[Due to technical difficulties, the first few minutes of this lesson were not recorded. Sorry about that! -MRW]
Introduction
This is such an emotional topic, but we must remain objective and appeal to God’s word.Mark 6:17, 21 – John ended up being beheaded because he called out the marriage as unlawful.What should happen in an unlawful marriage?
Luke 16:18They must divorce and repent of their adultery. I Corinthians 6:9“But marriage itself is holy. No one should be told to divorce.”Ezra 9-10 – These marriages were unlawful and had to be broken up.Mark 6:17-18Are divorced people still “marriage in God’s eyes?”
I know of no passage that uses or implies that wording or concept. Sometimes we might say that because we’re trying to communicate the fact that God doesn’t approve.Luke 16:18Romans 7:2-3Mark 10:11-12These people were really divorced and actually marriage to other people. They were married to one person, yet bound to another, thus it is adultery.Matthew 19:9 – These divorces and marriages are real.What about marriages and divorces before one was ever a Christian?
God’s laws are for everyone, both Christians and non-Christians.Mark 6:17-18 – Herod and his wife were not Christians, but they were in sin.I Corinthians 6:9-11If God’s laws do not apply to non-Christians, why are people told to repent before they are baptized (Acts 2:38)?And why would you even get baptized and become a Christian, if prior to that you have no sin and therefore no need of salvation?Does forgiveness change the situation?
Acts 2:38; 8:22; 26:20There is still a need to repent and not keep sinning.If I steal a car…Then I pray for forgiveness ….Can I keep the car?No – it is still a sin for me to have it.If I take an unlawful wife …They I pray for forgiveness …Can I keep the wife?No – it is still a sin for me to have her.Does I Corinthians 7:15 give another exception?
I Corinthians 7:10-17I Corinthians 7:10 – “Leave” here means “divorce.”I Corinthians 7:11 – This does not imply approval of the divorce. See I John 2:1.I Corinthians 7:12-13 – It is okay for a Christian to be married to a non-believer.I Corinthians 7:14 – This cannot be saying that an unbelieving spouse can be saved by the believing spouse (II Corinthians 5:10). It is merely saying that the marriage is legitimate.I Corinthians 7:15 – There is no permission for remarriage here. Matthew 5:32Does I Corinthians 7:27-28 give another exception?
I Corinthians 7:27 – “Released” here cannot mean “divorced for any reason” because it would contradict what Paul just wrote in I Corinthians 7:10-17.Can the innocent party divorce years after the divorce?
Suppose that:A man divorces his wife (not for fornication)Years later, he remarries.Can the wife now divorce him for fornication and remarry with God’s approval (Matthew 19:9)?No. You can’t divorce someone you’re not married to.Luke 16:18Conclusion
Nothing is greater than fellowship with God; nothing lasts longer than heaven.
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