Do You Really Think That First Marriage Has Passed Away?
Let us now look at those who believe that the divorce that took place before becoming a Christian is not a matter to be concerned about. They believe that their first marriage and the subsequent divorce are something that has passed away since they have become a Christian. They need not be concerned about that old marriage and the divorce because both events took place before accepting Jesus as their personal Lord and Saviour.
This may come as a shock to many, but those who believe such a doctrine have been deceived. They have turned Jesus into a liar because they must by their doctrine claim that Jesus' words pertaining to this subject in Mark 10:2-12 and Luke 16:18 were intended only for born again Christians. However, when Jesus spoke those words, the Church had not yet been established and the Holy Spirit had not yet been poured out.
Taking into account that time in which Jesus taught these things and to whom he was speaking, it is obvious that he was proclaiming a universal truth applicable to every person at any time. Therefore, if Christians teach that divorce and remarriage is adultery only if done by believers, then they are in very deed claiming that the words Jesus used in their context are nothing more that lies. What Jesus said to the masses when the Holy Spirit had not yet been given and when the Church had not yet been established is an absolute lie if what most churches teach on this subject is true. Let us now look at those scriptures in Mark and Luke so you can decide whose words to follow and whose words to reject as lies.
Mark 10: 2 And the Pharisees came to him, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? tempting him. 3 And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you? 4 And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away. 5 And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. 6 But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. 7 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; 8 And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh. 9 What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. 10 And in the house his disciples asked him again of the same matter. 11 And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her. 12 And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.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.
Paul's words fully agree with the straightforward meaning of the above scriptures and reflect the same understanding:
1 Cor. 7: 39 The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord.Romans 7: 2 For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. 3 So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.
Boycott these foolish churches, which by Jesus' words are proven to be promoting adultery by allowing divorce and remarriage. Boycott the NIV so-called bible that legalizes divorce for adultery. It was paraphrased by those who were unenlightened to the fact that Jesus' allowance for a man to divorce his wife was for the cause of fornication, not for adultery. Matt. 5:32: 19:9, where the exception clause is found, pertains exclusively to the premarital divorce for fornication which terminates the engagement (betrothal) in societies where the betrothed couple are regarded as husband and wife before marriage. See Deut. 22:23,24; 20:7 Matt. 1:18-24
This article is distributed by a ministry that is making a call for reformation: a return to biblically sound Christianity. Articles that provide correction of other widely accepted incorrect Christian teaching may be obtained from: L. Jones, 6 Ralwin Court, Central, Port Elizabeth, 6001. Rep. of South Africa. (041) 585-1006