"Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." —Ephesians 4:31,32
The first thing people do when they want a divorce is look for excuses to
justify it. Sadly, the easiest place to find excuses today is in your
local church. This is tragic! Something is very wrong!
You'd think that the one place divorce would be discouraged is in a New
Testament Church. Unfortunately, there's a group of ignorant believers
today who teach that it's ok to get a divorce if one's spouse commits
adultery. This is NOT Biblical.
I shudder to think that Hilary Clinton stood by her habitually adulterous husband, while millions of so-called "Christian" wives have divorced their husbands for lesser sins. Nearly every pastor, Bible-teacher and Christian counselor today foolishly teaches that divorce is permissible in the case of adultery. Apostasy!
The Pharisees came to Jesus, asking Him if it was ok to divorce for every cause... "The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?" (Matthew 19:3). Jesus answered them by reiterating the permanence of the marriage bond... "Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder" (Matthew 19:6).
The Pharisees didn't hear what they wanted to hear. If (as so many apostate ministers teach today) divorce were permissible in cases of adultery, then Jesus certainly would have responded very differently to the Pharisees question; BUT, He didn't. Jesus reinforced the importance of keeping one's marriage vows. So the Pharisees pushed the issue, demanding an answer from the Lord about divorce... "They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?" (Matthew 19:7). The Pharisees, as do many heathens today, were looking for justification for the sin of divorce. Jesus wouldn't give it to them.
The Pharisees came to Jesus with the same question that many people ask today, i.e., "Is it ok to divorce if one's spouse commits adultery?" Here is what Jesus told them in Matthew 19:8... "Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so." This was Jesus' response to the question about divorce in the case of adultery. Jesus DIDN'T say divorce was permissible. The Pharisees had asked Jesus twice about the possibility of a divorce, and Jesus refuted their reasoning BOTH times. This clearly and irrefutably evidences that the Lord Jesus Christ does NOT approve of divorce. It is only because of a wicked, stubborn, HARD heart that a person refuses to forgive and be reconciled with their repentant spouse.
Some people try to justify divorce by quoting Matthew 5:32 and Matthew 19:9; but any honest Bible-student knows that proper Bible exegesis of any particular Scripture requires a comparison with all other related Scriptures. Matthew 5:32 properly explains Matthew 19:9. Matthew 5:32 states, "But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery." Jesus was actually condemning divorce in this Scripture. In other words... "Any man who divorces his wife is causing her to commit adultery in remarriage, unless she was already guilty of adultery, in which case the man would not be blamed for causing her to commit adultery." However, this Scripture in no way diminishes the sin of divorce. There is NOTHING in Matthew 5:32 that permits divorce. Matthew 19:9 has the same meaning.
They key Scripture when speaking of divorce is
Matthew 19:8... "Moses because
of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but
from the beginning it was not so." Matthew 19:8, when
compared with other Scriptures on divorce, quickly shoots down all the
modern apostates who teach that Jesus allowed divorce. No Sir!
That is NOT what the Bible teaches. Jesus plainly stated that divorce
is ALWAYS the result of a sinful HARD-HEART.
Remarriage Forbidden for Those Who Divorce
In Mark 10:11-12, Jesus plainly stated... "Whosoever
shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her.
And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she
committeth adultery." I heard a well-known Bible-scholar say that
the Bible only prohibits divorce; but remarriage of divorced person's is ok.
He's dead wrong! Mark 10:11 proves him a liar. If a woman
divorces her husband, she is absolutely forbidden from getting remarried.
To remarry is adultery! 1st Corinthians 7:10-11, "And unto the
married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her
husband: But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be
reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife."
Very few preachers are involved in the ministry of reconciliation of
marriages; but this is what the Bible teaches. A divorced woman, if
she filed, has NO right to remarry, and is Biblically forbidden to do so.
God will judge all offenders (2nd Corinthians 5:10).
Conflict Between the Gospels?
Mark 10:12 warns, "And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery." And again in Luke 16:18 we read, "Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery." Matthew is the only Apostle writer who seems to give an exception to the rule, i.e., permission to divorce. It is abundantly clear to me, and I think also to any honest Bible student, that Matthew's account must be interpreted in view of those of Mark and Luke as well. There can be no conflict between the Gospels. Neither Mark, nor Luke, spoke of any justification for divorce. Thus, I believe it is wrong to conclude that Jesus allowed for divorce in Matthew; when Mark and Luke clearly do not agree with such speculation.
Too many people interpret the Bible by always
looking for the exception to the rule. Thus, should it be surprising
that Godless feminists have developed their own Feminist Theology?
Should it be surprising that homosexuals have rewritten their own Bible,
called the New Oxford Annotated Bible? It is ironic that so
many witches, Satanists, abortionists, fornicators, sodomites, and atheists
will quote the Bible in an attempt to prove their point. And yes, so
do many heathens manipulate the Scriptures in an attempt to whitewash their
sin of divorce.
The Hypocrisy of Divorce
Jesus' disciples asked Him how many times they
were required to forgive a fallen brother. In Matthew 18:22 Jesus
responded... "I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until
seventy times seven." How is it then that the same pastor who
believes that Jesus taught to forgive 490 TIMES, doesn't believe in
forgiving even once in the case of a spouse guilty of adultery?
Hypocrites! Jesus taught unlimited forgiveness; BUT divorce offers no
mercy, no forgiveness, no reconciliation, no hope of a happy reunited
marriage. Oh, how God hates the sin of divorce! (Malachi 2:16).
Divorce is a sin of self-righteousness, where a person declares them
self less sinful and; therefore, possessing the right to abandon, forsake
and divorce their spouse. James 2:10 shows just how wicked we all
are... "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one
point, he is guilty of all." You're just as sinful, selfish, and
rotten as you think your spouse is!
God Hates Divorce!
You know, why is it that many people who want a divorce go around quoting Jesus' statement on adultery; but I never hear these people quote Malachi 2:16 where God say he HATES divorce, "For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away." "Putting away" is the Old Testament term used for divorce, which is an interesting phrase. The term "putting away" comes from the Hebrew word shalach, and literally means "to forsake, to cast or push away." When you divorce your spouse, you are literally shoving them away from you, forsaking them, and God HATES IT.
I've heard a divorced woman quote Malachi 2:14
concerning husbands who deal "treacherously" with their wives; but the
context of the Scripture passage is strictly divorce. That is, a
husband who divorces his wife is dealing treacherously with her,
especially if they've been married for a long time. God HATES divorce!
Why don't I ever heard women quoting Jeremiah 3:20... "Surely as a
wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt
treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD." It is
divorce that is treacherous.
Conclusion
There is NO bigger lie today than that divorce is permissible in cases of adultery. There are NO Biblical grounds for divorce. It's perplexing to me that a professed Gospel "minister" would recommend someone get a divorce, in lieu of a Bible that teaches forgiveness from cover to cover. Is divorce forgiveness? What about the sins of murder, theft, and assault? You can't show me grounds for divorce for these sins. Matthew 5:28 teaches that ALL MEN are adulterers!
Jesus plainly taught that divorce is ALWAYS the result of a sinful HARD-HEART. Apostate religious teachers can twist, pervert and corrupt God's Word in an attempt to justify the sin of divorce; BUT, the Words of Jesus Christ in Matthew 19:8 stand as testimony against them all... "Moses BECAUSE OF THE HARDNESS OF YOUR HEARTS suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so."
"But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." —Matthew 6:15
