Moral Issues (Britt's) Flashcards
Marriage is lifelong
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.”
OT Divorce
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)
NT Divorce
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)
Physical abuse
Church should act immediately to end the abuse and heal the marriage, but it does not constitute divorce because:
- 1 Cor 7 indicates physical separation, not emotional
- porneia refers to sexual immorality only (not physical)
Divorced men as elders
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”)
Do elders have to be married?
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
Wealth in acts
- 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)
Paul’s command to the wealthy
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.
Verses on poverty
- 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?”
Verses against homosexuality
- 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
Homosexual desires
- 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
Race and ethnicity
- 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)
God does not tempt
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
Personhood of unborn children
- Luke 1:41-44: John leaped in the womb
- Ps 51:5
- 139:13
Abortion
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