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W. Curtis Porter, in 1947, wrote a series of short sermons for radio called "Ask Your Preacher." These sermons were later published as a tract by Cogdill Publishing Co. This was/is an effective means of reaching members of denominations with the truth pertaining to various false teachings. The tract is out of print but the material can be downloaded by clicking on the following link: http://www.totalhealth.bz/preacher.htm
Brother Porter was an outstanding preacher, writer, and debater in the Church of Christ. In his tract he addressed several hot topics of the day, but "divorce and remarriage" was not among them. It had yet to become a divisive issue. Had it been a concern, the following might have been similar to how Porter would have addressed it:
(I begin by quoting the first part of the tract and then asking, as he did, where you can find specific teachings in the Bible.)
"Preachers have an important place to fill with respect to lost souls. God saw fit to use them in making His Gospel known. 1 Cor 1:21 reads "....it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe." What we must remember is that it is by the foolishness of preaching and not the preaching of foolishness. We might conclude that some have turned their God-given service into mis-understanding. We should not minimize the work of the gospel preacher."
"However we must not lose sight of the fact that preachers are required to preach the Gospel. Since the Gospel is God's power to save men (Rom 1:16), the Gospel must be preached by the preachers. If they preach something else, they are going contrary to the will of God, and what they preach will not result in the salvation of the hearers."
"Preachers are looked upon as leaders of men; and that they should be. As preachers are spiritual leaders of men, they are expected to know more about the Bible than any others class of men. This is but the natural thing to expect, for preachers should study the Bible that they may be qualified to preach the Gospel to others. When you have some question that troubles your soul, something about the Bible that you wish to know, you often turn to the preacher for help. And if it is something that is found in the Bible, he should be willing to give his assistance; or if it is not found in the Bible, he should be able to tell you so."
"I do not know a better way to get before you the fact that certain religious practices and doctrines are not taught in the Bible. With the Bible as our rule of faith and practice, containing the revelation of God's will to us, we should be very anxious to do just the things it authorizes. Even a preacher should not want to practice in religion those things that it does not teach. And, if he is following the New Testament as his authority, he should be more than willing to tell his brethren just where they can read the various things he does."
"The truth that concerns men today is revealed in the new Testament, and if a preacher is preaching something it does not authorize, he is not preaching 'The Gospel'. It behooves you to check up on the things you are taught that you may know whether you have believed and accepted the truth."
"You have the right to question certain things and practices. So you should ask your preacher these things. Ask him to show you the scripture that authorizes his teaching and practices as well as your own. If he is certain that he is preaching the truth, he should welcome an opportunity like that; and if he should not be willing for you thus to inquire of him, there is something wrong and you should be determined to find out what it is. So many things in religion are not taught in the Bible, but this fact might not be discovered by many without someone to call their attention to it. I am using this method in an effort to call your attention to things the Bible does not teach. To get the most good out of this lesson, you should go to your preacher and ask him for the text of Scripture that mentions the doctrines and religious practices that I will call to your attention. We cannot afford to follow some religious practice or teaching that is out of harmony with the Bible. Preachers cannot serve God faithfully by preaching just anything. If they preach the commandments of men for their doctrine, their service is vain. Jesus said so in Matt 5:19, so it must be true."
"But there is a responsibility also on the hearer. There are warnings in the scriptures to take heed and be warned. Paul said: "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." Col 2:8. To preach human philosophy and the traditions of men is not preaching the Gospel. Such preaching will deceive the hearer and lead him or her away from Christ. On this account the hearer should be very careful about what they accept in religion. In view of eternity you owe it to your own soul to make this investigation that you may be sure you are not believing and practicing something unauthorized in the Bible."
"If you have a concern for your own soul, as well as the souls of your family and friends, you will investigate yourself. Paul said: ‘Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you--unless indeed you fail the test?” 2 Cor 13:5. Remember also that 2 Tim 2:15 says to study to show yourself approved before God. It is your responsibility to God to learn His word and handle it properly. You cannot rely upon anyone else to do your studying for you."
"One more thing before we start certain questions. If you honestly ask these questions and the preacher or other spiritual leaders tell you to not worry or to leave these alone, you need to know these things. Press them for the Bible answer. If they are trying to dodge you and tell you to ignore them, they have something to hide. No one has a need to hide the truth, but if they teach or practice error, they certainly do not want you investigating it. Your soul is too valuable to leave in the care of those who practice and teach error."
Ask your preacher...
...where the Bible says someone who has been divorced commits adultery if he/she marries. This has become a hot issue resulting in many churches being divided, numerous preachers being fired and ostracized, and countless individuals leaving the church and the Lord. In view of the serious consequences of this teaching, if your preacher has been regularly or periodically proclaiming it, he should be able to show you the passage that supports what he is teaching.
...if you study your Bible you will know that the divorce law was given by God for His people (Deut. 24:1-4), that He even followed the same teaching to accomplish His own divorce (Jer. 3:8), and that the divorce ended the marriage and freed the parties to marry (Rom. 7:1, 4). Of course, it is being argued that Jesus changed that law but this would mean He contradicted both Moses and God, who inspired Moses to write. It would also mean that the New Testament either teaches that divorce is not allowed or it gives another definition of divorce different from that given by Moses in the form of a command (Mark 10:3). So, ask your preacher where that passage can be found.
...if you study your Bible you will also know that the idea of imposing celibacy on people who have no marriage is condemned (1 Tim. 4:1-3). Furthermore, you will see that the apostle Paul reproves those who might object to a subsequent marriage for the divorced, or "unmarried". He first commanded to let every man and every woman have a spouse (1 Cor. 7:1, 2). Then, when addressing the issue of the "unmarried" (which includes the divorced), as to whether they may marry, he commanded to "let them marry" (1 Cor. 7:8, 9). Paul then contrasted those "bound" (married) with those "loosed" (divorced) and stated that the loosed do not sin if they marry (1 Cor. 7:27, 28).
Preachers, in desperation to support their stand and practice (that of breaking up marriages and imposing celibacy), are quick to present a passage, but does it say what they say it says? The passage most often referenced is Matthew 19:9, which says only that a woman that is "put away" will commit adultery if she marries another, as will the man who marries her. So, ask your preacher how the Greek word "apoluo" (translated "put away") is generally used, what its primary definition is, and whether it is or is not just one part of God's definition of divorce that Moses, by inspiration, presented to God's people. Ask your preacher if he thinks it makes sense that a woman "put away" (as Jesus said), but not given the certificate of divorce making the separation legal/scriptural, would indeed commit adultery if she married. You might also want to question him as to why he thinks the MAN also would commit adultery by divorcing a woman and marrying another in view of the fact that the man could have more than one wife at the time, that he was allowed to divorce under the Law, and that Jesus' condemnation of him was the action he took in putting away but not divorcing, which He described as "adultery against her" (Mark 10:11). Finally, ask your preacher if the "exception clause" ("except it be for fornication") does not make perfect sense, and harmonize with other scriptures on the matter, when it is understood that Jesus was simply saying the man would not sin against the woman if he ended the relationship (without divorce) because it was not a legal/scriptural marriage, which amounted to fornication.
Free book on divorce and marriage and other important issues:
http://totalhealth.bz/publications.htm
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