Customer Reviews

Till Death Do Us Part

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Having sat under the teaching of this pastor for over twenty years, I can assure you, it is from a true shepherd's heart that this book was written. In discussing this teaching with Pastor Webb over the years, I have come to the realization it was with a very heavy heart that he began preaching and teaching on this subject. As one of the interviewers stated, Joe's mother was in this situation and therefore he struggled with with the Lord for many years, before finally putting this message to paper.
We are told in the book of Ezekiel, " Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman: (33:2) But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand." (33:6) "So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me." (33:7)
I would classify Joe Webb as a modern day Ezekiel. He has heard the word from the mouth of the Lord and has gone forth to warn the Christian community that the ground on which they are treading is not only dangerous, but deadly.
I say, woe to those pastors and teachers who, presenting themselves as leader's of God's flock, make light of this appauling scourge on the church.

This book should be required reading in every pre-marital counseling session. It will, and should, change your view on marriage and its permanency as ordained by God in His Word. You will see Jesus' teaching (and Paul's) in a new light. It could possibly change the divorce rate among Christians to all-time lows, thereby preserving families and children who bear the brunt of reckless divorces. I gave it to my honeymooning daughter and she remarked, "Mom, OMG, marriage really is supposed to be forever, huh?" The weight of her decision to marry suddenly became real to her! She and her husband are in counseling and it's going very well as they learn to communicate and serve each other unselfishly. This book will get many back on track! It's direct and honest-just as Jesus' words were when asked about marriage by His disciples. "Til Death Do Us Part?" will, can change your life.

This book is a must-read for anyone considering marriage, divorce, or remarriage. Life isn't always easy. We must carry our cross and follow Him. We can't come to God on our own terms. We must come to Him on His terms. Contrary to what the previous reviewer said, there are some things that we must stop doing in order to be saved, like committing adultery.

"Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? BE NOT DECIEVED: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, NOR ADULTERERS, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God." 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (KJV) (emphasis mine)

"Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge." Hebrews 13:4 (KJV)

I haven't read all of this book yet but as far as I can tell this book is the best book ever written about if it is okay to divorce and remarry. He covers everything with scripture. After you read the main part of the book make sure you read the question and answer part of the book. It will help you a lot. This is a minister that tells the truth. He's not worried about loosing church members or money. Don't get me wrong. Not all ministers are like that but a lot are. Mr. Webb has been a pastor for 40 years and he is worried about people dying lost. He truly has a shepard's heart. He sees people trapped in a burning building and he is trying to rescue them with the truth. Isaiah 58:1 says "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins." This is all Mr. Webb is trying to do in love. His own mother was in this sin yet he still preaches the Word of God and it's truth. In the back of his book is a way you can contact him and he has at least two tapes where he is interviewed on radio programs and they are great. On one tape real people call in with real questions and you can see how he trys to help them and how compassionate, loving and wise he is. He is not doing this to become rich. He is trying to get the REAL TRUTH out to help people who really want to live the truth of God's Word.

If you are hungry and thirsty for righteousness God will fill you up with this book.

May God bless you as you seek His kingdom and His righteousness FIRST,

Shawn Chouinard

What does the Bible have to say about Divorce and Remarriage? A proper understanding of Jesus teaching in the Gospels show that He re-established God's original plan for the institution of marriage upon which society rests - the union of one man to one woman until death separates them. Moses quoted God in Deuteronomy 18:15-19,stating that "I will raise them up a Prophet... and will put my words in His Mouth; and He shall speak unto the all that I shall command Him...that whosoever will not hearken unto My words which He shall speak in My name, I will require it of him" Joseph Webb clearly states Jesus teaching on marriage and divorce. He who does not heed that teaching - God will require it of him.

This book is dangerous because, at first glance, it appears to be solidly backed by Bible scriptures, and the author's arguments are very convincing when taken at face value. Fortunately, however, I had also obtained several other books (including 2 good ones by Craig S. Keener and Robert Eldredge Sr., both available on Amazon) on this topic, and also ran across an extremely thorough review of Webb's book which exposes the many serious flaws. The review was written by Dr. Daniel Botkin, and he compares Webb's book to Guy Duty's book on divorce & remarriage. A Google search for "Joseph Webb and Guy Duty" will quickly turn up Botkin's review--it's very informative!

As an example, Webb takes the liberty of adding text to a quote of Jesus from Mark 10:8. In your KJV Bible, Jesus says "They are no more twain but one flesh." In this book (about a third of the way through Chapter 6), that same passage is quoted as "They are no more twain but one flesh for life." Note the addition of "for life". To add to a verse in this manner is manipulative and completely unacceptable.

Oh, here's my favorite quote from this book (a little past the middle of Chapter 7, in section IV): Webb says that "sympathy is self-elevating; therefore it is sin." If you believe that, you will probably enjoy this book. Could you imagine Jesus saying this? This quote pretty much summarizes the author's arrogance and lack of compassion for his fellow believers who are in a very undesirable situation.

While it is true that many Christians don't take marriage seriously enough today and need to work much harder to stick it out in a tough marriage, there is still grace involved for mistakes made in the past--including divorce, especially if one had been abandoned or cheated upon. This book, however, is off-the-charts Pharisee-style legalism brought to the 21st century.

I would give this book zero stars... if only I could. In short, the author has a legalist interpretation of scripture and believes that Jesus requires marital martyrdom in order to be saved.For example, if two Non-Christians marry and divorce and one of them is happily remarried to another (let's say for 30 years with 4 children and 9 grandkids) and this same remarried person and their 2nd spouse of 30 years go to the altar to accept Christ, according to Mr. Webb, the blood of Jesus can not save them until the one who was previously married, divorces from their happy 30 year marriage and goes back to their first marriage partner. This, says Mr. Webb, is the only way to be truly repentant and that one can not be forgiven and saved without true repentance. This would be laughable if it wasn't so (bad)... (bad) because those who don't know any better may read this book and adopt it as their truth. Adultery is no excuse for divorce either... if one divorces their adulterous spouse, God will extend the same amount of unforgiveness on the divorcing spouse and they will go to hell.Try, if you will, to think of the worst case marriage scenarios that can possibly be imagined... married to an abuser, drunk, drug addict, serial rapist, insanity, incest etc... no matter how miserable or incompatible the marriage, no matter how grievous your marital blunder... divorce, according to Mr. Webb, is not an option... Jesus requires you to stay married and suffer. The choice is simple, you either become a marital martyr or spend eternity in hell.In order for me to buy into Mr. Webb's opinions and his narrow interpretation of scripture as it pertains to marriage, divorce and remarriage, I would have to believe that Jesus is an unforgiving, cold-hearted master who is void of any grace or mercy. In other words, I would have to come to believe that Jesus has as much understanding and compassion as a ... gnat.Do not waste your money or time on this book. Instead, I highly recommend a book called, Divorce And Remarriage: What Does The Bible Really Say?, by Ralph Woodrow.

Joseph Webb has successfully presented a doctrine of demons in this book. He has rendered the precious blood of Jesus and the very cross He died upon, as ineffective and powerless. Jesus Christ did not come to institute a "new" law. If Christ came to give us a new set of standards, a new list of do's and don'ts and a new morality, he would be just another prophet, king or priest. But the truth is and will remain; He came as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. This is not "cheap" grace. It is saving grace. It is not a license to do whatever we want but a freedom to chose what God wants for us. The gospel according to Joseph Webb brings nothing but condemnation and hopelessness. There is nothing whatsoever "good" about encouraging more divorce in our world today. Joseph Webb has merely given the Christian community another invalid reason to break the bonds of holy matrimony and to do it with the blessing and admonition of God. As soon as I start "doing" rather than "being", I have lost sight of trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ alone for my salvation. I become involved in simply another works-based religion. So if that is where you want to be, go ahead and embrace this doctrine. In fact, you should start your own church and gather your own following, but don't call it "Christian" because the true Christian believer has been redeemed by the blood of the lamb and therefore does not need "to do this" or "stop doing that" in order to be saved.