Traditional MDR Teachers Cannot Have Their Cake and Eat It Too

The traditional church teaching that forbids divorced persons from marrying at all, or as some say, “except for adultery” (which is not what Jesus said), uses Jesus’ teaching in an effort to justify the belief and practice that the apostle Paul put in the category of “doctrines of devils” (1 Tim. 4:1-3). Those who adhere to this dogma insist that Matthew 19:9 settles the matter. They often say, “I’ll go with what the Bible says.” Unfortunately, they either use a version that errantly translated apoluo as divorce, rather than “put away,” which does not mean divorce as God defined it (Deut. 24:1, 2); or they admit that being “put away” is indeed nothing more than being sent away with or without divorce papers. Thus, they contend for the illogical conclusion that separation is divorce even though such was/is contrary to the Jewish law and virtually every law on the earth. In fact, to send away but not divorce was the man’s sin. Jesus said the man who put away (but didn't divorce, which would have released her “to go and be another man’s wife”) “committeth adultery against her” (Mark 10:11).

The first recorded confrontation Jesus had with the Jews, regarding divorce and marriage, is Matthew chapter 5. While many teachers of our day endeavor to force certain passages to support the idea that Jesus changed the Law of Moses, His declaration in this chapter (verses 17-19) assured His hearers that this was not His intention. He said, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 5:17-19)”  Even after this was impressed on His audience’s minds, Jesus was careful to help them understand that He was not changing the Law but upholding it. That foundation was laid when He said, “It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement.”

Some argue that Jesus was changing the Law of Moses (God’s Law) because Jesus said, “But I say unto you.” But there must be a logical explanation – one that does not have Jesus committing sin by going against established law. And there is a logical conclusion. (See https://www.totalhealth.bz/divorce-and-remarriage-but-i-say.htm. ) Jesus was referring to Deuteronomy 24, from the Law of Moses, that regulates how Jews were to divorce, as opposed to their own way. Jesus had reference to this when He said, let not man put asunder.”

When the Pharisees asked Jesus (Matt. 19),  “Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?” they were asking Jesus about the same passage in Deuteronomy. In Mark’s account Jesus gives more than a hint as to what the real problem among the Jewish men was when He said, in answer to their question, “What did Moses command you?” (Mark 10:3).  In verse 5, Jesus nails them with the sin of mistreating their wives – putting the last nail in their coffin. He said, “For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.” While some traditional MDR teachers see this as Jesus' changing the Law, giving His reason for it, it is obviously nothing more than Jesus' giving the reason for the need for the divorce law. (Yes, Jesus said “in the beginning it was not so,”  but this does not mean Jesus was changing God’s established law that He used in divorcing Israel (Jer. 3:8).) Furthermore, Jesus' words were a condemnation of the thinking and actions of Jewish men who broke their covenants with their wives by either divorcing them without cause or putting away but not divorcing according to the Law that enabled the woman to marry another (Deut. 24:1, 2).

We are not going to let traditional MDR teachers have their cake and eat it too. Their inconsistency and blatant disregard and rejection of clear Bible teaching is apparent to anyone who can see. Some have not had a love for truth – they rejected it and endeavor to defend tradition that has unsolvable problems (see 2 Thess. 2:10, 11).

1. Their belief is based upon something Jesus never said, which has Him contradicting established Jewish law that He, as a prophet of God, was obligated to teach and defend (1 Pet. 2:22; Gal. 3:10).
2. They redefine divorce, rather than using God's definition (Deut. 24:1, 2; Jer. 3:8), to something they hope will save their doctrine, but which makes no sense. (See: https://www.totalhealth.bz/divorce-and-remarriage-bible.htm.) When they say separation is divorce, they essentially do away with divorce, which God determined necessary, and even used Himself.
3. By doing away with divorce (even though some insist it exists, but only for fornication) they deny the plain scripture in which Jesus referred to the teaching of Moses for an answer (authority).
4. They use the authority of Jesus’ teachings, who referenced the Law of Moses to answer questions, for their authority for denying marriage but deny that this same authority (Moses’ Law) for divorce exists.
5. They have Moses teaching what God did not want.
6. They have Jesus contradicting Moses (Gal. 3:10).
7. They have Paul and Jesus at odds.  (See 1 Cor. 7:1, 2, 8, 9, 27, 28.)
8. They have the Bible teaching an unjust and unfair doctrine – punishing innocent people for the sins of others.
9. They charge Jesus with doing something that even His enemies were not guilty of charging him with, i.e., refusing to obey an established law regarding divorce. (See Exodus 23:22, 2 Kings 18:16.)
10. They break up legal and happy marriages and impose celibacy on people who need marriage to “avoid fornication” (“forbidding to marry”) and are guilty of teaching and practicing “doctrines of devils” (1 Cor. 7:1, 2; 1 Tim. 4:1-3). 

2 Thess 2:10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

That there is no divorce law applicable to God’s people today is a lie. That separation is divorce is a lie. That Jesus changed God’s established law is a lie. That divorced persons are still married is a lie. That divorced persons must remain celibate or go to hell is a lie. That those who are in a legal marriage, after a legal divorce, are “living in adultery” is a lie. Since we are dealing with the “doctrine of devils” the lies go on and on. The truth regarding those who have been divorced and are “unmarried” was told by Paul who commanded, “Let them marry.”  To assure that honest people did not miss the truth on this matter he contrasted those “bound” (married) with those “loosed” (divorced) and said the loosed do not sin if they marry. And we must not fail to note where he started in the chapter, giving the command to let every man and every woman have a spouse (1 Cor. 7:1, 2, 7, 8, 27, 28).

It seems that those who seek to defend human tradition, that adversely affects the work of the Lord, think God has two standards, one for them and another for those who teach the truth. They completely ignore numerous problems with their position, but they concoct problems for those who are teaching the truth and insist that it proves they are the false teachers. The only real consequences of the doctrine that is true are those that contradict specific traditional points that are not supported by scripture.

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