Quote:
Originally Posted by aussiemama
I agree that in most instances nobody should be counseled to get a divorce!
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I'll go so far as to say that divorce should never be counseled at all. While sometimes it's the only possible outcome to a situation, I would never suggest that to a couple.
I've only been married a little over six months, so I'm not really the one to lecture on the subject (though she and I have known each other for 2 1/2 years and still haven't had a fight
), yet I think it's important to understand what aussiemama pointed out. Just like on the Inspiration topic I started: if you begin with a faulty definition, you'll end up with faulty doctrine. The Biblical meaning of a word, phrase or principle must be ascertained before one can truly and honestly approach the topic.
By God's definition, marriage is obviously a joining of flesh, or sexual intercourse (the "one flesh" statement should make it clear to anyone who has participated in such actions). Added to that is God's judgment of the heart: "Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge." God judges actions based on the intentions of the heart (that's not to say that a sinner gets off because he was well-intentioned). In Bible times, a man took a woman as his wife, and it became official by their consummation. Our culture has changed so the wedding ceremony is regarded as the "marriage," but in God's eyes, sexual congress is, in fact, the deciding factor in a marriage.
In reality, the only difference between the two clauses in Hebrews 13:4 (see above) is the intentions of the participants: the married folks intend to be together for the rest of their lives, while the other two people are intentionally sleeping together without the intention of commitment.
"...man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart."