-=|Divorce and Remarriage|=-

INTRODUCTION

A troubling trend was revealed by a recent survey from The Barna Group...as so-called "born again Christians" are just as likely to divorce as are non-Christians, among married born again Christians, 35% have experienced a divorce that figure is identical to the outcome among married adults who are not born again: 35%.

Barna's figures show that nearly 1/4th of the married born again believers (23%) get divorced two or more times, if you want to do the research yourself go to the The Barna Group site at www.barna.org


The apparent reason? Evidently many do not believe or understand that divorce is, or can be sinful in nature.

Although Bible scholars and teachers point out that Jesus taught that divorce was a sin unless adultery was involved, which we saw this since the start of this series, but, few Americans buy that notion; Only one out of every seven adults (15%) strongly agreed with the following statement :

"when a couple gets divorced without one of them having committed adultery, they are committing a sin"

A majority of both Protestants (58%) and Catholics (69%) disagreed that divorce without adultery involved the commission of sin.
[A survey like this reveals the need for constant reminder of what God has spoken concerning divorce and remarriage. It is truly an issue confronting Christians today, and so let us consider....]

I. JESUS ON DIVORCE AND REMARRIAGE

A. HIS TEACHING ON DIVORCE...

In His sermon on the mount, Jesus speaks as follows as written in Mt 5:31-32:

31 “You have heard the law that says, ‘A man can divorce his wife by merely giving her a written notice of divorce.’ 32 But I say that a man who divorces his wife, unless she has been unfaithful, causes her to commit adultery. And anyone who marries a divorced woman also commits adultery.

Many scribes and Pharisees taught that divorce was permissible for any reason, as long as a certificate of divorce was granted.

Technically it was, look in Deut 24:1-4

24 “Suppose a man marries a woman but she does not please him. Having discovered something wrong with her, he writes her a letter of divorce, hands it to her, and sends her away from his house. 2 When she leaves his house, she is free to marry another man. 3 But if the second husband also turns against her and divorces her, or if he dies, 4 the first husband may not marry her again, for she has been defiled. That would be detestable to the LORD. You must not bring guilt upon the land the LORD your God is giving you as a special possession.

But the effect was to defile the wife when she remarried, look again in Deut 24:4:

4 the first husband may not marry her again, for she has been defiled. That would be detestable to the LORD. You must not bring guilt upon the land the LORD your God is giving you as a special possession.


Notice that her remarriage "defiled" her! "The second marriage of a woman who had been divorced is designated by Moses a defilement of the woman...a moral defilement, i.e., blemishing, desecration of the sexual communion which was sanctified by marriage, in the same sense in which adultery is called a defilement in Lev 18:20 and Num 5:13,14. Thus the second marriage of a divorced woman was placed implicit upon a par with adultery, and some approach was made towards the teaching of Christ concerning marriage. Jesus taught that divorce led to adultery, unless fornication was the cause of divorce, notice the bill of divorce did not necessarily end the first marriage!

Jesus described the second marriage as committing "adultery" The term "adultery" implies the first marriage is still valid (binding)

In His response to the Pharisees in Mt 19:3-9 we see that the Pharisees thought divorce was permissible, as long as a certificate was granted, though they differed among themselves as to whether it could be "for any reason"

Jesus explained that Moses permitted divorce because of the hardness of their hearts, but it was not God's will from the beginning (of creation) as we saw in Mt 19:8.

Jesus then provides the only ground for divorce without it leading to adultery: if the innocent spouse puts away his or her spouse for fornication - Mt 19:9

-- Jesus allows only one reason for divorce: when a spouse is guilty of fornication! --



B. HIS TEACHING ON REMARRIAGE...

Jesus warned twice that remarriage can result in adultery divorcing a wife can cause her to commit adultery when she remarries, we saw that in Mt 5:32.

Divorcing a wife for can cause oneself to commit adultery upon remarriage we saw that on Mt 19:9, the only way to avoid adultery when remarrying is for the innocent spouse to put away his or her spouse for the cause of fornication as stated in Mt 19:19.

Jesus suggested celibacy might be necessary for some, we saw it on Mt 19:10-12, this was chosen for the sake of the kingdom of heaven, and the only scenario I could imagine is where one realizes they are in adulterous marriage and are willing to leave it for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.

-- Jesus allows only one reason for divorce and remarriage: when a spouse is guilty of fornication!

[In teaching His disciples concerning divorce and remarriage, Jesus was very clear. But what about His apostles? Inspired by the Holy Spirit,
what do they add to the subject...?]

II. THE APOSTLES ON DIVORCE AND REMARRIAGE

A. THEIR TEACHING ON DIVORCE...
Paul reminded people of what the Lord Himself taught, look at 1Co 7:10-11:

10 But for those who are married, I have a command that comes not from me, but from the Lord. A wife must not leave her husband. 11 But if she does leave him, let her remain single or else be reconciled to him. And the husband must not leave his wife.
a. A wife is not to depart her husband; a husband is not to divorce his wife,
b. If a wife leaves her husband, she must remain unmarried or be reconciled.

2. He revealed more concerning marriages with unbelievers, look at 1Co 7:12-16:

12 Now, I will speak to the rest of you, though I do not have a direct command from the Lord. If a Christian man has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to continue living with him, he must not leave her. 13 And if a Christian woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to continue living with her, she must not leave him. 14 For the Christian wife brings holiness to her marriage, and the Christian husband brings holiness to his marriage. Otherwise, your children would not be holy, but now they are holy. 15 (But if the husband or wife who isn’t a believer insists on leaving, let them go. In such cases the Christian husband or wife is no longer bound to the other, for God has called you to live in peace.) 16 Don’t you wives realize that your husbands might be saved because of you? And don’t you husbands realize that your wives might be saved because of you?

Believers are not to divorce unbelieving spouses if they are willing to live with them, if unbelieving spouses depart; believers are not in bondage (to fulfill marital duties)

-- Paul reinforced Jesus' teaching on divorce, and permitted separation only when initiated by an unbeliever! --

B. THEIR TEACHING ON REMARRIAGE...

In writing to the Romans Paul used what the Law taught on marriage for the purpose of illustration, look at Ro 7:1-4:

7 Now, dear brothers and sisters—you who are familiar with the law—don’t you know that the law applies only while a person is living? 2 For example, when a woman marries, the law binds her to her husband as long as he is alive. But if he dies, the laws of marriage no longer apply to her. 3 So while her husband is alive, she would be committing adultery if she married another man. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law and does not commit adultery when she remarries.
4 So, my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point: You died to the power of the law when you died with Christ. And now you are united with the one who was raised from the dead. As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God.
b. The Law (of Moses) taught that a woman was bound to her husband for life
c. Even if she legally divorced her husband, she became an adulteress when she remarried.


Remember, according to Moses she became "defiled" as we saw in Deut 24:4 Paul allowed remarriage after the death of one's spouse as we learn in 1Co 7:39-40.

But only "in the Lord", which many believe to mean "must be a Christian" but it may mean "in the will of the Lord" (in harmony with His teaching) some assume Paul permitted remarriage if abandoned by an unbeliever that "not in bondage" means they are permitted to remarry, but such permission is not necessarily implied by the text; believers are simply not in bondage to fulfill marital duties; To say that Paul allowed remarriage is to put words in his mouth
-- Paul allowed remarriage on the death of a spouse; only Jesus gave another ground for remarriage (fornication) --


[Other than saying that a believing spouse was not obligated to fulfill marital obligations toward an unbelieving spouse who leaves, and that death permitted remarriage under certain circumstances, the apostles added nothing to what Jesus taught. With that in mind, here are some thoughts on...]

III. THE ISSUE OF DIVORCE AND REMARRIAGE TODAY

A. PERTAINING TO CHRISTIANS...

As disciples of Christ we must be faithful to the Lord look at Lk 6:46;

46 “So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say?

And also look what John wrote in 2Jn 1:9:

9 Anyone who wanders away from this teaching has no relationship with God. But anyone who remains in the teaching of Christ has a relationship with both the Father and the Son.

This requires heeding Him in both teaching and practice as stated by Jesus himself in Mt 28:20:

20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

As with all sin, it may take time to fully learn and apply what Jesus taught, as Peter said in 2Pe 3:18:

18 Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Even if it means we must choose celibacy to be faithful to His teaching, as we saw in Mt 19:12, In this way, we can demonstrate that God's will is good, acceptable, perfect as we saw in Ro 12:1-2
-- Rather than conform to the world, allow Christ to transform us! --

B. PERTAINING TO NON-CHRISTIANS...

They should be taught the gospel check Mk 16:15-16:

15 And then he told them, “Go into the entire world and preach the Good News to everyone. 16 Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned.

And in Mt 28:18-19:

18 Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations,* baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit


If they are baptized, they need to be shown what Jesus taught look at Mt 28:20:

20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Some may ask, "Cannot those in adulterous marriages be forgiven?" Yes, but forgiveness does not make an adulterous marriage a holy one (just as it does not transform a homosexual marriage into a holy one).

Repentance requires that one turn away from sinful conduct (e.g., adultery), Again, it may take time to fully learn and apply what Jesus taught as we saw in 2Pe 3:18.

And we should be willing to work with those in difficult situations just look at Ga 6:1-2:

6 Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. 2 Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.

-- Souls are at stake, and we cannot water down the doctrine of Christ! --

CONCLUSION

From what we have gleaned these past two lessons, we have learned that God intends for marriage to be for life ("till death do us part") It is God who joins a man and wife, and He alone can truly put asunder.

He does not release the married from their marriage simply because they get a divorce, the state might recognize divorce and marriages, but they might be "unlawful" to God; unless divorce is for the grounds of fornication, remarriage results in adultery!

Celibacy is a viable option (if need be) for those serious about the kingdom of heaven, when confronted with issues like divorce and remarriage we are tempted to take the path of least resistance, to simply conform to the standards of society, to reinterpret and reapply the words of Jesus to be socially acceptable.

But we do ourselves harm and others no good by watering down what Jesus and His apostles taught. When it comes to doing and teaching the will of the Lord, may we never forget these words as told by the apostle in 1Co 15:58

58 So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.