Now in Genesis chapter 4 we have of course the famous story of Cain and Abel
and it says in verse number 1 and Adam knew Eve his wife and she conceived
and bare Cain and said I've gotten a man from the Lord and she again bare his brother Abel
and Abel was a keeper of sheep but Cain was a tiller of the ground
now verse number one when the Bible says Adam knew Eve his wife
it doesn't just mean that he knew her as in he was acquainted with her
basically the meaning is given right there and a lot of people say that the Bible is
really hard to understand and especially the King James Bible but really
especially in the early part of the Bible when you read the book of Genesis
the Bible really defines itself for you so when it says that Adam knew Eve his
wife and she conceived you can get the picture of what he means by he knew her
because she concedes right after that she's pregnant with a child after he
knows her now why is God using the word no because God doesn't go into graphic
detail in the Bible about what goes on in the bedroom between a man and a woman
that's private between a husband and wife that's not something that should be
discussed openly as it is on TV and in Hollywood today where everyone that you
know reads magazines that just graphically describe what goes on in
the bedroom between a man and woman that's supposed to be private and kept
within the bounds of marriage and so God doesn't go into graphic detail in the
Bible instead he uses the euphemism of just he knew her
okay and that's talking about obviously knowing her carnally knowing her in a
way that would produce conception and so it says that he knew his wife and she
conceived and bear Cain and said I've gotten a man from the Lord and she
again bear his brother Abel and Abel was a keeper of sheep but Cain was a tiller
of the ground and in process of time it came to pass that Cain brought of the
fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord and Abel he also brought of the
firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof and the Lord had respect unto
Abel and to his offering but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect
so here God has given them instructions if you read Hebrews chapter 11 it's
clear that Abel brought the sacrifice of the flock by faith which means that he
was given an instruction from God's Word on what he was supposed to bring for an
offering to the Lord it was supposed to be a sacrifice of an animal it was
supposed to be a lamb that was going to be sacrificed unto the Lord and the
blood of that lamb was going to be shed and it was to picture of course Jesus
Christ who would come one day the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the
world now Cain was one who was a farmer he's bringing up fruits and vegetables
so instead of bringing the lamb as a sacrifice as God had instructed him to
do instead he decides to just bring of his best fruits and vegetables and he
basically thinks okay well God's gonna accept this this is the best I have to
offer you know this is what I produce and so I'm gonna give this to God he's
gonna accept it well when he brings it to God the Bible says the Lord had
respect unto Abel and his offering but verse 5 but unto Cain and his offering he had not
respect and what's Cain's reaction Cain was very wroth wroth is extremely angry
like the word wrath it says Cain was wroth and his countenance fell or his
face fell he's angry he's sad he's upset he doesn't understand why God won't
accept his offering I mean come on he's giving something to God out of the goodness of
his heart it's his best it's what he produced from his job and look what
God says to him in verse 6 and the Lord said unto Cain why art thou wroth and why
is thy countenance fallen if thou doest well shalt thou not be accepted and so
he tells Cain instead of getting mad about it instead of getting all down in the mouth
why don't you just do what I told you to do why don't you just obey and then you'll be
accepted and of course that's not his reaction it says if thou doest not well
sin layeth at the door and unto thee shall be his desire and thou shalt rule over him and Cain talked with Abel's brother and it came to pass when they were in the field that Cain rose up against Abel's brother and slew him
so he gets so angry about his offering being rejected he actually kills his brother Abel and we're going to get into that in a moment but the first thing I want to point out is that this is a great
go to 2 Peter chapter 2 if you would leave your finger here in Genesis chapter 4
the first thing I want to show you about this is the significance of the two offerings of Cain and Abel
see in 2 Peter chapter 2 it says in verse 1 but there were false prophets also among the people
so this is talking about preachers who are preaching lies and preaching false doctrine he says there were false prophets also among the people even as there shall be false teachers among you
so he's telling us we need to watch out for people who are preaching lies who privilege shall bring in damnable heresies even denying the Lord that bought them and bring upon themselves
swift destruction jump down if you would to where he talks about Cain in verse number let me find my place here if you jump down to verse number
good night I lost my place somebody help me out 2 Peter chapter 2 woe unto them oh I'm sorry I'm in the wrong chapter anyway let me explain to you this is what it is
2 Peter chapter 2 and Jude are parallel passages that talk about the exact same thing they go into false teachers creeping in sneaking in go a few pages to the right
and we'll find the same thing in the book of Jude just a few pages to the right in your Bible where the Bible talks about those that it says in verse 4 there are certain men crept in unawares
and he's talking about these false teachers these false prophets who creep in with false doctrine and look what he says in verse 11 woe unto them for they have gone in the way of Cain
so in this discussion about people who are tampering with the doctrines of salvation because he says in verse 3 of Jude he says beloved when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation
it was needful for me to write unto you and exhort you that you should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the safe for there are certain men crept in unawares
people that are tampering with salvation people that are bringing in heresy people that are preaching false doctrine he says woe unto them they've gone in the way of Cain
therefore God is using Cain as an example of a prototype of false prophets or false teachers to come he is a foreshadowing of false prophets and false teachers
why is he? well if you look at what the offerings were Abel brought a lamb as a sacrifice what did that represent? the Lord Jesus Christ the lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world
what did Cain's offering represent? his own works what he did what he accomplished what he produced no blood shed no animal slain but rather just fruits and vegetables he's doing his best he's working hard he's giving God what he's got
and it's rejected this pictures the two viewpoints that people have today about salvation you know you ask us what we believe about salvation and you talk to any Bible believing Christian about what they believe about salvation
they'll tell you the Bible is clear that salvation is just by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ that's it the Bible says very clearly that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life
the Bible says over and over again but as many as received him to them gave you power to become the sons of God even to them that believe on his name it says for by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God not of works lest any man should boast
he said it's not by your good works it's not by anything that you earn that you can get into heaven it's a free gift of God paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ that's what Abel's offering symbolized the blood of Jesus the lamb of God Cain's offering symbolized his best what he's doing to earn his way to earn favor with God his good works
all throughout the Bible even back in Genesis 4 you see this constant theme contrasting salvation by faith in Christ with salvation by being a good person going to church living a good life all the good works that you can do to try to earn your way into heaven that's contrasted all throughout the Bible here we see it between Cain and Abel later on we'll see the Tower of Babel story where they're trying to build a tower to reach unto heaven again symbolizing people trying to work their way to heaven
earn their way to heaven instead of just taking the free gift of salvation the Bible asks the question one time what must I do to be saved and they said believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved now he didn't say go to church and you'll be saved keep the commandments and you'll be saved get baptized and you'll be saved repent of all your sins and you'll be saved live a good life and you'll be saved no he said he didn't say give to the poor and you'll be saved help others you'll be saved no he said believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved that is the difference between Cain's offering and Abel's offering
and so that's the primary application that we see here in Genesis chapter 4 it's tied in with false teaching about salvation in the book of Jude in the New Testament but not only that notice verse 5 at the end of verse 4 the Bible says the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering
and then in verse 5 it says but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect now how many times have you heard this before we need to respect all religions let's respect all beliefs let's respect all viewpoints but look does God respect all views?
did God respect all religions and say well Cain just has a different way of worshiping God I mean hey he's worshiping God in his own way according to his talents and abilities the best that he knows how he is skilled at making things grow and he's a farmer and he has fruits and vegetables and great produce and so he's giving God his best his heart's in the right place therefore God's going to understand did God understand?
I mean you think and look just in my own mind I look at this story and if you just step back from it it would make sense to say well come on God he's doing his best he's giving you an offering don't look a gift horse in the mouth you know I mean when somebody gives you a gift you don't say this isn't what I wanted but wait a minute when you're God you make the rules you don't just accept whatever somebody just gives you
if he's commanded here a certain offering and look there's only one way to heaven the Bible says that Jesus saith on him I am the way the truth and the life not a way not a truth he said I'm the way the truth and the life no man cometh unto the father but by me you've got to go through Jesus Christ and through the blood of Christ not through your own method of I'm worshiping God in my own way or I just have my own religion did God respect it?
so let me ask this if God didn't respect it why should I respect it?
why should I respect false religion?
why should I respect lies I have no respect for lies I respect the truth and it's a bizarre teaching in our society today that says respect lies respect falsehood respect that which is wrong respect sin
respect sin
why would i respect everything that's better respect what's good i respect
what's true i mean expect respect what's right
and god did not respect canes opera
say well you know
he didn't agree with that they still respected now he said i respect it
and no respect for
for your offering came
and uh... of course canes reactions to get angry
and you know when you don't respect
false religions people get angry
their countenance will fall
he'll become rock
you know when you tell them
and it's amazing how people expected to respecting but that oftentimes people
don't respect bible believe christianity
it seems like respect is kind of a one-way street with with people here
tolerance is the word that i guess they use
you know when they say to tolerate everything
well to be tolerate us
they tolerate the bible they tolerate
uh... people who who believe it
you know it's funny i was on a a white water rafting trip
and the guy who was like guiding the trip and
and he was the tour guide
and he was explaining all these things and he was giving us these uh...
these local native american beliefs
of their religion
and he's telling us how this little boy he ran away from home
and he jumped into the river and he turned into a snake and slid away
he's telling us these crazy stories
and he was telling them as if you know this is a legitimate religion
i mean this is you know this is this is uh... you know what they believe it you
know
i might would you think that that really happened
you know i don't know you know i mean it's sounds legit to me you know
and he had a lot of respect for what they believed
but it's funny the same people
you tell them what the bible says ah it's just a book ah it's a garbage ah you're living in the
bronze age the stone age you know
and they don't respect so here's what i figured out
let me just break it down to you how tolerance and respect works in this world
if you believe something that's weird and stupid and a lie
people were respected
if i if i came in and i'm wearing a dress and i'm dressed in drag and i'm
and i'm looking like a queer and i you know i'm a transvestite oh you gotta respect that
but you know you come in in a suit and tie with a short haircut so you know i'm a bible
believe in christ you idiot you ignorant fool
you moron
tolerance goes basically one direction
you know if it's if it's weird and bizarre and and you know the earth was formed on the
back of a turtle and there's a rooster and everything
you know we need to respect that
but when it comes to in the beginning god created the heaven and the earth
that is somehow a threat you know why because it's true that's why
that's why every other religion is respected and it's allowed and and it's
it's uh... it's promoted because it's it's life
the devil doesn't care which lie you believe it
he doesn't care whether you're a muslim or a mormon or a catholic
or he doesn't care if you believe in hinduism or buddhism
because it's all going to take you to the same hell
and the only one that he doesn't want you to believe is the bible and that's anything else is fine
and you say well don't you respect islam
why would i respect a religion that was started by a man who was married to a nine year old
when he was in his forties can you explain that to me
you need to respect the quran
mohammed on the right i mean ask
ask any muslim
i was out knocking doors i asked a muslim i said why did the founder of your religion marry an eleven year old
he said no she was nine
he corrected me
why would i respect that
why would i respect mormonism when the founder of mormonism was married to a twelve year old
why would i respect that
it's perversion it's pedophilia
it's garbage
and so no i don't respect false religion i don't respect lies i respect one thing the bible
that's the truth and everything else is a lie
broad is the way that leads to destruction and many there be which go in their eyes
because straight is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life and few there be that find it
and i do not respect
pedophiles i don't respect lies i don't respect false religion i respect everything that is good and true in this world
and everything that is perversion and filth i have no respect for and i got news for you neither does god
and you only have to get to chapter four where he looks at two religious systems here one that's the one that god founded
of offering an animal sacrifice
picturing the lamb of god that would take away the sin of the world and one man's effort to do his best
his way make his own way to heaven and you see where god's respect lies in one place and one place alone
but let's keep reading
he said lord senator cain why art thou wrought and why is thy countenance fallen
if thou doest well
shalt thou not be accepted and if thou doest not well sin lies at the door let me ask you this
does it seem to you that god is somehow playing favorites
with Abel over Cain
that he has somehow chosen Abel and rejected Cain
no because when Cain gets mad
god gives him another chance
god's a gracious and merciful god and says look Cain
don't get mad
just do what i ask you to do go back and do it right
and you'll be accepted everything will be fine
his reaction is to not do so but there's a false doctrine out there called calvinism
where people teach that god chooses who goes to heaven and who goes to hell and it's all
that's not even
this early in the bible you see that calvinism is false
because you see god putting the responsibility on man saying if you
if you do what you're supposed to all except you not just
oh i like you better i've chosen you and i've rejected you
it's because of their actions it's because one of them
believed by faith the bible says in hebrews eleven four
by faith Abel offered unto god a more excellent sacrifice than Cain
by which he obtained witness that he was righteous god testifying of his gifts
and by it he being dead yet speaketh
but let's keep on going
it says in verse eight and Cain talked with Abel his brother
and it came to pass when they were in the field
Cain rose up against Abel his brother and slew him
now go if you would to first john
chapter number three because the bible actually flat out tells us
because you say why would he kill Abel
because god didn't accept his sacrifice now did Abel
do anything to provoke Cain
i mean i don't see Abel in the story
going to Cain and rubbing it in with him and saying hey
you know idiot
you didn't get the instruction the first time you don't see Abel doing that at all
you don't see Abel even involved
it's just Cain disobeys god
Cain offers the offering that god rejects
he goes out and kills Abel
well the bible tells us in first john
why
Cain killed Abel
and it's in first john, let me give me a second to turn there myself
it says in first john
chapter number three
verse number eleven for this is the message that she heard from the
beginning
that we should love one another
verse twelve
not as Cain
who was of that wicked one
and slew his brother and wherefore slew him or why did he slay him
wherefore slew him
because his own works were evil
and his brother's righteous
marvel not my brother and if the world hates you
so the bible tells us right there that the reason why Cain killed Abel
was because his own works were evil and his brother's righteous
now there's something about people who are evil people
who are doing wrong
that makes them hate those who do what's right
and despise those who are doing the right thing
and so for some reason it just made Cain so angry
when he looked over and saw how Abel was accepted by god
how Abel had done the right thing
you know instead of just following in his footsteps and saying okay I'll do it
you know it just made him so mad
that he took out his anger on Abel
when really who was Cain's problem really with was it with Abel
who was it with
his problem was with god
I mean he has a problem with god it has nothing to do with Abel
he has a problem of not agreeing with god
so he takes his brother Abel out in the field
talks to him
and kills him
you know how did he kill him I don't know the bible says he shed his blood
so you know we don't know what kind of a knife or a sword or you know a stone
that he bashes
head in or whatever he did
he somehow killed his own brother
and in some kind of a violent act
lashing out in anger because god didn't respect him
he goes after the one who's doing what's right and he said marble not my brother
if the world hates you it's amazing
in the new testament
the bible has a theme like this throughout the new testament
where Jesus is talking about how believers will be persecuted and hated
and it's interesting because if you look at who did the most persecuting of
christians
all the way through the new testament
I mean all the way through
it's always the jews that are persecuting the christians all the way through
and the bible talks about this in galatians when it talks about how
Abraham had two sons
Isaac and Ishmael
and Isaac was the promised son with his legitimate wife
Ishmael was the son that he had illegitimately with Hagar
outside of wedlock he committed adultery basically and had this child with Hagar
and these two children the bible says that Ishmael persecuted Isaac
Ishmael hated Isaac so the illegitimate hated the legitimate child
and god said that's a picture that's an allegory
and god still loved Ishmael and god said that he respected him and that he would
make of him a great nation
it wasn't that Ishmael
uh... was somehow born just uh...
hated by god or some god
you know had respect for him god cared about him god loved him and so the bible is really clear
when you read that story
but the bible says that these things are an allegory
or symbolic of the fact that as it was then
the physical child
persecuted the spiritual promised child Isaac
and he said even so it is now
the physical children of Abraham the jews
those who physically descended from Abraham that were alive in Jesus day
were persecuting the spiritual children of Abraham
because the bible says if you be Christ's then are you Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise
and so
the jews persecuted the Christians and of course they
they had Jesus crucified they shouted crucify him
and Pilate flat out said why
what evil has he done why do you want to crucify him
and they cried out the more crucify him crucify him
and they said I'm free from the blood of this just person I mean the Roman
governor
literally brought out water and washed his hands and said I am free from the
blood of this just person
he said I do not condone of putting this man to death
and they cried out his blood be on us and on our children
why would they do that
why did they have such hatred for Jesus
why did they burn with hatred and scream out and gnash their teeth and say crucify him
crucify
and then even after Jesus was dead they just went on and persecuted his followers
and killed his followers
why did they hate them
well it's the same reason why
Cain slew Abel
he said
because his own works were evil
and his brothers
righteous
marvel not
my brethren
if the world
hates you
I mean the bible is clear
that Christians believers are going to be hated
by the world
why because the evil hate the righteous
that's what the bible says over and over again
uh... Jesus also said that look if you would at verse number uh... I'm sorry turn to the
book of John I don't think I had you turn there
go to John fifteen I want to show you this in the book of John
go to John chapter number fifteen he says this over and over again in John
uh... fourteen fifteen and sixteen when he's
kind of given his last
major sermon
unto his disciples here and he goes through a lot of things with them and he gives them a lot of
warnings and so forth
but he says in chapter fifteen
and verse number
eighteen
he says that the world
first of all he says in verse seventeen he's talking to his disciples he said these things I command you
that you love one another
if the world hates you you know that it hated me before it hated you
if you were of the world
the world would love his own
but because you're not of the world
but I have chosen you out of the world
therefore the world hateth you
remember the word that I said unto you the servant is not greater than his lord
if they have persecuted me
they will also persecute you if they have kept my saying
they will keep yours also
but all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake
because they had not
because they know not him that sent me
if I had not come and spoken unto them they had not had sin
but now they have no cloak for their sin
he that hateth me
hateth my father also if I had not done among them the works which none other
man did
they had not had sin but now have they both seen and hated both me and my father
but this cometh the past that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law
they hated me
without a cause do you see how he just says over and over again I mean just in that
those few verses he said just over and over again
they hated me, they hate my father, he's talking about God, he's the son of God
he said they hate me, they hate my father, they're going to hate you
they hate me because I'm not of the world
look at chapter sixteen verse one
these things have I spoken unto you that ye should not be offended they shall put you
out of the synagogues
yea the time cometh that whosoever killeth you
will think that he doeth God's service
and these things will they do unto you because they have not known the father
nor me
and so on and on again
he says over and over again
how they they hated him, they're persecuting him
and they're going to do the same thing
unto them look at the last verse in the chapter verse thirty three it says
these things have I spoken unto you
that in me ye might have peace
in the world ye shall have
tribulation
but be of good cheer
I have overcome
the world
and so the Bible is real quick, go back to Genesis chapter four
Genesis chapter number four
and now we'll get back into the story there once we
want to see the motivation you know why would he do that because you're reading the story
Cain and God are having an exchange there
God doesn't respect Cain's
little religion
and so Cain gets mad
and then instead of getting mad at God he takes it out on his brother Abel why
because his own works for evenless brothers righteous
go if you would to verse number nine
this is where God confronts Cain about killing Abel
and the Lord said unto Cain where is Abel thy brother
and he said I know not am I my brother's keeper
so he's lying about it now
I don't know you know I'm not his babysitter I don't know where he is
and he said
what hast thou done
the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground
and now art thou cursed from the earth which hath opened
her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from my hand
when thou tillest the ground it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength
a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth
so here's his punishment now first of all is he getting the death penalty
no he's not receiving the death penalty
he's being told that he's going to be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth why
because he said that he's going to curse Cain
so that when Cain tries to produce crops when he tries to do the farming that he's
always done
it says that the earth will not henceforth yield unto him her strength
he's going to curse Cain so that he will fail at farming
to cause him to have to keep moving around
instead of being able to just you know settle in
plant his crops
reap the harvest thrive
he's cursing Cain
and telling him he's going to be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth
look at verse thirteen it says and Cain said to the Lord
my punishment is greater
than I can bear
behold thou hast driven me out to stay from the face of the earth
and from thy face shall I be hid
and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth
and it shall come to pass that everyone that findeth me shall slay me
and the Lord said unto him
therefore whosoever slayeth Cain vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold
and the Lord set a mark upon Cain lest any finding him should kill him
so what Cain is saying is that basically
because he has killed his brother
and you know his parents and his other brothers and sisters are going to find that out
then basically somebody's going to kill him
and take revenge and retribution on him
and so
Cain pleads to God and says
you know someone's going to kill me for what I've done here
and God listens to him and says okay
he says therefore whosoever slayeth Cain
vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold so
God pronounces this curse on anyone who would kill Cain
that vengeance will be taken upon them sevenfold
and he puts a mark upon Cain
lest any finding him should kill him
now what does it mean that he put a mark on Cain? I don't know the Bible doesn't really
give any kind of a detail about this
but it's some kind of a mark that people will know that it's Cain
and they'll know
not to kill him
now you say why would that matter I mean
you know are there really that many people on the planet at this time
because if you remember the world started out with just Adam and Eve and they had children
and they had sons and daughters were multiplied unto them the Bible says
and of course they had children and they had to go
well the thing is people at this time lived a really long time
in the early days of our earth here
if you read Genesis 5 for example you don't have to turn there but it lists the age of these people
Adam lived to be nine hundred thirty years old
and they're having all kinds of children all kinds of sons and daughters
so eventually everybody's not necessarily going to know who Cain is and so God
feels the need to put this mark upon him lest any finding him should kill him
it says in verse sixteen and Cain went out
from the presence of the Lord and dwelt in the land of Nod
on the east of Eden
and Cain knew his wife what does that mean?
of course it's talking about what married people do
it says and Cain knew his wife and she conceived
and bare Enoch
and he builded a city and called the name of the city after the name of his son Enoch
and unto Enoch was born I-rad and I-rad begat Mahu-jael
and Mahu-jael begat Methuselah and Methuselah begat Lamech
and Lamech took unto him two wives now this is the first instance in the Bible
of someone having two wives
is that what God designed initially? No
God made them Adam and Eve go to Matthew chapter nineteen if you would keep your
finger in Genesis four but go to Matthew nineteen
in Matthew chapter nineteen Jesus refers back to this
and it says in that
Matthew nineteen three 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?
now it's funny because people always think of the Pharisees
as being these really strict people
you know it's really strict religion
and then Jesus came along and he's more like a loose kind of like a long haired hippie
pot smoking kind of guy
there's this kind of like a little more laid back and he's like dude
Pharisees just chill out
just love God just love your neighbor
but that's not the way the Bible reads
in reality
the Pharisees were always the ones
who were
breaking God's laws and finding all these loopholes in God's laws why they didn't
have to obey
they were not strict
they were only strict in certain areas where they could be a hypocrite
but then they were very loose in other areas and the Bible is also clear that
the problem that Jesus had with the Pharisees that they were hypocrites
because they would preach one thing
and then live something totally different they would tell people hey it's a sin to do
that and then they would go do it themselves okay
well that was their problem well here
the Pharisees are trying to justify
divorcing your wife and marrying someone else
so they sound really strict huh
these guys are really strict legalistic you know
they're trying to
get out of the strictness of God's law which teaches you know you're supposed to be married for life
so the Pharisees are trying to justify
divorcing your wife and marrying someone else
and they had been justifying it for a long time
they've been teaching people that it was okay to divorce your wife and notice this
is it lawful to put away his wife, a man to put away his wife, what does that say?
for every cause
so basically they're saying
you know can you divorce your wife just for any reason
just I don't like your face you know just I'm going to divorce you know whatever
but you know what that's the world we're living in today
people divorce their wife for every cause
I'm just not sure that I love her anymore
I just feel like I need to just spread my wings a little bit
you know
I need to go find myself I think I'm just having a midlife crisis
you know and that's the type of causes
that many people will get a divorce just
for no reason
or just for a flippant reason or just for a
their own caprice or whatever
now some people have other reasons to divorce their spouse like
you know their spouse is a drunk or a drug addict
or committing adultery or looking at porno or
you know slap them upside the head or whatever
but honestly although those are all wicked and awful things that I don't approve of
you know the Bible does not condone divorce period
and the Bible says God hates putting away putting away means divorce
and God teaches well you know what why don't we just let the Bible speak for itself
look down at your Bible and let's see what Jesus says about it
it says in Matthew 93 is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause
verse 4 Jesus answers and he answered and said unto them
have ye not read
and that's always the problem when people are in error
it's that they haven't read
they didn't read the Bible they don't know what they're talking about because they didn't read the Bible
so he says to these people who claim to believe the Bible
have ye not read
that he which made them at the beginning
made them male and female
and said for this cause
shall a man leave father and mother
and shall cleave to his wife
and they twain or they too shall be one flesh
wherefore they are no more twain
but one flesh
what therefore God hath joined together
let not man
put asunder
period
and there are many other places where he deals with this
he says look
it's not God's original intent
God set it up for a man and a wife to get married to become one flesh
and never to be parted
what God has joined together let not man put asunder period
look what he says next
they say unto him
why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement and to put her away
of course their misunderstanding is scripture
it says he saith unto them Moses because of the hardness of your hearts
suffered you to put away your wives
but from the beginning it was not so
so what does Jesus hold as the standard
from the beginning it was not so that's not what God intended you later
were divorcing your wives and so forth
and when they're talking about divorce and the mosaic law
the only time God ever brings up divorce in the mosaic law
the only time that he says that a person can divorce their wife
was if they went in they get married right
and they go in unto her
and it says they find some uncleanness in her
okay they go in they find an uncleanness and say
that I found her not to be a maid
you know because I found unclean
and basically at that point
they can annul the marriage before it's been consummated
at that point they can divorce
now I'll prove it to you further in Matthew chapter 1
when Joseph remember Joseph and Mary
okay they had gotten married
but they had not yet consummated the marriage they had just gotten married
and remember the angel appears unto Joseph
why? because Joseph found out that his wife
that he had just married and hasn't consummated the marriage yet
is pregnant
when Joseph found out that Mary was pregnant
because she was a virgin
but he doesn't know that
I mean think about it put yourself in Joseph's shoes
you know you marry this girl and all of a sudden you find out hey she's pregnant and you
haven't been with her yet
you have not consummated the marriage
well he thinks to himself she's committed fornication
she has
you know and basically at that point he doesn't want to marry her anymore
and the Bible says then Joseph her husband being a just man
and not willing to make her a public example
was minded to put her away privately
so Joseph he was a just man he was a good guy
he didn't want to make a big deal out of it or anything
he wanted to just quietly divorce her
because why? because she was not a virgin and he thought she was and now she's
pregnant with somebody else's baby
but then of course the angel appears unto Joseph and explains to him
how Mary is a virgin but she's going to give birth unto the Lord Jesus Christ and so forth
and that right there is the example of that
but see how the Pharisees have perverted this to just
yeah you can divorce your wife for every cause even after it's been consummated
even years later
that's never been what the Bible taught you can go back and read it
Deuteronomy 22 and Deuteronomy 24
is where this doctrine is laid out very clearly
that's what they're quoting from
Deuteronomy 22 and Deuteronomy 24 I don't have time to go into it tonight
because it's outside the scope of this sermon but
then they said unto him you know well why did Moses in verse 8
he said unto them Moses because of the hardness of your heart
suffered you or allowed you to put away your wives
but from the beginning it was not so
and I say unto you
look what Jesus Christ says
whosoever shall put away his wife
except it be for fornication now
what is fornication
is it is adultery
what he said did he say except it be for adultery
adultery is when you're married and you basically cheat on your spouse that's adultery
fornication is something that you do before you're married
fornication is what you do when you're unmarried and you go to bed with someone else
the Bible calls that fornication it's a wicked sin you're supposed to stay pure and
virgin until you're married
but here he says except it be for fornication
which is exactly what's laid out in Deuteronomy 22 and 24
and it's brought up in Matthew 1 in regard to Joseph
he said except it be for fornication and shall marry another
committed adultery
so let me read that again
and I say unto you
whosoever shall put away his wife
or divorce his wife
except it be for fornication
and shall marry another
committed adultery
and whoso marrieth her which is put away
doth commit adultery says if you marry a divorced woman
you're committing adultery
period that's what he said
the Pharisees didn't like it in fact
Jesus' own disciples did not like this preaching
so it shouldn't surprise you today that when this is preached even Christians get mad and
upset about it
because even Jesus' disciples look what they say in verse 10 this is their reaction
what they just hear Jesus say
you cannot divorce your wife
what God has joined together let not man put aside
the only exception that he made because the hardness of your heart
was a fornication
laid out in Deuteronomy 22 and 24
but he says look what his disciples say
his disciples say unto him
if the case of the man be so with his wife it is not good to marry
their reaction is well if I were to be stuck with her for the rest of my life I'm not even going to get married
that's what they said
so it's funny how people try to twist this it doesn't it seems like they
understood what he said
because if this is making all these exceptions then they would have just been like okay
well you know this is my partner for now
they said well if that's how it is
because they've been listening to the Pharisees
telling them you can get a divorce
they said man if it's like that I mean if you have to be with your wife really till
you mean you actually meant that till death do us part I thought that was just tradition or something that you say that
they say well if that's the case it's good not to marry
look what Jesus says
but he said to them
all men cannot receive this saying
you know I mean okay
some people just can't handle this kind of preaching
that's Jesus' response
he doesn't back down and say well you know we can talk about it when you know
we'll see how it goes with your wife we'll talk maybe I'll make an exception
he just says well all men cannot receive this saying save they to whom it is given
so go back to Genesis chapter four
it's the same thing with polygamy
the Bible never one time condones a polygamy
never one time does God say it's okay to have two wives or three wives
in fact he very clearly said in Deuteronomy
thou shalt that he shall not multiply wives thou shalt not multiply wives
no multiple wives period
he only ever
talks about there is a man and a woman and they
no he said they twain
shall be one flesh they too shall be one flesh
there's no mention anywhere in the Bible
where God allows people to have multiple wives
now you say wait a minute Pastor Anderson there are people in the Bible who have multiple wives
but that doesn't make it right
there are people who lied in the Bible there are people who killed there are people who stole
there are people who committed adultery there are people who cheated
that doesn't matter
the Bible is about human beings who did a lot of bad stuff
and the people in the Bible
who had multiple wives were committing sin when they had multiple wives
because the Bible is only ever taught in this whole book cover to cover
every single time it teaches
one wife is what you're supposed to have
and notice do you think it's a coincidence that the first person
the first person in the Bible to have two wives was a descendant of Abel and Seth
and the righteous godly side of the family
the wicked side of the family
Cain who was of the wicked one and slew his brother
his descendants are the first ones in the Bible
who start this practice of having two wives, of having more than one wife
now I don't understand why anybody would want to have two wives in the first place
you know I mean
now here's the thing
on the surface
on the surface it sounds like a good idea
but see here's the thing
this is how sin always is
it looks good
you know but then it's not all that it's cracked up to be
because think about it, what are you, experienced? No I'm just kidding, but anyway, just kidding
but anyway
sin, it's like that, if you don't think it through it's like, I can't have two wives
now here's what's funny
our society rejects polygamy
and they should reject it, it's wicked, it should not be accepted by our society
it's good that our society doesn't
but you know our society will accept you going to bed with a different person every week
and every month and they think that's fine
but oh, oh, oh
somebody has two wives
now look, it's bad, it's sin, it's wrong, this descendant of Cain is doing it
you know and by the way there are places in the world where people still have two wives
it's called
Islam
I mean the Muslim world they're allowed to have up to four wives
and I've even met people in the United States who
you know were Muslims and they said well if my husband took on a second wife that'd be fine
just as long as he still takes care of me or whatever
you know and that's pretty bizarre, it's pretty warped
but you know what, it's just as warped
when you're going to bed with a different person every month
and every week and every year and you say oh I'd never have two wives
but I'll have a different
you know woman every
day of the week
what is the difference?
it's not God's plan
God's plan is for you to be joined under that one person
and so today we just give it a different name
and it's just called college
you know where you just
you know just one after the other after the other
so basically instead of having them concurrently you're having them
consecutively
multiple wives you know and obviously it's not a wife but you get my drift
you know what I'm saying
the thing is
this is a sin, it's wrong
but you know on the surface it's like yeah you know twice
the enjoyment you know two wives
but wait a minute
two women living in your house they're probably going to hate each other
think about this
the Bible says it's better to dwell in the corner of the house top
than in a wide broad house
with an angry woman
that's what the Bible says in the book of Proverbs
he said it's better to have a dinner of herbs
and quiet therewith
than a stalled ox and hatred therewith
he said you know the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping
that's like the Chinese torture where they drip on your forehead
he's saying it's torture
and notice when men in the Bible have multiple wives
their wives always hated each other, they're always fighting each other
look at Sarah and Hagar fighting each other, hate each other
look at the
what's that guy's name that has the two wives
tip of my tongue, Samuel's parents, Elkanah and Hannah
and he had two wives and they hated each other
and every time she refers to the other wives she calls her my adversary
my enemy
I mean why would you want to have two women living in your house that hate each other
okay it's not God's plan
and you know anybody who tries this
you know and having multiple wives
you know they're going to get punished, God's not even going to have to punish them
just
it's just going to be a punishment
okay
and so just be content with one wife is enough
all things in moderation for crying out loud
and so just be happy with the wife that you've got you know and
and you know it's such a better marriage and it's always better when you do
things God's way
when you keep yourself pure and you get married and you stay with one person
committed that person for life, grow old together
that's God's way, that's going to be better than the world's method
but this guy he's got two wives first guy in the Bible to have two wives
the name of the one was Ada
and the name of the other Zilla so he's got all the wives from A to Z covered I guess
but he's got two wives
and Ada Barrett Jabal
he was the father of such as dwell in tents and of such that cows, this is talking about the
descendants
of Cain
and the descendants of Lamech and these
you know what his children went into
uh... you know Jabal it talks about he was the father of such as dwell in tents and of such as have cattle
head of a nomadic shepherding existence
and his brother's name was Jubal he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organs
they were musically inclined
it says in Zilla she also bared two balkane an instructor of every artificer
in brass and iron and the sister of two balkane was Naamah
so I was just giving a little bit of background a little bit of a genealogy of these uh... people that he uh...
look at verse twenty three
it says in Lamech seven to his wives
Ada and Zilla
hear my voice ye wives of Lamech
hearken unto my speech
for I've slain a man to my wounding
and a young man to my hurt
so what did he do
what's he tell on his wives he comes home to his wives and says
honey honey
I've got to tell you something
I killed somebody today
isn't that what he's saying he's saying I've slain a man to my wounding
and a young man to my hurt
now what does he mean by that to my wounding and to my hurt
you know there's some
question about what this means
some would think and you know I've looked at this over and over trying to figure out what did he mean by that
one thing that I've heard and one thing that could be true is that
he means that he did it in self-defense
you know that's what some people interpret this as they did it in self-defense
is that really what it's literally saying though when he says I've slain a man to my wounding
and a young man to my hurt
he's almost saying you know I feel really bad about it
that's the way it sounds to me like I killed somebody and I feel really bad about it
it hurts me that I've done this I don't know
what that means exactly you know I don't claim to know everything or have all the
answers about what the Bible says if I did I'd be God if I knew everything because the
Bible is very deep
I'm not a hundred percent sure what he meant by that there's a couple possible interpretations
if you have a better interpretation you know see me after the service and let me know
but basically he killed somebody bottom line
and he feels justified
in killing someone that's why some think that it was he means in self-defense you know he
was wounded
by someone and so he killed them or whatever
but look what he says in verse twenty four this shows that he felt justified in killing
someone else
it says if Cain shall be avenged sevenfold because remember that's what God said about
Cain
hundreds of years later this has been passed down
and lamech knows about how you know they're not supposed to kill Cain and whoever kills
Cain will be avenged sevenfold
he says well you know if Cain shall be avenged sevenfold truly lamech seventy and sevenfold
you know because I mean Cain just killed his brother in cold blood
so I didn't do anything that bad so I'm going to be avenged seventy and sevenfold
you say what's the significance well
in the next two verses the Bible talks a little bit about
Adam's other descendants Seth and calling upon the name of the Lord
in chapter five
the Bible just gives a genealogy that's all that's there is just a genealogy
so what I want you to see is that at the beginning of chapter four we have Cain
killing Abel
does he receive the death penalty no he receives a penalty of being a fugitive in a vagabond
then we get to the end of the chapter someone else commits murder
are they put to death are they punished
no he feels totally justified and said
hey nobody take revenge here because
you know just like Cain
I did the same thing and I'm even more justified than he is
well when you get to chapter six because remember we'll skip over chapter five for now
just because chapter five is a genealogy we'll go back and cover that next week
but when we get to chapter six
that's really the next story in the in the face here
and look what the Bible says
in verse eleven of chapter six this is where God's going to destroy the earth with a flood
because the whole earth has become wicked
and vile in the sight of God only Noah is the only righteous man left on the earth
so he's going to destroy the whole earth with a flood of course Noah's going to build the ark and so forth
but look what it says in verse eleven
the earth also was corrupt before God
and the earth was filled with what?
violence
and look at the next verse
and God looked upon the earth and behold it was corrupt
for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth and God said unto Noah
the end of all flesh has come before me for the earth is filled with violence through them
and behold I will destroy them
with the earth make thee an ark and he tells them you know make the ark there's going to be a flood
and it's going to rain all this stuff
so think about the progression
beginning of chapter four Cain kills Abel
not punished severely
end of the chapter another man kills somebody says well hey I'm justified doing it
next thing you know the Bible says the earth is filled with violence
so you see how it multiplied
it started out just a couple murders now the whole earth is filled with violence
now God sends the flood
he destroys mankind
Noah and his family are on the ark, eight people are on the ark, Noah and his wife, their three sons
and their three wives
go to Genesis nine this is when Noah gets off the ark in Genesis chapter nine
and look what God says in Genesis chapter nine
verse number six
this is right when Noah is getting off the ark after the flood
he says whoso shedeth man's blood
by man shall his blood be shed
for in the image of God made he man
so here's where God institutes the death penalty for the first time
he says whoso shedeth man's blood
by man
so this is something that
man is going to take care of someone else will kill them
he says whoso shedeth man's blood
by man shall his blood be shed
for in the image of God made he man
so notice
one guy kills his brother
another guy kills later
looking back to Cain and saying it's okay I'm not going to be punished
by capital punishment
and then next thing you know the whole earth is filled with violence
so then God destroys the whole earth and the first thing he does
when they get off the ark is institutes a new rule
and says you know what
this did not work the first time
that other punishment
no it doesn't work
so he said
whoso shedeth man's blood
by man shall his blood be shed for in the image of God made he man
so the Bible is really clear the death penalty is biblical
now a lot of people will say
oh the death penalty is not biblical
and how can you be a Christian and you're for the death penalty
well there it is
it was invented by God
and think about this why did God institute the death penalty
was it just because he just wanted to just
he just doesn't want to give people another chance he just wants them dead
he instituted it for man
for his own good because was it his initial
plan
to have a death penalty on this earth was that his original plan
his original plan
did not involve that
but because
man is a sinner
not because God's way was imperfect or wrong
but because man is sinful
he said look
if we don't have a death penalty
on murder
the whole earth is going to become filled with violence again
that's what happened the first time
why wouldn't it happen the second time
so God put this in place
he put this in place in order to prevent man
from slaughtering one another
he put this in place as a deterrent
to murder someone else now
this is where human government
comes into play
there isn't really any mention of human government in the Bible up to this point really
when you get to this point
and when you get into chapter 9, 10, and 11 of Genesis
you see human government beginning to be instituted and nations being instituted
now the original purpose of government
go to Romans 13 I'm almost done tonight but I just want to quickly explain this
Romans 13 gives us the
purpose of human government because human government was instituted by God
God instituted the family at the beginning of Genesis
he instituted nations and human government after the flood
and he instituted the local church in the New Testament
those are God's three main institutions in this world
in Romans 13
it says in verse number 1, let every soul be subject unto the higher powers
for there is no power but of God
the powers that be are ordained of God
so what the Bible is telling us here is that anyone who has power or authority in this world
derives that power and authority from God
because have you ever asked yourself these questions? I don't know if you're really a philosopher
but have you ever asked the question
why
do governments have the right to tell their people what to do?
I mean, haven't you thought along those lines?
why do I have to obey this law or that law?
why should I obey my parents? or why do I obey the boss at work?
why do I have to obey what the Bible says? or why do I have to obey what God says?
why do I have to obey what the government tells me?
the Bible is telling us here that the government derives its power from God
okay
now let me explain that because don't get carried away. He doesn't give the government unlimited power
that's what they think and that's what most Christians think
the Declaration of Independence
which is the founding document of our country
says that governments derive their power
from the just consent of the governed
now that's ridiculous because
does every single person in the United States consent to being ruled over by the government of the United States?
that doesn't make sense that sounds great Thomas Jefferson but it's never been true
it's not true
it's a theory
called
you know just government is government that's by the consent of the governed
and they'll say well this is the consent of the majority
but wait a minute where does the Bible say government derives its power from?
not from the consent of the governed
from God
it's not that I have the right to tell my children what to do because they consent
yes dad you may tell me to brush my teeth and not eat ice cream for breakfast and not play ball in the freeway
I consent to have you make rules for me dad because I know it's what's best for me
okay so it's not consensual
it's just derived power from God
because think about it let's say there were no God there is no God okay
well how can I really tell my children you have to obey me?
why?
well the belt
so that's another theory
you know we're getting into really deep philosophy tonight and Chris Brown is not even here
so he likes to talk about it
but anyway
then there's the theory that says well government is just ruled by force
it's just all by force
children have to obey their parents like you said because of the belt
you know because force is what's making them obey
and governments rule by force
others say no governments rule by the consent of the governed
well the Bible actually
is saying neither the Bible is saying that
the power that be derived their power from God
the only reason
that children have to obey their parents according to the Bible
is because God said children obey your parents
and the Lord for this is right
and the only reason why I'm supposed to obey the boss at work
or why I'm supposed to obey the government within
the scope
that God has given the government authority
is that
they derive their power from God because the powers that be are ordained of God
and then it says in verse two let's read it together and I'll explain it to you
whosoever therefore resisted the power
resisted the ordinance of God
and they that resist shall receive themselves damnation not talking about going to hell there
just talking about condemnation or damnation
that's another word for condemnation
for rulers are not a terror to good works
but to the evil
wilt thou then not be afraid of the power
do that which is good and thou should have praise of the same isn't that kind of like what God told Cain
in Genesis four
verse four
for he is the minister of God to thee for good
but if thou do that which is evil
be afraid
for he beareth not the sword in vain
for he is the minister of God
a revenger to execute wrath upon him to do with evil
wherefore ye must needs be subject not only for wrath but also for conscience sake
so he's saying it's not only for wrath
not only because you're afraid of the belt so to speak
not only because you're afraid of the punishment
but also for conscience sake because God is telling you
to obey
for this cause pay ye tribute also
for there God's ministers attending continually
upon
this very thing
now what is all that to say
God has given authority to certain institutions upon this earth
God has given parents authority over their children
the authority
that parents have over their children is absolute
okay now the only thing that overrides the authority that parents have over their children
is God's laws
for example if my parents were not you know and obviously when you're not living with your parents
once you've gotten up in years and gotten married and moved out
now you're your own boss obviously you're not a child anymore
but when you're a child at home with your parents
if your parents tell you to sin if they tell you to lie
you don't have to obey that
because God's laws supersede your parents laws and the Bible says
we ought to obey God rather than men
and the Bible says in the first verse right there in Romans 13
let every soul be seven of the higher powers
so if I have two authority figures and they conflict on what they're telling me to do
I go with the higher power
so if God's telling me to tell the truth
and my parents are telling me to lie
I'm going to tell the truth
because that's the higher power
but the authority that a parent has over their child is absolute
except it's governed by God's laws
meaning that I can tell my children what time they get up what they're going to eat
I mean look I can tell my children
what they're going to eat for breakfast
I mean that's a pretty serious authority isn't it when I'm dictating what they're
going to eat for breakfast lunch and dinner
when they're going to get up when they're going to go to bed
so do my children have a lot of freedom?
of course not because
they don't just you know whatever they want
as an adult
they're going to be able to do whatever they want
they're going to have freedom
but as a child children don't have freedom
children are brought up
with authority that's a very strong authority of parents
let's look at God's other institution
the local church
in the Bible the Bible talks about the pastor being an authority at the local
church but here's the thing
does the pastor have the same authority over the church that a parent has over their
children?
of course not
because the only scope of the pastor's authority
just has to do with the church he runs the church but he doesn't run your home
he doesn't run your life
he doesn't run your business do you understand what I'm saying?
he runs the church he has authority at the church but when I walk out that door
I don't have any authority over you
I can't come to your house and tell you what to do
I don't have that kind of authority
now again
if the pastor preaches something to you
or tells you to do something involved with church that's against God
who do you obey the pastor or God?
God you obey the higher power
let's go to your boss at work
does your boss at work have absolute authority over you telling you what to eat for lunch?
telling you what to do outside of work?
does he tell you hey
when you're outside work you're going to follow my rules?
he only has authority within the scope of work
when it comes to work he's in charge
when it comes to stuff that doesn't pertain to work
he doesn't have authority
he can tell you how to dress on the job right? I mean most jobs will tell you
a dress code or you gotta type in your shirt or you gotta do this
but can he really tell you hey on the weekends
when I see you around town
that shirt better be tucked in
wouldn't you say that would be an abusive boss?
that's not within the scope of his authority
or a pastor who comes to your house and tells you
you know hey you need to change this and change this you know I want to see that gone
it's completely outside the scope of the authority does anybody not understand what I just explained?
it's pretty simple right?
isn't it kind of common sense?
like you know the boss is only ruling in regard to work stuff
and the pastor is only in charge of the church but he's not in charge of stuff that's outside
of church or
or what we do outside of church
and we don't have the same
relationship with the pastor as we would with like a dad when we were a kid or the boss at work
really simple right?
but here's what's funny
when it comes to the government though
people
will give the government the exact same authority
that a parent has over their child
and here's what Christians will teach about human government
they'll agree with everything I just said
but when it comes to the government here's what they'll say
no matter what the government tells you to do
you have to do it as long as it doesn't contradict the bible who's ever heard that before?
oh yeah
they'll say you know if the government tells you that as long as it doesn't contradict the bible you have to do it
now isn't that what I just explained is a parent's authority?
that's like a parent's authority right? I mean
hey anything a parent tells their child to do
they have to do it but wait a minute
did God give
that much authority
to basically make whatever rules they want about our life
whatever rules they want if they tell I mean what if the government started telling us what to eat?
would we have to do it?
because we got to obey the bible and God said you ordained the government but hold on
what if the government starts dictating every facet of your life is that within the scope of what God designed government for?
no and I'll prove it to you
God designed government
according to Romans 13
for the punishment of evildoers and that's what it says over and over again
it says in verse 3
for rulers are not a terror to good works but to the evil
look at verse 4
but he is the minister of God and he for good
but if thou do that which is evil
be afraid
for he beareth not the sword in vain
and then look what is the definition of government to God
a revenger at the end of verse 4
to execute wrath upon him that doeth what?
evil so how many times have we seen that? 1, 2, 3 times
and look what he says in verse 6
for this cause pay ye tribute also what's tribute what's another word for that?
taxes
he said this is why you pay taxes also
for they are God's ministers
attending
continually
upon this very thing upon what very thing?
upon what very thing are they attending continually?
the punishment of evildoers
bearing the sword
to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil
a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil
he said that's why you pay taxes
because they attend continually or all the time or non-stop on that one thing
now let me ask you something
is that the only thing that our government does today?
now you say now a lot of people misunderstand this
let me make this very clear
the word evil
does not mean sin
it does not mean sin it is not the government's job to punish sin
now let me give you a really good reason
because every single person is a sinner
and every single person probably sins every day
because the bible even says the thought of foolishness is sin
no one is perfect
everyone commits sin
everyone is a sinner
and so if it was the government's job to punish sin
we'd all be punished we'd all be arrested
we'd all have a criminal record
we'd all be going to jail
does that make any sense? no
but that's why he didn't say sin he said evil and a lot of people don't understand the word evil
if you look every time the word evil is used in the bible
it means harming someone else
that's what evil means
the bible even says
that God
it says in the minor prophets
is there an evil in the city and the Lord has not done it?
God doesn't sin
the bible says God can't sin
but does God do evil?
has God ever harmed anyone? of course God has harmed people
therefore God has done evil but has God sinned? no
so in our modern vernacular in 2012
when we say evil
we just mean like it's really bad it's really dark and sinful
that's not what the word evil means biblically
the word evil means harming someone else
so therefore it is the government's job
to punish those
who harm other
people
not to dictate every facet of our life
not to be a surrogate parent
not to be our nanny and our mother
no it's to punish evil doers
and if our government only did that
we'd have a very small government
if that's all they did
now does it say that it's their job to prevent crime?
does it say that it's their job to help the poor?
no we should help the poor
churches should help the poor christians should help the poor everybody should love their neighbor as themselves and help the poor
but does the bible say that's why you pay tribute to help the poor
that's why you pay tribute in order to give education to all
that's why you pay tribute so that you might have people telling you how fast to drive
or what to eat or drink and I'll tell you right now
there are a lot of things that are sins but they should be legal
for example
people are always
uh... getting
upset about this christians get overzealous about the government
and they think the government should be like god
and look the bible is real clear in the old testament
what laws the government should punish it talks about murder
that was what we saw in genesis nine
but later on
in exodus
leviticus numbers and Deuteronomy
god expands it he says murder he says rapists
people who steal
people who uh...
commit adultery why because when you commit adultery
you're you're infringing on someone else's rights
you know when you when you uh...
uh... commit adultery with my wife you've infringed upon my rights
okay
if I commit adultery that's infringing upon my wife's rights
okay when we made an oath to one to another
that's an act of violating me and my
uh... my property
and you say oh yeah the bible says that the wife belongs to her husband and the
husband belongs to his wife it's a it's a mutual thing
it's not that I own my wife she owns me
we own each other
we are to keep each other only unto each other
and if somebody violates that
that is evil
according to the bible
if somebody commits rape that's evil
if somebody steals because if people you try to tell people your your political philosophy
and they'll call you an anarchist
oh you believe in anarchy
no but if you had the bible's government it would look like anarchy to a lot of people
because they're so used to the government doing a bunch of stuff that the government has no
business doing
so if they saw biblical government they'd say it's anarchy
because the government wouldn't be building all their roads
and building all the schools and
and feeding the poor and doing all this stuff
but you know what
god's way is right and their way is wrong
because a very limited government
that only does one thing punishes evil doers
because look the problem with anarchy
is that you'll end up like you ended up before the flood where everybody's killing each other
that's why you have to have government
because you have to have government to protect the weak
because you say well we can all just protect ourselves let's all carry guns and protect ourselves
hey I'm all for that but here's the thing though
some little old lady
she might not be able to fight off the intruder
or maybe what happens when there's twenty intruders
and they converge on grandma's house
there has to be government there
to punish people who would do such a thing and to fight back
against that
that's what government was instituted to do and nothing else and so I
and look call me what you want
whatever that's where the government has authority in my life
I do not believe that I have a moral obligation to obey the government
in any area unless they're doing the thing that god
set them up to do
I don't believe that I morally have to obey them in any other area
now here's the thing you say well Pastor Ashley you obey them in a lot of other areas
I do obey them in a lot of other areas
but it's like Jesus said
Jesus was confronted by one of his disciples
asking him hey do we pay taxes or what?
because the taxman came around the IRS came around and whatever
and he asked him do we pay taxes or not
and Jesus said well
Peter you know who do the kings of the earth take custom and tribute from their own children or strangers
and Peter said of strangers
Jesus said then are the children free
he said if we're free we shouldn't have to pay taxes
but he said nevertheless lest we offend them
he said you know take this coin and give it to them and that will be for me and you to pay our taxes
so Jesus paid his taxes did he not?
and he said you know render unto Caesar the things that be Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's
but did Jesus say hey we have a moral obligation to obey these people because they are our parents
they love us it's the fatherland
it's our motherland
it's our homeland
no
he said we're going to pay it just because
look and here's the thing you say Pastor Ashley do you pay taxes?
I pay all my taxes I always have
and I've crossed every T I've dotted every I
when I drive down the road I try to go close to the speed limit most of the time
you say why? Is it a sin?
Is it a sin to disobey the government? Is it a sin to not do it? No
it's because I don't want to go to jail
it's not for conscience sake
it's because I don't want to spend my life being a tax protester
I don't want to go to jail for something I want to be for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ
not because I'm fighting against taxation
and look I'm against it
I'm against big government I'm against taxation I'm against the nanny state
and I only believe the government should only do what the Bible says the government should do
and the only laws
every law that our government should have is in this book
there should be no law
except what's in this book and some things in this book shouldn't even be a law
because they're not evil
like the Bible clearly states that drinking alcohol is a sin
I'll stand on that the Bible says over and over again he warns of alcohol
and he says that when you drink alcohol your eyes will will behold strange women
and your mouth will utter perverse things but there's no place in the Bible
where alcohol was ever made illegal
God when he ran the children of Israel and he ran that nation
and it was a theocracy so-called
alcohol was legal
but is it right to drink it? No
because God doesn't just put everybody in a white padded room to make sure that
they don't sin
God gives freedom
and I believe that drugs should be legal
legalize all drugs
I'm not going to take them
my children aren't going to take them
why don't people grow up and take responsibility for themselves
instead of expecting the government to protect you from yourself
I mean if the government is supposed to protect us
from roving gangs with machine guns okay punish the evil doer
but you don't have to protect me from myself
if I want to eat what I want to eat and you don't think it's healthy
or you know if people want to smoke pot
and people want to drink and be drunken
and what's the difference between drinking alcohol and smoking pot anyway?
Now that you're not sober the Bible said to be sober
and when you're drinking you're not sober when you're smoking pot you're not sober
but you know what go ahead and let them drink and take drugs it's none of my business I don't care what they do
but no the government wants to run our life
and they want to control every facet
they make drugs illegal because it's just you know I don't want to get into all the corruption behind that
it's just like prohibition part two that's all the drug war is
and the government and people say
oh you know
so and so thanks you know prostitution should be legal
here I got news for you prostitution was legal in the Bible
it's a sin it's wicked it's fornication it's disgusting
it's unclean
God says not to do it
but guess what it was legal
guess what it was legal to have two wives in the Bible
you don't see in the Bible anywhere where somebody's getting thrown in jail or punished by the government for having two wives
but is having two wives a sin? Absolutely
and so people get confused between God and the government
all of God's laws should not be enforced by the government
everybody got that?
God says don't lie it's not like oh you lied you're under arrest
the Bible says you know
that that's not what government is there for
and so so just I'm closing with this one point okay
all of God's laws should not be enforced by the government
does God say no to alcohol yes does God say no to drugs yes
does God say no to a lot of other things yes
but should they all be enforced by the government no only the things that he laid out
murder
rape incest and yes homosexuality is listed as one of the things that should be put to death by government
because they harm others
because every time they're missing the Bible they're raping somebody they're molesting somebody
and so he mentions evildoers only he lays them out
murder stealing rape adultery and it's not that many laws
he lays out all those laws
conversely so all of God's laws are not enforced by the government and get this
all of the government's laws are not God's laws
just because the government said something that doesn't mean that we as Christians have to do it
I mean if the government tells me to paint my house blue it's my house I'm going to paint it whatever color I want
and look if they come to my door with a machine gun and say paint it blue they're probably going to paint it blue
but is it because I morally have an obligation to do that no
and when the government tries to tell me how to raise my kids and the government
tries to tell me what to preach and the government wants to tell me how to drive my car
and how to dress and how to look and how to act look that's none of their business I don't need them to do that
and I'm under no moral obligation to do that when they make all these little laws and rules
and people complain about God's rules it's a book I can hold in my hand
this is like one law of our government
our government has so many laws it would fill this whole church building
and so the government's way out of control it's outside the scope of what God wanted it to do
let me just read the last two verses of our chapter Genesis chapter four
God instituted human government in Genesis nine when Noah got off the ark
in order to punish the evil doer
punish murderers why?
because he didn't want the whole earth to be filled with violence that's why
he says at the end in verse twenty-five
and Adam knew his wife again and she bare a son
and called his name Seth for God said she had appointed me another seed instead of Abel whom Cain slew
and to Seth to him also there was born a son and he called his name Eos
then began men to call upon the name of the Lord
I'm going to talk more about that next week just for sake of time
but that's how about getting saved the Bible says that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved
how then shall they call on him whom they have not believed
the Bible just says you just call out to God by faith that's how you get saved
all the way back to Genesis four they got saved the same way as we do now
let's prioritize that word of prayer
Father thank you so much for your word dear God and for this great chapter in your word
help us not to be like Cain where when somebody points out that we're wrong
we get all mad and upset help us when we are pointed out that we're wrong
help us to just receive that correction
and to do the right thing and just you know nobody's perfect we all make mistakes God
so when we realize that we've made a mistake help us to change and get it right and not to
just get all mad about it
and thank you for the clarity of your word in regard to government
there's a lot of confusion today about politics and government
help us to get a biblical viewpoint of our world and of our government
and in Jesus' name we pray, amen
alright let's go ahead and sing one more song before we go