Moral Issues

Question 1

Marriage is lifelong

Answer 1

Matt 19:5-6 (Gen 2:24)
Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

Question 2

OT Divorce

Answer 2

Deut 24:1-4
• assumes some divorce occurs due to wife’s “indecency”; assumes the woman is free to remarry
• somewhat tolerated/regulated (Deut 22:19, may not divorce if parents bring proof of virginity)

Question 3

NT Divorce

Answer 3

permitted in 2 circumstances:
• adultery (Matt 19:3-9, 5:32): divorce is allowed but not commanded
• desertion (1 Cor 7:10-15) (if they proclaim to be a “Christian”, Matt 18:15-17 first)

Question 4

Physical abuse

Answer 4

Church should act immediately to end the abuse and heal the marriage, but it does not constitute divorce because:

1. 1 Cor 7 indicates physical separation, not emotional
2. porneia refers to sexual immorality only (not physical)

Question 5

Divorced men as elders

Answer 5

1 Tim and Titus both refer to present conditions not his entire past life
(Paul could have said “only been married once,” or “has ever been greedy before in his life”)

Question 6

Do elders have to be married?

Answer 6

No, because Jesus and Paul
• Paul also describes elders’ children but he’s not commanding that they must have children (multiple children). He’s saying IF he’s married, then one wife; IF he has children, he manages them well

Question 7

Wealth in acts

Answer 7

• Some inequality is inevitable (in 2 Cor 8, Paul discusses the poor Macedonians, but doesn’t command the Corinthians to give them anything; he only commands that they give their fair contribution to the famine-stricken Christians in Jerusalem)
• Acts does not teach communism (Peter told Ananias that they did not have to sell their property)

Question 8

Paul’s command to the wealthy

Answer 8

1 Tim 6:17-19
As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. 18They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, 19thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

Question 9

Verses on poverty

Answer 9

• Mark 12:43-44 And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”
• James 2:5 “has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?”

Question 10

Verses against homosexuality

Answer 10

• Gen 19: Sodom and Gomorrah (Jude 7 “just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire”)
• Lev 19:22, 20:13: “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination”
• Rom 1:26-27: “God gave them up to dishonorable passions…”
• Others: 1 Cor 6:9, 1 Tim 1:10, Jude 7

Question 11

Homosexual desires

Answer 11

• 1 Cor 6:9-11 “nor men who practice homosexuality… will inherit the kingdom of God.And such were some of you. But you were washed”
• 2 Cor 5:17 “new creation”
• Doesn’t mean that they will be eradicated, but it affirms that significant change can occur

Question 12

Race and ethnicity

Answer 12

• All people are descendants from Adam and Eve (Gen 9:19 “These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the people of the whole earth were dispersed”)
• All are made equally in the image of God (Gen 1:28, 9:6)
• All races will be united in heaven (Rev 7:9-10 “from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne…”)
• Interracial marriage is positive: God brings judgment on Miriam and Aaron for complaining about Moses’ marriage to a Cushite (Num 12)

Question 13

God does not tempt

Answer 13

James 1:13-14
Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire

Question 14

Personhood of unborn children

Answer 14

• Luke 1:41-44: John leaped in the womb
• Ps 51:5
• 139:13

Question 15

Abortion

Answer 15

Exodus 21:22-25
• If fighting causes a premature birth but no damage, there is still a penalty
• If there is harm to mom or baby, then lex
• Therefore both deserve full protection of the law

Question 16

You shall not bear false witness

Answer 16

Exodus 20:16
Calvin: the negative commands in the 10 commandments are particularly hateful examples of whole categories of wrongful actions, so it does not prohibit just this kind of false speech
• Ps 5:6 “You destroy those who speak lies”

Question 17

Lying

Answer 17

• affirming in speech or writing anything you believe to be false
• does not include: silence (Jesus), nonverbal actions intended to mislead someone, ironic statements, hyperbole, unintentional falsehoods
• Rahab’s lie: scripture commends her faith but never her lie (and scripture repeatedly condemns liars)
• Egyptian midwives: we don’t know if they actually lied, , but even if they did lie, it was to protect themselves and not the children so it doesn’t even mean that they “lied” to save others

Question 18

God’s character as basis for telling the truth

Answer 18

• God cannot lie (Num 23:`19)
• Eph 5:1
• 1 Cor 10:13 “he will provide a way out”