Questions about marriage, divorce, and remarriage

What should happen in an unlawful marriage?

• Luke 16:18
• I Corinthians 6:9
• They must divorce and repent of their adultery.
• “But marriage itself is holy. No one should be told to divorce.”
  • Ezra 9-10 – Unlawful marriages were broken up.
  • Mark 6:17-18

Are divorced people still “married in God’s eyes”?

• I know of no passage that uses or implies that wording or concept. Sometimes we might say that because we’re trying to communicate the fact that God doesn’t approve.
• Luke 16:18
• Romans 7:2-3 – This is clearer language: “bound by law,” “joined.”
• Mark 10:11-12
• Matthew 19:9

What about marriages and divorces before one was ever a Christian?

• God’s laws are for everyone, Christians and non-Christians.
• I Corinthians 6:9-11 – Adulterers will not inherit the kingdom of God.
  • “such were some of you” – some of the Corinthians had evidently gotten out of adulterous situations
• If God’s laws do not apply to non-Christians, why are people told to repent before they are baptized (Acts 2:38)?
• And why would you even get baptized and become a Christian, if prior to that you have no sin and therefore no need of salvation?

Does forgiveness change the situation?

• Acts 2:38; 8:22; 26:20
• If I steal a car …
  • Then I pray for forgiveness …
  • Can I keep the car?
  • No – it is still a sin for me to have it.
• If I take an unlawful wife …
  • Then I pray for forgiveness …
  • Can I keep the wife?
  • No – it is still a sin for me to have her.

Does I Corinthians 7:15 give another exception to God’s marriage law?

• “bondage”: “enslaved” (ESV, LSB) or “servitude” (YLT)
• There is no permission for remarriage here.

Does I Corinthians 7:27-28 give another exception?

• I Corinthians 7:25-28 – Paul was saying that because of the current situation, it was not a good time to get married.
• What does “released” mean? It can’t mean, “divorced for any reason” because that would contradict I Corinthians 7:10-11 and many other verses.
• “Released” may be better translated “free.”

Can the innocent party divorce years after the divorce?

• A man divorces his wife (not for fornication).
• Years later, he remarriages.
• Can the first wife now divorce him for fornication and remarry with God’s approval (Matthew 19:9)?
• No. You can’t divorce someone you’re not married to.

Conclusion

• Nothing is GREATER than fellowship with God; nothing lasts LONGER than Heaven.

Deuteronomy 15

• Deuteronomy 15:1-11 – Remission of debts every seven years.
  • God instituted various ways to help the poor and keep them from getting trapped in a destitute state.
  • God demanded generosity toward the poor.
• Deuteronomy 15:12-18 – When a fellow Hebrew hits rock bottom
  • How to handle slaves (for debt or other reasons)
• Deuteronomy 15:19-23 – Firstborn males belong to God.

Deuteronomy 16

• Deuteronomy 16:1-8 – Feast of Passover and unleavened bread.
  • Exodus 11:1, 4-7 – The tenth plague – death of the firstborn.
  • Exodus 12:5-7, 12-13 – The Passover feast instituted.
  • There are some parallels with Jesus’ death:

• Deuteronomy 16:9-12 – Feast of Weeks (Harvest, Firstfruits, “Pentecost”)
  • Seven weeks after the start of the harvest. It was seven weeks plus one day, so fifty days. Pentecost comes from a word meaning “fifty.”
• Deuteronomy 16:13-15 – Feast of Booths / Tabernacles (Ingathering)
  • See Leviticus 23:33-36.

Deuteronomy 17

• Deuteronomy 17:1 – Blemished sacrifices
• Deuteronomy 17:2-7 – Anyone serves other Gods, stone them.
  • If you see someone serving an idol, take care of it!
• Deuteronomy 17:8-13 – Difficult legal disputes.
• Deuteronomy 17:14-20 – Rules for future kings
  • God didn’t want them to have a king, but knew it would happen and provided laws for it anyway.
  • The king himself was supposed to write a copy of the law.

Introduction

• Mark 6:17-19
• This can be a very emotional topic!
• John 12:48
• I Corinthians 6:9-10 – Fornication and adultery can keep us out of heaven!
• If you work hard enough, you will find someone who agrees with you on any topic. But we must follow God’s word.

Seven scriptures about marriage

Genesis 2:18-22, 24

• The Bible doesn’t always use the word “married” to refer to marriage. If often uses a descriptive phrase.
  • Deuteronomy 24:2; 7:3
  • Ezekiel 16:8
  • I Corinthians 7:2
  • Romans 7:3
• In Hebrew and Greek, there are no separate words for “husband” or “wife.” Context must indicate whether it is “man” or “husband.”
  • Old Testament Hebrew:
    • is man or husband
    • issa woman or wife
  • New Testament Greek
    • aner man or husband
    • gyne woman or wife
  • issa – Genesis 2:22-3:2
  • aner – John 4:16-18
• Words can refer figuratively to the past or future.
  • Figure of speech: prolepsis
    • Luke 2:11 – Jesus was not yet the Savior.
    • Deuteronomy 22:23-24
  • Figure of speech: adjournment
    • Exodus 7:10, 12 – Aaron’s staff was now a serpent.
    • John 9:17
    • II Samuel 11:26 – Uriah was not still technically her husband.
    • II Samuel 12:10
    • Mark 6:17-19 – Herodias was not still technically the wife of Philip.

Romans 7:1-4

• Paul’s main point is how a change of law works. He uses marriage as an illustration of this.
• In Romans 7:2-3, the law under consideration is God’s law. The marriage and the bond are two different things. The woman is bound to one man and married to another, making her an adulteress.

I Corinthians 7:39

• “Only in the Lord” – in harmony with God’s marriage laws.
• “bound” – not free to marry another

Mark 10:11-12

• Marriage law is the same for men and women.

Luke 16:18

• Divorcing a spouse and marrying another causes one to commit adultery.

Matthew 19:9

• If the divorce is due to sexual immorality, the innocent party is free to remarry. The guilty party is not free to remarry.

Matthew 5:32

• Divorcing a spouse except for sexual immorality “causes her” to commit adultery by putting the spouse in a difficult situation.

Conclusion

• Sin and Satan are the problems here, not God or His laws.

Overview

• Without God, all is vanity.
• The book compares values with ultimate value.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-13

• There is a time for everything. Discerning the proper time for things is part of wisdom.
• Ecclesiastes 3:11 – God has put eternity into our hearts.

Ecclesiastes 5:2

• See Isaiah 55:8. We only see a small part of the whole picture.
• We must be careful how we speak, especially to God.

Ecclesiastes 5:10

• Wealth is not fulfilling. The more you have, the more you want.

Ecclesiastes 7:5-6

• Listen to the wise. You will never grow listening to people who only tell you what you want to hear. We should seek people who will be honest with us and humble ourselves.

Ecclesiastes 7:21-22

• Be careful what you say and don’t respond too quickly because you have probably said the same or worse yourself.

Ecclesiastes 10:20

• Be careful what you say about others. Guard your thoughts to help control your speech.

Ecclesiastes 9:10

• Work hard. Work because of how God has blessed you.

Ecclesiastes 10:18

• Don’t be lazy!

Ecclesiastes 12:13

• Fear God and keep His commandments.

Introduction

• Philippians 3:7

Paul had changed masters.

• Galatians 1:1
• Acts 9:1-2, 13 – Paul is using the authority of men.
• Acts 9:3-5, 15 – Paul was now going to do Jesus’ bidding.
• This change of authority changed everything for Paul!
• Galatians 1:6-10 – Paul recognized an authority higher than himself.
• Galatians 2:1-5 – Paul was openly preaching to Gentiles now and defending Titus from being circumcised.
• Galatians 2:20 – Have I changed masters?
• Galatians 5:16-24 – It is our choice which of these things we do.

Paul didn’t let his past stop him from teaching the truth now.

• Galatians 1:11-13, 22-24 – Because of his change, people were now glorifying God.
• I Thessalonians 4:3-5
• Are we afraid to speak out against things we used to do?
• I Timothy 4:15-16 – Paul was a great teacher because of his past and how drastic his change was.
• If only perfect people could teach or advise, who would be qualified?