The Fallacy that Polygamy is Scriptural (2)
The conclusion of our rebuttal to Reno Omokri's "Scriptural Facts About Polygamy"
So far, I have noted that polygamy in the Old Testament was a concession made by God for Israel. I have also stated that Jesus is our model in the New Testament/dispensation, including all who come to Christ for salvation. Now let us turn to Jesus' teaching on marriage and God's silence over man's atrocious living.
Jesus' teaching on marriage
In answer to the Pharisees' question on divorce, Jesus spoke about marriage as being between a man and his wife. He was not merely addressing the issue of divorce but stating God's intention for marriage.
Some Pharisees came to Jesus and tried to make him say something wrong. They asked him, "Is it right for a man to divorce his wife?" Jesus answered, "What did Moses command you to do?" The Pharisees said, "Moses allowed a man to divorce his wife by writing a certificate of divorce." Jesus said, "Moses wrote that command for you because you refused to accept God's teaching. But when God made the world, 'he made people male and female.' 'That is why a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife. And the two people will become one.' So they are no longer two, but one. God has joined them together, so no one should separate them." Later, when the followers and Jesus were in the house, they asked him again about the question of divorce. He said, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman has sinned against his wife. He is guilty of adultery. And the woman who divorces her husband and marries another man is also guilty of adultery." (Mark 10:2-12, ERV)
Jesus wants us to understand that a man is to marry, but one wife as God originally intended. He was not just answering a question on divorce; He was answering a question on divorce in the context of scriptural marriage. Any other meaning to Jesus' context and implication of His response can only be the figment of the imagination. If God allowed polygamy, why then did Jesus say that marrying another woman while one's wife is alive is adultery? (See also Romans 7:2-3). God does not permit polygamy for the Christian! Even if He winked at it in the Old Testament time, He no longer winks at it now!
Do not take God's silence for consent
Reno Omokri spoke of adultery, homosexuality, etc., as something God views as sin, but not polygamy. This is error! Anything one does contrary to God's precept is sin. The fact that God has not inflicted you with leprosy, some ailment, or even death, does not mean that He condones a transgression. When God spoke to Israel through Malachi, He said,
"I am GOD—yes, I AM. I haven't changed. And because I haven't changed, you, the descendants of Jacob, haven't been destroyed. You have a long history of ignoring my commands. You haven't done a thing I've told you. Return to me so I can return to you," says GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies. "You ask, 'But how do we return?' "Begin by being honest. Do honest people rob God? But you rob me day after day. "You ask, 'How have we robbed you?' "The tithe and the offering—that's how! (Malachi 3:6-8, MSG)
This discussion is not about tithes and offering, but the fallacy that God condones polygamy! The context of the above Scripture verses derives from God's complaint against the Jews, which included dishonouring Him when they brought lame and sick animals for sacrifices (Malachi 1) and, the apostasy among the priests and the putting away of wives and the marrying of other women by the people (Malachi 2), among others. God was telling the Jews that they had not been completely wiped out, despite their many transgressions against Him, because of His unchanging nature, compassion, and consideration for them. Unfortunately, God's longsuffering nature has been taken for slackness or permissiveness. People do not realise that God is extending an opportunity for them to repent lest He destroys them (Romans 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9).
When Adam and Eve sinned, God did not accost or accuse them at once. Rather, He called out to Adam and asked where he was. Did God not know where Adam was or what they had done? Of course, He knows all things! He was giving Adam a chance to repent. Sadly, Adam missed the opportunity, as did Eve!
Today, we have a similar thing playing out: people engage in abominable acts, taking liberty for a license because God has not come down hard on them.
Sometimes people are not immediately punished for the bad things they do. Their punishment is slow to come, and that makes other people want to do bad things too. (Ecclesiastes 8:11, ERV)
People generally continue to live in sin until God one day comes down hard on one person, and then others realise that God was not tolerant of that wrong action! God revealed His nature to Moses when He proclaimed His name before him:
"The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation." So Moses made haste and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped. (Exodus 34:6-8, NKJV)
Moses bowed down and worshipped when he heard the proclamation of God's name (nature). Sadly, today, when we read the same thing, we just pass by. God is full of compassion, yet He does not overlook the transgressions of those who refuse to seek His forgiveness.
The days of winking at sin are over!
The Holy Spirit, speaking by Paul on Mars Hill, said,
In the past people did not understand God, and he overlooked this. But now he is telling everyone in the world to change and turn to him. He has decided on a day when he will judge all the people in the world in a way that is fair. To do this he will use a man he chose long ago. And he has proved to everyone that this is the man to do it. He proved it by raising him from death!" (Acts 17:30-31, ERV)
God may have overlooked transgression in times past because of man's ignorance. But in this dispensation, after the death and resurrection of Jesus, and with the increase in knowledge of Scripture, He will no longer ignore transgression. When Isaiah saw visions of God, he said,
"Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts." (Isaiah 6:5, NKJV)
It was clear to Isaiah that God is awesome not because of the kind of miracles He does, but because He is awesome! Isaiah realised the severity of God's judgment and cried for help! Today, God calls men to repentance because he does not want men to perish in eternity. He spoke to Isreal through Ezekiel thus:
"Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways," says the Lord GOD. "Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin. Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies," says the Lord GOD. "Therefore turn and live!" (Ezekiel 18:30-32, NKJV)
Our ignorance is no longer a defence in God's Court! God is calling you to repentance through Jesus Christ. He is asking you to stop living the life of sin and thinking that He allows it. God is telling those being deceived by false teachings to discard those false teachings lest they destroy them.
Epilogue
Hopefully, this rebuttal has addressed the fallacy that polygamy is scriptural. Those young impressionable Christians who think that polygamy is okay should not get carried away and believe that God tolerates sin just because He has not smitten a known sinner. When Adam sinned, God not only sent Adam away from His presence, but Adam's sin became the lot of the entire human race!
Thus, man, that is of the flesh, delights in doing wrong. So, Jesus came to deal with sin in our lives and give us the Holy Spirit to lead us and enable us live by Him. When the Holy Spirit comes to dwell with and in you, He will guide you into all truth and reveal the wickedness in man's heart that makes him unable to live as God demands. And if your heart is tender, He will lead you to repentance and sanctification. He will empower you to live as Jesus did while here on the earth.
Mr. Reno Omokri's postulation is unscriptural and cannot be attributed to a pastor. Indeed, a pastor must handle the word of God with verity, sincerity, and honesty. A pastor must not make scriptural postulations based on his private interpretation of Scripture or his personal relationships with men. He must speak as an oracle of God based on his relationship with God. The Holy Spirit teaches that,
If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. (1 Peter 4:11, NKJV)
A pastor must not speak his ideas or opinions but the word of God! He must express the same as the Holy Spirit gives him utterance, not as he decides to speak. I pray for those young Christians whose consciences may have been soiled and tempted to pursue polygamy, that God would show them mercy and help them understand His precepts and live by the power of the Holy Spirit. No man can live as God wants, except by the Holy Spirit. None can receive the Holy Spirit except they accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour of their life, having repented and repudiated sin and confessed Jesus. I pray that Mr Omokri will communicate God's word as an oracle of God henceforth.