And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, “If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: For it is written, ‘He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.'”
And Jesus answering said unto him, “It is said, ‘Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.'”
And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.
Luke 4:9-13, KJV (Quotation marks added)
Jesus did not simply do what the quoted verse said.
I want that to sink into your spirit. Jesus did not simply roll over and do Satan’s bidding because Satan quoted Psalm 91 to him. Instead, Jesus used spiritual discernment to determine whether or not it was wise to follow said verses in the current context. It was not.
Context matters.
Choosing divorce for some is a God-defying, rebellious sin. For others, choosing divorce is a God-honoring act of mercy and righteousness (e.g. Mt. 1:19). The context of the choice matters.
Scripture is an instrument and tool (e.g. 2 Timothy 2:15). Some people wield it wisely and in a godly, healing manner. Others follow the destructive path of Satan in using it to kill and destroy.
“God hates divorce,” you say. “It says so in Malachi 2:16.”
You are correct. But it also says in Jeremiah 3:8 that God divorced Israel over her adulterous ways.
Context matters. Clearly, God is not opposed to divorce in all situations.
My heart in starting Divorce Minister: Taking Adultery Seriously was to help fellow adultery and/or divorce survivors sort through all the religious junk Satan so successfully uses to destroy. This includes, especially, the quotation of verses like Malachi 2:16 in ways that are inconsistent with the context of that verse and God’s heart towards adultery victims.
Just because someone quotes Scripture at you, does not mean the Scripture they are applying to your situation is the Scripture God has for you.
Yes, I believe all Scripture is 100% true. I am an evangelical minister, after all. However, I also believe people can misuse and misapply Scripture causing great damage. It happens all the time.
We need to be discerning.
Yes, Scripture is fully true. However, even Satan quoted Scripture to tempt Jesus to sin. Never forget that truth!
This piece is so important for those who are struggling with this issue, and especially for those who have people that are shoving scripture out-of-context at them. Thank you for all you do!