Expert: Marvin Howard - 12/5/2007

Question
I am currently working on a quesstionnaire for a full-time youth ministry position in the church of Christ.  I am stumped by one of these questions and I need some help.  If you don't mind, could you please provide me with your comments regarding the question below and maybe point me to some scriptures that can support the answer to this question.  

...I have already answered the first part of this question (Under what circumstances may a person remarry after a divorce?).  

...Here is what I am stumped on (continued from question above): Does baptism legitimize an otherwise unscriptural remarriage?  Do Christ's teachings on divorce and remarriage apply to the non-Christian?  

This church is relatively conservative.  I just need some advice on what they might be looking for in response to this question.  

Thank you for your time.

-Chad  

Answer
Hi!

Brother Chad, I am dreadfully sorry about the delay in answering you. I have been extremely ill for the past 4 days. I am recovering from bronchitis that nearly progressed to being pneumonia. I think the weather change had something to do with it. I pray I am not too late for your questionaire.

I have been looking for a new pulpit for a while now. I have seen a few of these questionaires. To make this easier on us both, I want to just give you the answers I gave them. Be warned, most congregations in East Texas, and most congregations with youth ministers disagree with my position as taken from the Bible. There are some exceptions to this, and usually these exceptions are associated with smaller congregations.

What does the Bible teach about divorce?

Malachi 2:15-16, “And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth. For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the LORD of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.”

The Hebrew for “putting away is ùÑìç (shâlach), and means “to send away.” Putting a spouse away, sending them on his or her own, individual way, is dealing treacherously with that spouse. There are very few instances where it is recorded that God hates anything. This is one of them. God hates divorce. He grants them in only a relatively few instances.

What does the Bible teach about remarriage after a divorce?

If there is no fornication involved (including adultery, which is the main concern), anyone who remarries, then commits adultery. In Jesus’ prohibition of remarriage in Matthew, He uses the active, middle voice to impart this truth. In short, this means that the person who is married to another, unlawfully, continuously commits adultery. Since adultery is sin, an adulterer cannot be forgiven while still committing adultery. Repentance requires giving up evil, and is required for forgiveness of sin. Therefore, as long as a person remains married to a person to who he or she is not permitted, he or she cannot be a Christian, even if they get in the water. They refuse to quit sinning, their conscience is not clean for baptism to work as a saving mechanism (1st Peter 3:21).

If you get “married” after an illegal divorce, you do commit adultery because you are still legally married (in God’s eyes). Fornication is listed as the exception, not baptism. Getting dunked in the water is not a license to get married again after a divorce, for the sin continues.

Does MATT 19:1-9 apply only to the Christian, or to all mankind?

When it was stated by Jesus, there were no Christians. How could it so exclusively apply? Nevertheless, to thwart those who try to make a distinction, let’s consider the passage, noting the portions I highlight.

Matthew 19:1-9, “And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these sayings, he departed from Galilee, and came into the coasts of Judea beyond Jordan; And great multitudes followed him; and he healed them there. The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them AT THE BEGINNING made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away He saith unto them, Moses BECAUSE OF THE HARDNESS OF YOUR HEARTS suffered you to put away your wives: but FROM THE BEGINNING IT WAS NOT SO. And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.”

Jesus circumvented the Law of Moses, taking His teaching all the way back to creation, using God’s original Law on the institution of marriage as a buttress and justification for His teaching. It is the hardness of people’s hearts that want another justification for divorce. It was in Moses’ day, and it is the same in ours. However, Jesus, unlike Moses, never made an exception for the hardness of hearts. Rather, you will either love Him and willingly follow, or you will reject Him and be lost.

If someone has remarried following an unscriptural divorce, would repentance for that include “putting away” or divorcing from the current spouse?

Yes and no. Allow me to explain. God grants divorce, as repugnant as it is to Him (Malachi 2:16), for the reason of adultery. He grants divorce on no other grounds. Therefore, a man may be divorced in the eyes of man and the law of the land, yet not be divorced in the eyes of God. A man (or woman) who obtains a divorce by man on other grounds is never really divorced in God’s eyes. If he (or she) tries to remarry, that person is a polygamist in the eyes of God. That is the reason that the second marriage is a continual sin, rather than a one time event. Such a relationship is continually committing adultery, as opposed to only committing the adultery in a one-time event. People who hold the opposing view are comparing a night after night relationship with that of a one night stand, if you will allow me that expression. They are comparing apples with oranges, as it were, and can get no valid answer to the dilemma because of it.

Yes, the illegitimately married person must cease to have any relationship with the new partner as a necessary part of repentance. Additionally, in order to comply with Romans 13:1-7 where we must obey the laws of the land that are not contradictory to God’s Law, that person must get a government divorce. However, since the marriage was never real in the eyes of God, I balk at calling this action a “putting away” since the person never really had anything in the first place TO “put away.”

Brother Chad, I applaud your desire to serve the church, and especially our youth.Please do not hesitate to call on me again if you need assistance.

In His Service,
Marvin Howard
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