Speaking the Truth in Love
What God Has Joined Together
Matthew 19:1-6 – When asked in verse 3 “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?” Jesus says in verse 6, “Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” We can see in the world today that man’s intentions are to split apart what God joined together in marriage. Tonight we want to take this idea of “What God has joined together” and apply it in 5 different ways.
1. Sound Doctrine is joined to a Relationship with God
- Man says doctrine doe not matter; just Jesus.
- But Jesus said to teach all of what He commands to every nation (Matthew 28:19-20). That is how one becomes a disciple of Jesus.
- The Bible teaches that doctrine is vital to our relationship with God (1 Timothy 4:1-16, 2 John 9-11).
2. Pure Religion is joined to being Blessed before God
- Man says that religion is divisive and to be avoided.
- God says that pure religion is being united and doing His work (1 Corinthians 1:10,Ephesians 4:1-16).
3. Faith is joined to Works in our justification
- Man says that works have no part in our justification before God. He says that man is justified by faith alone or faith only.
- But God has joined Faith & Works together. Jesus says the one who hears and does the will of God shall enter the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 7:21-28, Ephesians 2:8-10, 1Thessalonians 1:2-6, James 2:14-26).
4. Righteousness is joined to Salvation
- Man contends that true righteousness is unattainable for man and is useless in our salvation.
- But God has joined righteous and salvation, and we must not separate them (Ephesians 6;10-17, Romans 10:1-11).
5. Repentance & Baptism are joined with the Forgiveness of Sins
- Man says that baptism is not required to receive forgiveness of sins.
- Man may want to separate repentance and baptism from forgiveness, but God has joined them together! Without repentance and baptism there is no forgiveness. With repentance and baptism there is forgiveness of sins, hearts are made pure, and Heaven becomes a real goal (Acts 3:19-20, 5:29-32, 26:17-20, Acts 22:16, Colossians 1:14)!
Please realize that man may want to separate things like marriages, doctrine from God, religion and blessings, faith and works, righteousness and salvation, and baptism and forgiveness of sins. But what God has joined together man shall not separate! How about you tonight? Are you joined to Jesus or are you separated from Him? To become joined to Him one must believe Him, acknowledge that He is the Son of God, turn away from your sins, be baptized to wash away your sins, and then join yourself to Him so you may be blest now and forever (Acts 2:37-41, 47)! We hope to see you next time on “Speaking The Truth In Love”!
