Expert: Joe Norman - 1/10/2011

Question
I was in discussion with a minister who believes that Romans 7:1-3 indicates that there is such a thing as perpetual adultery. To quote his email:

"Notice that a woman who marries again, with no right to do so, is called an adulteress as long as her first husband remains alive. Adultery is not a one time act of breaking the marriage covenant. Adultery is having sex with someone while under the terms of a covenant with another person. Therefore, you came to the wrong conclusion. Adultery can be an on-going sin, just like any other sin that is not repented of."

What are your thoughts on this?

Answer
Hi Ethan,

Here are my thoughts on what this minister told you. He is completely wrong and only has unsupported assumptions to support his views. Here are the facts.

Divorce is never once mentioned in Romans 7:1-3. Also, Paul's purpose for that passage was not to teach about marriage but to use marriage as an analogy to the Christian's relationship with God. Like most analogies there is a point in which they don't coincide - where not every aspect of one thing is equal to another. Those who believe water baptism isn't necessary attempt similar tactics as this preacher by trying to make you think everything about a marriage is the same as a Christian's relationship with God. That is just not the case.

Here is Romans 7:1-3 in the NKJV.

1 Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives? 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.

Here is the key that preacher overlooks. In verse 2 Paul says - "THE WOMAN WHO HAS A HUSBAND" which proves there is no divorce. If she has a husband she is bound to him until death. This is Paul's analogy to explain having to die to the Old Law or Old Covenant (Law of Moses - Old Testament) in order to be free to be married to Christ Jesus and the New Covenant or New Testament. The New Testament is our marriage contract. We live under the New Covenant and no longer live under the Old Covenant.

There is perpetual adultery if she never divorced her husband but joined with another man. But nothing in scripture shows us that divorce doesn't end a marriage. When you look at the words of Jesus who was being tested by the Pharisees on the Law of Moses (specifically Deut.24:1-3) you see that Jesus states if a man divorces his wife (a one time action) and marries another (a one time action) he commits adultery. The adultery is NOT committed by sex with the second wife. It is caused by the divorce and the remarriage which are one time actions. Therefore the adultery is a one time action.

Nowhere does Jesus tell anyone they are no longer free to have a marriage. In fact no one in the entire Bible is told such a thing. Also there is no evidence in the first 400 years after the church was established that anyone was told they were in an "adulterous marriage" and must divorce and live celibate the rest of their lives or return to their first spouse. Dr Pat Harrell did extensive research on this covering from the first century A.D. to the 4th century A.D. in his book "Divorce and Remarriage In The Early Church". That book is not easy to read and I don't agree with all Pat Harrell's views on divorce and remarriage, but he did understand God's grace and his research proves there are major problems with what has been traditionally taught about divorce and remarriage for many years.  

That preacher is right about one thing he said though. He said "Adultery is having sex with someone while under the terms of a covenant with another person." That is completely true IF someone who is "under the terms of a covenant with another person" has sex with someone else. Divorce can and does end a marriage even when the divorce is done for poor reasons. I hope this helps you some.

In Christian Love, Joe Norman

P.S. I remembered a specific argument someone made when debating the necessity of water baptism with me. We were discussing I Peter 3:18-21.

18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us[e] to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, 19 by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, 20 who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited[f] in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. 21 There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

The person trying to prove water baptism is not necessary for salvation argued that since it wasn't the water that saved Noah but it was the Ark, this proves that water baptism is not what saves us. Yet Peter clearly said "eight souls were saved THROUGH WATER".

My point again is this preacher you met with is trying to do the same thing with Romans 7:1-3. He is trying to twist part of the analogy in Romans 7:1-3 to fit his preconceived belief just as the faith only guy twisted part of the Noah flood analogy to fit his preconceived belief. I hope this helps you as well.