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Fighting Against God (The Continuing Adventures of Jesus #9) (King’s Cross)

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INTRODUCTION

Remember, Acts is the story of what Jesus continues to do by His Spirit in the Church. Consistently over history, this has provoked many to resent this powerful work and seek to destroy it, and every time, God foils their plans. 

The Text: “Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, (which is the sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation, and laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison…” (Acts 5:17-42)

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

With the city of Jerusalem buzzing with fear and excitement (Acts 5:12-16), the high priest becomes jealous and orders the arrest of unnamed apostles (Acts 5:17-18). An angel frees the apostles by night and urges them to keep preaching, and so they do (Acts 5:19-20). The next morning, the high priest marshals his court, only to find that when the officers are sent to the prison, everything is in place, except the prisoners (Act 5:21-23). While they are wondering what has happened, word arrives that the prisoners are preaching in the temple (Acts 5:24-25). The officers summon the apostles without force, and they are questioned before the assembly, accused apparently of insurrection (Acts 5:26-28). 

Peter and the apostles say that it is better to obey God than man, and they repeat their message that the Jewish leaders crucified Jesus but God has raised Him from the dead and they are witnesses, as is the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:29-32). This message enraged the council, but before they could carry out any executions, a respected Pharisee named Gamaliel, gave a speech urging the council to wait and see how matters fell out, since other revolutionaries had risen up and their followers scattered after their deaths (Acts 5:33-39). The assembly agreed to Gamaliel’s advice and released the apostles after beating them and threatening them, and the apostles rejoiced and kept preaching Jesus (Acts 5:40-42).

ENVIOUS INDIGNATION

The high priest and his party of Sadducees were filled with “indignation” at the influence and popularity of the apostles (Acts 5:17). The word for indignation can also be translated zeal, envy, or jealousy. It was out of “envy” (another Greek word) that the Jews delivered Jesus to Pilate for execution (Mt. 27:18, Mk. 15:10). The same root describes “zealots” who were often violent against the Roman-Jewish establishment, in fact, like Theudas and Judas who drew crowds of followers before their deaths (Acts 5:36-37). The irony of course is that the high priest and the council are the real zealots in this story, plotting to murder the apostles. 

The warning is that misplaced zeal is often knotted up with jealous envy and masked with what is imagined as righteous indignation. Envy has been defined as pain at another’s blessing or happiness. Envy often casts another’s blessings or success as somehow unjust for any number of reasons: how they arrived there, how they are handling it, slight imperfections, etc., but it fundamentally wants to see the happiness and blessing stripped away and develops a sort of morally charged desperation (e.g. Cain, Joseph’s brothers, Ahab). Revolution is driven by this kind of violent sentimentalism, but reformation is principled and thoughtful and only takes up arms in a just cause not for personal gain or vendettas.

FIGHTING AGAINST GOD

This episode is comical in its ironies. The high priest has risen up full of huffy zeal and put God’s apostles in prison, and God breaks them out without anyone noticing. And when the high priest has assembled his sanctimonious cabal, the prisoners are summoned, and while everything is perfectly in order, the prisoners are missing. Which is what this whole episode is about: you have a perfectly orderly legal proceeding, all the t’s crossed and i’s dotted, and appropriate paperwork filed, the only thing missing is any semblance of lawful justice. And when the truth comes out, the orderly little mob is on the verge of lynching the apostles, when the old wise man suggests, that perhaps they should wait and see if this is from God or not (Acts 5:38-39). The whole story is calculated to underline the fact that this is from God. God is with His people, and we are completely in His hand, every detail is under His rule. The machinations of men are a comical farce compared to the power and wisdom of God (Ps. 2:1-4). Whether we live or die, we serve His will, and we are more than conquerors by His grace (Rom. 8:37).

OBEYING GOD RATHER THAN MAN

As the apostles have insisted before, God is over all authorities, and therefore, it is better to obey God than man (cf. Acts 4:19). All human authorities are under God. He is the one who establishes human authority – all authority belongs to Christ, and He delegates some of that authority to husbands/fathers, pastors/elders, and civil magistrates. John Calvin summarizes the principle like this: so long as they remain in their limited jurisdictions, they honor the authority of God over them, but when they go beyond the bounds of their office, they “diminish the honor and authority of God.” Sometimes the commands/prohibitions of men would require us to disobey God, and we must flatly refuse (e.g. Daniel and friends). Sometimes the commands/prohibitions are beyond their bounds of office but don’t directly require us to disobey God, and there is a tactical wisdom call. We may pay unjust taxes as a testimony to unbelievers (Mt. 17:25-27), or we may thresh some of our wheat in a wine press to hide it from the Midianites (Jdg. 6:11). 

CONCLUSION: KEEP PREACHING

The tip of our spear is the preaching of the gospel not politics. The apostles are preaching when they are arrested, they immediately return to preaching when they are broken out of jail, they continue preaching when they are hauled (belatedly) before the pompous presbytery, and after they are beaten and threatened, they go right back to joyfully preaching. Reformations are driven by preaching. The American War for Independence was led by the “black robe regiment.”

And the message is this: “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.” Christ crucified, risen, and ascended for repentance and forgiveness of sins by the power of the Spirit. This is what cuts: it cuts for the salvation of some (Acts 2:37) and it cuts for the furious indignation of others (Acts 5:33). But we preach Christ, and every detail of history bows to the rule of Christ. 

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Adoption, Forgiveness, & Glory (Pentecost 2023)

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INTRODUCTION

We live in a world that has rejected God the Father, and so we are a nation of bastards, fatherless and angry, fatherless and despairing. And this is why God sent His Son into the world: so that all the lost sons might be brought home, to adopt them as His own sons by His Spirit.

THE TEXT

“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God…” (Rom. 8:14-17).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Paul is in the middle of an argument, but the central point is that whoever is led by the Spirit of God is a son of God (Rom. 8:14). This Spirit is the Spirit of Christ who was obedient to the point of death, condemned sin in His flesh on the cross, and rose from the dead (Rom. 8:2-3, 9-11). This Spirit is not of bondage to fear (because all of the condemnation for our sin has fallen on Christ in our place, Rom. 8:1-3), but rather, the Spirit of adoption has been given to us which teaches us to call God ‘Our Father’ (Rom. 8:15). This Spirit has been given to assure us that we belong to God as His children (Rom. 8:16). And this assurance includes the full inheritance of Christ and all of His glory, while sharing in His suffering (Rom. 8:17).

THE SPIRIT OF ADOPTION

It has been rightly said that God has no grandchildren. The point is that salvation in Christ is a direct adoption by God the Father, in Christ, by His Spirit. Christ is the only Mediator between God and men, and what He mediates is His own relationship to the Father: we are joint heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:17). He freely shares everything with us.

Nevertheless, part of this inheritance is the people of God. Elsewhere, Paul prays that “ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints” (Eph. 1:18). “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member but many” (1 Cor. 12:13-14). Some of us have the great blessing of having grown up in a faithful Christian family, but many are starting from scratch, either as new converts or simply as being awakened to the necessity to follow Christ more faithfully. But all of us have been given the same Spirit of the Son, and in Him, we have all been given the inheritance of the saints. God has no grandchildren, but all of God’s true children have parents and grandparents in the faith.

THE SPIRIT OF FORGIVENESS

This Spirit is not a spirit of bondage to fear (Rom. 8:15). In Hebrews it says that Jesus partook of flesh and blood “that through death he might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Heb. 2:15-15). Bondage to fear is fundamentally fear of death, and the reason we fear death is because the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). For guilty sinners, death is punishment, and this is the power of the devil, Satan – the Accuser. He accuses us and condemns us for our sins, and we know that we deserve to die. But the Spirit of Pentecost is the Spirit of deliverance because Christ condemned all our sin in His body on the cross (Rom. 8:3). All our offenses were nailed to the cross, and therefore all the accusations, all the condemnation was blotted out by His blood (Col. 3:14). And now Satan has nothing on us, and the sting of death is gone (1 Cor. 15:56).

This same Spirit of forgiveness sets us free to forgive others. Guilt is one kind of bondage to fear, but bitterness is another. Many people are kept in bondage to fear by sin committed against them, often by parents or others close to us: fear that it will happen again, fear that no justice will be done. But bitterness is like chaining yourself to someone else’s sin (Heb. 12:15).

Forgiveness isn’t the same thing as trust. Forgiveness is a promise, not a feeling. It’s a promise not to hold someone’s sin against them before the Lord. And if someone isn’t repentant and hasn’t asked for your forgiveness, you can’t be fully reconciled. But you can and must have forgiveness ready for them. Have forgiveness ready like bread baking in your heart; have forgiveness like a bottle of fine wine waiting by the door. Be like the father in the parable looking down the road, ready and eager to run to them, because that is how you have been forgiven (Eph. 4:31-32). This Spirit gives this glory.

THE SPIRIT OF GLORY

The Spirit has been given to guarantee our glory in the Son, and the text goes on to say this glory will include all of creation itself (Rom. 8:17ff). The Spirit restores, glorifies, and transfigures everything; the Spirit anoints for rule and battle (Rom. 8:37).

All wars are ultimately fought with and over glory. We fight for competing visions of glory, and we fight withwhatever we consider our greatest strengths. Many Christians are at a loss about what to do about the current madness assaulting what is left of Western civilization. But this is the battleplan: pursue the glory of your Father as His sons. Everything good triumphs over evil. Forgiveness triumphs over bitterness. Generosity conquers greed. Joyful marriage confounds perversion. Beauty overcomes ugliness. Therefore, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is lovely… cultivate those glorious things.

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Hearts Sprinkled Clean (Ascension Sunday 2023)

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INTRODUCTION

The Ascension of Jesus is one of the key glories of the gospel, and it really is part of the good news. Our Conquering King is our High Priest, and He has gone ahead of us, appearing in God’s presence for us.

THE TEXT

“For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people…” (Heb. 9:19-24)

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

From the time God first confronted sin in this world, it has been accompanied with blood (Gen. 3). So when Moses renewed covenant with God’s people at Sinai, everyone and everything was sprinkled with blood for the remission of sins (Heb. 9:19-22). Hebrews seems to combine a number of different cleansings, summarizing the whole system from the initial covenant ceremony with various rites prescribed in the law (e.g. Ex. 24, Lev. 14:4ff, Lev. 16, etc.). What that earthly tabernacle pictured was Heaven itself and God’s presence, and therefore, what that Old Covenant dedication and cleansing foretold was the purification of the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices (Heb. 9:23). Thus, it was necessary for Christ to ascend into Heaven itself – the temple made without hands – to appear in the presence of God on our behalf (Heb. 9:24).

WHY DOES HEAVEN NEED TO BE CLEANSED?

One immediate question that ought to occur to us is: why does Heaven need to be sprinkled clean by the blood of Jesus? Isn’t Heaven perfect, pure, and sinless? Remember that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, and therefore, they are both places that God created side by side, intending for them to mingle and overlap. We see glimpses of this with Enoch walking with God, the burning bush, Elijah riding fiery chariots into Heaven, the vision of the heavenly armies surrounding Elisha and his servant, the transfiguration, and of course the Ascension of Jesus. Heaven is not far away; it is near, but the original unity has been terribly strained by our sin. Thus, the ultimate goal is pictured in Revelation in the imagery of the Heavenly Jerusalem coming down to earth from heaven, and the dwelling place of God being with men (Rev. 21-22).

But that still doesn’t really answer the question of why Heaven needs to be sprinkled clean. Oscar Wilde once told a story about a picture that told the truth about a man, and while he miraculously remained young, the more wicked the man became, the more the picture grew old and hideous.

On the Day of Atonement, in the Old Covenant system, two goats were chosen, and the sins of the nation were confessed over one and it was released into the wilderness. The other was killed and the blood was brought into the tabernacle in order to cleanse the tabernacle from all the uncleanness of the people, their transgressions and sins (Lev. 16:16, 19). In other words, because Heaven is not far off, and God in His mercy has drawn near and bound Himself in covenant to a sinful people, there is a sense in which our sinfulness stains God’s glory and collects in Heaven – like in The Picture of Dorian Gray – and must be cleansed.

THE GREAT MERCY OF GOD

We live before God constantly, and in our sin, we foul His presence. As His image bearers, our sins lie about Him. God is the Great King of the Universe, and we are insolent rebels, spitting on His mercies, despising Him and His goodness, mad with our lusts and envy and bitterness and complaints. And He gives and upholds us, and like Israel in the wilderness, we only complain and turn to idols. But God in His great mercy sent His only begotten Son into the world to be the true tabernacle (Jn. 1:14), which means He came to become that Image where all our hideous sin might collect. And so it did. And when He was lifted up on the cross, He was lifted up like the hideous serpent pierced (Jn. 3:14). But whereas Oscar Wilde’s image only mocked and caused despair, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day, and all our sin gone forever. And if that wasn’t enough, He ascended into Heaven itself, into the presence of the Living God, appearing there in the presence of God for us (Heb. 9:24).

CONCLUSION: HEARTS SPRINKLED CLEAN

In the following chapter, it says that because of the blood of Jesus, we enter the Holy of Holies with boldness, because He is our High Priest (Heb. 10:19-20). We draw near with true hearts with full assurance of faith because our hearts have been sprinkled clean from an evil conscience (Heb. 10:21).

How are our hearts sprinkled clean? First and fundamentally by agreeing with God that you are a sinner in need of His great mercy. But then whenever you confess your sins to God and anyone you’ve sinned against, He promises to cleanse us by the blood of Jesus and wash us from all unrighteousness (1 Jn. 1:7-9).

Which means that part of what Jesus is cleansing in Heaven is us because that is where we are seated with Him (Eph. 2:6). This also means that Heaven and earth have been reunited, and while we do not yet see all things under His feet, we see Jesus crowned with glory and honor (Heb. 2:8-9).

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Grandparents & Grandchildren (To You & Your Children #5)

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INTRODUCTION

A minister friend of mine once said that parents don’t really get their report cards until they see their grandchildren thriving in the Lord. This means that our goal as parents should not only be to see our own children standing with us inflicting damage on the kingdom of darkness, but also see our grandchildren standing with us and peace upon Israel (cf. Ps. 128:6).

THE TEXT

“Give ear, O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old: Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us…” (Ps. 78:1-8)

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

This Psalm of Asaph is a ballad about the sordid history of Israel, God’s faithfulness, and the duty of grandparents to ensure that their grandchildren sing the praises of the Lord (Ps. 78:4). Like the father and mother in Proverbs, there is an appeal to listen to the grandparents (Ps. 78:1). And what they say is a parable, a dark saying or riddle of old (Ps. 78:2). Parables are stories that make one wise, and it’s no accident that the Hebrew word is associated with the rule of kings (cf. 1 Kgs. 3). Older folks naturally tell stories, and this is their duty – it is a great sin to “hide” the wonderful works of the Lord from your grandchildren because that results in less praise to the Lord (Ps. 78:4). This all goes back to God’s own self-revelation and testimony that He intended for parents and grandparents to pass down to children and grandchildren (Ps. 78:5-6). Done rightly, it teaches each generation to set their hope in God and not forget Him, like so many previous generations (Ps. 78:7-8).

THE HEARTS OF GRANDPARENTS

It is the temptation of the young to reject the wisdom of the old, and it is the temptation of the old to grow bitter and resentful. The longer your life the more hard things you carry, and the temptation is to either let them weigh you down or else try to escape. In one direction, you may give into anxiety or anger; in the other direction, you may try to bury your fears and frustrations in empty retirement pursuits (e.g. golf, entertainment, travel). In either direction, you fail to tell your children and grandchildren the wonderful works of God (Ps. 78:4). While longer life brings temptations, by the same token, the longer your life the more good things you carry, and that should translate into joy, gratitude, patience, and wisdom. The gospel teaches the older generation to do this regardless of how it seems to be received.

RETIREMENT & INHERITANCE

Since we were all made for fruitful work and industry, our general goal should be to work hard until we can’t. This hard work can and will take different forms over the decades, but the modern American expectation of retirement at 65 and spending your life savings on RVs and cruises is a great evil. “A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just” (Prov. 13:22). This inheritance should ordinarily include financial and material provision: “Behold, the third time I am ready to come to you; and I will not be burdensome to you: for I seek not yours, but you: for the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children” (2 Cor. 12:14). But this inheritance should also include the wisdom you’ve learned, telling the wonderful works of God (Eccl. 7:11).

RISING UP

We live in a land that has rejected the inheritance of our grandfathers, and we have done this perhaps most insidiously in how we have sent them away to nursing homes and allowed the government to fund and oversee their care. The COVID insanity was perhaps one great wakeup call that this system is completely bankrupt. We have done a civil version of what the Jews had done in the first century, counting money paid into the system as some kind of subsititute for actually caring for our parents and grandparents in old age (Mk. 7:6-13). While there are sometimes health needs that require medical assistance, it should be far more normal for our grandparents to end their days surrounded by their people before being gathered to their people (cf. Gen. 25:8). Part of the reason for this is what they have to say (e.g. Gen. 49:2-33).

THE GLORY OF OLD MEN

“Children’s children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers” (Prov. 17:6). “The glory of young men is their strength: and the beauty of old men is the gray head” (Prov. 20:29). “Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honor the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the LORD” (Lev. 19:32). All of this teaches us that there is great glory in pursuing life together over generations. Sometimes because of sin or tragedy, this must be started over, and so that should be embraced in faith (e.g. Abraham, Gen. 23:19). God puts the solitary in families (Ps. 68:6).

As with all glory, it is heavy, and that means there will be challenges. But the goal should be honor. Parents, honor your parents, so that your children will learn how. Grandparents, honor your children, the parents of your grandchildren, so that they will learn how. Every family has to learn their own dance, but some basic principles would be warmth and space. Give yourself warmly to one another, joyfully, gratefully, and then also recognize that space needs to be given for individual families to exist. Don’t meddle; assume the best. And keep short accounts.

CONCLUSION

Many of our cultural commentators have pointed out that our land is suffering from a great spell of amnesia. We have forgotten who we are. We have forgotten what God did for us in this land, for our families, for our ancestors. And while there has been great evil in the younger generations rejecting the wisdom of our parents and grandparents, there has also been great evil in the older generations, refusing to tell their children and grandchildren, having stubborn and rebellious hearts (Ps. 78:4, 8).

But the central theme of Psalm 78 is the faithfulness of the Lord, His mercies, His compassion. Even though we have so often failed to remember Him, He has remembered us (Ps. 78:37-39). And this is what drives our praise. He is our faithful Father, the God of our fathers, and His faithfulness always gives us something to talk about, even something to sing about. “But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children” (Psa. 103:17).

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Courtship & Marriage (To You & Your Children #4)

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INTRODUCTION

Part of the problem modern Christians have is that we have abandoned the mission of the family and so the instructions often don’t make sense. But if the mission is to be fruitful, multiply, and take dominion of the world in obedience to Jesus, and if sexual intimacy, marriage, and children are more like a nuclear reactor, then the stakes are wonderfully high.

THE TEXT

“The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?…” (Mt. 19:3-9).

THE NECESSITY OF WISDOM

We’ve been saying for the last few weeks that boys and girls are different. This is probably a hate crime in some places, and we don’t care. But this means that you really must begin getting ready for courtship and marriage as soon as children arrive. Wisdom doesn’t magically arrive in a package from Canon Press when your son/daughter turns 18. As Pastor Wilson has said over the years, when it comes to dating, you often have two idiots involved, but when it comes to courtship, you may have up to 6. This means there really is no paint-by-numbers kit, and just because you read a book doesn’t mean you know what you’re doing. So you really do want to begin asking for wisdom as soon as you know you’re pregnant, and as soon as you know whether you’re having a son or a daughter. Remember that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Prov. 1:7), and this means seeking counsel and instruction from God and wise men (Prov. 11:14, Js. 1:5). Get counsel, ask for wisdom, follow the examples of others you respect.

WHAT DO WE CALL THIS?

Part of wisdom is not overemphasizing methods or quarrelling over words. I prefer to call this “courtship” instead of dating because we should generally distinguish what we are doing from the pagan culture around us. But courting usually consists of some dating, so don’t get wound tight. The central principles are to honor God, honor your parents, honor the marriage bed, and honor your brothers and sisters in all purity (Eph. 6:1-4, Heb. 13:4, 1 Tim. 5:1-2). The whole thing is a serious business, but it should be a serious joy. We should not take ourselves or our methods too seriously (avoiding dowdy crankiness), and it should be kind of fun.

A MAN SHALL LEAVE

The basic shape of all of this is that a man leaves and a woman is given (Mt. 19:5, Gen. 2:22-24). There is an asymmetry to the pursuit of marriage because men and women are different and were created differently. The woman is a fruitful garden that an honorable man is seeking permission to enter and cultivate (Song 4:12-16, 5:1). But the first action in preparation for marriage is for a man to leave his father and mother. This usually takes place physically, but it must certainly take place emotionally, intellectually, financially, and spiritually. A man must make his own way in the world. A man who cannot govern himself well should not be trusted with another human being (e.g. 1 Tim. 3:5). This doesn’t mean that a man must own his own business, house, car, and a burgeoning 401K. The principle is that there must be some track record of faithfulness and diligence, e.g. paying bills, good grades, good references from employers, spiritual maturity, etc. But a woman ought to see her mission as encompassed in the broadest categories of motherhood: cultivating life, hospitality, and beauty with all wisdom (Prov. 31). This high calling should be matched by pursuing appropriate education, training, work, life-experience, and service. Just as there is a difference between a boy and man, there is a difference between a girl and woman, and while the timing varies somewhat from culture to culture, we should not ignore wisdom, while generally pursuing marriage early in life.

EQUAL YOKES

The Bible is very clear that believers must only marry other believers (Dt. 7:3, 1 Cor. 7:39). Righteousness doesn’t have fellowship with unrighteousness; light has no communion with darkness (2 Cor. 6:14-18). This is why one of the slanders against the early church was that they practiced incest, since they only married “brothers/sisters” in the Lord. But better that slander than the compromise and heartache that follows marrying an unbeliever. This means that non-Christians are not an option for close friends/courtship. And part of this means remembering that it really is not possible for a man and a woman to be “just friends.” Either it will slide into sexual/emotional sin or else it won’t, which is just as bad. Of course you should have groups of friends, but remember that gravity exists and when the same three girls hang out with the same three guys a lot, things will happen. Wisdom knows that and takes precautions. Related to equal yokes, in addition to commitment to Christ and His Word, education, family background, career interests, cultural expectations, and personalities should be taken into account.

CONCLUSIONS: SEXUAL SIN, FORGIVENES, & WISDOM

It’s a rare kid who grows up in our sexual cesspool of a world who manages to come to marriageable age without any sexual sin, and sometimes there are really severe sins and consequences (sexual dysfunction, disease, divorce, child support, etc.). But where sin abounds, grace abounds more: “Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind… shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor. 6:9-11).

Forgiveness sets the bone, but forgiveness doesn’t guarantee wisdom/trust or absolve from all consequences. Love sincerely desires to treat others lawfully from the heart, which sometimes includes accountability, restitution, time for healing, and consequences. But forgiveness means that God’s blessing is on whatever comes next. In the law, Moses allowed divorce for fornication, which can refer to sexual sin prior to marriage or certain forms of sexual immorality within marriage (Mt. 19:8-9, Dt. 24:1). This means that a wise father should know the general backstory before allowing a young man to court his daughter and at some point before engagement, any sexual past needs to be disclosed by both parties.

While wisdom must be our guide, and marriage is an office with higher standards than mere Christian fellowship (and therefore an honorable man or woman may walk away from a courtship for any reason), it should also be remembered that the gospel is the story of a faithful Husband seeking an unfaithful bride and washing her completely clean (Hos. 3:1, Eph. 5:25-27).

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