I give Kenneth Hagin, my mentor and brother in Christ, the credit for this message. He’s with Jesus now, but I have learned so much from him and feel like I know him personally. (Remember there is no time and/or space in the spirit realm where God is!) On with the message!
Since my divorce and remarriage, the enemy has tried to plague me as a Christian, with doubts of my salvation, and, hence, a lack of the joy of my salvation and the mighty strength that gives us as believers. A great tactic on the enemy’s part. Here’s how the devil puts it: “You (me) had no right to remarry after your divorce. Don’t you know you are living in sin now? You should leave your new husband and live alone for the rest of your life, or you will go to hell! It doesn’t matter that your former spouse verbally abused you, used pornography all his life, treated you horribly or threatened to lock you up in a sanitarium. After all he never actually did that last part. So what if he had anger issues and had you so afraid of him that you resorted to living in a locked room in your own house? You still don’t have any hard evidence that he physically cheated on you. So you have no Biblical grounds to leave him and marry another! You’re not saved, and you are going to hell!”
I woke up this morning with that issue heavy on my heart again. Funny how the enemy attacks when you are sleeping sometimes! At the same time, I heard Kenneth Hagin’s message in my ear ( I sleep with Godly sermons playing through my ear buds all night) saying something like this, “Satan, take your old photos of the past and leave! That’s all they are, just photos! The enemy will try to shut down your power for the Lord and your joy and your strength (the joy of the Lord is my strength!) by making you feel guilty where there is no guilt!”
Reverend Hagin also wrote many books among which is one titled, Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage. God has used this book mightily in my life to teach me that I AM His daughter, I AM saved, and I AM going to heaven when I die! In this book Kenneth Hagin deals with the situation of a young woman whose husband to all outward appearances was a believer. However, he ran away and never came back or even contacted her. She believed her life was over at an early age…doomed to live and raise her young son alone… because the Bible says in Corinthians 7:15, “But if the unbeliever depart, let him depart. A brother or sister is not under bondage in such cases…” In her case, however, her husband was a believer. Mr. Hagin pointed out to the young woman’s father, who was a pastor also, that 1 Timothy 5:8 says. “If any provide not for his own, especially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith and is worse than an infidel.” Reverend Hagin went on to explain that they are worse than unbelievers because they know better. They’ve been enlightened.
In his book, Reverend Hagin goes on to write the following: There may be a man who claims to be a Christian but is treating his wife badly, perhaps abusing her severely. The wife may have pleaded with her husband not to treat her that way. Other Christians, including the pastor (who represents the church), may have also talked with the husband. Should the wife stay in a marriage where a so-called “Christian husband” is putting her emotional and physical well being at risk? Jesus said in Matthew 10:17 that if the offending person continually disregards counsel, he is just like a heathen man. In other words, his conduct is like that of an unbeliever. He is worse than an infidel. — from Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage by Kenneth Hagin, pg. 45.
Even as I write this, the Holy Spirit is impressing me to notice well the phrase, “he has denied the faith” in that verse we just spoke of, 1Timothy5:8. Is someone who has denied the faith still a born again Christian? I don’t believe so. Praise our beautiful God who sets us free from bondage of all kinds! If you or someone you know is in a similar situation, friend, take this message of freedom and grace in Jesus to them! Romans 8:15 says, “For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself bearing witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God…” Hallelujah! We are not under bondage in such cases!
