Remarriage after Divorce

JanniGirl · Feb 3, 2012

Jesus never disallowed a wife to divorce her husband. One can assume that Jesus would have mentioned it, if he was creating a double standard between husband/wife.

Johnnz · Feb 3, 2012

JanniGirl said:
Jesus never disallowed a wife to divorce her husband. One can assume that Jesus would have mentioned it, if he was creating a double standard between husband/wife.

Exactly. And that's why Jesus teaching in the Gospels must be seen as addressing specific issues related to his time. Jesus did uphold marriage, he did not see divorce as part of God's design for humanity but he was not talking about limitations on divorce as his main subject. We can see this from Paul, who added another reason in his letter to the Corinthian church.

John
NZ

BlueJay83 · Feb 5, 2012

..it was pointed out to me recently that nothing happened when Eve ate of the tree, the fall only came when ADAM ate.

The covenant was with Adam, not with eve... He also cast ADAM out of the garden.. Eve was not cast specifically out but it appears she followed anyway.

interesting... the parallel with divorce and God speaking to men about initiating divorce.

....God only cast Adam out (divorced him??) when he was unfaithful? ...more interestng-ness.

*ponders it all*

RobertMerton · Apr 1, 2012

gerardeflow said:
The bible is clear, divorce and remarriage is adultery. Blessings
Matthew 5:31-32Furthermore it has been said, Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce. 32 But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality

Mark 10:12

New King James Version (NKJV)
12 And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.
Matthew 19:9

New King James Version (NKJV)
9 And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality,and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.
Luke 16:18

New King James Version (NKJV)
18 Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced from her husband commits adultery.

Scriptures about not to remarry
1 Corinthians 7:10-12

New King James Version (NKJV)
10 Now to the married I command, yet not I but the Lord: A wife is not to depart from her husband. 11 But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband is not to divorce his wife.
When one is allowed to remarry
Romans 7:2-4

New King James Version (NKJV)
2 For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband. 3 So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man. 4
1 Corinthians 7:39

New King James Version (NKJV)
39 A wife is bound by law as long as her husband lives; but if her husband dies, she is at liberty to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord.

Amen.

To those who have ears, let them hear.
It is pretty clear from the scripture.
But I mean, I'm not even married yet.
Im sure if i was divorced i'd want to remarry, and even now I'd imagine it to be very very hard not to, so yeah.. Blessings to you.

Stealth001 · Apr 5, 2012

I think that if a divorced Christian cannot be celibate they are better off having a friend with benefits without getting remarried. If they are really special, give a promise ring and make it between you as a couple and God. That way, not only can you repent if you find yourself able to be celibate... but you can avoid all the legal problems of a remarriage that would never be recognized or blessed by God anyway. Becoming legally bound to an adulterous relationship is far worse than an occasional sin of fornication that can be confessed and repented of. I mean, even God permitted the holiest men of the Bible to have concubines (mistresses).

Of course, more practical would be mature entertainment for lonely nights when you just can't bear it. Then you don't have to deal with an actual "relationship" or a partner who begins to want to marry you. Keep it between you and God.

Also, there is the miraculous banishment of the sexual impulse that God gives a few folks. If you think you can get a miracle in this area, go for it. You'll be truly blessed.

Beyond this, there's always castration.. that is if you really really really love the Lord of course. lol

dorig59 · Apr 5, 2012

LOL! Funny and makes the point.

wilsonben · Apr 24, 2012

This is just my thoughts SweetBella, but I believe that if you have a biblical reason to justify a divorce then you have the right to remarry. God wants us to be happy. I have been divorced to and remarried and God has blessed me with a wonderful wife and blessed our marriage for 17 years now.

eatenbylocusts · May 1, 2012

wilsonben said:
This is just my thoughts SweetBella, but I believe that if you have a biblical reason to justify a divorce then you have the right to remarry. God wants us to be happy. I have been divorced to and remarried and God has blessed me with a wonderful wife and blessed our marriage for 17 years now.

God wants us to be obedient and I have read promises he made to the Jews that they would be blessed if they followed Him, but "happy"? I don't think the Bible promises or says anywhere that we should be happy. Christians in some countries are being killed for their obedience to Christ. Happiness doesn't trump obedience so that really shouldn't be a justification for anything.

I am remarried and my response is just to the general idea about "happiness", not necessarily about remarriage.

wilsonben · May 1, 2012

Yes God does want us to be obedient but I do believe that He wants us to be happy in Him. I know Christians are being killed because of their obedience to Christ and I know that happiness doesn't trump obedience but Paul and Silas was singing praises to God while in prison so they must have been happy in Jesus. Paul said to be content in what ever state your in. I think Christians should be the happiest people on earth because they have a Savior that lives within them and we know that we will live with Him for eternity. I can understand what your saying eatenbylocusts, but I still think we can have happiness because we are a child of God. God never intended for all the crime, killings, divorce and evil things to happen but sin entered in when Adam and Eve disobeyed God.

LinkH · May 1, 2012

JanniGirl said:
Jesus never disallowed a wife to divorce her husband. One can assume that Jesus would have mentioned it, if he was creating a double standard between husband/wife.

Wives were not allowed to divorce their husbands according to the Law that God had already given. That is, wives divorcing husbands was not the way the procedure was done that God-- because of the hardness of their hearts-- allowed. God also gave laws regulating polygamy-- polygyny, not polyandry.

Nevertheless, from what I've read, there was one case of it that had happened. The woman we know as Herodias (assuming she got the name from her second married) was married to the king Philip, a man of Edomite and Greek descent whose family had converted to Judaism. If I recall correctly, she had managed to get some chief priests to approve her divorce, and she remarried her ex-husband's brother Herod while both were still living-- something specifically forbidden in Leviticus. John the Baptist said of her to Herod, "It is not lawful for thee to have her."

Christ did address the issue of wives divorcing their husbands.

Mark 10:12
And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.

This passage does not have an exception for fornication like the Matthew passage about husbands divorcing wives.

Paul also communicated the Lord's commands:

I Corinthians 7
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.

LinkH · May 1, 2012

Stealth001 said:
I think that if a divorced Christian cannot be celibate they are better off having a friend with benefits without getting remarried. If they are really special, give a promise ring and make it between you as a couple and God. That way, not only can you repent if you find yourself able to be celibate... but you can avoid all the legal problems of a remarriage that would never be recognized or blessed by God anyway. Becoming legally bound to an adulterous relationship is far worse than an occasional sin of fornication that can be confessed and repented of. I mean, even God permitted the holiest men of the Bible to have concubines (mistresses).

In the Old Testament there was no sacrifice for 'high handed sins'. Hebrews 10 also warns against sinning wilfully.

From what I've read, concubines were not mistresses. From what I gather, they were wives who were acquired by taking a slave as wife instead of paying a bride price or some other means. Keturah is referred to as both wife and concubine. (Perhaps 'wife' is also 'woman'.) They had legal rights like other wives had.

k450ofu3k-gh-5ipe · May 1, 2012

This is the best article I've read on the topic. It really gets right down to the theology in a clear, logical manner:

Divorce & Remarriage: A Position Paper - Desiring God

Johnnz · May 1, 2012

I will read it more thoroughly later. Without commenting deeply due to not having done so I am aware that John Piper is a conservative who opposes those who differ from his views from his conservative heritage. He does not favour a more egalitarian stance for women, and is against NT Wright's work on justification. He does not identify with those who come from a Trinitarian basis to their theology. Thus, his views will be as good as you get from a conservative viewpoint, but his is not the only position. There are other dedicated scholars within the Christian community who identify strongly as bible based believers, who present well founded counter arguments to men such as Piper and Gruden.

The debate on some issues including divorce and remarriage is not over and is not confined to Piper and his camp.

John
NZ

k450ofu3k-gh-5ipe · May 1, 2012

Johnnz said:
I will read it more thoroughly later. Without commenting deeply due to not having done so I am aware that John Piper is a conservative who opposes those who differ from his views from his conservative heritage. He does not favour a more egalitarian stance for women, and is against NT Wright's work on justification. He does not identify with those who come from a Trinitarian basis to their theology. Thus, his views will be as good as you get from a conservative viewpoint, but his is not the only position. There are other dedicated scholars within the Christian community who identify strongly as bible based believers, who present well founded counter arguments to men such as Piper and Gruden.

The debate on some issues including divorce and remarriage is not over and is not confined to Piper and his camp.

John
NZ

Of course. I do not believe Piper (or any other person for that matter) is infallible. Piper himself in the article says this about his beliefs:

I do not claim to have seen or said the last word on this issue, nor am I above correction, should I prove to be wrong. I am aware that men more godly than I have taken different views. Nevertheless, every person and church must teach and live according to the dictates of its own conscience informed by a serious study of Scripture.

So really, he's being quite theologically humble. I especially like the sentence that I highlighted.

All too often I think Christians form theological beliefs based solely on personal experiences and feelings rather than serious study of scriptures. This "personal theology" that develops from those beliefs is in my opinion dangerous to the church and dangerous to a person's own salvation (assuming these "personal theology" beliefs also effect salvational issues).

Johnnz · May 2, 2012

Hi,

I was merely intending to point out that his is not the only view in town. He is an excellent scholar within his tradition.

John
NZ

k450ofu3k-gh-5ipe · May 2, 2012

Johnnz said:
Hi,

I was merely intending to point out that his is not the only view in town. He is an excellent scholar within his tradition.

John
NZ

I know.

The part of my post about Christian basing theological beliefs from primarily personal experiences and feelings rather than scripture was an aside based on the highlighted quote from Piper for everyone reading this thread and not directed at you.

Stealth001 · May 2, 2012

LinkH said:
In the Old Testament there was no sacrifice for 'high handed sins'. Hebrews 10 also warns against sinning wilfully.

From what I've read, concubines were not mistresses. From what I gather, they were wives who were acquired by taking a slave as wife instead of paying a bride price or some other means. Keturah is referred to as both wife and concubine. (Perhaps 'wife' is also 'woman'.) They had legal rights like other wives had.

True, more goes into the definition of a concubine than a mistress. While they had rightes like other wives had... they were not the same rights. However, the modern equivalent would essentially be a socially accepted mistress. Because while they are not legally a "wife", they are entitled to child support to support any children sired from said union.

Stealth001 · May 2, 2012

Anyone here ever study the Agonot? Some theologians believe this is what Jesus was talking about in his discourse concerning divorce and remarriage.

dayhiker · May 3, 2012

Do you have a good link for that?

dayhiker · May 3, 2012

My view on divorce is that Jesus wasn't making a blanket statement about divorce. During Jesus' day there was a debate about Dt.24:1. That's what he was asked about and that's what Jesus answered. There were other reasons for divorce in Jesus' day and Jesus says nothing about those reasons.

The best view form my studies is David Instone-Brewer's book Divorce and Remarriage in the church. It was online years ago. Here is a one page web site on it.

Divorce & Remarriage - Scripture in Context

Links may get you to the book.

Remarriage after Divorce

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