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Old 07-18-2009, 01:21 PM
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greenbear greenbear is offline
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Ohio
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Except for the cause of fornication, a husband who puts away his wife causes both her and the man she marries to commit adultery against him.

Matthew 5:32 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.

And if that man remarries he commits adultery against her.

Mark 10:4 And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away.
Mark 10:11 And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her.

Marriage for born again believers isn't a carry over from the Law given to Israel but it was given to man and woman from the beginning.

Mark 10:5-9 And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

I believe the institution of marriage can only be perfectly honored by born again believers, it is for us a type of Christ and His body the church. I believe Jesus tells us there are no grounds for christians to divorce. Paul makes clear that if an unbelieving spouse leaves a believer then the believer is free to remarry in the Lord.

Romans 7:6 But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.

Many unbelievers pass from death unto life well into adulthood after a lifetime of sin, including multiple marriages. My understanding is that Paul is telling us that all of our sins are forgiven when we become new creatures in Christ. No matter if we're married to our umpteenth spouse when we're saved, that is our present circumstance and we should not seek to put away that spouse. I'm not sure if a person comes to the Lord as a divorced person that is not remarried that he/she is free to remarry. It seems to me Paul is saying that.

1 Corinthians 7:24 Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God.
1 Corinthians 7:27 Art thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife.
1 Corinthians 7:28 But and if thou marry, thou hast not sinned; and if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned. Nevertheless such shall have trouble in the flesh: but I spare you.

My husband and I came to Christ before we met, well into adulthood, and neither of us had been married before only by the grace of God. But there are many, many brothers and sisters that have divorced and remarried before and even after becoming believers. In either case, the question is: are they living under a continual curse, are their children bastards, or is there forgiveness and provision made by God for the hardness of our hearts?

Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

These are very real issues for a lot of christians. I don't know the answer because God hasn't revealed it to me.