If you marry a divorced woman, you're committing adultery!
Matthew 5:32b ...and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.
(See also Matthew 19:9)
PERSONAL COMMENTARY
If your wife was previously divorced, you're in a perpetual state of adultery.
I'm not sure what to recommend to those in this situation. Please don't attempt to divorce your wife to free yourself from this sin. We'll show later that God hates divorce (which could be also considered a sin). This is truly being between a rock and a hard place.
13 comments:
It was just this rock and a hard place that started me on my way to atheism. The struggle that this put me in regarding my Wife and I forced me to see the contradictory nature of the bible and the way apologists seek to reconcile god with conscience. It was the straw that broke my back.
lol!! Everyone wants an excuse to divorce their partner. No one wants to be tied down.
Perhaps if people took marriage a little more seriously, more thought and consideration would go into selecting who you're going to spend the rest of your life with.
Romans 7 and 1 Cor. 7 are worthwhile reading as well. The question that should be asked is, "Is there ever a circumstance where God permits divorce"? It's an indepth study but I would suggest that in cases where the husband or wife becomes an unbeliever (symbolically 'dead' to God), the partner is free to remarry.
(Sorry so long) Are there situations where God allows divorce? Of course, due to the hardness of our hearts. Jesus said that Himself. Are there situations where God allows remarriage? Only under very very specific circumstances, and only inferred by exclusion of those whose remarriage is adultery (I mean that the Bible states that some remarriages are adultery, so there must be some that aren't). The Bible is crystal clear about God's command. What puzzles me is how wishy washy people are when they want their way. People can justify anything, I guess.
With regards to those passages which free a spouse from their bounds of marriage; I don't read those passages as saying that they're free to remarry. They're just no longer under the bonds of that marriage. That person now becomes "divorced". The passages in 1 Cor 7 about "but if you do marry, you do not sin" is in reference to VIRGINS, not a license to remarry. It doesn't say, "but if you do remarry, you do not sin".Read it again with that in mind - it'll make more sense and not contradict the rest of the Bible.
Tough situation, eh? Not everyone can accept these words, and so be it. For me, I've struggled with the notion of remarriage for 4 1/2 years. Although she divorced me, I feel that it would be more honoring to God that I live as Paul and not remarry. God could change my heart on this, but right now, I feel that remarriage would be incredibly selfish on my part. And that's not why I'm here.
I'm having doubts about what Johnny said. 1 Cor 7:27 says that if you are unmarried, you can marry...it doesn't say, "If you are Scripturally divorced or if you are never married, you can marry."
Isn't Paul saying that anyone can remarry. It sounds harsh to say that no one can remarry. Maybe when Jesus said it is adultery to marry a divorced woman, he was explaining the ideal, not forcing 60% of the population into celibacy.
If you take the passage literally, then only men have the right to divorce their wives; Jesus never gave permission for a woman to divorce her husband under any situation.
So since this is a "literal" website, we should try to figure out what is literal in the Bible. James said if we break one law we are guilty of breaking all of it; he wasn't being literal there, maybe Jesus was just explaining the ideal.
Leslie McFall has an interesting way to deal with the so-called exception clause in Matthew 19:9 that appears to allow for divorce and remarriage for marriage unfaithfulness.
He has written a 43 page paper that reviews the changes in the Greek made by Erasmus that effect the way Matthew 19:9 has been translated. I reviewed McFall's paper at Except For Fornication Clause of Matthew 19:9. I would love to hear some feedback on this position.
Christians OBEY christ, it is not the hearers of god word that are righteous, in fact many are going to eternal hell, many who claim to be christian. The bible is the word of GOD. It is literal. Any woman who divorces her husband, and remarries another man commits adultery. There is no clause. She betrays christ, the father in heaven and all the apostles who carried out the work of christ. AND THE MAN WHO MARRIES A DIVORCED WOMAN also OMMITS ADULTERY. Mark 10 12, Luke 16 18 and the book of romans all teach the same. Proverbs teaches that his new divorced and remarried wife is pretty wicked, and her mouth is a pit of death. This is opposite from the woman of god.
Any man who divorces but for One reason being infideltiy and remarries also commits adultery.
The book of corinthians teaches DO NOT BE DECIEVED ADULTERERS WILL NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOME OF GOD.
ADULTERERS ARE DEFINED AS THOSE IN WHICH A MAN MARRIEDS A DIVORCED WOMAN, ETC ETC
IT IS CLEAR ,, THESE ARE NOT GODS PEOPLE, AND THEY ARE NOT HIS CHILDREN.
SO Any OF those who betray christ are not brothers and/ or sisters IN christ, simply because they promote deception and live in it.
it is wicked.
They deceive themselves and work to destroy the faith and purity of the body of christ. And, their NEW spouses could go to hell because of them. That is the opposite of love. To endanger anothers eternal relationship with god for your own selfish gain??? God warns adulterers , that as enemies of god they are also friends with the world.
Proverbs teaches the wicked adulterer (divorced woman who remarries) is opposite to the woman of grace and dignitity. The proverbial woman is NOT a remarried woman,but can be a widow or divorced woman or a single woman who abides in christ.
The proverbial woman fears our lord and abides in his teachings.
It is truly a wicked generation, adulterers feel no shame they betray christ, their family, and even their own children for adultery.
Where there is adultery, there is a child paying the price for the selfishness of mostly the divorced and remarried woman there is no clause for exception, or the man who abandons his faithful wife and remarries another,
This world is so deceived it is scary, even scaried when it is done under folks who go to church and outwardly they profest christ - they know nothing of christ.
I married a divorced woman, who proved not to be faithful. She said I never respected her, and she was right. I tried to go to counseling, and make it right. It didn't happen. I fasted and prayed while going through divorce with her, wanting to save the marriage, that didn't work. Not until the divorce was finalized, did I realize the truth. The relationship was not founded on the truth, but on the flesh. That period of prayer and fasting regenerated my faith, and I thank the Lord that I am now truly born again.
The original post by Roopster included an entreaty not to divorce your wife to free yourself from this sin. This entreaty is in error. Why? Because if you marry a divorced woman you are in fact not in a Biblically legitimate marriage, regardless of whether you got an official license from the courthouse. The Bible is our guide, not the local laws that may now even issue a license for homosexual marriage. Having been celibate now for nearly ten years, it can be difficult being single, on the other hand it can be liberating if you truly want to focus on the work of the Lord. It comes down to what is most important to you. PTLJ!
I think you must read the bible in context. Jesus is talking to the pharasees. They are the teachers of the law. If you want to be literal, it is written for the believers. The version that i read is from NIV, Jesus never says if u marry a divorced woman, you are committing adultery. Please put your version that you read from for stumbling others is no good.
What can one say...I read the verses of Matthew 5 about divorce, but find that when you read the entire message, it takes on a different tone. I don't think Jesus was saying that a man can not marry a divorced woman....He pointed out it was a 'law'. If you backtrack, He sarcasticly put down the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees because they couldn't keep their own rules, either. Jesus then said, despite what you didn't learn from the Law, you 'should' have learned to love your neighbor or enemy as yourself, etc.
Love is the message of Christ. Only He can condemn. We tend to see what we want to see. Let go and let God works everytime. Some of the comments above make my heart hurt. Faith thru fear is not faith at all. I wish all the blessings possible on all those affected by this blog.
The first marriage covenant is more permanent than the physical fabric of the universe: Luke 16:16,17,18.
How can you take everything so literally when Jesus himself spoke in parables and metaphors? The book of Matthew is simply an accounting of one person. He happens to take everything literally because Matthew had a literal type of personality. He was a tax collector...it makes sense. That is why it is important to read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...along with the rest of the Bible. You will gain more perspective. The Bible is God breathed, however, they are also subject to their own time, and it is written by man. Much like one of you commented- A man not being able to divorce at the time was against the law of the time. Matthews comment could have been more in reference to the law. After all, he worked for the government, and so breaking the law probably wasn't his cup of tea, and it is clear the God wishes we respect authority so long as it is in the scope of his teaching.
My dad married my mother who was once divorced because the original man she married turned out to be a terrible, terrible man. I am confident in saying, that God would not have wanted my mother to stay in this marriage. However, after the divorce, she was left with 3 children to raise on her own. And being a single mother with three children in this day and age is next to impossible to withstand...especially if you have not yet accepted Christ into your life.
My dad adopted my older brothers and married my mother. This all took place before they came to Christ. They then became Christians, and had my little sister and I. My Dad is one of the godliest men I know and he was used by God to bring a broken family together. And I can say I am truly saved because my dad allowed himself to be used by God through out my life.
I understand many want to take the Bible literally, but all of it simply cant. It is subject to metaphors, contradictions, and era. Simply live your life the best you can, and Love like Jesus has taught. The rest is up to our father in heaven to judge.
The bible is to be taken literally and if one has had a "good" remarriage experience, he or she should count themselves blessed by it, but no doubt, it would have been better to have remained UN-remarried and let God do whatever mighty work in the life He would. We ALL tend to view EVERYTHING from a worldly perspective and justify ANY behavior, regardless of what scripture says. But in the end, if we truly want to be obedient, there is no denying the hard lessons Jesus/Yahushuah teaches and even He says not ALL can hear them. Thus, many will be on His right and many will be on His left. The scripture Matthew 7:21-23 plainly states that there will MANY who believe themselves to "Christian" who will not be accepted by Jesus. This scripture can mean NO OTHER than those who believe they are saved by Jesus, for NO OTHERS on the planet would call Him "Lord, Lord." This scripture alone is enough to make people truly consider their motives and so-called obedience to The Most High God and His Son, Jesus/Yahushuah. No small matter, indeed.
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