What About
Marriage,
Divorce
and
Remarriage?
What About Marriage,
Divorce and Remarriage?Debate among God's people concerning
marriage, divorce, and remarriage has been
vigorous since the days of Moses and our Saviour
(Deuteronomy 24:1-5; Matthew 19:3). Not
surprisingly, the issue is usually over whether or
not a marriage is really supposed to be "until death
do us part" (no divorce), or whether under certain
circumstances (adultery, desertion, incompatibility,
abuse, etc.) divorce is allowed by God. For those
accepting the liberal views of divorce, there is the
further question of whether or not remarriage is
allowed after a so-called "scriptural divorce" (this
expression is similar to saying a "good devil," or
"Gospel Rock Music" - in other words it is a
contradiction of terms), even while the divorced
spouse lives.
Few are surprised to note that if an individual
takes enough liberty with Scripture to condone
divorce, they will also find ample warrant to justify
remarriage even while they already have a living
spouse.
Pharisees Seek Grounds For Divorce Please note in Matthew 19:3, the sanctimonious,
hypocritcal Pharisees are the ones seeking grounds
for divorce. How very appropriate is this scriptural
illustration! It was the Pharisees Christ condemned
for using Scripture to their advantage, sounding so
spiritual, while all the while using it as a cloak to
cover their evil deeds of the flesh (Matthew 7:3;
15:7-8; 23:13-33; Luke 6:46).
The hearts of men cannot always be discerned
with accuracy, and therefore their real motives may
be obscured from clear view. However, it would
seem the Pharisees have many descendants in our
age, who, like their predecessors in Matthew 19:3,
are eagerly seeking scriptural justification to
condone divorce and even remarriage, so they can
claim that God allowed it.
Naturally, in the days of our Saviour, the "popular
view" was the liberal or loose view of divorce. It was
a minority who sought to uphold an "until death
do us part" standard. This was precisely why the
Pharisees posed their question in Matthew 19:3.
They were convinced Christ would uphold the clear
Law of God and forbid any kind of divorce, thus
alienating Him from the common people who were
naturally in favor of permissive divorce.God's Standard Has Never Changed Notice that Jesus refused to be drawn into the
debate of the day, but instead appealed to Genesis
2:24 and the "one-flesh relationship" (an
inseparable bond, broken only by death [Romans
7:1-3; I Corinthians 7:39]). He further acted surprised
that they had missed so basic a teaching in the
Scripture (Matthew 19:14). Incidentally, the
disciples were so shocked at Christ's no-divorce
stand; they were amazed and perplexed (Matthew
19:10), and concluded it would be better not to
marry than enter into the no-divorce relationship
Jesus outlined and have no recourse but to live with
your spouse until one of you die.The Disciples' Reaction Please note that these disciples, who were
Teaches More Than Modern Scholarship
intimately familiar with the idioms, language,
colloquialisms, etc., Jesus used, and who actually
heard and saw this debate in Matthew 19:3-9
understood him to take a more strict stand against
divorce than they had ever heard! Thus, whatever
"except it be for fornication" means in Matthew
19:9, it is impossible for it to mean what most
commentaries, radio [t]eachers, etc., claim that it
means (divorce permitted for immorality) as the
disciples would not have been shocked since that
was a commonly held view of their day.
Why would one disbelieve eye witnesses who
heard and saw our Lord's response in Matthew 19
and follow some "scholar" living 1900 years later
(who, by the way could never know the idioms,
language, colloquialisms, etc., as the disciples did)
and find "scriptural grounds" for divorce in this
passage? Could it be because they want to follow
their desires instead of what is right.
Frankly, it would be more candid and honest for
us to say, "I don't care what Jesus said, I'm going
to seek a divorce and remarriage anyway."Help From Ephesians Five My Preacher-Brother, I know the enormous
pressure brought to bear upon you to go along with
divorce and remarriage. I know it is just as popular
today as it was in the days of Christ, but it is still
wrong! May I help you from Ephesians?
How many times have we read from this passage
or preached on it concerning the marriage
relationship, vis-a-vis, the relationship between
Christ and the Church (Ephesians 5:22-33). Quite
obviously, Christ is pictured here as a husband and
the church as His bride (Ephesians 5:32), just as
Israel was called the wife of Jehovah in the Old
Testament.
My dear brother, if you teach, encourage,
condone, or allow divorce, you are doing something
that nowhere is allowed in this mystical illustration,
or any place else in Scripture (that Christ, under
certain circumstances will divorce His church, or
the Church be divorced from Him). Again, an appeal
is made to Genesis 2:24 (in this passage, Ephesians
5:31) to emphasize the one-flesh relationship (until
death do us part, inseparable bond type of
relationship).
Marriage, In The Mind Of God, Is Like Eternal Life. On the contrary, we all find blessed comfort in
the scriptural revelation for eternal salvation, that
Christ having saved us, will then continue that
saving work until we see Him face to face
(Philippians 1:6; II Timothy 1:12; I John 4:13; 5:10,
13). We do not have to be concerned that Christ has
an "exception clause" somewhere, and that we
could be divorced from Him, because there is none.
Is it not apparent then how inconsistent,
incongruous and wrong we are to say divorce is
allowed when the Holy Spirit went to such beautiful
detail in Ephesians 5:22-23 to prove its non-
existence by virtue of a comparison between the
marriage of two people and the "marriage" of
Christ and His Church?Divorce And Remarriage Are Popular But Wrong Divorce and remarriage are allowed by many
famous and popular Bible teachers on radio and
T.V., by a majority of writers in our Christian
bookstores, by our friends, relatives, and by those
with whom we work. One only needs to look at
current divorce statistics to realize it is accepted
by a majority of Americans, but it is still wrong! We
are not to follow after a multitude to do evil, but
be willing to stand alone for what is right.Reconcile, Stay Where You Are, Or Repent If you are already involved in the tragedy of a
divorce and maybe a remarriage, be reconciled, if
possible, but if not, stay in your circumstances (I
Corinthians 7:20, 24), honor your most recent vow,
repent of your sin, and stop justifying your divorce.
God will bless that kind of humility (James 4:6-10).
For further reading about this subject, see
"Meant To Last" by Charles Ryrie and Paul Steele,
Victor Books.by Ronald E. Williams, Director
Hephzibah House
508 School St., Winona Lake, IN 46590
Reprints may be obtained from above address
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