you'll get ten different variations of answers, and much contradictions. I always approach this topic on the basis of what we DO KNOW, and then proceed from there to form helpful conclusions. The purpose of this article is not to discuss marriage, divorce and remarriage; but if you are familiar with the subject, it is an ongoing heated debate in many churches. 

Also, a preacher has to particularly be very careful when advising people in this area of divorce and remarriage, because many people in struggling marriages are looking for a way out. They are lonely, hurting and tired, and the only thing holding them back from quitting is guilt. They would love to find a preacher to blame for their divorce, if such a pastor sanctions it. I don't think any man of God ought ever suggest, encourage or sanction any divorce. 

Gloria Chapman, the born-again Christian wife of the man who murdered singer John Lennon in 1980, has remained faithfully married to him over the past 40 years. I admire that lady! She flies from Hawaii to New York a few times each year for consensual visits and pizza with her husband in his prison cell, and then goes back home. How does an admirable woman like Mrs. Chapman, compare to millions of professed Christian wives who file for divorce for much, much less? Christian married couples have much to be ashamed of. I am not condemning anyone, God forbid, for I am the victim of an unwanted divorce myself in 2006. I am still single nearly 15 years later, and have never remarried, struggling to move forward alone in my life by God's grace. It hasn't been easy. To add insult to injury, the Harvest Baptist Church on Guam has turned me away in rejection since 2014, refusing to allow me to attend their church services. What ungodly people, selfish Bob Jones University graduates, big time phonies, incompetent Neo-evangelical ministers and snobby religious hypocrites!!!

Some preachers will claim that there is no debate if you believe the Bible, and then they'll tell you what they believe. But the next five pastors will all claim the same thing, and they'll all teach different things. So who is right? Who is wrong? My point is that it is not always black and white sometimes. So I am honest to simply tell people that I do not really know. I have my opinions based on the Bible about marriage, divorce and remarriage, but I am quick to admit that I could be wrong (and so could they). So I cautiously approach this topic, sharing Biblical principles to help people make tough decisions, but I am not dogmatic where the Bible is silent. As believers we have the mind of Christ. 1st Corinthians 2:16, “For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Dr. John R. Rice Didn't Think Present-Day Israel Is The Fulfillment Of Bible Prophecy, And Neither Do I

Revelation 11:8, “And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also o...