One of the most frustrating aspects of marriage restoration ministry is the realization that there is little (if any) difference between the “Christian” view of marriage and the “secular” concept of marriage. In fact, the majority of churches today support a totally secular view of marriage, and no longer even acknowledge that there is a difference between what should be the Christian approach to marriage and the world’s approach. So whatever the world says goes, even in our churches!

Sadly, I found myself in the awkward position of having to respond to an email message this morning, in which it was stated that a woman was standing for the restoration of her marriage; that it was her second marriage…”but neither of them were saved when they got married.” So, what does that have to do with anything? Unfortunately, it’s a reflection of what is generally taught and accepted in most “secular-Christian” churches today, despite EVERYTHING else the Bible says about marriage, divorce, and remarriage; especially the following totally unambiguous statements from Jesus Himself:

Matthew 5:32
But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.

Matthew 19:9
I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery.”

I have a difficult time figuring out what is so complicated about these verses! Jesus made it abundantly clear…remarriage after divorce by ANYONE for ANY reason other than adultery IS adultery! I’d just like to know exactly where in the Bible we find something that leads us to believe Jesus didn’t mean what He said or He didn’t know what He was talking about. ABSOLUTELY NO WHERE! No matter WHAT is written anywhere else in the Bible, it can NOT be RIGHTLY interpreted to mean something so totally contrary to the words spoken by our Lord and Savior Himself, who told us that the words He spoke, came from God. In John 14:24, Jesus very specifically said He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words
you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. And let it NOT be forgotten that the question Jesus was answering when He made these very clear and precise statements about GOD’S LAW governing divorce and remarriage, as stated in Matthew 19:3, was Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?” And after reminding them that from the beginning God created marriage as a one flesh, life long covenant relationship, He said that marital unfaithfulness was the ONLY exception that released a man or woman to remarry without committing adultery in the
eyes of God.

I know it must break our Lord’s heart and stir up the wrath of God to see how so many prominent “men (and women) of God” pervert the very plain meaning of His words to promote and justify the acceptance of adulterous marriages, even in HIS church. While there are many examples of passages of scripture frequently twisted to support such erroneous conclusions, one not covered here in much detail before is 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV), which says Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Yet, when that verse is read in its full context in 2 Corinthians 5, it’s obvious that it does NOT attempt to say in ANY way that our past just disappears and we no longer have any accountability for it, because it’s forgotten and we get to start life all over again with a clean slate. Instead, it’s very clearly a reference to our transition from the sinful state of our fleshly bodies into our spiritual state of reconciliation with God through the blood of Jesus Christ, which is further clarified in this commentary by Matthew Henry. And even more importantly, as is always the case, that meaning is confirmed by the Bible itself in Revelation 21.

However, that is in no way meant to deny the fact that when we become Christians and REPENT (meaning to turn from our sinful ways and sin no more); our sins ARE forgiven AND forgotten. We certainly have a beautiful illustration of that in Isaiah 55, but we can NOT claim or rely on this awesome promise and the grace of God’s forgiveness without true and genuine repentance, as described in Isaiah 55:7, which says Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

So despite the contrary opinion of man, NO man made law concerning GOD’S HOLY COVENANT of marriage has the power or authority to invalidate God’s Word and law to transform the sin of adultery into something honorable and approved by God. In fact, the bible makes it very clear in Hebrews 10, that we play a very dangerous game when we try to pervert God’s precious gift of grace by trying to use it as a license to continue sinning, especially the following verses:
26 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left,
27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.
28 Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
29 How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?
30 For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.”

So basing the belief that a second marriage is not adultery, if the couple is not saved when they’re married, on God’s grace and the forgiveness of sin doesn’t work, because the only way to have forgiveness of sin is to repent, which means to discontinue the sin…just like Jesus told the woman caught in adultery – “go and sin no more.” And even though society and churches today have effectively created a special class for the sin of adultery, that is TOTALLY contrary to the Word and not supported anywhere in
the Bible.

Additional Bible references that dispel the myth and make it very clear that “all things new” does NOT mean that we start with a clean slate and no longer have consequences or accountability to man or God for our past sins and misdeeds, are found in the examples in the Bible of those who made amends and restitution for their former sins and wrong doings; such as Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1-10, and even returned to fulfill their former obligations, like Onesimus in Philemon 1, who was a slave and had to return to his master. We can’t take any verse or passage of scripture and try to apply it with a meaning that is so totally contrary to what so many other verses teach. The Bible NEVER disputes
itself and it ALWAYS explains itself! So when the meaning someone comes up
with is contrary to the plain meaning of other scripture, that meaning is
wrong; plain and simple, because the Bible does not contradict itself. But
most people are not willing to accept what they don’t want to hear and would
rather make the Bible say what it never said and never meant to say, which
is why Jesus warns us in Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. And how sad but true Proverbs 14:12 is, because it says There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.

So the fact that those of us standing for our marriages obviously have an unpopular and minority opinion concerning the sanctity of marriage, should not discourage or deter us in any way, because we have the power of God’s Word backing us up, and NOTHING can stand against that or us! When we seek to understand God’s Word and apply it to our lives as we stand for the restoration of our marriages and families, we WILL know the joy of having Psalm 37:4-6 manifested in our marriages and in our lives and we will truly be blessed and encouraged, because it promises Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

Posted Tuesday, May 15th, 2007 at 10:11 pm in Seeds Of Faith.