By Dr Edward Tamale-Sali
During the June and July 2019 editions of Good News, we will be discussing marriage. We shall base the discourse on what the Bible says as opposed to our personal thoughts. The Bible is clear about these issues; you do not need high-level acumen to understand them. We believe the Holy Spirit will reveal God’s truth to whoever will be reading these articles. As we read and deliberate about these issues, we should be mindful of the two areas where danger lies:
1- Lack of Knowledge: The Lord says His people perish because of lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6).
2- In being and acting as fools: “O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!” (Luke 24:25 RSV).
The above scriptures emphasize that when people lack divine knowledge, they will delve into ignorance and end up destroyed. Destruction due to ignorance makes God lament for His people (Hosea 4:6). The insufficiency of personal scriptural search and feeding on bread alone at the expense of God’s word (Deuteronomy 8:3) lead people away from God. This has already manifested in the way the world has handled marriage and divorce. Majority of us pay much attention to what pastors say and do without verifying what God says about their words and actions. The word “fools” Jesus used meant that these two disciples would have known better if they had read the scriptures rather than listening to gossips in the local newspapers on the Resurrection Sunday. These disciples fooled themselves, yet they could have understood Jesus would rise from the dead had they read God’s word. This is also true today when born-again married Christians engage in extramarital affairs, divorce and gay sex at will. They neglect the scriptures and the eternal consequences of their actions. Our choices will contribute to our eternal destinies. That is why the Gospel (Good News) is there to ensure we choose what is eternally right. Though these false teachings and diversions of Christian values and beliefs will continue until the end (2Peter 2:1-2), the good news is that Christians should not be overtaken by these things (1John 2:24-25).
May the Lord bless you as you read this paper. In case of comments, kindly write to me: drsali@salihospital.com
