|
A multitude of Bible believers teach that one who is divorced may not marry, and if he does he is sinning and cannot go to heaven. Their position is based upon what they think Jesus taught. But these notions are mere assumptions, as they are not based upon fact nor soundly and unequivocally grounded in scripture. These Bible believers make the following mistakes:
1) They assume that what Jesus supposedly taught overrides what Paul taught, and that Paul’s teachings are to be explained in a way that harmonizes with Jesus’ teaching. Jesus dealt with a rather unique problem among the Jews while Paul answered questions asked by Christians.
2) They assume that Jesus was talking about divorce when he said, “Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery.” But “put away” does not mean divorce in English. Therefore, well qualified and trusted translators were accurate when they did not translate apoluo as divorce.
3) They assume that one can be divorced, but yet still be “bound” even if the other spouse is free to marry, and does marry another.
4) They assume that since the Scripture says, “Let not man put asunder” that, man cannot end a marriage unless God gives his approval. First, that is obviously wrong as death definitely ends a marriage and people are known to murder their spouses. God certainly would not approve of this way of ending a marriage, but the marriage ends none the less. Second, while it is true that man cannot end a marriage the way Jewish men were doing (merely sending away) one can end a marriage the way God prescribed (Deut 24:1-3). Whether the action is a just act has no bearing on whether the divorce does what God intended it to do.
5) They assume that since God binds a couple, only God can unbind. But marriage is a covenant or contract between a man and a woman. Thus, either party can terminate the relationship by following God's instructions.
6) Those who say the divorce must be for fornication before either party is free to marry assume that we can know when God does and does not give approval for one to marry (and numerous vague circumstances affect the person's right to marry). But we don’t have the equipment to make the judgments necessary to be certain if following the simple procedure that God gave us, and practiced himself, does not end the marriage and free the parties to marry.
7) They assume that "forbidding to marry" (1 Tim 4:1-3) does not mean it is wrong to tell people they may have no marriage if they are divorced, and that the text noted above only applies to Catholicism. Nevertheless, if anyone asserts that a person who has no marriage may not marry without sin, then that person is doing what Paul condemns.
8) They assume "unmarried" does not mean not married or without a marriage and that Paul’s words apply only to those that are “eligible” for marriage.
1 Cor 7:8-9: I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I. But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn.
9) They assume that some people are not eligible for marriage based entirely upon what they have assumed Jesus taught. But Jesus was clearly teaching and explaining the Law of Moses and if he taught contrary to that law, which allowed the divorced to marry, he contradicted Moses. Virtually all serious Bible students affirm that Jesus did not contradict Moses.
10) Some assume that Jesus’ teaching was not applicable at the time Jesus spoke but was to be applicable when the New Covenant went into effect. This is an assumption deemed necessary to get around the above conundrum, but basic hermeneutics must be disregarded to accept the theory.
11) They assume that the phrase “let them marry” does not mean “let them marry” except in certain circumstances.
1 Cor 7:8: I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, it is good for them if they abide even as I. 9 But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn.
In the above passage, Paul was talking about the “unmarried,” i.e. people who have no marriage (verses 1, 2).
12) They assume “loosed” means in the “eyes of God,” or "a case where God approves of the divorce because it is because of unfaithfulness" rather than a legal/scriptural divorce.
1 Cor 7:27: Art thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife. 28 But and if thou marry, thou hast not sinned;
[Grk. 3089] luo (loo'-o) a primary verb; to "loosen" (literally or figuratively): --break (up), destroy, dissolve, (un-)loose, melt, put off.
13) They assume that, “not good for a man to be alone” does not apply to certain people who are on the wrong end of a divorce and that these people should be punished.
14) They assume that “every man” of 1 Corinthians 7:2 does not apply to those who are divorced.
1 Cor 7:2: Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.
15) They assume that "any man" applies only to those "eligible for marriage" such as a person who initiates the divorce because of adultery.
1 Cor 7:36: But if any man think that he behaveth himself uncomely toward his virgin, if she pass the flower of her age, and need so require, let him do what he will, he sinneth not: let them marry.
16) They assume that Paul’s statement, “If they cannot contain let them marry" means " if they will not contain, do not let them marry." They believe all people have the power to "contain" if they wish to be faithful to God.
1 Cor 7:9: But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn.
17) They assume that some marriages between man and woman that are legal, and recognized by the people as legal, are not a marriage “in God’s sight.”
18) Many assume that “fornication” breaks the marriage bond “in God’s eyes,” but they assume that this fornication is adultery, which no text specifies. Actually, the act of adultery does not end a marriage in God’s sight, for if it did the offended spouse could not forgive, which is contrary to Christianity, and would have to divorce the unfaithful spouse.
19) They assume that adultery is only a sex act committed by one married person with someone to whom he is not married. But Israel committed adultery with “stones and stocks” (Jer 3:9), which obviously was not sexual. Also, Jesus said the man who puts away his wife and marries commits adultery against her, i.e. the wife he put away.
To see my article on definition of adultery click here.
|
