Samuel G. Dawson
Often, without honest and open study of controversial subjects, many Christians clamor for breaks in fellowship. While Christians say they believe in the independence of local churches; usually, a handful of preachers will try to stifle spiritual growth, which leads to denominational splits among churches.
While the author's present understandings may not be flawless, they result from nearly thirty years of careful study on many subjects from both the Old and New Testaments. Undoubtedly, his efforts will aid other serious students in their quest for truth and open up new avenues for study.
Copyright © 2002 by Samuel G. Dawson and Patsy Rae Dawson.
Introductory chapter from the book Marriage, Divorce & Remarriage:
The Uniform Teaching of Moses, Jesus & Paul. See Rights Notice below.
A Plea for an Open Mind
Samuel G. Dawson
Any time a controversial question is approached for study, it is good to remind ourselves of the great personal need to attempt to have an open mind as we approach such a study. Some wise person said that in such cases there are four possible attitudes people might have toward such a study. The first attitude is, "I know what I believe and you're not teaching it." Of course, this is merely an attitude of prejudice, which renders useless any study of God's word on this or any other subject. The second attitude is, "I know what I believe and God's word must fit." This is merely preconceived morals, and again, if that is the reader's attitude, he might as well stop reading with this sentence. Another attitude one might have is, "How can I get around this teaching and still be pleasing to God?" This attitude of rebellion also renders all study useless.
Of course, our hope is that we might all have the attitude of Samuel in I Sam. 3.10, when he said, "Speak Lord, thy servant heareth." Samuel's open heart and attitude of humble submission to God's will was the secret of his being a great servant of God, and it is the secret to our being successful students of God's will on any controversial topic.
Many Bible passages bear this out. In Prov. 18.15 we find, "The mind of the prudent acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge." If we're going to be wise, we must seek the truth regardless of whether or not we presently agree with it, or our behavior is in harmony with it.
Many Bible students admire the Berean Jews of whom Luke said in Ac. 17.11, "Now these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, examining the scriptures daily, whether these things were so. Many of them therefore believed."
In John 8.32, Jesus said, "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Many preachers, elders, and other Christians are anything but free on controversial subjects. They're afraid to be questioned on many subjects, afraid to give answers to others or to preach on the issues, and afraid for such matters to come up in private or public discussions. The only thing that will free us from such bondage on any subject is God's truth on the subject.
Eugene Britnell, an influential preacher, writer, and debater of the mid-twentieth century, once said:
The man who refuses to give honest consideration to teaching on any subject, must (1) believe that he is incapable of learning, or (2) think that he knows all there is to know on the subject, or (3) knows that he is wrong and does not intend to change. In our search for truth, may we be free from: (1) the cowardice that shrinks from new truth, that is, new to us; (2) the laziness that is content with half-truths; and (3) the arrogance that thinks it knows all truth already. (The Sower, Jan. 1978, p. 2.)
Scripture has much to say about each of these characteristics. Of the one who thinks he is incapable of learning, Prov. 1.5 says, "A wise man will hear and increase in learning, and a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel." So such a man is not wise, to say the least. Prov. 15.14 goes further and calls him a fool, for "The mind of the intelligent seeks knowledge, but the mouth of fools feeds on folly."
Of the one who thinks he knows all there is to know on the subject, Prov. 12.15 says, "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man is he who listens to counsel." Prov. 28.26 says, "He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but he who walks wisely will be delivered."
Of the one who knows that he is wrong and does not intend to change, Prov. 17.10 says, "A rebuke goes deeper into one who has understanding than a hundred blows into a fool." Prov. 27.22 says, "Though you pound a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, yet his folly will not depart from him."
Of the cowardice that shrinks from truth new to him, Prov. 28.1 says, "The wicked flee when no one is pursuing, but the righteous are bold as a lion."
Of the laziness that is content with half-truths, Prov. 13.4 says, "The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the soul of the diligent is made fat." Prov. 26.16 says, "The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can give a discreet answer."
Of the arrogance that thinks it knows all the truth already, Prov. 14.16 says, "A wise man is cautious and turns away from evil, but a fool is arrogant and careless," and Prov. 16.5, 18 says, "Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord, assuredly, he will not be unpunished. Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling." Surely none of these characteristics ought to infest the heart of one involved in a serious study of the subject before us.
One last quotation to prompt us to see the need for an open mind before we begin our study in earnest is the following:
We do not start our Christian lives by working out our faith for ourselves; it is mediated to us by Christian tradition, in the form of sermons, books and established patterns of church life and fellowship. We read our Bibles in the light of what we have learned from these sources; we approach Scripture with minds already formed by the mass of accepted opinions and viewpoints with which we have come into contact, in both the Church and the world. It is easy to be unaware that it has happened; it is hard even to begin to realize how profoundly tradition in this sense has moulded us. But we are forbidden to become enslaved to human tradition, either secular or Christian, whether it be "catholic" tradition, or "critical" tradition, or "ecumenical" tradition. We may never assume the complete rightness of our own established ways of thought and practice and excuse ourselves the duty of testing and reforming them by Scriptures. (J. I. Packer, "Fundamentalism" and the Word of God, Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1958, pp. 69-70.)
A Plea for Confidence in God's Word
We also plea for confidence in God's word. God's word has the answers to our questions on every controversial topic God wants us to understand. In II Tim. 3.16 Paul said:
Every scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness: that the man of God may be complete, furnished completely unto every good work.
As Paul affirmed, God's word furnishes us completely unto the work which lies ahead, and we need to have confidence in that fact.
In II Pet. 1.3 Peter affirmed that God "hath granted unto us all things pertaining unto life and godliness." If life-wracking problems concerning divorce and remarriage pertain unto real life, eternal life, life with God, and how to be pleasing to God, we need to have confidence that God has granted us the answers in his word.
In Hosea 4.6, God said of Israel of old, "My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge." Ignorance of that word is our problem, and nothing else. In Ac. 17.30, Paul told the Athenians, "The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked; but now he commandeth men that they should all everywhere repent." Those times of ignorance are gone.
In Eph. 4.17-18, Paul affirmed that we're not like them:
This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye no longer walk as the Gentiles also walk, in the vanity of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardening of their heart.
Thus, our solution is to find out what the Bible teaches on every subject, as we keep our "heart with all diligence, for from it flow the issues of life." Keeping an open mind may well be the hardest work, requiring the most energy and attention, any of us has to do. It's more important than faith in God, faith in Christ, being baptized into Christ, or being a Christian, for all those are negated without an open mind. The lack of open-mindedness is tragic: Jesus was killed for the lack of it; the apostles were persecuted for the lack of it. All kinds of personal and church problems are caused by the lack of open-mindedness. We simply must desire the truth above our family, the pressures of friends, and our own personal convenience
The wise man said in Eccl. 12.12, "And furthermore, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh." Serious Bible study is hard work. It's much easier to let our parents or the preacher and the elders do our studying for us. But serious Bible study is a work that absolutely must be done in order for us to understand our God's will on the subject.
A Plea to Refrain from Maligning Motives
Many times in religious controversy, those who differ cannot seem to refrain from maligning the motives of those with whom they disagree. We close this essay with a plea to refrain from such as we involve ourselves in our study. We shouldn't malign the unknown motives of others because it is a prerogative solely of deity. Paul said in I Cor. 2.11:
For who among men knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so, the things of God none knoweth, save the Spirit of God.
We simply do not know the motives of a person unless he reveals them. In Ac. 1.24, when the apostles wanted to know whom God had selected as a replacement apostle, they addressed God thusly: "Thou, Lord, who knowest the hearts of all men." God alone knows the hearts of other men. We do not, and never have. When we assign improper motives to those with whom we disagree, we blaspheme God by assuming powers that belong only to him.
In Ro. 1.29, in the list of sins God holds all men responsible for, whether they have heard of God or not, whether they believe in his existence, whether they've ever heard a gospel sermon is "malignity," the very sin of which we speak. Yet often, on the present subject, maligning the character of another is often done.
Thus, as we begin an important study of any controversial subject, may we all strive to be honest with ourselves, view God’s word with respect, and treat each other in such a way that we can all grow in knowledge and understanding.
Marriage, Divorce, & Remarriage
The Uniform Teaching of Moses, Jesus, & Paul
Samuel G. Dawson
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This groundbreaking book on marriage, divorce, and remarriage differs from others in that it proves that Moses, Jesus, and Paul all taught the same thing about treacherous divorce. Most efforts on this issue don't deal much with Moses' teaching in the Old Testament; and thus, they take Jesus' and Paul's teaching out of the context of explaining divorce and remarriage to the Jews: "men who understood the law" (Rom. 7:1). By studying the consistencies between what Moses, Jesus, and Paul taught, as one preacher explained, "Sam has finally cracked the nut on MDR."
For 25 years, Sam worked to boil the subject down to the critical questions, attended debates, did extensive word studies, and preached several series of lessons. Indeed, you may have listened to his cassette album of those sermons. You'll be impressed with the wealth of material in this new book. Undoubtedly, it will aid other serious students in their quest for truth and open up new avenues for study.
I Could Not Put It Down
Tonight I read your book Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage
cover-to-cover. I could not put it down. It started over dinner, and
here it is almost 2 a.m. I've been so frustrated with the various
positions out there trying to explain away Moses, Jesus, and Paul's
"apparent" discrepencies, when knowing all the time that there had to
be a better explanation than what was being presented....By the way, I intend to order multiple copies of your book to
distribute to friends of mine. (Ohio Christian)
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The Power of Truth to Undo the Grip of a Long Held Teaching Within Mere Minutes
To my chagrin, one of our members suggested that we study divorce and remarriage, since we had differing backgrounds and views on the subject. I quickly volunteered to teach the class (to give an advantage to the "truth"), and your book was available. I knew it would be well done, even if I disagreed with it, and we ordered a set of your books for each family.
Within a few weeks of study, you had stolen away the bedrock of my orthodoxy, and I was amazed at how three generations of Texan Christians could have miserably failed to discern what was going on in Matthew's narrative and erroneously drawn sharp lines of fellowship around a completely false interpretation. Our group thoroughly enjoyed the study and came together. We went on to study all of your other books and tracts together.
While I am not yet convinced that NT divorce is the same as OT divorce, I have been able to use your line of thought and accurate definitions to expose the fatal fallacies of the orthodox position to numerous friends. It is humbling to behold the power of truth to undo the grip of a long held teaching within mere minutes. (Texas Christian)
Ideal for: Individual Study, Preaching, Elders,
Adult Classes, Personal Evangelism, New Converts, Gifts
This Book Deals with the Issues!
- Is sexual intercourse a right or a condition of marriage?
- In the Bible, betrothal was marriage, not engagement to be married.
- What is civil government's interest in marriage?
- Common-law marriage in the Bible.
- Is fondling sexual intercourse?
- Why most adulterers in the Old Testament were not stoned to death.
- Was God really loose on divorce in the Old Testament?
- Is the Sermon on the Mount Old or New Testament teaching?
- Is celibacy refraining from sex or refraining from marriage?
- Two problems that have to be worked to resolve any unscriptural divorce and remarriage situation.
- God doesn't hate all divorce, at least equally.
- Must one divorce an impenitent fornicating spouse?
- Every exception clause in the Bible contains a necessary implication.
- Is there a "guilty party" in Mt. 5.32 or Mt. 19.9?
- May one guilty party put away another?
- Just how does an unjustly put-away person put away a fornicating spouse?
- Why "whether a put-away fornicator may remarry" is hardly the issue.
- Four questions, which if answered, may lead to solution of every question on marriage, divorce, and remarriage.
- Is divorce and remarriage private or church business?
- Church limitations in dealing with divorce.
- Can a local church study these issues for itself and determine its own conduct on these matters? If not, let's not hear any more about local church autonomy.
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Rights Notice
These electronically-transmitted pages are copyrighted © 2002, 2007 and belong to Samuel G. Dawson and Patsy Rae Dawson. All rights reserved. You are free to download this electronic material for personal use, to make copies to share with others, or to mirror on your local web site, with the following restrictions:
- The material must remain intact and unmodified from the form supplied here, including header and footer and their graphics, copyright notice, the URL, and the Publisher postal address.
- You may not charge for this material. If you have any questions about using this material, please contact the publisher at gtp@gospelthemes.com.
Copyright
All Old Testament scripture quotations are taken from The New American Standard Bible, © 1960-1977 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All New Testament scripture quotations are taken from The American Standard Version New Testament, © 1901, 1929 Thomas Nelson and Sons. All rights reserved.
Introduction chapter, "A Plea for an Open Mind," comes from the book Marriage, Divorce & Remarriage: The Uniform Teaching of Moses, Jesus & Paul by Samuel G. Dawson © 2002 by Samuel G. Dawson and Patsy Rae Dawson. Used by permission of publisher.
ISBN 0-938855-60-3
Publisher
Gospel Themes Press
2028 South Austin Suite 906
Amarillo, TX 79109-1960 USA
