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Many individuals teach that Jesus changed the law concerning divorce from the stance that "one who is divorced may marry" to "one who is divorced may not marry." According to this belief, if a divorced person does marry, they are sinning and cannot go to heaven. This position is based on their interpretation of what Jesus taught. However, holding on to this belief requires making several assumptions:
1. **Assumption of Authority**: They assume that what Jesus supposedly taught overrides Paul's teachings, necessitating an explanation of Paul's writings that aligns with Jesus' teachings.
2. **Assumption About Divorce**: They assume that when Jesus said, “Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery,” He was talking about divorce. However, "put away" does not equate to divorce in English. Furthermore, the law in effect during Jesus' time (Deuteronomy 24:1-4) had three parts: writing a bill of divorcement, giving it to the wife, and sending her out of the house.
3. **Assumption of Being Bound**: They assume that a person can be divorced yet still be "bound," even if the other spouse is free to marry and does, in fact, marry someone else.
4. **Assumption About Marriage's End**: They assume that since the scripture says, “Let not man put asunder,” a marriage cannot end unless God approves, which they assert is what they assume Jesus taught. God puts asunder when one follows His instructions (Deut. 23:1, 2).
5. **Assumption of Knowledge**: They assume they know when God approves or disapproves of someone's marriage without considering God’s teaching, which indicates when the marriage is ended (Deut. 24:1,2; Jer. 3:8).
6. **Assumption of Forbidding**: They assume that "forbidding to marry" (1 Timothy 4:1-4) only pertains to Catholicism and is not concerned with telling divorced individuals that they cannot remarry. However, if anyone claims that a person who desires marriage cannot remarry, they are committing the very act Paul condemns.
7. **Assumption of Marital Status**: They assume that "unmarried" does not literally mean not married or lacking a marriage, suggesting that Paul's words do not apply to someone deemed "not eligible" (1 Cor. 7:8,9).
8. **Assumption of Eligibility**: They assume that some individuals are ineligible for marriage based on their interpretation of Jesus' teachings regarding the Law of Moses and believe we are to adhere to what they think He taught under that law.
9. **Assumption of Conditional Language**: They assume that “let them marry” does not imply permission for all but only for specific individuals.
10. **Assumption of Legal Status**: They assume that “loosed” pertains to the “eyes of God” rather than referring to a legal divorce that ends the marriage.
11. **Assumption About Loneliness**: They assume that “it is not good for man to be alone” does not apply to divorced people.
12. **Assumption of Universal Application**: They assume that Paul's statement that “every man” (1 Corinthians 7:2) does not apply to divorced people.
13. **Assumption of Containment**: They assume that in Paul’s statement “if they cannot contain, let them marry,” the phrase “cannot contain” only applies to persons who have never married.
14. **Assumption About Recognition**: They assume that some legally recognized marriages between a man and a woman are not recognized as marriages “in God’s sight.”
15. **Assumption About Fornication**: They assume that fornication “breaks” the marriage bond in God’s eyes, focusing specifically on adultery without textual support. In reality, the act of adultery does not terminate a marriage in God’s view; if it did, the offended spouse could not forgive, which would contradict Christian principles.
16. **Assumption About Adultery**: They assume that adultery is solely defined as a sexual act committed by a married person with someone to whom they are not married.
To see my article on definition of adultery click here.
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