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The Divorcee

Matthew 5:31-32 It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: 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.

Introduction: We thank God for another opportunity to see another week of speaking Scriptures.
The Almighty God will keep us in the right way in Jesus name.

We are looking at the Master’s teaching on Divorce during sermon on the Mount called Beatitudes

Sermon on the Mount by the Creator of the Universe to His Disciples is to keep Disciples of Christ on the narrow path to eternal life with God.
Let us examine what should be the attitude of disciples of Christ on the issue of Divorce.

A Divorcee is anyone who is divorced from former husband or wife and no more legally in marriage.
In the law of the land and in the sight of God, Union between man and woman must be legal.

The first marriage, from which the whole world emerged was created and witnessed by God with this instruction:
Mark 10:7-9 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

Christian marriage MUST follow the manual of God, the initiator of marriage. The world can follow any other manual on marriage, the Kingdom of God is not for the world but for the chosen ones, Believers, followers of Jesus Christ who determine to implement God’s written manual, that is the Bible.

From our text, the Author of earthly marriage is saying;
“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.”

Therefore, when it comes to marriage, disciples of Christ, have a choice to obey God and live or disobey God and die.
Am I too hard? Remember death came into human existence through disobedience and it is ONLY obedience to Jesus Christ that brings life.
1 Corinthians 15:22(NLT) Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life.

Our text is on original KJV to avoid confusion when it comes to the reason why you cannot separate yourself from your wife or husband.
Jesus said; “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.”
Fornication is sexual intercourse before marriage, it is only the married that commits Adultery. Therefore,  you can put away your fiancée or fiancé caught in fornication but you cannot put away your spouse caught in adultery or any other vices.

Remember the case of Joseph and Mary before God spoke to Joseph that Mary his fiancée did not fornicate.
Matthew 1:18-20(NLT) This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph, her fiancé, was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly. As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit.

Therefore, a Christian can call off courtship once there is fornication or any vices that can cause problems but once a Christian is married, only death can put an end to that marriage relationship.

There has always been question like; supposing the spouse’s life is not safe due to constant quarrels and any other life threatening issues, should the spouse still stay together?

First of all, I can boldly tell you that those spouses in such tumorous marriage chose wrongly without involving or listening to God during courtship. Either or Both were blindfolded with canal love which the world says “It is blind”. It is after marriage that the  eyes are usually opened in such situation.
Correct Christian relationship has guidelines to genuine love which must be observed during courtship.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8(NLT) Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud  or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.  It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
Therefore, disciple that uses the above wonderful Scripture as a yardstick before going into marriage relationship will never encounter tumorous marriage.

There are usual marital differences among true  disciples of Christ due to different background and temperaments but this will surely be resolved with blissful coexistence without involvement of third party.

Now in the case of a disciple of Christ who entered into marriage with “blind love”, or ignorance the Scripture is very clear on how to deal with tumorous marriage.
1 Corinthians 7:10-11(NLT) But for those who are married, I have a command that comes not from me, but from the Lord. A wife must not leave her husband. But if she does leave him, let her remain single or else be reconciled to him. And the husband must not leave his wife.

It is very clear from the Scriptures without ambiguity, if there is need for separation in tumorous marriage, spouse MUST remain single until reconciliation or death of the partner. It sounds difficult but NOT impossible for those who sincerely admit their fault in the choice of marriage,  and earnestly desire to obey God at all cost. They will surely receive God’s grace and mercy like David.

Anything contrary to God’s instruction on marriage amounts to disobedience and death. Death may be spiritual, physical and ultimately eternal. This is inevitable for whosoever that disobeys God.

Kindly note Brethren, if you are yet to marry, you are fortunate to hear from God now and use the yardstick of God’s kind of love above to assess your partner before going into marriage. God’s kind of love is NOT Blind.

If you are already married. No matter what you are going through, know for sure that God can never be faulted.  First admit your fault, then turn to God for new wine in your marriage with determination to obey Him in all circumstances.

Hear teachers of God’s law and disciples of Christ on this matter of divorce and remarrying.
Mark 10:2-12(NLT) Some Pharisees came and tried to trap him with this question: “Should a man be allowed to divorce his wife?” Jesus answered them with a question: “What did Moses say in the law about divorce?”  “Well, he permitted it,” they replied. “He said a man can give his wife a written notice of divorce and send her away.” But Jesus responded, “He wrote this commandment only as a concession to your hard hearts.  But ‘God made them male and female’ from the beginning of creation.  ‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife,  and the two are united into one.’ Since they are no longer two but one,  let no one split apart what God has joined together.”  Later, when he was alone with his disciples in the house, they brought up the subject again. He told them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery against her.  And if a woman divorces her husband and marries someone else, she commits adultery.”

Followers of Jesus may be troubled by this fact. Yes, even disciples of Christ in the account of Matthew on the same issue also said “If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry”. I can tell you that marriage is good and designed by God. Only God can grant the grace to stay unmarried without committing sin.
Matthew 19:10-11(NLT) Jesus’ disciples then said to him, “If this is the case, it is better not to marry!” “Not everyone can accept this statement,” Jesus said. “Only those whom God helps.

Conclusion: As disciples of Christ,  do not allow the enemy to tag you a Divorcee. Devil doesn’t want godly Union because it is devastating to his mission. Your marriage can still be blissful if you allow God to visit your marital foundation for rebuilding. It may be painful initially but will finally bring out marital bliss with beauty required.
✋ Maranatha.