Is A Divorced Woman Who Becomes A Believer Allowed
To Marry Again?
Hi Isaac,
Thanks for writing back!
My responses are below
as appropriate.
In Christ,
Frank
Shalom Frank
I will put down my
thoughts as they come to me as I read your article.
You wrote:
QUOTE
Therefore, a very
plausible explanation for the passage found in Matthew 5:32 is that Jesus was
referring to women who do not object to the enactment of the unfair divorce
decree initiated by their husbands. Since they then would be willing
participants in the unjust divorce action, they would be equally guilty of
adultery under the Law of God if they ever re-married. However, if a woman does
object to a biblically-unjust divorce action perpetrated upon her by her
husband, then she must be blameless for something her husband did, and be free
to re-marry because divorce by its very nature, i.e., termination of the
marriage contract, makes the marriage contract or marriage covenant null and
void.
END QUOTE
Is not adultery sex
between a lawfully married woman and a man who is not her lawful husband?
READER:
Yes
AUTHOR:
If so, then the
manner a divorced woman commits adultery, or becomes an adulteress, to use the
phrase in Matthew 5:32, is by her engaging in sex with a man not lawfully her
husband.
READER:
Yes
AUTHOR:
Seeing that Matthew
5:32 also states that a man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery,
implying that the divorced woman also commits adultery in her marriage to such
a man, is it not the case that a divorced woman is not allowed to marry again?
READER:
Yes and no. At the end
of my article, I quote scripture where Jesus said "neither do I condemn
thee, go and sin no more." If a woman was once guilty of adultery --- and
perhaps, if she was married at the time, her husband consequently divorced her
with just, biblical cause --- but then, later, she repents and accepts Christ
as her Lord and Saviour, she then starts a new life with a new, clean moral
slate (that's what true forgiveness really means!). Therefore, since she is
then a single person, she would be free to re-marry if reconciliation with her
former husband was impossible.
Is A Justly Divorced Woman Who Repents Of Her
Adultery Allowed To Marry Again?
AUTHOR:
Irrespective of
whether her first and lawful husband divorced her legally or illegally?
READER:
If her husband divorced
her with just, biblical cause, meaning that she was divorced because of her
marital unfaithfulness, she would not be allowed to re-marry UNLESS she
honestly and sincerely repented of her sins and dedicated, or re-dedicated, her
life to the Lord by accepting Him as her personal Lord and Saviour. Of course,
even then, she should seek reconciliation with her former husband if at all
possible unless, of course, he was already re-married to someone else. In that
case, she obviously would be single and forgiven by God, so she would then be
free to re-marry.
But, on the other hand,
if her husband divorced her without just biblical cause, then he is the guilty
party, not her!! Please let me quote from my divorce article:
Do Human Opinions Supersede The Messiah's Clear
Words?
QUOTE
Matt 5:31-32
31 It hath been said,
Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:
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. (KJV)
At first glance, this
passage seems to say that if a mean-spirited man arbitrarily divorces his wife
for no good biblical reason, i.e., fornication, then she --- the innocent
victim --- is guilty of committing adultery (but only if she re-marries,
according to a parallel scripture in Matthew 19:9). However, because
common-sense decency and fairness dictate that this can’t possibly be right, we
must analyze this passage more carefully by balancing it against everything
else the Bible teaches us concerning God’s moral laws.
Accordingly, first of
all, we must remember that God is a God of fairness and justness, and that is
how we are going to be judged on Judgment Day because the Bible teaches us that
we will reap what we sow and that we will be rewarded or punished according to
what we have done in this lifetime. Consequently, God never condemns a person
(male or female; Galatians 3:28) for the sins and wrongdoing of another person;
we each are responsible solely for our own deeds and misdeeds. That is why I
believe the initial impression one first gleans from a reading of the passage
in Matthew 5:32 warrants a closer examination. Likewise, in the same vein, let
us also not forget that words can often be a very cumbersome tool for
expressing ideas with complete accuracy and precision (which is one reason why
God taught us basic, fundamental truths over and over again in parallel
passages throughout the Bible using different sets of words each time);
obviously this would be yet another very good reason to examine this passage more
carefully.
Therefore, a very
plausible explanation for the passage found in Matthew 5:32 is that Jesus was
referring to women who do not object to the enactment of the unfair divorce
decree initiated by their husbands. Since they then would be willing participants
in the unjust divorce action, they would be equally guilty of adultery under
the Law of God if they ever re-married. However, if a woman does object to a
biblically-unjust divorce action perpetrated upon her by her husband, then she
must be blameless for something her husband did, and be free to re-marry
because divorce by its very nature, i.e., termination of the marriage contract,
makes the marriage contract or marriage covenant null and void.
This kind of action
where we must balance various moral laws and biblical scriptures against each
other in order to glean the highest level of truthful understanding possible is
further illustrated by Luke 16:18, which reads as follows:
Luke 16:18
Whosoever putteth away
his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her
that is put away from her husband committeth adultery. (KJV)
Once again, at first
glance, this passage seems to say that whenever a man divorces his wife for any
reason whatsoever and later re-marries, he is automatically guilty of adultery.
It is not until we analyze other parallel passages dealing with the same
subject-matter and weigh all of these scriptures against each other that we
then realize fornication on the part of one’s spouse is biblical justification
for divorce and possible re-marriage. Therefore, the scriptural passage in
Matthew 5:32 must be clarified in the same manner in which we just clarified
the meaning of Luke 16:18; we must collectively weigh and balance all
pertinent, parallel passages and moral teachings against each other in order to
properly ascertain the truth.
END QUOTE
Did The Messiah Allow A Justly Divorced Woman To
Marry Again Upon Her Repentance?
AUTHOR:
For if her sexual
immorality occasioned her lawful husband divorcing her, then she was divorced
legally.
READER:
Correct.
AUTHOR:
And seeing that any
man marrying her after her divorce commits adultery, is it not the case that
she is forbidden from being married again, lest no man commit adultery on her
account?
READER:
Yes, unless she honestly
and sincerely repents of her past misdeeds and thereby becomes a new creature
in Christ. If she really, truly does that, then she should reconcile with her
former husband if at all possible. But, if reconciliation is impossible, she is
free to re-marry for two very important reasons. First, she is truly forgiven
by God for all of her past transgressions, including her adultery; therefore,
she is a new creature in Christ starting all over again with a clean, moral
slate. That is why the apostle Paul said that we should put our past failures
and shortcomings behind us, and look forward to the future as a new creature in
Christ. Secondly, she is free to re-marry because, in God's eyes, she is now
single.
Are Unjust Divorces Valid In The Almighty's Eyes?
AUTHOR:
And if she was
divorced illegally, meaning on a ground not involving her committing sexual
immorality, is it not the case that her divorce, by being illegal, is null and
void?
READER:
Not at all!!! Please
keep in mind that for a contract or covenant to be valid and
morally-enforceable, it must be agreed to by both parties to the (marriage)
contract. If one party to the contract violates any of the terms to the
contract, or even outright abolishes or cancels the contract, then, of course,
the other (offended) party is no longer obligated to the contract either
because the contract no longer exists. If a contract or covenant no longer
exists, then how can a person still be obligated to it?
Does The Almighty Punish Unjustly Divorced Wives By
Condemning Them To A Life Of Singlehood?
AUTHOR:
Such that even though
her husband considers her divorced from him, in reality, in the Almighty's
eyes, she is still legally his wife?
READER:
I think God would
believe that she should still be his wife even though the husband would not see
it that way.
God is a God of reason
and logic and rationality. Therefore, if in reality, the husband has continued
on with his life after unfairly divorcing his wife, perhaps even re-marrying,
then how in the world could God hold the poor victim of the unjust divorce
responsible for what has happened? Wouldn't it make more sense for God to hold
the offending party responsible for the sin that occurred, rather than
punishing or blaming the offended party by condemning them to a lifetime of
loneliness and frustration as a single person? Let's never forget that each and
every person is responsible for their own deeds and misdeeds only; no one
else's!!
Whose Understanding Of The Almighty's Word Is
Correct - The Reader's Or The Author's?
AUTHOR:
And if so viewed by
the Almighty,
READER:
Here is the fatal flaw!!
It is not viewed by the Almighty in the manner you suggest --- as I just
explained above.
AUTHOR:
is she not forbidden
from having sex with another man, for she is still married to her lawful
husband, even though her lawful husband has illegally divorced her?
READER:
No. She has been
divorced through no fault of her own, and it is her former husband, not she,
who will be held accountable to God on Judgment Day (unless, of course, he
subsequently repents of his sins sometime later in his lifetime). Since the
reality is that she is divorced and therefore single through no fault of her
own, she is free to re-marry.
AUTHOR:
Such that if she has
sex with another man, irrespective of whether it is a purported marriage, she
will be committing adultery, by virtue of having sex with a man not her lawful
husband?
READER:
Yes, if she is not
married to the man with whom she is having sex.
No, if she is married to
the man under the conditions I stipulated in previous answers above.
AUTHOR:
And is not this why
the Messiah says that a man who illegally divorces his wife makes her an
adulteress? For he places her in a situation whereby she is very likely to have
sex with another man? And by so having sex with another man she commits
adultery, seeing that legally, in the Almighty's eyes, she is still not
divorced from her husband? And the husband who so drives his wife into her
committing adultery is thereby responsible for her adultery, seeing that his
illegal divorce is what drove his wife into committing adultery? And by being
responsible for her adultery he is also an adulterer, and thereby forbidden
from marrying again as seen in Matthew 19:9. Seeing that he has been unfaithful
to his lawful wife?
READER:
Sometimes, yes;
sometimes, no. It depends on the circumstances as I explained in previous
answers above.
AUTHOR:
Is it therefore not
the case that a wife illegally divorced by her husband can only avoid
committing adultery if she does not have sex with another man?
READER:
Sometimes, yes;
sometimes, no. It depends on the circumstances as I explained in previous
answers above.
AUTHOR:
For if she indeed
marries another man, and thereby repeatedly commits adultery, she indeed
becomes an adulteress, according to the Messiah's description in Matthew 5:32.
Implying that the only manner she avoids committing adultery is by not having sex
with another man.
READER:
Sometimes, yes;
sometimes, no. It depends on the circumstances as I explained in previous
answers above.
AUTHOR:
It should therefore
be clear that she is not allowed to marry another man. For her marriage to her
first and lawful husband is still valid in the Almighty's eyes, even though her
husband does not recognise it.
READER:
Sometimes, yes;
sometimes, no. It depends on the circumstances as I explained in previous
answers above.
AUTHOR:
Her lawful husband
who has illegally divorced her is therefore committing sin against her.
READER:
Yes.
AUTHOR:
She must strive not
to add her own sin to her husband's sin against her. She must strive to walk
righteously even though she is being wronged by her husband's sin. She must
therefore not commit adultery by marrying or having sex with another man.
READER:
Why should the wife, who
has been divorced without just biblical cause, be punished for the sins of her
former husband? For that is precisely what would be happening to the poor
victim in this case because you would be condemning her to a very, very long
lifetime of loneliness, frustration, unfulfillment, aloneness, etc., etc., if
she was not allowed to re-marry! That would be so incredibly cruel and unfair
and unjust!!! (Of course, sex without marriage would quite obviously be
adultery.)
Actually, such thinking
is a direct insult to the integrity and fairness of God Himself because in His
precious, Holy Word, He repeatedly states through Word and Example that He is a
Just and Holy God Who will judge everyone with absolute fairness and justness;
everyone will reap what they sow, and everyone will be judged according to
their works, i.e., deeds and misdeeds. It is absolutely impossible --- because
of His Holy Character --- for God to hold a person accountable in any way
whatsoever for the sins and wrongdoing of someone else. Therefore, if a woman's
husband divorces her without just biblical cause, it is he who will be judged
by God for wrongdoing, not the woman, i.e., the victim. Therefore, a woman who
has been unfairly divorced without just, biblical cause is free to re-marry
since she is no longer bound to a marriage contract or covenant.
AUTHOR:
You wrote:
QUOTE
Luke 16:18
Whosoever putteth away
his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her
that is put away from her husband committeth adultery. (KJV)
Once again, at first
glance, this passage seems to say that whenever a man divorces his wife for any
reason whatsoever and later re-marries, he is automatically guilty of adultery.
It is not until we analyze other parallel passages dealing with the same
subject-matter and weigh all of these scriptures against each other that we
then realize fornication on the part of one’s spouse is biblical justification
for divorce and possible re-marriage. Therefore, the scriptural passage in
Matthew 5:32 must be clarified in the same manner in which we just clarified
the meaning of Luke 16:18; we must collectively weigh and balance all
pertinent, parallel passages and moral teachings against each other in order to
properly ascertain the truth.
END QUOTE
Both Luke 16:18 and
Matthew 5:32 speak of a man divorcing his wife and marrying again. They do not
speak of a woman divorcing her husband and marrying again.
READER:
Gal 3:28
28 There is neither Jew
nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female:
for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. (KJV)
There is neither male
nor female; God judges all of us on an absolutely equal basis!! Accordingly,
whatever moral instruction applies to men also applies to women, and vice
versa!!
AUTHOR:
Does a woman have the
Almighty's authority to divorce her husband and marry again?
READER:
Sometimes, yes;
sometimes, no. It depends on the circumstances as I explained in previous
answers above.
AUTHOR:
Even when her husband
commits adultery by having sex with someone else's wife, does a woman have the
Almighty's authority to divorce her husband and marry again?
READER:
A most resounding
"yes" !!!!!!
Gal 3:28
28 There is neither Jew
nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female:
for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. (KJV)
There is neither male
nor female; God judges all of us on an absolutely equal basis!! Accordingly,
whatever moral instruction applies to men also applies to women, and vice
versa!!
AUTHOR:
I have yet to find a
scripture giving a wife such authority.
READER:
Gal 3:28
28 There is neither Jew
nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for
ye are all one in Christ Jesus. (KJV)
There is neither male
nor female; God judges all of us on an absolutely equal basis!! Accordingly,
whatever moral instruction applies to men also applies to women, and vice
versa!!
AUTHOR:
What I have found is
a woman being removed from the authority of her husband upon his death. Such
that if her husband committed adultery or other sexual immorality with an
entity he should not have sex with, and the husband was killed for so sinning,
the woman would be freed from her husband's authority by his death.
READER:
I agree.
AUTHOR:
But not on account of
his having committed sexual immorality.
READER:
I most definitely
disagree for the reasons stated previously.
AUTHOR:
It therefore appears
that a husband can legally divorce his wife on account of her sexual
immorality, but a wife cannot legally divorce her husband on account of his
sexual immorality.
READER:
With all due respect and
brotherly love, I disagree with every fiber of my being at even considering
such a horrible and terribly-unfair thought!!!
Gal 3:28
28 There is neither Jew
nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female:
for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. (KJV)
AUTHOR:
On this basis I would
not give a wife the same rights to divorce her husband that the Almighty has
given to the husband in divorcing his wife.
READER:
Obviously I would
absolutely disagree with such blatant unfairness and preferential treatment!!!!
Is The Reality Of Separation Sufficient Ground For
Divorce Valid In The Almighty's Eyes?
AUTHOR:
You wrote:
QUOTE
1 Cor 7:10-11
10 And unto the married
I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband:
11 But and if she
depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not
the husband put away his wife.
According to this
passage, if both husband and wife are Christian believers, and one of them
leaves the other, they are commanded to remain unmarried or be reconciled with
their spouse; and the person who is deserted should not seek a divorce.
However, if the person who leaves should ultimately seek and be granted a
divorce decree, then, of course, the marriage covenant is broken and,
therefore, is no longer valid, and the offended partner is under no further
obligation and is free to re-marry.
END QUOTE
How can the marriage
covenant between two believers be broken? Can it be broken by a divorce decree?
And if so, who would grant the divorce decree?
READER:
If a
"believing" spouse gets a divorce without just biblical cause, then
the covenant is, in fact, broken despite God's admonition not to do so. Because
for a contract or covenant to be valid and existent in nature, both parties
must adhere to the terms of the marriage agreement "till death do us
part." Therefore, if the contract has been invalidated by either party, it
is no longer in effect. Now, one may argue that they don't like that reality,
but it is reality, and to say otherwise is to engage in a complete, pitiful
denial of reality which actually is a form of lying (to one's self) because you
would be trying to represent reality to be something it is not. That, of
course, would be a sin because it is a falsehood.
Can Man VALIDLY Tear Apart A
AUTHOR:
If a husband and wife
are indeed disciples of the Messiah they will abide by the Messiah's words in
Matthew 19:6, "What therefore the Mighty One has joined together, don't
let man tear apart."
READER:
Yes, they should obey God.
AUTHOR:
They will therefore
recognise that they, or other men, have no authority from the Almighty to
divorce them one from another. Implying that only the Almighty has authority to
break their marriage covenant.
READER:
But, obviously man can
tear apart what God has joined together or otherwise it would have been an
absurdity for God to say "let no man tear them apart." So, then, if
the reality is that they have been torn apart, i.e., divorced, then the
marriage covenant, by definition, is null and void. If reconciliation is
impossible due to the continued intransigence of the offending party, then the
victim, i.e., the offended party, is, in reality, single and therefore free to
re-marry.
AUTHOR:
Does the Almighty
break marriage covenants between the Messiah's disciples?
READER:
No, of course not. But,
if either spouse disobeys God by getting a divorce without just, biblical
cause, it is ridiculous and unfair to punish the offended party for the sins of
the offending party by condemning the victim or offended party to a lifetime of
misery and loneliness.
AUTHOR:
Has he not rather
forbidden the man from divorcing his wife except on the ground of her sexual
immorality?
READER:
Yes.
AUTHOR:
Implying that if she
persists in her sexual immorality
READER:
What sexual immorality?
(Assuming, of course, that she was divorced against her will and for no just,
biblical cause, and that she does not have sex again until if and when she
re-marries.)
AUTHOR:
she ceases to remain
a disciple of the Messiah, thereby making her marriage to her husband one
between a believer and an unbeliever? I have yet to find a case where the
Almighty severs the marriage union between two disciples of the Messiah legally
married in his eyes. It therefore seems to me that if a believing wife departs
from her believing husband, not only must she remain unmarried, to avoid
committing adultery, she must also be reconciled to her believing husband.
READER:
Yes, I agree that she
should remain single or be reconciled to her husband in such instances. But,
please note that the Bible gives the separated believers the option of not
reconciling. Allow me to quote from my divorce article again:
QUOTE
1 Cor 7:10-11
10 And unto the married
I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband:
11 But and if she
depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not
the husband put away his wife. KJV
According to this
passage, if both husband and wife are Christian believers, and one of them
leaves the other, they are commanded to remain unmarried or be reconciled with
their spouse; and the person who is deserted should not seek a divorce.
However, if the person who leaves should ultimately seek and be granted a
divorce decree, then, of course, the marriage covenant is broken and,
therefore, is no longer valid, and the offended partner is under no further
obligation and is free to re-marry.
END QUOTE
AUTHOR:
For if there is no
reconciliation between a believing husband and a believing wife, the party
responsible for that estrangement must indeed be reconciled to the other if he
or she is not to cease being a disciple of the Messiah.
READER:
No, they do have the
option of remaining estranged from each other --- and single for the rest of
their lives --- unless one of them disobeys God by getting a divorce. If a
divorce is granted to either "believing" party, then the other party,
i.e., the party that obeyed God by not seeking a divorce, is no longer bound to
the marriage covenant because it has been destroyed or invalidated, and
therefore, no longer exists. If the marriage contract no longer exists (and
don't forget that even God Himself said in the scripture above that it was
possible for man to put asunder what God had joined), then the blameless party
is free in God's eyes to re-marry because they are, in reality, single.
You may have noticed
that much of my reasoning so far in all of this has been based on one simple,
powerful principle: God does not ever hold a person accountable in any way
whatsoever for the sins and wrongdoing of another individual. This illustrates
why it is so important to do more than pay mere lip service to the principle
that we should always harmonize scriptures with each other while also carefully
considering the context of each scripture in the process.
Do Estranged Married Believers Who Do Not Reconcile
Continue To Abide In The Almighty's Fellowship?
AUTHOR:
For Matthew 5:23-24
commands believers to be reconciled to one another if they are to continue
being in the Father's fellowship. But if the party responsible for the
estrangement does not reconcile to the other, and thereby does not abide in the
Messiah's words, he or she ceases to be a disciple of the Messiah. And by so
ceasing to be a disciple of the Messiah his or her marriage then becomes one
between a believer and an unbeliever.
READER:
You are correct in that
believers should forgive and reconcile.
However, it is possible
for a person to forgive their spouse and therefore feel no ill will towards
them, but still not wish to reconcile back into a married state with them for a
variety of reasons. If that is the case, then the scripture above commands them
to remain unmarried until if and when they do reconcile.
Do The Words In 1 Corinthians 7:12-15 Belong To The
Almighty?
AUTHOR:
You wrote:
QUOTE
1 Cor 7:12-15
12 But 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.
13 And the woman which
hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let
her not leave him.
14 For 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.
15 But 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. (KJV)
Here in this passage,
Paul teaches that if an unbelieving spouse is content to remain in the marriage
with the believing spouse, then the believing spouse should not leave the
unbelieving spouse. However, if the unbelieving spouse leaves the Christian
believer, then the Christian believer is no longer under bondage to the
marriage vows; the marriage covenant under such circumstances is broken, and
the believer is free to re-marry. I should hasten to add, however, that the
unbeliever, in such cases, should be leaving the believer because of the
believer’s Christian faith, not because of sin and wrongdoing in the life of
the believer. If the believer is guilty of any misbehavior that is threatening
to destroy the marriage, then every reasonable attempt at forgiveness and reconciliation
should be tried in order to save the marriage if at all possible.
END QUOTE
1 Corinthians 7:12
clearly states that the succeeding comments are not the Almighty's comments,
but a man's comments - Paul's comments.
READER:
Yes, but Paul was speaking
under the authority and inspiration of God. Are you saying then that this
passage should not be in the Bible because it is a false representation of
God's Will?
AUTHOR:
Matthew 19:6 clearly
states that what the Almighty has joined man has no authority to tear apart.
Therefore the comments in 1 Corinthians 7:12-15 have no authority from the
Almighty allowing a believer to divorce an unbeliever in a marriage valid
before the Almighty's eyes!
READER:
That's not quite what
Paul said. Actually, Paul told believers to remain married to unbelievers if
the unbelieving partner was willing to do so. However, Paul went on to say that
if the unbelieving spouse deserted the marriage and got a divorce, then, of
course, the believing spouse would be blameless and single, and therefore free
to re-marry.
AUTHOR:
It therefore appears
that whatever the Almighty said through the Messiah in Matthew 5:31-32 and in
Matthew 19:3-9 still stands.
READER:
Of course. But, what you
are forgetting is that if we are really interested in ascertaining truth, then
we must not ignore the existence of scriptures we don't like, but rather, we
must balance and weigh against each other all pertinent parallel scriptures
which deal with a given issue, and we must also balance all of those scriptures
against all of the other teachings found in the Bible. In other words, not what
one verse says about something, but rather, what the whole Bible says about
something (so that we might duly recognize the complexity involved in many
moral issues).
Apart From Sexual Immorality, Has The Almighty
Allowed Other Causes For Divorce?
AUTHOR:
The only ground
whereby a husband may legally divorce his wife is where she has committed
sexual immorality.
READER:
I believe that all of
the biblical scriptures viewed collectively allow a divorce in cases of
fornication, including adultery, and in cases involving a divorce that is
unjustly initiated by one's spouse against the will of the offended party, and
in cases involving physical abuse by one's spouse.
AUTHOR:
And a wife divorced
from her lawful husband is not to marry again, lest she commits adultery by so
marrying again.
READER:
Sometimes, yes;
sometimes, no. It depends on the circumstances as I explained in previous
answers above.
Paul's Words In 1 Corinthians 7:12-15 Silent On A
Deserted Believer Marrying Again
AUTHOR:
Also, Paul's words in
1 Corinthians 7:12-15 do not speak of a believer who has been abandoned in his
or her marriage marrying again. His comments are silent on this matter of
marrying again if abandoned by one's unbelieving spouse.
READER:
Then what did Paul mean
when he said:
1 Cor 7:15
15 But 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. (KJV)
Doesn't the phrase
"not under bondage" mean that the believing spouse is no longer under
bondage to the marriage covenant because it has been invalidated and made
non-existent by the unbelieving spouse when the unbelieving spouse got a
divorce without just, biblical cause?
What Is The Scriptural Definition Of Persecution?
AUTHOR:
You wrote:
QUOTE
Finally, I think we have
established beyond any reasonable doubt that there does exist a hierarchy of
moral values which should govern all of one’s moral decisions in life. Accordingly,
in those instances where one’s health or life is threatened by physical
violence from one’s spouse, the moral laws of self-preservation and
self-defense --- rights which are derived from the very right to life itself
--- supercede the moral law of marriage, and one should get a divorce from
their abusive and violent spouse as quickly as possible. I should mention that
some people say that in such instances, the offended party should simply get a
separation, not a divorce. However, the stark reality in life is that violent,
abusive jerks seldom, if ever, suddenly become perfect little saints or
choirboys, and therefore, it is not fair to condemn the victim to a lifetime of
constant fear, threats, danger, loneliness and frustration simply because they
had the misfortune or poor judgment to marry such an evil, violent person. God
has not called us to be pitiful, abused doormats, but to life, and life
abundantly. (John 10:10).
END QUOTE
Matthew 10:23 reads,
"But when they persecute you in this city, flee into the next, for most
assuredly I tell you, you will not have gone through the cities of Yisra'el,
until the Son of Man has come."
A principle we derive
from these words of the Messiah is that his disciples, when being persecuted in
one territory, should not remain in that territory, but should flee to another
territory. It would therefore appear that a believer who was being persecuted
by his or her spouse should flee from the household of that spouse, and move on
to another one!
Here we appear to
have the Almighty's authority for severing a union that he has effected! For he
commands his persecuted children to flee from the territory of the persecution,
to one where they are not persecuted.
READER:
I believe that I would
agree with you on this point, but knowing human nature, we'll have to be
careful how we define the word "persecution," or otherwise, people
might think they have the right to leave their spouse anytime they have a major
disagreement or a long-standing nasty disagreement accompanied by verbal
harassment or nagging. I'm sure, however, we do agree that the best way to
define the word "persecution" is to allow the Bible itself to give
content and meaning to the word through scriptural examples.
Does A Husband Have Authority Over His Wife?
AUTHOR:
Exodus 21:26-27
reads,
"If a man
strikes his servant's eye, or his maid's eye, and destroys it, he shall let him
go free for his eye's sake. If he strikes out his man-servant's tooth, or his
maid-servant's tooth, he shall let him go free for his tooth's sake."
A principle derived
from these words is that if one under authority is physically injured by his or
her master, the person under authority is authorised to depart from being under
the authority of his or her master. It would therefore appear that an abused
wife, being under the authority of her husband, is authorised to depart from
the authority of her abusive husband.
READER:
The only problem here is
that I don't believe that a husband is the "master" of his wife in
the sense I think you mean it to be. Although the husband is the head or
spiritual leader of the wife and family, the fact remains that the wife is a free-willed
individual who is not a slave to her husband.
AUTHOR:
Taking the two
principles derived from Matthew 10:23 and Exodus 21:26-27, it appears that the
Almighty has authorised a believer who is persecuted by a spouse to depart from
that spouse. This authority has come from the Almighty, and not from men.
READER:
Assuming that
"persecution" means physical abuse, we would agree on the above
stated conclusion even though we might differ on some aspects of the reasoning
involved in reaching that conclusion.
AUTHOR:
Shalom
ISAAC
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