MARRIAGE, DIVORCE, AND REMARRIAGE (AGAIN)
“Furthermore it has been said, 'Whoever puts away his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' But I (Jesus) say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except for sexual immorality/fornication, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery' ” (Matthew 5:31-32).
“He (Jesus) 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. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality/fornication, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery' ” (Matthew 19:8-9).
“And He (Jesus) said to them, 'Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery' ” (Mark 10:11-12).
Jesus speaking: “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced from her husband commits adultery” (Luke 16:18).
The apostle Paul speaking: “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. 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” (Romans 7:2-3).
The apostle Paul speaking: “Now to the married I command, yet not I but the Lord: A wife is not to depart from her husband. 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” (I Corinthians 7:10-11).
“A wife is bound by law as long as her husband lives; but if her husband dies, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will, only in the Lord” (I Corinthians 7:39).
“Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge” (Hebrews 13:4).
The language in the above texts is clear and straightforward. All quotations are from the New King James Version. You are encouraged to read all of these passages in several versions of the New Testament: King James Version, American Standard Version, New American Standard Bible, English Standard Version, et. al. The Greek scholars have done an excellent job of translating the original language into the English language. We do not have to be Greek scholars in order to know what Christ, Paul, and the writer of Hebrews said in the above passages. All of the various versions are in complete agreement on what they say.
In the light of the preceding passages, it requires a lot of “jumping through hoops and loops” to say that one under the law of Christ can divorce and remarry for any reason whatsoever and still NOT be guilty of adultery! In that case, the law of Christ would be no different from what the law of Moses permitted. If such were the case, then neither the words of Christ nor those of the inspired apostle Paul have any real meaning. If one can divorce and remarry for many reasons and not be guilty of committing adultery, then, pray tell me, when would a divorce and remarriage constitute adultery? Christ and His apostles did not not engage in such word games and “double-speak.” Their words are plain and easy to understand and the point they make is clear and direct.
Paul dealt with various marital problems in the church at Corinth, some of which had been addressed by the Lord while He was on earth and some of which He had not addressed while on earth, but which Paul addressed under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 7; cf. I Corinthians 14:37). Nothing that Paul wrote in I Corinthians 7 regarding various marital situations contradicted or countermanded what he and the Lord had said in the texts cited above. Many people, wanting to divorce their present spouse and marry another but with no scriptural ground for doing so, often go looking for “loop-holes” as to how they may divorce and remarry with the Lord's approval. Most of the time, this is done when a forbidden marriage has already been entered into.
It is regrettable that many people have gotten their marital lives so badly tangled with multiple marriages, divorces, and remarriages, or by simply living together without a civil marriage ceremony. I grieve for those who have done so, and my heart goes out to the children who have been the innocent victims of these unscriptural marriages or “living-together-but-not-married” arrangements. God has not commissioned me to untangle these marriages and unholy relationships. Only the parties involved in them and who know why they divorced and remarried can untangle them. But I (and all other gospel preachers and teachers, including elders) have been charged with the responsibility to teach what the Lord and His apostles taught on this important subject as set forth in the above passages.
Do not be taken in by the trickery of men who, for whatever reason, want to get around what the word of God plainly teaches about marriage, divorce, and remarriage. Don't go looking for “loop-holes” in what the Bible says. Over the years, I have observed that when an effort is made to get around a plain, positive statement of scripture, behind that effort is an agenda to defend someone who has violated that scripture and who is living (or practicing things) contrary to the Scriptures.
I pray that all marriages that have been entered into in harmony with God's word will be strong and lasting just as God Himself from the beginning ordained (Genesis 2:24-25).
Hugh Fulford
