In 2 Timothy, Paul is just about to depart and he’s writing his last admonitions to the young son in the faith, the preacher, the head elder of the church in Ephesus.  As we look at all of the churches of Revelation, probably the most learned church and active church, and doctrinally sound church of that time.  They had one problem.  They were rebuked by Jesus because they had lost their first love.  We’re living in the midst of a church today in America that has all the doctrine, all the teachings.  People love to go to church and have their ears tickled and hear some new thing, and the first love has been lost.  Because when we love Him, we will keep His commandments and they will not be grievous to us.  So, when we’re out sharing the Bible, and we’re out sharing Jesus with people, especially those who profess to be Christians, you’ll be able to tell very quickly whether they need more of your ministry and love and grace by how they respond to simple biblical truths:  Are they doers of the Word or are they hearers of the Word?  I just used this as a coarse statement earlier and I’ll say it again.  You’ll find many evangelical churches where parents would be horrified by thinking they’re supposed to paddle their children.  Scripture is so obviously clear that God has no other method than the rod and reproof to be able to help our children fulfill the admonition that’s given to them by the apostle, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord,” amen?  So, the anarchy, the humanism, is just as bad in the professed church today as it is in the world.

The divorce rate is almost the same in professed evangelical churches as it is in the world today.  When you get married, you can’t take your ball and go home.  What God has joined together, let no man put asunder; amen?  Is your marriage rocky today?  You’re going to be stuck in it, so fix it; amen?  That’s simple Bible.  Practical things like that, we don’t even hear it.  Christians aren’t even hearing that today.  They’re looking at the world and they’re watching how things go.  When things get hard, they get divorced.  Now the Bible says there’s one area that allows you to be able to be separated and that’s adultery.  It doesn’t say you have to, in fact, it was not so from the beginning.  But the bill of divorcement was given because of the hardness of men’s hearts.  Love should prevail, forgiveness should prevail.  “I’m not forgiving, bless God, they betrayed me.”  How many times have you betrayed Jesus this year?  You’re better than God?  You deserve more respect than God?  Any time your idol wins out over your flesh, you’ve committed adultery.  Is that Bible?  It was for those reasons that God divorced Israel.  But God’s motive was that they might reconcile again; amen?