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(This is not a personal
letter.)
IRRELIGION
Do not be fooled, organized
religion--when the religion is irreligion--is dangerous. Today,
some churches are condoning homosexual practice. Relatively, the
tolerance of remarriage after divorce is not so blatantly
immoral; it is in the guise of "natural" lust! Even
Billy Graham, a famous evangelist whom I once revered, advised a
pernicious lie, "God never meant for people to be divorced,
but if you are already divorced, ask God to forgive you, to
cleanse you, to straighten you out and make you a good wife or a
good husband to your present spouse, if you have one."1
Good Lord! That is like saying, "If you are already
living in sin, give God some lip service, and ask Him to help you
continue in your sin."
In regard to this subtle
deviation, the Bible clearly states, "The wife is bound by
the law for the length of time her husband lives ... " (1
Cor. 7.39), and "So then, if she be married to another man
while her husband lives, she shall be called an adulteress"
(Romans 7.3). Such immoral activity is condemned: "Now the
works of the flesh are manifest, which are [adultery],
fornication ... that they who do such things shall not inherit
the kingdom of God" (Galatians 5.19-21).
A divorced woman has two,
and only two, alternatives: (1) she may remain divorced without
ever marrying again, or (2) she may be reconciled to the husband
(1 Cor. 7.10, 11). Except for the death of a spouse, it is either
first or none. God forbid anyone to direct otherwise, amen. A man
is permitted to marry once (monogamy), but not to remarry (1 Cor.
7.27).
Many other preachers and
teachers have promoted irreligion. Television, radio, and the
postal service are broad channels for influence. Jim Bakker and
Jimmy Swaggart were involved in scandals at the same time they
were ministering to the public (by the way, I do not hold any
grudges against any of these men whom I have mentioned). The
point I want to make is that people should be on guard against
listening to leaders or advocates of an organized religion and
contributing money to them without knowing whether what they
teach is true or not and not knowing how such people live.
In God's sight, there is
only one body of believers, and its sole source of authority
concerning truth and morality is the Holy Bible. All of the
members of the body are different individuals with various gifts.
We need to become well acquainted with the written word of God
and pray that the Lord will work in our hearts so that we will be
more useful for Him. If you know the Bible well enough, He will
do just that!
Br. Ken
1 Billy Graham, "Marriage, Your Home
and You," Decision, June 1986: 2.
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