Claims 11,000 viewers on average on Chinese & Indonesian services combined weekly. Exceeded the Roman Catholic churches in Indonesia.
The expository on this passage is far superior than that of John MacArthur, etc. Those who fell for the trap of legalism: You have an affair, I can now divorce you legally, with clean hands. Very few of these preachers touch on the forgiveness of the spouse who had an affair. Though Tong definitely did not critic on divorce harshly here, perhaps due to Ahok's case, when touching the seriousness of marriage, he referred to Hebrews 13:4. Broke that verse down into 3 parts. Emphasized on the first word "Marriage" so strongly that he even corrected the interpreter's translation which did not put the word "marriage" in the beginning of his sentence to make it stand out by phrasing it in passive form.
v. 32: Once everyone learns of the exception clause "saving for the cause of fornication", they love it as an excuse to divorce their spouses, so that they can be "free" again, to go out with whomever they wish. But in the previous verse, Jesus once again used the phrase "It hath been said"...meaning this is human's interpretation of God's word. Thus, it is flawed or in this case, insufficient. For Jesus gave an incredibly deep lesson in this verse. That those with ulterior motives are clearly proven to be sinful as they only cared about themselves, they do not care about the well being of their spouses. They do not care about their neighbor. They defended themselves with the law. It is not perfect in God's eyes. There's no forgiveness, it is not Christian.
In this verse, there's a cause and effect. Cause is, wife committed adultery, but the effect is you make her commit adultery even more. You didn't solve the problem, but you've created new problem. Thus, outside Christ's salvation, sin cannot be solved. Here also confirms that Jesus affirmed that divorce although is not something can be avoided by all.
However, this is not God's heart. Otherwise, there will not be salvation upon the Adam and Eve and their descendants.
Tong: I cannot say you shouldn't follow the law justify your divorce, but is this the best option?
You can do it, justify yourself by the law, as Tong recollects a pastor's message...but if this problem can be resolved by simply divorcing her when she commits adultery, then that means that there are sins such as these, that cannot never be forgiven. This is not the principle of the Bible. There should be forgiveness, hope for repentance, return to the original love, union.
We should find the best principle from the Bible to obey God and follow His heart. Instead of turning the law of God into a human cultural regulation that's no after God's heart.
Ancient China has 7 great reasons for divorce （七出三不去）:
1. No child
2. Always quarreling
3. Talkative wife
Tong gave only 3.
4-7：不顺父母 (probably same as #2)，淫，妒，有恶疾，窃盗
那三不去也挺有趣的：三不去包括：一、“有所娶无所归”：指妻子无娘家可归；二、“与更三年丧”：指妻子曾替家翁姑服丧三年的；三、“糟糠之妻不可弃”：指丈夫娶妻时贫贱，但后来富贵的。
Multiple wives was practice as a side way against the rules against divorce in China's tradition. As an excuse not to "offend" the first wife or to keep the reputation of not divorcing. Such is for self-satisfaction, reputation and not act act according to the truth.
Tong: Such is the difference between Chinese culture and Western culture:
Western: Don't like spouse, get rid and get new one. So always just one wife.
Chinese/Eastern?: Many families with multiple wives.
Examples of marital struggles in the Bible:
Tong: The most foolish thing a woman can do in this world is to introduce another woman into her husband's room. God created a woman with a narrower heart than a man for a purpose: The create a perfect family without the intrusion of sin. Unfortunately, Sarah equated God's will to her own will.
When Hagar became Abraham's child bearer, could Abraham divorce Sarah? One night became thousands of years of wars.
2nd example: Joseph, who had no opportunity to marry one from his own people. He had to marry an Egyptian. But he never sinned in this.
3rd example: Moses, who was accused of marrying an (possibly) Ethiopian, a black woman. Not of Israel. But he did no wrong and Tong believes that he committed no sin against marriage though the Bible did not clarify.
4th example: Samson. Is he a womanizer? No. But he loved Delilah too much, the product of the gentiles, which does not accord God's will. Samson's love for a gentile woman, is of the Lord...so hush. (I've only found this verse in Judges 14:4, where it's the woman in Timnah, not Delilah the harlot, in fact the Timnath woman was Samson's only wife of his life, perhaps Tong got this mixed up, because I don't see what else I would have missed) Note that not all our marriages are of God's will.
God's 4 wills:
1. Eternal Plan = You abide, you're blessed.
2. God's guidance in history = While you're confused. God shows his love by guiding you to His eternal will.
3. God's permission = When you do not obey, when you rebel, God allowed you to proceed. Lots of marriages are like that. Not of God's plan, not of God's guidance in history, but temporal allowance of God. Man often thought he's in God's guidance, but actually just to please himself. Samson is likely such example. He loves Delilah, but not God's will. He's attracted to her. God allowed. This kind of allowance is 2nd of the two cases in the Bible. First was when God allowed Israel to split with Judah. Usually don't end well.
Don't critic people's divorces too much. Nothing else we should be doing other than grieve and pray that God will blessed they separate lives that may still continue to love God. If they remarry, we hope that they will have a better marriages and lives. There's only one man that's after God's own heart, so though David committed adultery and killed Uriah, in other words, none of us is more favored by God than David in the entirety of our lives. God nevertheless blessed David's descendants => Jesus. Must God bless through such heinous sin to the conception of Christ?
Tong: I won't touch on this, but instead I will speak that even after horrible sins, God can still bless you, your descendants. Of course, Jesus Christ was not completely descended from David, for He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Thus, Christ did not inherit the curse of Adam and Eve.
Now let's look at Paul. Was he celibate? Pharisees must be married (I'd researched and questioned this before, in previous entries, that the members of Sanhedrin though are better married but not required. A married man is preferred because he's more merciful.) So Paul must be married. But he had no wife in his ministry. So where's his wife?
1. Died and he vowed not to marry again.
2. Wife splits with him after his conversion as she remains in Judaism. Tong believes that Paul may have been divorced. Paul once said, if wife does not follow husband's conversion, let her be, even separate. So if that's the case with Paul, we can only use this teaching to understand Paul's situation.