Posted on 11/23/2002 5:07:20 PM PST by Ex-Wretch
Mal. 2:16 For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the LORD of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.
Jesus told the woman at the well (John 4:18). John the Baptist told Herod (Matt. 14:4). Up until as recently as 50 years ago, divorce and remarriage was well acknowledged as adultery. What has changed? It hasn’t been the Word of God!
The Word of God is quick and, sharper than a two-edged sword! Those who fear God and are led by the Holy Spirit are able to rightly divide and properly discern it. These are they which obey, rebuke, admonish and exhort one another in this sin-sick world. And likewise, they who do not obey (sinners), will take scripture and twist it to their liking so as to “justify” their disobedience and desire for pleasure. They wrest God’s word to agree with their sin. This is basic denial and, the selling of one’s soul for a mess of pottage. And, the biggest offenders today not only commit the sin but teach it and preach it from the pulpit. Woe unto these blind guides! Satan knows the Word of God. He used it to tempt Jesus into “justifying” comfort, disobedience and sin.
Matt. 19:6 “Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.”
It is God that joins a man and a woman’s hearts together when they, without guile or deceit, vow before Him to bind themselves unto death. Courts only serve the purpose of providing legal witness that two people have voluntarily contracted under the laws of the state … not the laws, commands and precepts of God.
Matt. 6:31,32 “It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.”
Matt. 16:18, “Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery.”
Some will say “doesn’t God forgive the adultery”? Most certainly. He also commands that it be repented of. That means turning away from it. God’s forgiveness is conditioned on our repentance. Jesus said that both he/she who divorces/remarries and him/her that has been divorced/remarried “committeth” adultery. That means that it is not just a one-time past sin but an ongoing sin. A person in a divorced/remarried state is living in a continual state of sin! A one-time forgiveness does not clear your continual sin. It must be forsaken! The adulterous connection must be broken! To choose one’s own way instead of God’s holy command is presumptuous at best and fatal at worst.
Matt. 19:8 “Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.”
John 4:17,18 The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.” Jesus said unto her, “Thou hast well said, I have no husband: For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.”
Just like the scribes and Pharisees, others will say that the Old Testament, via Moses, allowed divorce and remarriage. Still, what does the Lord Jesus say? Only because your hearts were so hard and your ways were so carnal. If Moses hadn’t allowed you to separate you would have killed each other! (paraphrasing) But where, may I ask, is Jesus’ approval of divorce and remarriage? You won’t find it because he never gave it!
Matt. 6:12 “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”
Matt. 6:14,15 “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
Mark 10:27 And Jesus looking upon them saith, “With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.”
Still, many will say “if the wife or husband is unfaithful then the marriage covenant has been broken and the innocent party is free to divorce and remarry”. Is that so? What does “for better or for worse” mean if not this? If, after coming to a saving relationship with Christ, you fall and sin, is He free to divorce you? Are we not to emulate our Lord? Isn’t this what being Christ-like is all about? Of course it hurts to be cheated on! Yet, if we do not forgive as He forgives us, we have the full assurance of His Word that our heavenly Father will not forgive us! Is hanging on to your hurt and bitterness worth eternal damnation? Forgive. Forget. Surrender all to Jesus. Be healed. Seventy times seven.
Proverbs 25:28 He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.
Yes, marriage is a picture of Christ and His church. Jesus is the head and we are the body. The man is to be the head but, he is to be under Jesus as Head. He is to provide for his wife and direct the family as he also submits to the guidance and direction of the Lord. Just as he expects his wife to yield unto him, he must also yield unto Christ. If he will not submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in his life, he cannot even govern his own life righteously.
Mark 9:23 Jesus said unto him, “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.”
And to those who say “it is too hard” or “unnatural” to live alone without a mate, well, Jesus proved it was possible to abstain from sex. Isn’t God’s grace enough to keep you? It’s enough to save you but not enough to keep you from sinful sexual relations?
Matt. 19:12 “For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.”
And what if your spouse has divorced you? Even if it was for Christ’s sake? How are we to live then? Is it possible to live a life holy and pleasing unto the Lord when all that is natural screams out for the companionship and affection of a mate? Remember friend, our dear Lord was also fashioned after a man and was in all points tempted as we are. He died and rose again so that we could have power in this life over sin, the devil and the flesh! We are to walk as he walked. Yes! It is possible to be delivered and kept from yielding to the carnal lusts and live in victory over sin!
Phil. 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
Thanks.
6 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,
7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding *in it with thanksgiving
8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.
9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;
10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.
Not Legalism but Christ
11 In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body *of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,
12 buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.
13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,
14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.
16 So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths,
17 which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.
18 Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has *not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,
19 and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God.
20 *Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations--
21 "Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,"
22 which all concern things which perish with the using--according to the commandments and doctrines of men?
23 These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.
ACTS 15---
4 And when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders; and they reported all things that God had done with them. 5 But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, "It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses." The Jerusalem Council 6 Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter. 7 And when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them: "Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. 8 So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, 9 and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. 10 Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus *Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they."
Apples. Oranges.
In Christ, there is no liberty to do sin. You presume that God will wink at your sin rather than hold you accountable. If you die in sin, it is hell to pay.
I'm glad to see that you are equally as adamant in your opposition to heterosexual immorality. I commend your consistency. Let's see how you deal with this one:
Another event that confirms the significance of the "marriage event/ceremony" for me is the story of Jacob and Leah...not Rebekah. The ceremony was performed and Jacob discovered the trickery. He honored the commitment.
Uh, don't you mean "Rachel" in the above? Rebekah, wasn't she Jacob's mother?
In any event, how do we justify Jacob having several women, two of whom, Leah and Rachel, were his wives? (Bilhah and Zilpah were their handmaidens, but they also "mothered" Jacob's children.)
Was Jacob somehow exempt from the law? It appears that God not only permitted Jacob's polygamy/adultery, He also blessed Jacob through it. From Jacob's four (4) women proceeded the twelve tribes of Israel. Jacob today is considered one of the patriarchs and is revered by Jews and Christians alike.
Do God's laws change to fit individual circumstances, or should Jacob be condemned for having sex with several women (all of who were alive at the same time)?
Do you find this command of the Lord is too restrictive to your flesh? Matt. 16:18, “Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery.”
Im still in shock that familys in your church have divorced because of an interpretation of scripture, God calls you where you were at ...
What is more important to you? Obedience to God - walking in the spirit - or, Disobedience - walking in the flesh?
I'm off to church now.
Jesus affirmed that God's best plan had always been monogamy -- man/woman.
Adultery is sex by a married person(s) with someone to whom their is not a marriage. (The concubinage & handmaiden gifts of the OT are human extensions of God's intent.)
Strictly, then, sexual immorality would include adultery, fornication, and any other form of sexual release outside of the marriage covenant.
Why do people always go after the messenger for delivering the message? Yes, it's a burden. But, hallelujah, the Lord always carries the heavy end of the cross! I made a vow also. My desire is for my wife to come to know the Lord too. I will continue to pray for her and my kids. With God, nothing shall be impossible.
You're looking for wiggle room from the clear words of the Lord :“Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery.”
Granted, the Lord made a provision for divorce. I can find nowhere in scripture where Jesus Christ, allows for, sanctions or blesses the re-marriage of anyone except the original spouses to be reconciled one with another or, if one should die, the other is at liberty to marry an eligible christian brother or sister.
Marriage Vows are strong for a reason: "for better or for worse", "in plenty or in want", "in sickness or in health", "as long as we both shall live"
Pretty busy OM, My youngest son married last week.
And with Christmas comming it is not over yet:>)
How are you girl? I hope all is well
Clarification: Yes, if the divorce is not in line with the fornication/adultery condition that Jesus explains.
Still yes on the remarriage.
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God divorced Israel. Did God sin?
God forbid! No, it appears that God's divorcement of Israel was on the basis of spiritual adultery. Thus, it appears to be in line with the words that Jesus spoke on the divorce subject. Further on down in that same chapter in Jeremiah, the Lord pleads for Israel to return unto Him because He is still married to the backslider.
Divorce is CAUSED BY sin.
Indeed.
I already said that life threatening situations call for separation (this was the reason Moses gave). Why then believe/obey anything that Christ said? Just make up your own living standards as you see fit when it suits you. Chaos.
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