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Divorce In America

• Once stigmatized

• Now accepted

– Society

– Denominations

• Celebrated by some

• More common among Christians

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“My sermon this morning is entitled, ‘Divorce and Remarriage Among Christians.’”

(Leadership, 80)

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We Must Remember

• What seems right to us is not always right Pr. 14:12; 16:25

• We cannot direct our own steps Jer. 10:23

• We do not think like God thinks Isa. 55:8-9

• We desperately need guidance from God’s revelation cf. Lk. 10:25-26

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Divorce Is Sinful

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Genesis 2:23-24

23And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.” 24Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

God Said Nothing About Divorce

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Silence Is Prohibitive

• The faithful have refused to act when God was silent (cf. Lev. 24:10-12; Num. 9:1ff, 8; 15:32-36)

• God has punished those who presumed to act when He was silent (cf. Lev. 10:1-3; 2 Sam. 6:1-11)

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Malachi 2:13-1413And this is the second thing you do: You

cover the altar of the Lord with tears, With weeping and crying; So He does not regard the offering anymore, Nor receive it with goodwill from your hands. 14Yet you say, “For what reason?” Because the Lord has been witness Between you and the wife of your youth, With whom you have dealt treacherously; Yet she is your companion And your wife by covenant.

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Malachi 2:15-1615But did He not make them one, Having a

remnant of the Spirit? And why one? He seeks godly offspring. “Therefore take heed to your spirit, And let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth. 16“For the Lord God of Israel says That He hates divorce, For it covers one’s garment with violence,” Says the Lord of hosts. Therefore take heed to your spirit, That you do not deal treacherously.”

God Hates Divorce

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Matthew 19:4-6

4And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ 5and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’ ? 6So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”

Jesus Condemned Divorce

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Matthew 19:7-8

7They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?” 8He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.”

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Marvin R. Vincent

“The A.V. is commonly understood to mean, it was not so in the beginning. But that is not Christ’s meaning. The verb is in the perfect tense (denoting the continuance of past action or its results down to the present). He means: Notwithstanding Moses’ permission, the case has not been so from the beginning until now. The original ordinance has never been abrogated nor superseded, but continues in force.” (Word Studies in the New Testament, Vol. 1, p. 108)

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1 Corinthians 7:10-11

10Now to the married I command, yet not I but the Lord: A wife is not to depart [chorizo] from her husband. 11But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband is not to divorce [aphiemi] his wife.

Paul Commands UsNot To Divorce

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Marriage Is A Covenant

• Pr. 2:16-17: 16To deliver you from the immoral woman, From the seductress who flatters with her words, 17Who forsakes the companion of her youth, And forgets the covenant of her God.

• Mal 2:14: 14Yet you say, “For what reason?” Because the Lord has been witness Between you and the wife of your youth, With whom you have dealt treacherously; Yet she is your companion And your wife by covenant.

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Marriage Is A Covenant

• Ezek. 16:8: 8“When I passed by you again and looked upon you, indeed your time was the time of love; so I spread My wing over you and covered your nakedness. Yes, I swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant with you, and you became Mine,” says the Lord God.

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Rom. 1:31-32

31 without understanding, covenant-breakers, without natural affection, unmerciful: 32 who, knowing the ordinance of God, that they that practise such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but also consent with them that practise them.” (ASV)

Divorce Makes OneA Covenant-Breaker

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Psalm 15:1-4

1Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? 2He who walks uprightly, And works righteousness, And speaks the truth in his heart; 3He who does not backbite with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend; 4In whose eyes a vile person is despised, But he honors those who fear the Lord; He who swears to his own hurt and does not change;”

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Matthew 5:31-32

31“Furthermore it has been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.

Divorce Casts AStumbling Block

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Don’t Cause Sin

• Mt. 18:6-7

• Mk. 9:42

• Lk. 17:1-2

• Rom. 14:13-15

• Rom. 14:21

• 1 Cor. 8:9

• 1 Cor. 8:13

• 1 Cor. 10:32-33

• 2 Cor. 11:29

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Graphic Language

Mt. 18:6-7: 6“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea. 7Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes! (cf. Mk. 9:42; Lk. 17:1-2)

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Marital Responsibilities

Husband• Be head (Eph. 5:23)

• Love (Eph. 5:25-33)

• Dwell with knowledge (1 Pet. 3:7)

• Provide for (1 Tim. 5:8)

• Satisfy sexual needs (1 Cor. 7:3-5)

Wife• Submit to (Col. 3:18)

• Love (Tit. 2:3-5)

• Respect (Eph. 5:33)

• Rule household (1 Tim. 5:14)

• Satisfy sexual needs (1 Cor. 7:3-5)

Divorce Reneges OnMarital Responsibilities

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Parental Responsibilities

• Teach (Dt. 6:4-9)

• Train (Pr. 22:6)

• Bring up (Eph. 6:4)

• Discipline (Pr. 13:24)

• Correct (Pr. 29:17)

• Cherish (1 Th. 2:7)

• Provide for (2 Cor. 12:14; 1 Tim. 5:8)

• Exhort & Encourage (1 Th. 2:10-12)

• Rule (1 Tim. 3:4-5, 12)

Divorce Hurts Children

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Divorce Is Sinful

• God Said Nothing About Divorce In The Very Beginning (Gen. 2:18-25; cf. Mt. 19:4-6)

• God Hates Divorce (Mal. 2:13-16)

• Jesus Condemned Divorce (Mt. 19:3-8; Mk. 10:2-9)

• Paul Commands Us Not To Divorce (1 Cor. 7:10-11)

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Divorce Is Sinful

• Divorce Makes One A Covenant-Breaker (Pr. 2:16-17; Mal. 2:14; Rom. 1:28-32)

• Divorce Casts A Stumbling Block (Mt. 5:31-32; Lk. 17:1-2; Rom. 14:13, 21; 1 Cor. 10:31-33)

• Divorce Reneges On Marital Responsibilities (1 Cor. 7:3-5; Eph. 5:22-33; 1 Pet. 3:1-7)

• Divorce Hurts Children (Pr. 22:6; Eph. 6:4)

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But What If…

“My Mate Abuses Me?”

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Matthew 5:32

32But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.

Physical AbuseMental Cruelty

Financial IrresponsibilityGambling

AlcoholismDrug Addiction

Irreconcilable DifferencesAlienation of Affection

DesertionInsanity

ImprisonmentIncompatibility

ImpotenceLovelessness

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Matthew 19:3-9

• Pharisees question: “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?” (Mt. 19:3)

• Jesus’ answer: “Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” (Mt. 19:6)

• Jesus’ exception: And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery….” (Mt. 19:9)

Any Reason

One Reason