Jesus and the Law

Ballard Campus 3-13-11 Pastor Mark Driscoll

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Luke 16:14-

Driscoll goes for an hour on one 3 x 5 post-it note and 1/3 of a page of single-spaced notes with a few highlights

Success Cannot Save

The religious people liked money instead of worshipping and because their were doing well financially they believed that God was blessing them

In truth God was angry with them

Justify: God as a holy and just God, cannot be with us evil sinners so He had to cover us with his perfection and impute his perfection through Jesus

God must have perfection for close intimate relationship in heaven

My success cannot save me

Any joy happiness, or success is not indicative of God's favor and blessing

The Law Cannot Save You

To break any of the law is to break all the law

My good works done in my own strength are an abomination to God

What we need is a savior, we need Gospel

Everyone is a Hypocrit

Other people's sin is far more clear than my own

I am not even innocent under my own twisted morality

"I can't believe people would act like...me"

Adultery

They would grant people divorces w/o biblical grounds for money

People come to churches where their leaders allow disobedience because the leaders are compromised by the same sin

Jesus says why would you place heavy legal burdens on other people and grant illegal divorces when you are guilty of adultery

Divorce, when sin murders a Marriage

What constitutes the Biblical Grounds for Divorce?

1 Death Rom 7 & 1 Cor 7

2 Adultery Deut 22 & Matt 5

3 Sexual Immorality Matt 5 & Matt 19 - Infidelaty in the Covenant

4 Non-Christian Quits the Marriage 1Cor 7

5 Treachery in the marriage Mal 2 "I hate Divorce" Not I hate the Divorcee

Cruel, meanspirited treatment of a spouse

6 Hardness of Heart Matt & 19 Mark 10

Blamshifting, attacking, no repentance, "It's all my spouses fault"

Who gets to decide when there are Biblical grounds for divorce?

1Pet 5 & Heb 13 Says that Pastors and Leaders are appointed to make these calls as objective prayerful agents of God's Wisdom

What will the elders do if my Christian spouse insists on divorcing me without grounds?

Church discipline is there not to punish but to compell the unrepentant toward repentance and restored relationships

Must people endure abusive relationship?

10-14% of all marriages feature sexual assault, 95% of abuse is frm the husband to the wife

The first anti-spousal abuse law came from the Puritans between 1640-1680. Mandatory Christian responsibility to report all abuse publically and get involved to protect the women

Any man who abuse his wife, is a functional heretic

No abuse ever

Any relationship where one person is held to obey the Bible and the other doesn't is abusive

What about remarriages after divorce?

The Christian offending party (adulterer) cannot remarry anyone other than their spouse

The Christian Offended party can be remarriage after an appropriate season of greaving

Did my parents have biblical grounds for divorce? I don't understand all the shit that went down between them. I have no idea. Have I forgiven them? I don't know what to forgive them of? I don't know who to forgive for what. I have huge fear of marriage because mine will probably be like that. But God can redeem my marriage from the foolish ways inherited from my forefathers. But the mistakes they made were taught to me. I am likely to make the same mistakes they did. In addition, I look at myself and my proclivities are HIGHLY selfish. God has given me the same power that raised Jesus From the dead. But I still resist the Holy Spirit. If this happens, if I continue my selfishness, if I continue in the ways of my parents, I will DESTROY a wife and any kids. Father God here is my fear. I give it to you. Please don't make my fear paralysing, but an sober-minded honest assesment of the dangers involved in the second most important decision in my life.

Either the sin kills the marriage or Jesus dies for the sin.

I have seen a rare few good marriages, but I wonder if they are legit. I hope they are.