Divorce+replacement spouse=adultery?

[JoshuaM]

Matthew 5:32 (New Living Translation)


32 But I say that a man who divorces his wife, unless she has been unfaithful, causes her to commit adultery. And anyone who marries a divorced woman also commits adultery.


Matthew 19 King James Version:


3The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?
4And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,
5And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?
6Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
7They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?
8He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.
9And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.


Mark 10 Amplified


2And some Pharisees came up, and, in order to test Him and try to find a weakness in Him, asked, Is it lawful for a man to [a]dismiss and repudiate and divorce his wife?
3He answered them, What did Moses command you?
4They replied, Moses allowed a man to write a bill of divorce and to put her away.(A)
5But Jesus said to them, Because of your hardness of heart [[b]your condition of insensibility to the call of God] he wrote you this [c]precept in your Law.
6But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female.(B)
7For this reason a man shall leave [behind] his father and his mother [d]and be [e]joined to his wife and cleave closely to her permanently,
8And the two shall become one flesh, so that they are no longer two, but one flesh.(C)
9What therefore God has united (joined together), let not man separate or divide.
10And indoors the disciples questioned Him again about this subject.
11And He said to them, Whoever [f]dismisses (repudiates and divorces) his wife and marries another commits adultery against her;
12And if a woman dismisses (repudiates and divorces) her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.


From my understanding, we are not to divorce. Divorce is created by Moses because people are sinful and stubborn and insist. But if spouse committed adultery, it is okay to divorce.



But is not okay to marry a divorced person according to this as well.



This was Jesus himself talking.


No matter what political affiliation or church we go to, we cannot change what this says. We can have grace on people, but we cannot change that.

 

[restore]

from my understanding, the bible is teaching that we should not divorce unless one part is unfaithful.
also, cuz God can not conflict Himself, if they get divorced cuz one is cheating. then they both can remarry another person in future.
so from my understanding, it is not a sin to marry a divorced person.

 

[JoshuaM]

from my understanding, the bible is teaching that we should not divorce unless one part is unfaithful.
also, cuz God can not conflict Himself, if they get divorced cuz one is cheating. then they both can remarry another person in future.
so from my understanding, it is not a sin to marry a divorced person.

Well, considering the verses in each of those chapters, combined specifically with verse 9 i Matthew 19, it is safe to say you are partially correct.

9And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.

Yes it indicates that if the spouse commits adultery it is okay to divorce and remarry. But considering the verse in Matthew 5, and the verses in Mark 10, the only safe conclusion from these is this:

1) Divorce is not normally acceptable by God

2) Therefore, if a person marries a divorced person, or a divorced person remarries, it is normally unacceptable by God.

3) However, there is one instance in one is not required to commit. That is if the spouse commits adultery, it is okay to divorce and remarry. It is okay for the faithful spouse to divorce. It does not say that the person that committed adultery is okay to marry a different person. It does say if one's spouse committed adultery, one does not have to remain married to him or her and can remarry. You see, the person that committed adultery is living in a sinful relationship, but the person that was faithful is not.

4) this is not Jesus contradicting Himself, but rather giving the one exception of the rule.

Consider John 3:28"You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, '(AR)I am not the Christ,' but, 'I have been sent ahead of Him.' 29"He who has the bride is (AS)the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice So this (AT)joy of mine has been made full.
30"He must increase, but I must decrease.
31"(AU)He who comes from above is above all, (AV)he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth (AW)He who comes from heaven is above all.


and Luke 5: 33They said to him, "John's disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking."
34Jesus answered, "Can you make the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? 35But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast."


and Ephesians 5: 22(A)Wives, (B)be subject to your own husbands, (C)as to the Lord.
23For (D)the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the (E)head of the church, He Himself (F)being the Savior of the body.
24But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.
25(G)Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and (H)gave Himself up for her,


In this there is the comparing Jesus and the church to marriage. Thus we should follow his example. Jesus is faithful and loving to us, and if we are faithful and loving to Him we are obedient to Him and He blesses us.

God joins the man and woman (even since Adam and Eve as Jesus mentioned), no human has the right to break that bond.

The husbands and wives that are faithful and loving to their spouse are obeying the Lord. The one that commits adultery as those verses state is not. God does forgive people for sinning, but the Bible does not say a person can commit adultery and remarry. It says if the husband or wife commits adultery, the other person can divorce and remarry. They were faithful and loving, honoring God in marriage. Their reward is a second chance. I would conclude with all those verses that the person that committed adultery can remarry the person they cheated on, but not another, but it is up to the person that was faithful whether to give them that chance.

 

[Rafael]

It depends upon whether or not the marriage was put together by God or man, too. God does not change, as there is no shadow or variableness of turning in Him, and the Istraelites that married unbelievers and foreigners where punched by Nehemiah for not leaving them. Paul gives specific instructions for those married to unbelievers - that if the unbeliever was not pleased to dwell with them, then to let them go. Now we could split hairs about what is letting someone go, but if a person says they believe in God yet they beat their wife black and blue twice a week, who is telling the truth about what? I would not be pleased to have someone dwell with me that beat me and did so under the protection of God, knowing I had no relief from that union. God does not support that as valid Christian behavior, and it doesn't matter what a person calls themselves - by their fruits you will know them. If they cannot control themselves enough to stop abusing other people, they are not led by the Spirit of God and not true Christians. Just mental ascention that God exists is the same as any demon could make, as they tremble knowing that He is, but it does not make them Christian. Is that the marriage God put together or does that union look like Leviticus 5 & 6 where the offerings for a foolish vows are to be given? People get married whether it is what God puts together or not and make foolish vows to Him. If God has not put together, can man put asunder, or better yet, would it not be God's will that they be asunder so that peace could exist?

1 Cor 7:15 (But if the husband or wife who isn’t a believer insists on leaving, let them go. In such cases the Christian husband or wife is no longer bound to the other, for God has called you to live in peace.)

Lev. 5:4 “Or suppose you make a foolish vow of any kind, whether its purpose is for good or for bad. When you realize its foolishness, you must admit your guilt.
5 “When you become aware of your guilt in any of these ways, you must confess your sin.
6 Then you must bring to the LORD as the penalty for your sin a female from the flock, either a sheep or a goat. This is a sin offering with which the priest will purify you from your sin, making you right with the LORD.

Ezra 10:2 Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel, a descendant of Elam, said to Ezra, “We have been unfaithful to our God, for we have married these pagan women of the land. But in spite of this there is hope for Israel.
3 Let us now make a covenant with our God to divorce our pagan wives and to send them away with their children. We will follow the advice given by you and by the others who respect the commands of our God. Let it be done according to the Law of God.
4 Get up, for it is your duty to tell us how to proceed in setting things straight. We are behind you, so be strong and take action.”

Ne 13:23 ¶ About the same time I realized that some of the men of Judah had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.
24 Furthermore, half their children spoke the language of Ashdod or of some other people and could not speak the language of Judah at all.
25 So I confronted them and called down curses on them. I beat some of them and pulled out their hair. I made them swear in the name of God that they would not let their children intermarry with the pagan people of the land.
26 “Wasn’t this exactly what led King Solomon of Israel into sin?” I demanded. “There was no king from any nation who could compare to him, and God loved him and made him king over all Israel. But even he was led into sin by his foreign wives.
27 How could you even think of committing this sinful deed and acting unfaithfully toward God by marrying foreign women?”

Mt 19:6 "So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."

Jas 2:19 You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.

 

[JoshuaM]

It depends upon whether or not the marriage was put together by God or man, too. God does not change, as there is no shadow or variableness of turning in Him, and the Istraelites that married unbelievers and foreigners where punched by Nehemiah for not leaving them. Paul gives specific instructions for those married to unbelievers - that if the unbeliever was not pleased to dwell with them, then to let them go. Now we could split hairs about what is letting someone go, but if a person says they believe in God yet they beat their wife black and blue twice a week, who is telling the truth about what? I would not be pleased to have someone dwell with me that beat me and did so under the protection of God, knowing I had no relief from that union. God does not support that as valid Christian behavior, and it doesn't matter what a person calls themselves - by their fruits you will know them. If they cannot control themselves enough to stop abusing other people, they are not led by the Spirit of God and not true Christians. Just mental ascention that God exists is the same as any demon could make, as they tremble knowing that He is, but it does not make them Christian. Is that the marriage God put together or does that union look like Leviticus 5 & 6 where the offerings for a foolish vows are to be given? People get married whether it is what God puts together or not and make foolish vows to Him. If God has not put together, can man put asunder, or better yet, would it not be God's will that they be asunder so that peace could exist?

1 Cor 7:15 (But if the husband or wife who isn’t a believer insists on leaving, let them go. In such cases the Christian husband or wife is no longer bound to the other, for God has called you to live in peace.)

Lev. 5:4 “Or suppose you make a foolish vow of any kind, whether its purpose is for good or for bad. When you realize its foolishness, you must admit your guilt.
5 “When you become aware of your guilt in any of these ways, you must confess your sin.
6 Then you must bring to the LORD as the penalty for your sin a female from the flock, either a sheep or a goat. This is a sin offering with which the priest will purify you from your sin, making you right with the LORD.

Ezra 10:2 Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel, a descendant of Elam, said to Ezra, “We have been unfaithful to our God, for we have married these pagan women of the land. But in spite of this there is hope for Israel.
3 Let us now make a covenant with our God to divorce our pagan wives and to send them away with their children. We will follow the advice given by you and by the others who respect the commands of our God. Let it be done according to the Law of God.
4 Get up, for it is your duty to tell us how to proceed in setting things straight. We are behind you, so be strong and take action.”

Ne 13:23 ¶ About the same time I realized that some of the men of Judah had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.
24 Furthermore, half their children spoke the language of Ashdod or of some other people and could not speak the language of Judah at all.
25 So I confronted them and called down curses on them. I beat some of them and pulled out their hair. I made them swear in the name of God that they would not let their children intermarry with the pagan people of the land.
26 “Wasn’t this exactly what led King Solomon of Israel into sin?” I demanded. “There was no king from any nation who could compare to him, and God loved him and made him king over all Israel. But even he was led into sin by his foreign wives.
27 How could you even think of committing this sinful deed and acting unfaithfully toward God by marrying foreign women?”

Mt 19:6 "So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."

Jas 2:19 You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.

True but we also are not to marry unbelievers.

2 Corinthians 6:14
King James Version (KJV)
Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

Amplified Bible (AMP)
Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers [do not make mismated alliances with them or come under a different yoke with them, inconsistent with your faith]. For what partnership have right living and right standing with God with iniquity and lawlessness? Or how can light have fellowship with darkness?

But if two are not Christians and one accepts Jesus, they may remain married:

8I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, it is good for them if they abide even as I.
9But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn.
10And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband:
11But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife.
12But to the rest speak I, not the Lord: If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away.
13And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him.
14For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy.
15But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace.
16For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife?
17But as God hath distributed to every man, as the Lord hath called every one, so let him walk. And so ordain I in all churches.


So even in this case, it is the one that is not honoring God in their marriage that God says to let go of.

It does not say if we accept Christ we need to leave our spouse. It says if other person leaves since they are not in God to let them leave, but in this case it also says to let the person reconcile with spouse. This particular case does not say can remarry (unless spouse had died).

So once again it boils down to only case that the faithful spouse is allowed to remarry is in case of adultery.

And since the example of a Godly marriage is love and faithfulness and grace, abuse victims have not been treated with love, have not been treated with faithfulness, and they are the only person in the relationship maybe with some grace. Faithfulness includes giving love and grace and treating the spouse with kindness. Thus I also agree with the idea that abuse cases is a sort of spiritual adultery and the victim would be right to leave, for both safety and holiness.

 

[Ciana]

I agree that divorce can be an option in the case of an unfaithful spouse, but I believe scripture teaches that is where it ends... that marriage to another person while the original still lives is adultery.
(1 Corinthians 7:39, and Romans 7:2-3)

(A real hot topic in the church right now... )

 

[BelindaP]

Another thing to consider is the context in which Jesus gave this command. In Jesus' day, there were two schools of thought on divorce. This stemmed from the command Moses handed down that said that a man could divorce his wife if some impurity were found in her.

One school of thought held that the impurity could be anything, even bad cooking. There were some among the elite who were marrying and discarding wives on a whim because of this false interpretation of Moses' command.

Jesus was coming down on the subject in line with the second school of thought that said that a man could divorce his wife only if she were impure because of adultery.

Thus, Jesus was making a ruling on dissolution of marriage under the Mosaic law. If one wants to legalistically apply this law to Christianity, Jesus never says that a woman can get a divorce for the same reason. Women didn't have the right of divorce under the Mosaic law, and they wouldn't have that right if Jesus' words are taken legalistically either.

Of course, Jesus was never about legalism. His intent in answering the Pharisees' question was not necessarily to rule about how Christian men and women should conduct themselves, although his words provide an excellent guideline. In fact, people should listen to his other words about forgiveness.

I don't believe that Jesus would have approved of divorce for unfaithfulness either for Christians. Under Christianity, one should forgive one's spouse and try to save the marriage, unless the other person is committed to leaving it. Then, Paul's guideline about letting them go should apply, since the other spouse is not behaving in a Christian manner.

If a person cannot live with their spouse because of abuse or some other good reason, they should separate. But, I do not believe they should remarry in their spouse's lifetime. That is not what God intended for marriage.

 

[IamAdopted]

And with all this said. Can it be forgiven if this has occured? Or is this the unpardonable sin? Can God even take what the enemy meant for evil and make this good not only for us but to His Glory? I don't believe in divorce. If both parties are believers. But it happens. And when it does do we hold this sin over our brothers or sisters? Especially the one whom didn't want the divorce?

 

[Rafael]

And with all this said. Can it be forgiven if this has occured? Or is this the unpardonable sin? Can God even take what the enemy meant for evil and make this good not only for us but to His Glory? I don't believe in divorce. If both parties are believers. But it happens. And when it does do we hold this sin over our brothers or sisters? Especially the one whom didn't want the divorce?

Amen.
Between two true believers there should never be an occasion for divorce. Like the qualifier says, if God has put that marriage together then man cannot put asunder. It would be adultry to do so. But if the union is a foolish vow made in sin that God did not put together, how much more does the grace we have today cover sin once and for all over those laws for sacrifice given in Levitius?

 

[BelindaP]

Given that the average male thinks about sex over 50 times a day (and I seriously doubt it is about his wife every time), it is almost certain that he has committed spiritual adultery (more of Jesus' words elsewhere). Legalistically, that should give the wife grounds for divorce every time he has an impure thought about another woman. For all you legalists out there...something to think about.

 

[HisKid1973]

I was traded in twice for for a healthier more affluent model..One was even younger and a friend of the family who was divorced for cheating on his wife.. These were all christians who at one time were radically commited to Christ....These two experiences really took me to the bottom twice..God's intervention brought me out of the pits. He pretty dropped my present wife right in my path..She finally had the strength to leave her abusive husband of 15 yrs after being threatened with a loaded pistol for sex.. My health has gotten worse from an industrial accident..She has been such a blessing through it all..She thanks God for me in her prayers and just recently commented that this is the most peaceful she has ever felt in her home...I really feel satan targets homes that want to do their best to serve Him..To often though we respond in the flesh and give in before really wanting to deal with the rough waters when we go through them..pax..K

 

[Stinker]

Matthew 5:32 (New Living Translation)


32 But I say that a man who divorces his wife, unless she has been unfaithful, causes her to commit adultery. And anyone who marries a divorced woman also commits adultery.


Matthew 19 King James Version:


3The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?
4And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,
5And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?
6Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
7They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?
8He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.
9And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.


Mark 10 Amplified


2And some Pharisees came up, and, in order to test Him and try to find a weakness in Him, asked, Is it lawful for a man to [a]dismiss and repudiate and divorce his wife?
3He answered them, What did Moses command you?
4They replied, Moses allowed a man to write a bill of divorce and to put her away.(A)
5But Jesus said to them, Because of your hardness of heart [[b]your condition of insensibility to the call of God] he wrote you this [c]precept in your Law.
6But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female.(B)
7For this reason a man shall leave [behind] his father and his mother [d]and be [e]joined to his wife and cleave closely to her permanently,
8And the two shall become one flesh, so that they are no longer two, but one flesh.(C)
9What therefore God has united (joined together), let not man separate or divide.
10And indoors the disciples questioned Him again about this subject.
11And He said to them, Whoever [f]dismisses (repudiates and divorces) his wife and marries another commits adultery against her;
12And if a woman dismisses (repudiates and divorces) her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.


From my understanding, we are not to divorce. Divorce is created by Moses because people are sinful and stubborn and insist. But if spouse committed adultery, it is okay to divorce.



But is not okay to marry a divorced person according to this as well.



This was Jesus himself talking.


No matter what political affiliation or church we go to, we cannot change what this says. We can have grace on people, but we cannot change that.

Before we understand what adultery is we have to understand what marriage is.

Are the most primative African and South American native 'couples' married?

What if one or both had a former 'mate' before the present one they now have?

Are they now living in an adulterous marriage?
-------------------------------------------------

What if a Christian wife or husband is divorced because of fornication/adultery and their former 'innocent' spouse remarries someone else? How can that 'innocent' spouse not still be bound to their former spouse but the 'guilty' one still be?

You see, many understand that anyone that marries this 'guilty' former spouse also becomes entangled in an adulterous marriage union. (Mt.5:32)

 

[allhart]

Matthew 5:32 (New Living Translation)


32 But I say that a man who divorces his wife, unless she has been unfaithful, causes her to commit adultery. And anyone who marries a divorced woman also commits adultery.


Matthew 19 King James Version:


3The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?
4And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,
5And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?
6Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
7They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?
8He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.
9And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.


Mark 10 Amplified


2And some Pharisees came up, and, in order to test Him and try to find a weakness in Him, asked, Is it lawful for a man to [a]dismiss and repudiate and divorce his wife?
3He answered them, What did Moses command you?
4They replied, Moses allowed a man to write a bill of divorce and to put her away.(A)
5But Jesus said to them, Because of your hardness of heart [[b]your condition of insensibility to the call of God] he wrote you this [c]precept in your Law.
6But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female.(B)
7For this reason a man shall leave [behind] his father and his mother [d]and be [e]joined to his wife and cleave closely to her permanently,
8And the two shall become one flesh, so that they are no longer two, but one flesh.(C)
9What therefore God has united (joined together), let not man separate or divide.
10And indoors the disciples questioned Him again about this subject.
11And He said to them, Whoever [f]dismisses (repudiates and divorces) his wife and marries another commits adultery against her;
12And if a woman dismisses (repudiates and divorces) her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.


From my understanding, we are not to divorce. Divorce is created by Moses because people are sinful and stubborn and insist. But if spouse committed adultery, it is okay to divorce.



But is not okay to marry a divorced person according to this as well.



This was Jesus himself talking.


No matter what political affiliation or church we go to, we cannot change what this says. We can have grace on people, but we cannot change that.

divorce Yes for adultery;however we should still try reconciliation. Now you can re marry. now on fiscal and emotional abuse they should and could be granted a divorce ,but no remarry. This stuff sucks i married a divorce women (HUSBAND /ADULTERY) the family (messy) i care for them all even the ex husband. It is going to live on in the kids lives. on in to the wives which will have to dill if they take the chance.( runs deep) also leaving a women is considered an act of violence on a women

 

[angelmom01]

You can "put away" a wife without divorcing her. In that case she is not divorced but still married.

In the KJV it reads:

Mat 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.

Both of the words underlined are the same, apoluō.

It should read:

Mat 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 put away committeth adultery.

So, as I understand it, that is why Christ said in the previous verse:

Mat 5:31 It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her A WRITING OF DIVORCEMENT.

I'm not seeing that Chirst is condoning or supporting divorce or anything (except for the cause of fornication), but it's he who marries someone who is put away (without a bill of divorcement?) that is committing adultery (she is still married?).

angelmom

 

[~Nikki~]

From my understanding, it is always wrong to remarry after divorce, no matter what reason the divorce was for, and that remarriage after divorce = adultery...

 

[winsome]

Matthew 5:32 (New Living Translation)


32 But I say that a man who divorces his wife, unless she has been unfaithful, causes her to commit adultery. And anyone who marries a divorced woman also commits adultery.


Matthew 19 King James Version:


3The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?
4And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,
5And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?
6Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
7They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?
8He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.
9And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.


Mark 10 Amplified


2And some Pharisees came up, and, in order to test Him and try to find a weakness in Him, asked, Is it lawful for a man to [a]dismiss and repudiate and divorce his wife?
3He answered them, What did Moses command you?
4They replied, Moses allowed a man to write a bill of divorce and to put her away.(A)
5But Jesus said to them, Because of your hardness of heart [[b]your condition of insensibility to the call of God] he wrote you this [c]precept in your Law.
6But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female.(B)
7For this reason a man shall leave [behind] his father and his mother [d]and be [e]joined to his wife and cleave closely to her permanently,
8And the two shall become one flesh, so that they are no longer two, but one flesh.(C)
9What therefore God has united (joined together), let not man separate or divide.
10And indoors the disciples questioned Him again about this subject.
11And He said to them, Whoever [f]dismisses (repudiates and divorces) his wife and marries another commits adultery against her;
12And if a woman dismisses (repudiates and divorces) her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.


From my understanding, we are not to divorce. Divorce is created by Moses because people are sinful and stubborn and insist. But if spouse committed adultery, it is okay to divorce.



But is not okay to marry a divorced person according to this as well.



This was Jesus himself talking.


No matter what political affiliation or church we go to, we cannot change what this says. We can have grace on people, but we cannot change that.

I understand that the word in Matthews gospel that is translated as “adultery” or “fornication” or “unlawful” is rather ambiguous (and hence the variety of translations). Also Matthew probably added it as a clarification rather than it being actual spoken by Jesus (which is why it is not in Mark) because of a particular situation Mathew was addressing.

The Greek word is porneia which apparently is broader than fornication, simply meaning impurity. But what kind of impurity is Matthew referring to?

In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians he condemns an illicit union between a Christian and his (dead?) father’s wife (1Cor 5:1). This he calls porneia. The Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15 uses the same word in Acts 15:20, translated in NAB as “unlawful marriage” – i.e. marriage within forbidden degrees. In the Gentile world there not such restrictions and marriage between close kinfolk was common. The Church however had to deal with both Jews and Gentiles, and kept to the Jewish laws regarding licit and illicit unions. So Matthew may have been allowing that such illicit Gentile unions could be set aside because the “marriages” were already null and void in Christian eyes.

 

[Celticflower]

I really need to stop looking at these divorce threads. So many "loving" Christians who blithely determine that my marriage is wrong. Why? Because myhusband was married before, his ex is still living (and on her 4 (?) husband).

It seems that every mistake made in life is forgivable except that of picking the wrong person to marry. You people make me so sad.

 

[JoshuaM]

angelmom, one must consider the other verses as well after after Matthew 5:31 which suggests that Jesus is saying "it has been said if a wife is put a way to give her writing of divorcement, but I say whomever divorces his wife and remarries unless his wife committed adultery, is committing adultery himself. Jesus goes on to explain this applies to the woman if the man was the one that divorced as well.

Celticflower, nobody is being prejudice. Stating scripture is not prejudice. Agreeing with Jesus is not cruel, it is obedience. Jesus does give the exception that if one has committed adultery, that the faithful spouse has the option to divorce and remarry. This is a case of still living.

So whether anybody likes it or not, there is that one exception of the rule. I believe this also applies to relationships that are nothing but abuse because it is like adultery. the abusive person is cheating the other out of a marriage that can glorify God. Now, I would say though, that if there is not physical abuse, they should get counseling, try and heal the marriage by learning respect.

Marriage is about honoring God, and should be treated as such. Divorce should not be an abused concept, whereas persons should not divorce somebody just because they are tired of them, or refuse to have grace. Marriage is not about fulfillment, entertainment, nor tools. Marriage is about love, grace, and commitment.

1 Corinthians appears to mention that if one of the members accepts Jesus, and the nonbeliever leaves the believer, divorce is allowed, but the believer needs to be open to the unbeliever returning. Prayer can invade the impossible. However, we also should obey Jesus and should not marry unbelievers if we are believers. Paul is talking about after the fact. I see so many threads on here about believers saying they want to marry some nonbeliever friend. This is direct disobedience to God. One should not plan to marry a nonbeliever, nor be emotionally intimate with nonbelievers. We are to not yoke with nonbelievers. The mistake is often made, that in order to minister to unbelievers we need to yoke with them. That is not the case. We can set an example and tell people about Jesus without doing everything they do and without dating them. Ministry is not about finding what we like to please ourselves, but about serving God.

One might say in response: "paul says if nonbelievers leave believers in a marriage, the believer can divorce, therefore they must have been a believer before marriage" but this is a logical fallacy. Many people accept Jesus after marriage.

 

[angelmom01]

angelmom, one must consider the other verses as well after after Matthew 5:31 which suggests that Jesus is saying "it has been said if a wife is put a way to give her writing of divorcement, but I say whomever divorces his wife and remarries unless his wife committed adultery, is committing adultery himself. Jesus goes on to explain this applies to the woman if the man was the one that divorced as well.

To what verses are you referring?

angelmom

 

[JoshuaM]

Matthew 5:32, Matthew 19:9, Mark 10::11,12