Divorce and Remarriage
=MsoNormal> Divorce and Remarriage 4/6/08 a.m.
1. Marriage
We are joined in marriage by God for life
Mk 10:5-9 5 And Jesus answered and said to them, ….6 But from the beginning of the creation, God ‘made them male and female.’ 7 ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, 8 and the two shall become one flesh’; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”
Rom. 7:2, 3 2 For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband. 3 So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man.
Marriage to an unbeliever
1 Co 7:10-16 10 Now to the married I command, yet not I but the Lord: A wife is not to depart from her husband. 11 But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband is not to divorce his wife.
12 But to the rest I, not the Lord, say: If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her. 13 And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him. 14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy. 15 But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart; a brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases. But God has called us to peace. 16 For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife?
Marriage is a covenant witnessed by God
Mal 2:14 Because the Lord has been witness
Between you and the wife of your youth,
With whom you have dealt treacherously;
Yet she is your companion
And your wife by covenant.
Gods’ purpose for marriage is companionship and Godly children
Ge 2:18 18 And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”
Mal 2:15 15 But did He not make them one,
Having a remnant of the Spirit?
And why one?
He seeks godly offspring.
“Therefore take heed to your spirit,
And let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth.
We are joined in the covenant of marriage by God for life for companionship and raising Godly children
2. Divorce
God hates divorce
Mal 2:15-16 “Therefore take heed to your spirit,
And let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth.
16 “For the Lord God of Israel says
That He hates divorce,
For it covers one’s garment with violence,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
Therefore take heed to your spirit,
That you do not deal treacherously.”
Christ’s teaching on divorce
- Christ limited the permission of divorce to the single case of adultery.
- These precepts given by Christ regulate the law of divorce in the Christian Church.
Mt.19:3-9 3 The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?”
4 And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’ ? 6 So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”
7 They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?”
8 He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9 And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.”
Divorce was granted by Moses on account of the hardness of the heart.
Mt 19:8 8 He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.
He is making the point that divorce is contrary to God’s plan for marriage.
Even though the Law of Moses allowed divorce, it was only a provisional and reluctant allowance. Jesus put “teeth” into the Law by declaring that, even if the divorced couple had not been sexually unfaithful to each other, they would commit adultery in God’s sight if they now married other partners.[1]
Jesus gives scriptural reason for divorce
Mt 19:99 And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.”
Divorce is not permitted for just any reason
Mt 5:31-32; 31 “Furthermore it has been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.
Divorce should never be considered good, nor should it be taken lightly.
Jesus allows divorce for one reason only—“immorality,” or illicit sexual intercourse.
· A person dissolves his marriage by creating a sexual union with someone other than the marriage partner.
· In that case, the decree of divorce simply reflects the fact that the marriage has already been broken.
· A man divorcing his wife for this cause does not “make her an adulteress,” for she is one already.
· Divorce for unchastity usually frees the innocent partner to remarry without incurring the guilt of adultery
Although Jesus allowed divorce for adultery, He did not require it.
Just the reverse:
· Insisting that divorce disrupts God’s plan for marriage,
· He opened the door to repentance, forgiveness, and healing
· Reconciliation was Jesus’ way of solving marriage troubles.
Paul’s Teachings on divorce.
1 Co 7:12-16 12 But to the rest I, not the Lord, say: If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her. 13 And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him. 14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy. 15 But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart; a brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases. But God has called us to peace. 16 For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife?
The other exception that justifies divorce, according to the NT, is desertion.
1 Corinthians 7:15 15 But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart; a brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases
The provisions refer primarily to desertion by an unbelieving spouse, but it should be noted that a believer guilty of desertion is to be treated as an unbeliever
1 Tm 5:88 But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
In either case, adultery or desertion, the aggrieved party has the right to seek divorce from the offending spouse and, having obtained it, becomes again a single person.
Yet Paul encourages the believer to keep the marriage together, in hopes that the unbelieving partner might be saved and the children will not suffer.
God hates divorce and Christ limited the permission of divorce to adultery and Paul teaches the other exception that justifies divorce is desertion. In either case, adultery or desertion, the aggrieved party, having obtained a divorce, becomes again a single person.
3. Remarriage
Many factors usually combine to destroy a marriage;
· Therefore, deal with each case of divorce and remarriage on an individual basis
· Should repentance and reconciliation fail to restore the violated union, the aggrieved spouse is not bound to the marriage.
Mt 19:99 And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.”
1 Corinthians 7:15 15 But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart; a brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases
· According to Scripture, a person who is not bound is free to remarry, but only “in the Lord,” meaning to another Christian (1 Cor 7:39).
1 Co 7:39 , she is at liberty to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord.
· The injunction for a single person who does not have the gift of celibacy to marry applies to a person formerly married but who has become single by a scripturally legitimate divorce
(v 9) 1 Co 7:8-9 8 But I say to the unmarried and to the widows: It is good for them if they remain even as I am; 9 but if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.
· The remarriage of believers may not be approved when the divorce has been used as a means of changing mates, since such intent makes the divorce adulterous.
Mt 5:32; 32 But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.
· Take into account God’s inexhaustible capacity to forgive sin and to restore broken lives.
1 Jn 1:9 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
· Obviously, the scriptural restrictions on divorce do not apply to believers whose broken marriages predate their conversion, since God’s forgiveness wipes clean the sin of their pre-Christian past and makes them new creatures in Christ.[2]
Ro 6:16-23 20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit 7to holiness (unto sanctification), and the end, everlasting life.
Divorce should be avoided at all cost, but in the scriptural cases of adultery, desertion and things done before salvation, a person is free to remarry in the Lord.
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[1]Packer, J., Tenney, M. C., & White, W. (1997, c1995). Nelson's illustrated manners and customs of the Bible (439). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[2]Elwell, W. A., & Comfort, P. W. (2001). Tyndale Bible dictionary. Tyndale reference library (389). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.
7 unto sanctification
