Body: | Divorce, Remarriage and the Bible
Since marriage is a condition of life that nine out of ten people enter, we
should know what Jesus teaches on marriage. Since the teaching on this is
very specific it indicates that Jesus regarded it as highly important. The
number of divorces is increasing in our society and since the majority of
divorced persons do remarry, it is also important that Christian people
know the teaching of the scriptures concerning divorce and remarriage.
Again, since our society is made up of so many divorced people who will
eventually remarry, young people should be alerted to the problem by their
parents and teachers so they will know how to face it in a Christian way
before they allow themselves to become so emotionally involved that it will
be difficult for them to face the problem intelligently.
The teachings of Jesus on this subject may be found in Matthew 5:31,32, and
Matthew 19:3-9. These passages should be carefully read in connection with
this discussion. Jesus went back to the beginning and based marriage on
God's original intention in creation. God created man, male and female, and
stated that man should leave his father and mother and cleave unto his
wife, and the two should become one flesh. Marriage is the permanent union
of man and woman as husband and wife, as long as they both shall live upon
the earth. It is not merely a physical connection, but a spiritual
companionship in which each seeks to promote the other's highest well being
through mutual forbearance and love and prayer. Each seeks the other's
highest well-being, rather than his own.
Considered as a contract, marriage is an agreement of man and woman to live
together as husband and wife. There is, however, a difference between the
marriage contract and all other human contracts. The terms of this contract
are not to be drawn up by contracting parties as in a business. The terms
of the marriage contract have been drawn up by God, who is the creator of
man and the author of the institution of marriage. This being true, those
entering the marriage relationship should realize that they are obligated
to accept the contractual terms as God, himself, has announced them. This
contract, therefore, is one that God has arranged and it cannot be
dissolved merely by the will of either one or the will of both parties to
the contract. Not even a decree from the state can release the Christian
from his obligation to do the Lord's will. This means that marriage is so
permanent and so highly serious that all persons entering it should do so
soberly, advisedly, after careful thought and consideration, and in the
fear of God. Both husband and wife rest under the obligation of learning
what their respective duties and responsibilities are, as these duties and
responsibilities are revealed in the New Testament. It is only as they
accept these duties and responsibilities seriously and seek to fulfill them
to the best of their ability that they can attain the highest happiness in
marriage and build the most successful home. It is because God intended
marriage to be permanent that divorce becomes such a serious problem. Even
though one of the contracting parties never remarries, he must still face
the responsibility involved in separating from his partner and failing to
fulfill his marriage vows.
But the question arises, "Is it ever right for one of the marriage partners
to divorce the other and to remarry?". The teachings of Jesus on this point
is clear. "Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication,
and shall marry another, committeth adultery. And whosoever marrieth her
which is put away doth commit adultery." (Matthew 19:9). A careful
examination of this passage indicates a number of things. First, adultery
must be the actual cause for the putting away, or separation. Sometimes
husband and wife separate and adultery results from this separation, but it
is not the cause. Certainly Jesus would not allow such to be used as the
basis for remarriage. Where adultery occurs as a result of neglect to
fulfill one's marriage obligation, it can never be used for the grounds for
remarriage on the part of the person who has not committed adultery. This
simply points up again the seriousness with which husband and wife should
seek to fulfill all of their marital obligations.
In the second place, the adultery claimed as a basis for remarriage on the
part of the innocent partner must have occurred without fault on the part
of the person claiming the right to remarry. No one who faults in the
marriage relationship constituting a contributing cause to the other
person's unfaithfulness can claim to be free in such a situation. Another
factor that should be considered is this: where adultery has occurred and
been forgiven, the forgiving partner should never again present the
forgiven offense as the basis for divorce and remarriage. With these
exceptions excluded, the teaching of Jesus does allow remarriage of the
innocent partner in a marriage broken by adultery. As one reviews the
teaching of Jesus on the subject, he becomes aware of the greatest
discrepancy between what is considered satisfactory from the point of view
of the world and the teaching of Jesus on this subject. Christians should
remember they are under obligation to accept the teaching of Christ on all
matters and should not accept a compromise between His teaching and the
prevailing point of view of society, regardless of who may endorse such a
view.
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