OUTLINE Children and divorce The heart and divorce Hatred and divorce INTRODUCTION We are in our third sermon looking at the matter of divorce. So far we have looked at the spiritual consequences for those who pursue divorce; what constitutes a marriage and last week we laid out an overview of the Bible’s teaching on divorce. We got as far as looking at Genesis to the teachings of Christ. I wanted to say one last word based on the teaching of 1 Corinthians 7 before we moved on with our exposition of Malachi 2:13-16. I feel that there is a missing ingredient in most discussions around Christians divorcing and it is the reality of membership and church discipline. Jesus told us that God allowed but did not command divorce because of hardness of heart, Matt. 19:8. Jesus helped us see that divorce for any reason is sinful but there are situations that involve sexual unfaithfulness that make it allowable. Paul in 1 Cor. 7 adds to the grounds for divorce including desertion. Paul says that if an unbeliever walks out on an unbeliever then the unbeliever is to be at peace. The Reformed churches have recognized that the innocent parties in these situations are free to remarry in the Lord. This where church discipline and the role of the church becomes so important in any divorce. Contrary to popular belief divorce is not a private matter that is just between the married couple and their lawyers. Every Christian is to be a member of a local church, being shepherded faithfully by elders. So if a marriage between members in the church is heading towards divorce, because hardness of heart, in other words sin is involved, the elders will have to get involved to seek a reconciliation. And if one or...

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