4 Biblical Truths about Divorce and Remarriage
God created Adam and positioned him within the midst of the backyard. Adam had all the things at his fingers. He was grasp of the animals. He was the chief gardener. And he had a dynamic relationship with God.
And but, God stated it was not good.
The Lord God stated, “It isn’t good for the person to be alone. I’ll make a helper appropriate for him.” Genesis 2:18
God knew that man wanted relationship. Intimate relationship. Due to this fact, God created girl, and Adam and Eve entered into the covenant of marriage.
Is not that a stupendous factor? The purity of two people changing into one, residing in communion with each other, sharing all of life’s joys and triumphs collectively? God discovered an appropriate helper for Adam, designed to make life on this earth even higher.
After which they lived fortunately ever after…till they did not.
When sin entered this world, we see the chaos it created. The right union of two people is instantly marred by disgrace and loss. Adam and Eve now not had the excellent relationship due to sin. They skilled ache and loss. They skilled disgrace and doubt. Marriage, whereas it was nonetheless lovely, was now tougher than God had supposed for it to be.
And that’s the actuality of marriage on this post-fall world wherein we reside. Whereas God’s design for marriage remains to be the identical—to offer people companionship and to replicate our relationship with Christ—marriage is marred by sin. Each marriage has two sinful people trying to turn out to be one, and but sin abounds at each flip.
That’s the reason divorce is rampant in our world.
How will we reconcile Scripture with the fact of divorce immediately? Is it doable that there are justifiable causes for divorce? Is it doable that our interpretations of Scripture have heaped legalistic guidelines upon these battling the ache and weight of an undesirable divorce?
When you concentrate on divorce, I encourage you to think about these 4 Scriptural truths.
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1. The people in a wedding are extra vital than the establishment of marriage.
It is vital to keep in mind that God created marriage for man and never man for marriage. Why is that an vital distinction? If man was created for marriage, marriage can be the final word purpose on this life. It will be one of many highest priorities, and people who are single can be thought of lower than married individuals.
God’s final purpose in creating marriage was to bless man, not create an establishment elevated above man. We should always by no means elevate the establishment of marriage over the person.
Due to the autumn, some marriages are damaging to the people inside the relationship. Adultery, abuse, habit, abandonment—the ache of those actions can create lasting injury to the victims. When these behaviors abound in a wedding, it’s harmful to the people. We can not low cost the significance of making environments the place people can discover wholeness in God.
Then the Lord God stated, “It isn’t good for the person to be alone. I’ll make a helper who’s excellent for him.” Genesis 2:18
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2. All divorce includes sin however not all divorce is sinful.
If we nonetheless lived in an ideal world, divorce can be pointless as a result of we might all be completely selfless, fully dedicated to God and each other. Marriage can be absolute bliss from the very starting. Sadly, that isn’t our actuality.
We’re all born egocentric. We, as sinners, should be taught to place apart sinful wishes and need the very best individual we may be for our partner. Sadly, not everyone seems to be keen to do the arduous work of changing into extra like Christ. Some individuals merely select to stroll within the flesh fairly than reside by the Spirit (Galatians 5).
This egocentric need to reside our personal means creates friction inside a wedding. Generally the sins are much less damaging, and we are able to discover methods to work via them—particularly when two emotionally wholesome people are dedicated to changing into extra like Christ.
However what occurs when one or each people insist on residing their personal means regardless of the injury it does to the opposite partner or the wedding? What occurs when one partner decides to hunt out an adulterous relationship, intent on satisfying the wishes of the flesh? What occurs when one partner inflicts extreme emotional injury on the opposite partner?
Sin abounds, and it generally creates a scenario the place divorce occurs. If God created marriage for man and the wedding has turn out to be harmful to 1 or each people, God makes it clear in Scripture that divorce may be an acceptable response.
And I inform you this, whoever divorces his spouse and marries another person commits adultery—except his spouse has been untrue. Matthew 19:9
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3. God’s objective in divorce was to permit remarriage.
If we return to Deuteronomy 24:1-2, we see that God says if a husband finds one thing indecent about his spouse, he ought to subject a certificates of divorce so she could remarry. The certificates of divorce was a kindness to ladies who had no rights in biblical instances. The certificates of divorce was a authorized doc to set the girl free, to place her right into a scenario the place she was free to marry once more so she was not destitute.
Girls have been unable to work, unable to assist themselves. They have been depending on their spouses for monetary assist. Younger, single ladies remained of their father’s properties till they have been married. Girls with out the assist of males usually turned to prostitution as a way of supporting themselves. By giving the girl a certificates of divorce, she was free to marry once more and saved from a lifetime of destitution.
Scripture is stuffed with ladies who have been in second marriages, marriages that have been blessed. Bathsheba and David began their marriage with an adulterous relationship, a murderous love triangle. But, for some motive, God selected to make use of their son, Solomon, because the inheritor to the throne and the eventual ancestor of Jesus Christ. He may have simply chosen one in every of David’s different sons. Abigail, who was in a harmful marriage, was elevated to the spouse of King David. Rahab was a prostitute, fairly probably as a result of she was compelled into the vocation to assist herself due to the failure of a earlier marriage.
Remarriage was not solely acceptable however anticipated after divorce.
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4. God’s forgiveness makes it simply as if I might by no means been married.
Let’s speak about God’s forgiveness.
He has eliminated our sins from us so far as the East is from the West. Psalm 103:12
“And I’ll forgive their wickedness, and I’ll by no means once more bear in mind their sins.” Hebrews 8:12
God’s forgiveness is complete and full. When He has eliminated our sin, He by no means remembers it. It is roofed with the blood of Jesus Christ Himself.
The addict’s sins are eliminated so far as the East is from the West, and God remembers them no extra. The adulterer’s sins are eliminated so far as the East is from the West, and God remembers them no extra. The assassin’s sins are eliminated so far as the East is from the West, and God remembers them no extra. The prideful individual’s sins are eliminated so far as the East is from the West, and God remembers them no extra. All of those sinners—which incorporates all of us—are made justified—simply as if that they had by no means sinned.
And the divorcee? God removes his/her sins so far as the East is from the West and remembers them no extra. God’s forgiveness is not a partial cleaning, and it is not a selective forgiveness. God forgives all sins absolutely and fully. He washes them away and makes us simply as if we had by no means sinned. There is not any exception for divorce. In case your divorce was sinful, He nonetheless forgives. He nonetheless presents complete and full cleaning. He nonetheless provides you the prospect to have a satisfying life, even one that features marriage.
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Dena Johnson Martin is a former single mother of three who discovered the ability of strolling intimately with God when her marriage fell aside. Her best need is to make use of her darkest days to encourage others to seek out the enjoyment of a life restored by Jesus Christ. She earned her Grasp’s in Life Teaching and is on the market to help others with rebuilding their lives after the storms of adultery and divorce. In her spare time, Dena works as a Registered Nurse and is a daily contributor at Crosswalk.com. If you want to contact Dena, please be at liberty to work together together with her on her weblog, Dena Johnson Ministries or electronic mail her at Dena@denajohnson.com.
Initially printed Tuesday, 14 Could 2024.