|
 The preaching of
God's word on divorce and remarriage is bringing many to their knees in sorrow.
They are opening their Bibles and finding that God has never approved a second
marriage while their original spouse still lives.
Have you not
read that He who made them at the beginning made them male and female. For this
reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and
the two shall become one flesh? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh.
Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate (Matthew 19:4-6).
The sin arises
when you have become one flesh, separate, and then join with another. For the
woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives.
If while her husband lives, she marries another man, she is called an adulteress
(Romans 7:2,3). To live as man and wife when one or both partners have previous
spouses that are still alive, is to live in adultery. You are building a new
relationship on a false foundation that Jesus calls adultery (Luke 16:18).
You desire God
to forgive your first marriage so that your second relationship will stand. But
it will not stand because it is built on adultery. You cannot expect God to
forgive your original marriage, because it was lawful in the eyes of God. To
return to God's favor, you must  repent of your second relationship and either
remain single or be rejoined to your true spouse.
We are saddened
by "families" being broken up over this issue. But if a
"marriage" is being built on the foundation of adultery, instead of
God's foundation of being married "until death do us part," then the
foundation is sand and will not stand on judgment day. Your original marriage
is the marriage recognized by God. God made you one flesh for life because He
seeks Godly offspring:
The LORD has been witness between
you and the wife of your youth, with whom you have dealt treacherously;
yet she is your companion and your wife by covenant. But did He not make
them one, having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one? He seeks godly
offspring. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal
treacherously with the wife of his youth. For the LORD God of Israel
says that He hates divorce, for it covers one's garments with violence
(Malachi 2:14-16).
We urge you in
Christ's name to examine your own marriage and see if it is based on the
Biblical foundation of one man and one woman married for life.
If you find your
marriage is not based on a Godly foundation because you formed a union while an
original spouse was still alive, then you must repent of this
"marriage." In God's eyes it is not a marriage. It is adultery. If
children were born of this adulterous relationship, they are born out of wedlock
and are bastards. However, you are still responsible for them. There are many
other concerns that must also be worked out. But the first step is to
acknowledge the sin and then ask God's forgiveness and guidance as you seek to
return to His favor.
Scriptures on
Divorce and Remarriage: Malachi
2:13-16; Matthew 5:31-32; Matthew 19:3-12; Mark
10:2-12; Luke 16:15-18; Romans 7:2-3; 1
Corinthians
6:9-10; 1
Corinthians, Chapter 7; Galatians
5:16-21.
|
