The Biblical Divorce and Remarriage
We learned earlier that the first church was tolerant of remarriage after the bereavement of a Christian spouse.
Then it’s time to think about remarriage after the Christian divorce. Those who oppose Christian remarriage after divorce suggests it is based on one or two passages of the Bible.
Apostle Paul’s teaching about Christian remarriage.
That’s not what the whole Bible says, but they oppose it based on their arbitrary interpretation. In Corinthians 7:27 and 28, Paul says this. Are you pledged to a woman?
Do not seek to be released. Are you free from such a commitment? Do not look for a wife. But if you marry, you have not sinned; if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this. In the second case, being free from your wife means breaking your relationship before.
And the freedom I’m talking about here doesn’t mean being free after the bereavement of a spouse. So in the second case, space is to be free from divorce and marriage with a spouse. Paul says people free from marriage restraint in severe persecution can remarry.
In addition, Paul says it’s not a sin to remarry like that. That’s why the argument that divorcees cannot remarry under any circumstances is never biblical, says theologian Jay E. Adams.
Church makes remarriage difficult
Then, it can be interpreted that the church prohibits the remarriage of Christians after the divorce. God eased the divorce burden, and the church again puts a heavy duty on them.
If you read the whole Bible, divorced people are not prohibited from remarrying except for priests.
Then let’s sort it out.
The Bible generally allows remarriage and encourages remarriage in some cases and orders remarriage. The Bible says that anyone who divorces for a good reason can remarry.
But now, adultery and unsexy divorce are missing from the list of sins that can be forgiven. Such a church’s view is equivalent to dirtying the genealogy of Jesus Christ.
Jesus: the descendant of a prostitute
Have you read the genealogy of Jesus listed in the Gospel of Matthew? There is also Rahab, who was a whore in Jesus’ genealogy.
There’s Bathsheba, who had committed adultery with David. We should not take the divorce issue lightly, but we should not stop God’s permission. Think of David and Bathsheba.
David committed adultery with Bathsheba and killed Bathsheba’s husband. They committed adultery and murder at the same time.
Grace overcome Sin
Nevertheless, God forgave them. Solomon was born between the two. Jesus was born among the descendants of those two.
But when we think about remarriage, we make an error by saying that we are the guilty and innocent parties.
But the grace that Christ forgives is more significant than any sin. Jay E. Adams says in his book. Christ is more significant than sin. He is greater than all sins.
We must not reduce sin or its consequences. But the power of Christ and the cross must always be maximized. What I said today was the reason why I married my wife.
I thought my wife’s divorce was right. Her ex-husband was not sincere with her. He had an affair with another woman. He didn’t hit her, but he created a violent atmosphere.
And he didn’t take on financial responsibility. My wife later became a Christian, but her ex-husband was not a Christian.
So considering all the facts, I was convinced that marrying my wife was not a sin. We have studied biblical marriage, divorce, and remarriage so far.
I learned that Christians could remarry after their spouse’s bereavement or divorce. We need to keep this in mind. Christians should not be ahead of or behind the Bible.
Christian Remarriage after Divorce
We learned earlier that the first church was tolerant of remarriage after the grief of a Christian spouse.
Then it’s time to think about remarriage after the Christian divorce. Those who oppose Christian remarriage after divorce suggests it is based on one or two passages of the Bible.
That’s not what the whole Bible says, but they oppose it based on their arbitrary interpretation. In Corinthians 7:27 and 28, Paul says this.
Are you pledged to a woman? Do not seek to be released. Are you free from such a commitment? Do not look for a wife. But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this.
In the second case, being free from your wife means breaking your relationship before. And the freedom I’m talking about here doesn’t mean being free after the grief of a spouse. So in the second case, freedom is to be free from divorce and marriage with a spouse. Paul says people free from marriage restraint in severe persecution can remarry.
In addition, Paul says it’s not a sin to remarry like that.
Is it forbidden for Christians to remarry after divorce?
The argument that divorcees cannot remarry under any circumstances is never biblical, says theologian Jay E. Adams. Then, it can be interpreted that the church prohibits the remarriage of Christians after the divorce as follows.
God eased the divorce burden, and the church again puts a heavy duty on them. If you read the whole Bible, divorced people are not prohibited from remarrying except for priests. Then let’s sort it out.
The church where Jesus is ashamed
The Bible generally allows remarriage and encourages remarriage in some cases and orders remarriage. The Bible says that anyone who divorces for a good reason can remarry. But now, adultery and unsexy divorce are missing from the list of sins that can be forgiven. Such a church’s view is equivalent to dirtying the genealogy of Jesus Christ.
Have you read the genealogy of Jesus listed in the Gospel of Matthew? There is also Rahab, who was a whore in Jesus’ genealogy. There’s Bathsheba, who had committed adultery with David. We should not take the divorce issue lightly, but we should not stop God’s permission.
Think of David and Bathsheba. David committed adultery with Bathsheba and killed Bathsheba’s husband. They committed adultery and murder at the same time. Nevertheless, God forgave them. Solomon was born between the two. Jesus was born among the descendants of those two.
But when we think about remarriage, we make an error by saying that we are the guilty party and the innocent party. But the grace that Christ forgives is more significant than any sin. Jay E. Adams says in his book.
Christ is more significant than sin. He is greater than all sins. We must not reduce sin or its consequences. But the power of Christ and the cross must always be maximized.
In my case
What I said today was the reason why I married my wife. I thought my wife’s divorce was right. Her ex-husband was not sincere with her. He had an affair with another woman. He didn’t hit her, but he created a violent atmosphere. And he didn’t take on financial responsibility.
My wife later became a Christian, but her ex-husband was not a Christian. So considering all the facts, I was convinced that marrying my wife was not a sin.
We have studied biblical marriage, divorce, and remarriage so far. I learned that Christians could remarry after their spouse’s bereavement or divorce.
We need to keep this in mind.
Christians should not be ahead of or behind the Bible.
Why is the church negative about the remarriage of Christians?
So far, we have looked at the biblical view of marriage and divorce. Now it’s time to look at what God says to divorced people.
I will look into remarriage first. I will then see if God allows divorced people to remarry. Let’s take a look at the Book of Romans 7:3.
So then, if she has sexual relations with another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress if she marries another man.
What this means is clear. Remarriage is not a fault. Instead, the Bible encourages remarriage. In Timothy
5:14, the apostle Paul says this.
So I counsel younger widows to marry, have children, manage their homes, and give the enemy no opportunity for slander.
Let me explain the background of this word.
Paul knew that young widows are prone to be tempted and slandered if they do not remarry. Also, taking care of the widow could burden the church. Paul gave the church this guideline: Paul doesn’t call remarriage a sin but encourages remarriage.
In particular, in Corinthians 7:8 and verse 9, Paul strongly recommends remarriage as an active means of solving problems for young widows suffering from sexual desire.
Now to the unmarried and the widows, I say: It is suitable for them to stay unmarried, as I do. But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to match than burn with passion.
Corinthians 7:39 repeats this.
A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord.
Like this, the Bible thought in favor of remarriage. However, when it comes to the divorce and remarriage of Christians, the modern church is opposed.
Some churches have banned the appointment of remarried men as church deacons or elders. But it’s not biblical. The reason why they think so is that they misinterpreted the Bible.
The church that recommends the remarriage of widowed Christians could not have prohibited the appointment of remarried people as deacons or elders.
Paul wasn’t interested in how many times a butler or elder would get married. I was just interested in how many wives he currently has.
In the Old Testament, polygamy was allowed. The New Year’s Age wouldn’t have gone away. Jewish polygamy existed until the 11th century.
Therefore, a polygamous person could also become a member of the church. But They couldn’t be a butler or an elder. They had to be the model of life. God wants the church to remain monogamous.
Ironically, the church had a more open culture 2,000 years ago when it came to the remarriage of Christians.
As we learned today, the Bible did not prohibit anyone who lost their spouse from remarrying or being in charge of duties.
Next time, I will find out about Christian’s remarriage after divorce. Cannot be a remarried Christian in charge of the church duty?
