If God Hates Divorce, Why Did He Command it in Ezra 10?

Hey, Pastor Adriel here, and we want to hear from our podcast audience specifically. Give us a call at 1130 Pacific Time, 833-843-2673. That's 833, the CORE, with your question about the Christian faith. Well, hi, this is Bill Meyer, along with Pastor Adriel Sanchez, and this is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day.

We would love to hear from you. Here's our phone number. It's 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. As always, you can post your question on our Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram accounts, and you can email us with your question at questionsatcorechristianity.com. First up today, let's go to a voicemail we received from one of our listeners. This is from Scott.

Hi, Pastor Adriel and Bill. My question is, in the Apostles' Creed, it refers to Jesus having descended into hell. Is this a reference to him being separated from God?

I just wonder if it's that or if it's something else. Thank you. Hey, thank you for that question. Look, a lot of people are actually unfamiliar with the Apostles' Creed, so I think the first thing that I want to do is just read the Apostles' Creed. By the way, when we say the Apostles' Creed, there were some people who thought, well, was this written by the apostles themselves? Probably not, but it does contain the apostolic doctrine that the church clung to and continues to cling to to this day. So the Apostles' Creed goes like this. I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried. He descended into hell.

That's the clause that you're talking about. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.

Amen. Just one brief comment on that word catholic there. Sometimes people think, well, is this talking about the Roman catholic church? Well, no, we're talking about the catholic as in the universal Christian church spread throughout the whole world, all those who confess Jesus by faith.

Now what about that clause? And this is the most controversial statement in the creed, or at least the one that gives a lot of people pause, He descended into hell. No, it does not mean that Jesus was separated from the Father. We're talking about the persons of the Holy Trinity, always in perfect love and communion. So Jesus can't be and was not separated from the Father in some sense where the doctrine of the Trinity is called into question. Some people understood that phrase to be referring to the sufferings that Jesus endured on the cross, others to just experiencing death in His humanity, the time in the tomb, others to this period where Christ went and proclaimed victory over the grave.

And so there are different ways in which this has been read, but one thing I can say to you is that it's not teaching or suggesting that Jesus was separated from the Father. And let me just say this, one of the reasons we talk about creeds and confessions is because it's a part of, I would say, core Christianity. I mean, what is the essence of the Christian faith, the kernel, if you will, the main thing?

Well, it's summarized in these creeds that we have, the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, that take the teaching of scripture and helpfully summarize it for us in a way that gets us to the heart of the matter. And so I appreciate that question, and may the Lord bless you. You're listening to Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez, and we would love to hear from you if you have a question about the Bible, the Christian life, Christian doctrine or theology, or even the intersection of faith and culture. Here's our phone number. It's 833-THE-CORE. Our phone lines will be open for the next 20 minutes or so, so jump on the phone right now. 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. Let's go to a question we received from one of our listeners named Laverne. Before I ask the question, I want to say how enjoyed and refreshing to hear a sound answer that answers differently. Where in the Old Testament did God command the Israelites to divorce their wives? Where in the Old Testament did God command the Israelites to divorce their wives? How did that command to divorce their wives reconciled with God hating divorce? Malachi 2.16.

Laverne, love that you're digging into the scripture. So you're referring to a scene in the book of Ezra in Ezra chapters 9 and 10. And there, the people of God were called, in particular the priests, were called to leave their spouses that they had taken, their wives that they had taken from the surrounding nations.

They were these mixed marriages, religiously mixed marriages in reality. Ezra chapter 9 verse 1. After these things had been done, the officials approached me and said, The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands with their abominations. You go down to verse 10. And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken your commandments, which you commanded by your servants the prophets, saying, The land that you are entering to take possession of it is a land impure with the impurity of the peoples of the lands with their abominations that have filled it end to end with their uncleanness. Therefore, do not give your daughters to their sons, neither take their daughters for your sons, and never seek their peace or prosperity that you may be strong and eat the good of the land and leave it for an inheritance to your children forever. What had happened is the priests, the Levites, the people of God had turned away from the commandment of the Lord, the very clear command not to marry with the pagan nations.

Why? Because when you do that, they're going to turn your heart away from the true and the living God. They're going to turn your heart to other gods, and that's precisely what happened throughout the history of God's people in the Old Testament. The reason you have now in Ezra chapters 9 and 10 those who were guilty of intermarriage leaving their marriages is because it was an act of repentance. It was saying, look, we need to do what the Lord commanded us to do and be careful that our hearts are not drawn away by these pagan marriages.

That's, I would say, the reason that God called his people to that there. Now, one really interesting thing is when you look at the New Testament, it seems like when Paul wrote to the Corinthians, this was a question that the Corinthians had because there were believers in Jesus Christ who were married, who had families, but their spouses weren't walking with the Lord, didn't know Jesus, didn't confess faith in Christ. And Paul says this in 1 Corinthians chapter 7.

By the way, this is just a really relevant situation for so many people today. You're a Christian, but you're married to someone or you're with someone who is not a believer. Maybe you were converted after you guys got married. Well, Paul says to the married, I give this charge, 1 Corinthians 7 verse 10, not I, but the Lord. The wife should not separate from her husband, but if she does, she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And the husband should not divorce his wife. To the rest I say, I, not the Lord, that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise, your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. And so you have this great shift under the new covenant, this wonderful shift where the people there in Corinth were probably wondering, hey, I'm married to this person. We have a family, but they're not a believer. They worship the pagan gods.

What should I do? I mean, I read Ezra chapters 9 and 10. It seems like they left those marriages and says, Paul says, no, don't do that.

God could very well, may very well use you to have a positive impact for Christ on your unbelieving spouse. And so you have that clear shift there under the new covenant. And so there's no contradiction. It's just the way in which God is operating, governing his people throughout redemptive history in distinct ways. Thanks for that question, Laverne, and God bless you.

Great explanation. Thank you for that, Adriel. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Well, Halloween coming up in just a couple of weeks, and we have a fascinating resource we'd like to make available to you right now. And it ties in with the spiritual warfare that's going on that we don't necessarily see.

Yeah, the resource is C.S. Lewis's book, The Screwtape Letters. And I just recently read through this book again. Actually, we were on a long road trip, and we had the audio book, and so we listened to it. And man, this book is just so good.

I think this is probably the best book on spiritual warfare, which is kind of a strange thing because it's this story, if you will, of this correspondence between these two demons who are trying to get a Christian to stumble, to turn away from Christ. But it's just rich. There's so much wisdom here. It's encouraging.

It's convicting. And so I want you to get a hold of this resource, C.S. Lewis's classic book, The Screwtape Letters. And you can get a hold of that over at corechristianity.com for a donation of any amount. Here's what you do. Go to corechristianity.com forward slash offers and look for The Screwtape Letters by C.S.

Lewis. Again, corechristianity.com forward slash offers. And of course, you can call us for that or any one of our offers at 833-THE-CORE. Let's go to Michelle in St. Louis, Missouri. Michelle, what's your question for Pastor Adriel? Yes, I'm wanting to find out about baptism. I've been in discussion with friends who say it's necessary to be baptized. And I know in Peter and in the New Testament, Jesus says that you must repent and believe, and some of the apostles talk about baptism. But are we to be baptized in literal water or is Christ referring to his living water? Are we baptized in his living water?

Hey, thank you for that question. Yeah, I mean, you see baptism all over the place in the New Testament and people were baptized in water. You think about Acts 2 when Peter preaches on the day of Pentecost and the people here, and they say, what should we do? In verse 38 of Acts 2, Peter said to them, repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, for the promises for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.

And with many other words, he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, save yourselves from this crooked generation. So those who received his word were baptized, and they were added that day about 3,000 souls. So that's a literal baptism in water. And it is something that is commanded by our Lord Jesus Christ. It's the command that he gave to his disciples in the Great Commission, go into all the world and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you. I think sometimes we can minimize, Michelle, the significance of baptism because we say, oh, it's only important that we believe in Jesus.

We're only saved by faith in Jesus Christ. And that's true, but we also have to realize that Christ commanded this and that baptism is this sign and seal of that salvation. It's this visible depiction of the gospel, of God's gift coming to us. And so we don't want to minimize that.

We don't want to spurn that. This is a means of grace, a means of God working by the power of his Spirit in the lives of his people. And so anyone who says, yeah, that's not a big deal, I believe in Jesus, I don't need to be baptized, I think that's not the right approach. I think we should view this as a gift, a gospel gift that God gives to us that depicts his promises, his goodness, his love, his salvation for his people. And we're called to lay hold of that gift by faith.

And so, yeah, that's where I'd put it. Michelle, have you been baptized? Yes, yes, I have been baptized. I guess I was just thinking about the thief on the cross when Jesus says, today you'll be with me in paradise, and he didn't have a chance to be baptized in literal water.

Yeah, absolutely. And so what I wouldn't say is that baptism in and of itself is what saves us. We're saved by faith. There were people who believed in Jesus. I mean, you just read the book of Acts, they believe in Jesus, they're filled with the Holy Spirit, and then they're baptized.

I don't think that they, you know, if they would have died in between the moment that they believed and when they were actually dunked in the water that they would be eternally condemned because they weren't able to get into the water. And so, right, I mean, there are extraordinary circumstances like the circumstance of the thief on the cross who is certainly in the presence of the Lord. Because, as I said, it's not baptism in and of itself apart from faith, apart from the working of the Holy Spirit that saves us. And yet, we know that God gives us this gift as a means of his grace, a means of his working in our lives, a means of his sealing his promises and his love to his people. And so I think we have to have a high view of the work of the Holy Spirit, of the necessity of faith. That's what we're saved by.

We're justified by the instrument of faith, faith alone. And yet, we also have these commands in scripture, and baptism is this beautiful picture, this sign and seal of what God does for his people. And so, grateful to hear that you've been baptized, and may the Lord continue to bless you, Michelle. Thank you for giving us a call. You know, Adriel, you've talked about this before. There are some churches that take baptism fairly lightly, and they may just have a large worship service where they spontaneously ask people, hey, you want to be baptized right now?

Come on up. I'm curious, as a pastor, what your feeling is about that, because my perspective is that we should be taking it very seriously, and we should, first of all, know that that person actually has trusted Christ as their Savior before we offer them baptism. Yeah, well, this is a complex thing. I mean, obviously, when you read the book of Acts, you have people who are baptized fairly quickly after believing in Jesus Christ. And then, you know, throughout the history of the church, early on, there began to be this period of training, of catechesis, we might say, where individuals who wanted to join the church were instructed in the doctrine of the church, believing ultimately in the core truths of the Christian faith. We were talking about the Apostles' Creed earlier. You know, many people think that those creeds, creeds like the Apostles' Creed, creeds like the Apostles' Creed, were initially used to instruct people who wanted to be baptized. I mean, you've got to believe what you have to know if you're an adult who's converting to the faith, if you want to be a part of the church. And so I think it is important that we work with people, that we help them to understand the significance of what it is that's taking place, because it is so important and it is so beautiful.

And when you read in the New Testament about baptism and the significance of baptism, this mark that God gives to us, this new identity in Jesus Christ, you know, identifying with him in his death and resurrection, that's just something that we don't want to minimize. You're listening to Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. If you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life, now is the time to call. Our phone lines will be open for the next five minutes or so.

Let's go to Selah in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Selah, what's your question for Pastor Adriel? Yes, Pastor, thank you guys for taking my call. My question is, as I'm learning more within these past couple of years, especially about this caller before, about the divorce and marriage and things like that, how does that all fall into play with those who are living together and not married? Would walking out the door and abandoning the family, per se, especially when kids are involved, would that be considered divorce when they're really not married? If one's wanting to do right and make it right under God's eyes, and then can one leave and still be divorced and they be wrong and sin, how does that all tie in?

Yeah, well, this is something we're seeing increasingly as well, right? So couples who maybe have children, they live together, but they're not married, they don't intend to be married. Part of it is just not understanding the significance of marriage before God as this covenant between two people and before witnesses and before the true and the living God, whereby God unites these two people together. Relationships, if you're going to be with someone, if you intend to live with them, if you have a family, you need to be married, I would say.

That's what the church and Christ himself calls people to. And so I would say in a situation like that, if you had two people and they were claiming to be Christians, they were living together and they had a family, they need to be married. They need to get married. Because if they're not married, then essentially they're living in sin, they're living in fornication. And so really, as you said, something that is happening all over the place now, especially with the downplaying of the significance of marriage, the traditional family. It's a huge problem. We need to recover the biblical understanding of marriage and the high view that the Word of God places on marriage.

You see this all over the place. I think of what we read in the book of Hebrews. The author of the Hebrews says in Hebrews 13 verse 4, Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. But just that first statement there, let marriage be held in honor among all, it means to treasure this. Well, in our culture today, marriage is not very treasured. People just think, I don't need it, what's the big deal? But in God's Word, it is this treasure, this gift that God gives to us, and so I would say those people need to get married if they intend to honor the Lord and to walk with the Lord in accordance with His Word. Great, well said.

Let's go to another Facebook question. This is from Beth who says, I was baptized as an infant in the Catholic Church. Must I get re-baptized now that I'm going to a church in a different denomination?

Hey Beth, this is a question that we've received before, and I'm glad that you're asking it. So my answer to this question is no, and I know that that might come as a shock to some people because there are many people who just assume, well, baptism is first and foremost something that we do. It's an outward sign of my inward faith, which by the way is not a Bible verse, it's just something that people have repeated over and over and over again. But that's not the core of what baptism is. Baptism is first and foremost an act of God for who? For sinners, for the helpless, for those who cannot help themselves like infants. And we come before the Lord, all of us broken and in need of His mercy. And the big question is does God include the children of believers in that promise, in these covenant promises that He gives to His people, promises that are depicted in places like baptism?

And I would say that the answer is yes. We talked a little bit about 1 Corinthians chapter 7 earlier with regard to marriage and not leaving a spouse even if they're an unbeliever. And Paul's argument there is, you know, hey, you're going to have a positive influence on your spouse.

How do you know that they're not going to turn to the Lord? And then he goes on to say in verse 14, I think it is, that the children of believers are holy. Now what does he mean by that? Does he mean that they're saved? You know, if you have a child and you're a Christian that that child is automatically a Christian too?

No, that's not what he means. The word holy, I mean, it's just a cultic term. It means to be set apart, the recipient of God's covenant promises. He says otherwise they would be unclean. Well, in the Old Testament, the unclean were those who were outside of the community of faith.

The clean, the holy, were those who were a part of the community of faith. And so Paul is saying, look, your children are a part of the community of faith, recipients of these promises. And so if you were baptized, even as an infant, I would say that that promise is sure.

It comes from God. It's God's pledge of his goodness, of his gospel to us, to his people. We lay hold of those promises. You lay hold of those promises, Beth, by faith. So now, having turned to Jesus, believing in him, those same promises that you received even long ago as an infant are made efficacious, if you will.

You're embracing them. You're experiencing the work of God's Spirit in your life. And so I would say, no, you don't go and try to get baptized over again. God has already made that pledge and promise to you and sealed you with that reality in your baptism, even as a small child. So thank you for that question. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez.

Here's an email question that came in for you, Adriel. This is from Janet, and she says, Do people in the Old Testament go to hell, like Ananias and Sapphira, or do they go to Hades and have an opportunity to believe in Christ the Messiah? I don't think that for those who died in the Old Testament that there was this second opportunity for salvation in Hades. Just think about the story that Jesus tells about Lazarus in the Gospels, where you have essentially this fate that has been sealed, even though he wants another chance.

Another thing that I'll say here is we want to be very careful that we don't just assume that we know who is going to be in heaven and who isn't going to be in heaven. I was reading something just recently as I've been preaching through the book of Genesis, just preached through the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. You remember Lot's wife, she turns around and she turns into a pillar of salt. It's this great judgment on her. But commentators are split on does this mean that she was eternally condemned, that she was doomed forever, or was this just sort of a temporal judgment?

Maybe we'll see her in heaven. So we want to be careful that we don't just assume, well, this person is in hell, that person is in heaven. We put that in the hands of the Lord and we trust Him and we rest in what the Gospel says and what the Scriptures teach, and that's where we direct our focus. Thanks for listening to Core Christianity. To request your copy of today's special offer, visit us at CoreChristianity.com and click on Offers in the menu bar, or call us at 1-833-843-2673.

That's 833-THE-CORE. When you contact us, please let us know how you've been encouraged by this program. And be sure to join us next time as we explore the truth of God's Word together. Thanks for listening to today's episode of Core Christianity. Adriel and I love our podcast audience, and we'd love to take your questions. Give us a call Monday through Friday at 1130 a.m. Pacific time at 833-843-2673. That's 833-THE-CORE.