We come again today to the next passage in 1
Corinthians as we have been going through it
and looking at all of the different things that
the Apostle Paul speaks of. And today we come
to chapter 7, verses 10 through 16. The title
today is Biblical Principles for Marriage, Divorce,
Separation, and Mixed Marriages. We'll begin
reading verse 10. Now to the married I command,
yet not I, but the Lord. A wife is not to depart
from her husband. But even if she does depart,
let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to
her husband. And a husband is not to divorce
his wife. But to the rest I, not the Lord, say.
If any brother has a wife who does not believe
and she is willing to live with him, let him
not divorce her. And a woman who has a husband
who does not believe, if he is willing to live
with her, let her not divorce him. For the unbelieving
husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving
wife is sanctified by the husband. Otherwise
your children would be unclean, but now they
are holy. But if the unbeliever departs, let
him depart. A brother or a sister is not under
bondage in such cases. But God has called us
to peace. For how do you know, O wife, whether
you will save your husband? Or how do you know,
O husband, whether you will save your wife? Let's
pray. Father, as we have read this passage in
the scripture, Lord, We seek enlightenment. We
seek wisdom, Lord. And we pray for your wisdom
in understanding this, that you would tell us,
Lord, that you would guide us in our understanding
and interpretation of this passage. We ask, O
Lord, that you would be with us today and open
up our hearts that all that is said might be
pleasing to you and would be according to your
word. And we ask for the power of the Holy Spirit.
We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. The Apostle Paul
moves on to the next two questions in his response
to the letter from the church in Corinth, which
he spoke of in verse 1 of this chapter. He is
still dealing with the subject of marriage principles,
as we looked at last week, but today it is with
the subject of divorce and mixed marriages. There
are two key questions that are addressed in this
text. Question number one, is divorce permissible
between two Christians? Question number two,
what is a Christian's duty in a mixed marriage,
that is, a believer and an unbeliever? Now this
subject, of course, is very pertinent to our
time and place. Indeed, who among us has not
been affected by the divorce of parents or siblings
or children and even our own selves? The deleterious
effect of divorce especially no -fault divorce
in this culture and particularly to children,
has been incalculable. It has been an awful and
tragic mess. Paul does not address every situation
in this passage because he's answering questions.
But I will deal with the subject in a greater
detail. And I'm going to also look to three other
passages. three additional ones, to give us a
good background for our understanding of this
passage. I'm not going to expound on all of these,
but they will shed light on some principles here
as I deal with the passage. The first is in Deuteronomy
chapter 24, beginning in verse 1. When a man
takes a wife and marries her, and it happens
that she finds no favor in his eyes because he
has found some uncleanness in her, and he writes
her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her
hand, and sends her out of his house, when she
has departed from his house and goes and becomes
another man's wife, If the latter husband detests
her and writes her a certificate of divorce,
puts it in her hand and sends her out of his
house, or if the latter husband dies who took
her as his wife, then her former husband who
divorced her must not take her back to be his
wife after she has been defiled. For that is
an abomination before the Lord, and you should
not bring sin in the land which the Lord your
God is giving you as an inheritance. Now in this
case, among a number of things, this law gives
the ability to divorce if a man finds that his
wife has been guilty of uncleanness. That is,
it's a type of shameful exposure or indecency
or nakedness. While this could have led to adultery,
it was likely a lesser offense because adultery
by either a husband or a wife was punishable
by death in the civil code of Israel. But many
of the Jews by Jesus' time took this to mean
anything that the husband didn't like. If he
found a more beautiful woman or if she burnt
his food or whatever, that was some type of uncleanness.
Jesus then speaks to this and gives a corrective
thing in Matthew chapter 19 and Mark chapter
10, which we're going to look at in a moment.
The next background passage is Malachi chapter
2, verse 13 to 16. And this is the second thing
you do. You cover the altar of the Lord with
tears, with weeping and crying, so he does not
regard the offering anymore, nor receive it with
goodwill from your hands. Yet you say, for what
reason? Because the Lord has been witness between
you and the wife of your youth, with whom you
have dealt treacherously. Yet she is your companion
and your wife by covenant. But did he not make
them one, having a remnant of the Spirit? And
why one? He seeks godly offspring. Therefore
take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously
with the wife of his youth. For the Lord God
of Israel says that he hates divorce, for it
covers one's garment with violence, says the
Lord of hosts. Therefore take heed to your spirit.
that you do not deal treacherously. The third
background passage is Matthew chapter 19, verse
3 to 9. This is Jesus speaking. The Pharisees
also came to him, testing him and saying to him,
Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for
just any reason? And he answered and said to
them, Have you not read that he who made them
at the beginning made them male and female? And
said, for this reason, a man shall leave his
father and mother and be joined to his wife,
and the two shall become one flesh. So then,
they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore,
what God has joined together, let not man separate,
they said to him. Why then did Moses command
to give a certificate of divorce and to put her
away? He said to them, Moses, because of the
hardness of your hearts. permitted you to divorce
your wives, but from the beginning it was not
so. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife,
except for sexual immorality, and marries another,
commits adultery, and whoever marries her who
is divorced, commits adultery. Mark chapter 10,
verse 2 and 10 is a restatement of the passage
in Matthew, except that it does not record the
exception for sexual immorality. Now in all of
these, we see the clear command in the Old and
New Testaments that marriage is ordained by God.
It is holy. It is sacred. And from the very beginning
of time, God created male and female and said,
Therefore shall a man leave his father and his
mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall
become one flesh. It's recorded in Genesis chapter
2, verse 24, for all times. And this is also
repeated several times throughout the scriptures.
The Old Testament passage and Jesus' words were
given, In a predominantly Jewish setting. And
by that I'm referring to the Deuteronomy passage.
The Malachi. And Jesus words. Jesus himself said
in Matthew chapter 15 verse 24. I was not sent
except to the lost sheep of Israel. Of the house
of Israel. But Jesus greatly expands this in
his great commission to the apostles. For they
are to go throughout to the whole world. And
Paul builds upon this in a predominantly Gentile
setting. 1 Corinthians 7 is addressed to the
worldwide body of Christ, both Jew and Gentile.
This shift is crucial because the gospel's expansion
creates new realities, including mixed faith
marriages. And Paul's going to deal with that
and will help us to understand. As we see what
Paul is saying. So let's now seek to fully understand
this text. The first point is simply this. Paul
and Jesus command to married believers. This
is in verse 10 and 11. Paul declares here. Now
to the married I command. Yet not I but the Lord.
A wife is not to depart from her husband. But
even if she does depart. Let her remain unmarried.
or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband
is not to divorce his wife. Now Paul begins this
section by addressing the married. So it's clearly
here he's speaking to married people. And to
the question, is divorce permissible between
two Christian believers? The answer is very clear
and very straightforward without any equivocation.
He answers this with a clear no. He says, I command
a wife is not to depart from her husband and
a husband is not to divorce his wife. Now, to
depart is kind of the same word as divorce, even
though there's two Greek words, but they're synonyms.
To depart is to separate, to put asunder, and
thus refers to the same thing, which is used
for the husband in verse 11. Now, there are many
times in the scriptures where Paul exhorts, where
he encourages. He even makes some suggestions.
Like back in verse 6, he said, I speak by permission
and not of commandment. But it is not so in this
passage. He gives a strong command. It is a decree.
But this command, however, is not only from him,
but he calls on Jesus. He says, I say this, but
yet not I, but the Lord. So he's referring here
to Jesus, that Jesus is commanding this. Now,
as he refers to Jesus as Lord, this is the Greek
word kurios, which refers to Jesus, who is Lord.
He is Lord of everything, before whom every knee
is to bow, of those in earth and heaven and under
the earth. So in saying this, Paul is referencing
Jesus' commands back in Matthew 19, which we
just read, and Mark 10. Whoever divorces his
wife and marries another commits adultery against
her. And if a woman divorces her husband and
marries another, she commits adultery. So the
answer to this question is very clear. Both Paul
and Jesus say this is not to happen. and so it
is in nearly all circumstances. Paul gives, however,
one clarification to the wife. She is not to
depart, but if, against this command, she does
depart, then she is to remain unmarried or be
reconciled to her husband. Those are the choices
that are given there in that case. Now, I need
to explain something. In Scripture, subjects
are frequently developed In various passages.
The study of the word gives light. And so we
need to look at all the scripture. In order to
have a fuller understanding. So it is with this
passage. Because Paul does not refer to this.
He does not say this. But Jesus clearly gives
an exception to this command. In Matthew chapter
19. Paul is going to give another exception.
That of desertion. in verses 13 to 15. And this
is how fully developed theology works. We look
at the whole of Scripture, not just one proof
text. If we were to proof text this right here,
we would say, in no condition at all times, for
any reason, can there be divorce between a husband
and a wife, if they're Christians. And yet, here
we are going to consider two exceptions. So the
first one, Let me just say, there's been many
examples of wrong or incomplete doctrine and
practice in the history of the church because
of proof texting it as opposed to looking at
the whole of scripture. Paul does not speak of
this exception, but Jesus allows for divorce
and for remarriage in the event of sexual immorality.
sexual immorality this is the word pornea again
we've looked at that a number of times in as
we've been going through chapter five six and
seven it means any type any type of illicit unlawful
sexual immorality adultery fornication homosexuality
lesbianism bestiality incest and i would include
with that in drawing from it porn used with self
-gratification Therefore, we believe that if
a husband or wife is guilty of the sin of porneia,
it is lawful for the innocent party to sue for
divorce and to marry another as if the offending
party were dead. This teaching is Jesus' authoritative
interpretation of Deuteronomy 24, verses 1 to
4. And Paul's appeal to the teaching of Jesus
shows that both the Old Testament and the Lord's
teaching are both norms for Christian ethics.
While divorce is lawful, though, it is not required.
If there is true repentance and a change of heart
in ways, then there's a possibility of being
reconciled even if one of the partners has had
an affair or something like that. There's a possibility
of that. So even though divorce is a possibility,
a lawful one, it is not required in this case.
It's up to the individual and based on repentance
and so forth. Now, why is this question asked
by the Corinthians? Why are they asking about
divorce? Well, there are several possibilities.
It could be that there were some in the congregation
who were advocating celibacy in marriage, and
perhaps some wanted to be celibate by simply
divorcing their partners. We know that there
was a strain of asceticism there, and this could
have been. I think this is a possible one, but
probably not very likely. The second possibility
is that some Christian wives knew that their
husbands had had a history of sexual immorality
and may have wondered if Paul expected them to
abandon their husbands. Now this is in the context
where they're saved. God saved them, but there's...
You know, there's a lot of mess in the background
because of all of this. And so is it permissible
if I would want to, because I don't want to be
involved in that in any way or be tainted by
it, can I just divorce my husband? That's a possibility.
We know that there were a lot of people in the
church who had been involved in all sorts of
immorality. We saw that back in 6 verse 9 where
Paul gives a great list and then he says, such
were some of you. But you have been washed. Or
third, perhaps simply, some were having marriage
difficulties and they wanted the easy way out.
Rather than doing the hard work of maintaining
a marriage and working for reconciliation and
peace. They simply wanted out. Remember the cultural
pressures in Corinth. There was the Jewish laxity.
Easy divorce for any displeasure. Based on a
misreading of Deuteronomy 24. It was very common.
Among the Jews. There was the ascetics. They
urged separation or divorce. To pursue higher
spirituality. And there was the libertines. Where
divorce and remarriage were acceptable. In any
circumstance. Paul is very clear though in this
passage. In all normative cases. He takes the
prevailing views of Corinth to task. And once
again. He lifts up exclusive lifelong marriage.
Covenant faithfulness as the standard in the
Christian church. To the married I command. A
wife is not to depart from her husband. And a
husband is not to divorce his wife. Now this
is not to say that it will be easy. As we all
know. At least all of us who are married. When
two people come together, they have different
ways, different manners, different mannerisms.
They each have their own particular besetting
sins. They irritate one another. And sometimes
they do thoughtless deeds, hurtful actions, and
even use argumentative or irritating speech against
the other. Every husband and every wife is a
sinner saved by grace and in need of sanctification
and growth. We all know this instinctively. When
we come together, there's adjustments, there's
things, there's hardships. Marriage is hard work.
It often involves conflict. And yet grace...
and repentance and mutual forgiveness are available.
And so I encourage you all, keep short accounts
with each other and be quick to confess your
sins when you sin against the other. And be just
as quick to forgive and to be reconciled. When
sins are not confessed and forgiven, then they
stack up and they create hardship and then bitterness,
and then a root of bitterness defiles you. And
so... Both the one who sinned and the one who
was sinned against have a problem. And hurt builds
up on top of hurts. And you have a real mess
on your hands. But Christian believers have the
Holy Spirit. We have the Word of God. And we
have the covenant community. The church for counsel
and support. And so we need to seek to resolve
problems with humility. And to not abandon the
covenant lightly. When difficulties arise between
two believers, then we must pursue reconciliation
through the means of grace. The gospel equips
us to endure and even to thrive where unbelievers
might not. And so, dear brothers and sisters,
we need to avail ourselves of this when difficulties
come in the marriage, when there are irritants,
when there's sin. Let us confess the sin. Let
us work. For peace and harmony and reconciliation.
Let me say this yet. It's a note to wives. Wives,
you are commanded to be in subjection to your
husbands in everything. Like the church is subject
to Christ. That's in Ephesians 5 verse 24. But
let me give this clarifying word. Submission
to your Christian husband does not mean enduring.
unrepentant, abusive sin, or neglect against
you without getting help. Please get help if
that is the case. Seek wise counsel from church
elders or older women or other means of biblical
counsel, even if your husband is in leadership
or is an officer of the church. Sadly, in America,
there have been far too many pastors' wives who
have endured unimaginable things from their husband,
and they felt like they couldn't get help. And
so to any of you, if you're having difficulty
or if you're suffering from abuse, then get help.
God's people are here to help you and to give
wise and good counsel. You are a daughter of
God and a member of a faithful church. So I just
encourage you in that sometimes the whole thing
of submission is then twisted to mean with I
in me am called to submit, then he can do whatever
he wants. No, that's not the case. again confront
yes deal with sin but if you won't deal with
sin then get help all right secondly then we're
going so that that is the first two verses they're
very very clear second paul's instruction then
for mixed marriages he says i not the lord say
but to the rest i not to the lord say If a brother
has a wife who does not believe and she's willing
to live with him, let him not divorce her. And
a woman who has a husband who does not believe,
if he is willing to live with her, let her not
divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified
by the wife and the unbelieving wife is sanctified
by the husband. Otherwise, your children would
be unclean. But now they are holy. But if the
unbeliever departs, let him depart. A brother
or sister is not under bondage in such cases.
But God has called us to peace. For how do you
know, O wife, whether you will save your husband?
Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will
save your wife? We're going to unpack this. And
I will say right up front. So verse 12 and 13,
very clear, easy to understand. Verse 10 and
11. Very clear, easy to understand. Verse 14,
not so much. So we're going to try to seek to
unpack that and see and get wisdom from the Lord
on that and from other wise believers. And then
we go into verse 15 and 16. And again, it's very
clear. Paul addresses situations not directly
covered in Jesus' recorded earthly teaching,
and that is of a believer married to an unbeliever.
That's what he means when he says, to the rest
I, not the Lord, say. So in other words, he's
not saying, what I'm about to tell you is not
authoritative. No, it's not that at all. What
he's saying is, Jesus didn't deal with this.
Remember, there's a new thing that's happening
here with the conversion of the world. There's
a whole host of Gentiles that are coming out
of the world and they're becoming saved. And
so now the question is, what if you have a mixed
marriage where one is saved and the other is
still an unrepentant idolater? What should be
done in cases like that? That's the question.
While Jesus did not deal with this problem directly
while he was on the earth, Jesus does deal with
it through his chosen and appointed apostles
who speak with divine authority. No man today
has this authority. It ceased when the last of
the original apostles died, which was most likely
the apostle John. With the coming of the gospel
to the Gentile world, it became far more likely
that either a wife or a husband would convert.
to the Christian faith without the other spouse.
Now there was much teaching among both the Greeks
and the Jews that the wife should follow the
religion of her husband. Jews were to marry only
those belonging to their religion and believe
that pagan wives should be divorced and the children
sent away based on the actions of Ezra and Nehemiah.
Plutarch's advice to the bride and groom emphasizes
this. A wife, he says, So you can see there the
real problem here. Again, in the ethos of the
day, in the practices of the day, this was very
common. Furthermore, Prior to this, Paul is also
taught about separation from the world and from
the unclean. Now, we know that a Christian who
marries is to marry only in the Lord. And we
see Paul's warning about being unequally yoked
with unbelievers back over in 2 Corinthians 6,
verse 14 and 18. He says, Do not be unequally
yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship
has righteousness with lawlessness? And what
communion has light with darkness? And then in
verse 17 he says, Therefore come out from among
them and be separate, says the Lord. So it's
no wonder that the Christian believers needed
clarification about the state of their mixed
marriages. Should they separate? Should they
break off the yoke? Should they divorce? Should
they break their marriage oath and covenant in
light of their conversion to the Christian faith?
And one might say, how can two walk together
unless they are agreed? Paul's answer to this,
though, It's a bit surprising. In light of all
that I just said, he is very, very clear. His
command by the authority of Jesus is very clear.
A brother with an unbelieving wife who is willing
to dwell with him, he says, do not divorce her.
A woman with an unbelieving husband who is willing
to dwell with her, do not divorce him. Marriage
is a creation ordinance and therefore should
not be broken except under extreme circumstances.
And thus a believer and an unbeliever who were
joined together in marriage and one of them was
saved should not break that. That's what Paul
is saying. Should not break that. Believer should
not seek to end the marriage solely because of
differing faith. How can this be and how can
this possibly work? Paul will then go on to explain
in verse 14 and 15 as to how this works. But
before we get to that, I think there's one other
consideration that we should be noted in this
situation. Now, Paul does not state this in this
passage. And so I'm not going to give it as an
absolute, but I think it's worthy of note. In
light of Jesus' teaching back in Matthew 19,
I'm going to quote here from Pillar Commentary
along with a story from Justin Martyr. To be
more specific about the experience of the early
Christians in Corinth, it is possible that given
Paul's understanding of marriage as an exclusive
partnership, this might include a commitment
on the part of an unbelieving spouse to abstain
from all kinds of extramarital relations. I'm
going to go on in just a bit. So what he's saying
here is this works if the other partner, the
unbelieving one, is not a serial adulterer and
is not just going out and having his flings all
over the place. Okay, then this can work. I think
that is kind of alluded to in the passage, but
again, it's not stated specifically. I'll continue.
Knowing the culture, husbands would engage in
extramarital sexual relationships. with slaves,
with prostitutes, or courtesans. And so it's
possible that Christian wives would be expected
to have to endure such behavior on the part of
unbelieving husbands. Anthony Thistleton reminds
us of the case from the second century reported
by Justin Martyr at the beginning of his second
apology. Justin relates the story of a woman
who had come to Christian faith in the context
of a marriage where both of them, both she and
her husband, had been unchaste. Upon becoming
a Christian, she became a chaste wife. and tried
to persuade her husband to adopt a similarly
chaste lifestyle based on Christ's teaching.
He alienated her, however, by continuing to live
a sexually immoral lifestyle. In spite of her
deep desire to leave him, her friends advised
her to stay to try to win her husband. Her husband
so declined in unnatural vice, however, that
in the end she gave him a writ of divorce. Upon
this, Her husband reported her to the authorities
for her Christian faith. Kind of a really interesting
wrinkle there. This is in the very, very early
church. Like I said, I think this is in the second
century. I could be wrong on that, second or
third. So all that I'm saying there here is,
again, we're putting this all together. So the
unbelieving husband or unbelieving wife can stay
with the believer. But if there is sexual immorality,
then Jesus' words come into play where then she
would be permitted to divorce. I hope I made
that clear. I'm simply applying there both the
teachings of Jesus and Paul that if the unbeliever
is sexually immoral, then Jesus' exception comes
into play and the believing spouse has grounds
for a lawful divorce. Though the religion and
beliefs are different, they can continue to live
together. But yet there is sanctification in
this mixed marriage. Verse 14, the unbelieving
spouse is sanctified by the believing spouse.
That is, he or she is set apart and dedicated
to God by the believing spouse. Furthermore,
the children are holy. rather than unclean. I'm
not planning to get into that today. I hope to
treat that in the next sermon, Lord willing,
in two weeks. I want to go into that further
because there's a lot there in that one. The
implication is that God's blessing and present
extends to the household through the believer.
And so the marriage is not defiled, but it has
potential for redemptive influence. Now we might
say, in what way is the unbelieving husband sanctified
by a believing wife? or an unbelieving wife sanctified
by a believing husband. I said this is a difficult
one, and it is. But I'm going to give you several
possibilities of the meaning of this, and I think
maybe the last one might be the best one. But
we'll kind of go through here. And again, there's
a lot of ideas on this because it's not real
clear. First of all, this does not mean... that
the unbeliever is automatically a saved person.
No, they're still unbelievers. So whatever this
sanctification is, it doesn't mean that they're
saved, as in having a new heart, regenerated,
and they'll go to heaven. So secondly, it is
worthy of note that in this case, it is not the
unclean that makes the clean profane or unholy.
Often like in the case of separation that was
talked about or in others when holy and unclean
come together the unclean makes the holy unclean.
But that is not the case here. It is the complete
opposite. Here it is that the holy makes clean
the unholy or sanctifies it in some way. The
presence of the Christian spouse has a sanctifying
influence on the unbelieving spouse. Indeed,
there are abundant blessings that flow from the
grace of God in the life of a believer that extends
to the husband and even to the whole household.
Even if just one of the spouses becomes a believer,
the influence pervades and goes through the whole
house. The unbelieving spouse receives a Christian
witness that he or she might not have received
in any other way. I love the way Anthony Thistleton
put this. He says, the lifestyle of the believing
spouse, their example, their witness and prayer
and living out of the gospel is bound to affect
the ethos and to some extent the values and lifestyle
of the home, whether this be the husband or the
wife. They live in a sacred environment, a sphere
in which God's holiness and transforming power
operate. I'll give you this one example that
can maybe help us to grasp this a little more.
We think of the difference of living in a Christian
or mostly Christian nation versus living in a
pagan nation. There's a host of wonderful blessings
that come to all citizens of a nation that operates
on Christian principles or is a Christian nation.
There's a host of blessings to it. I mean, think
about it. Low crime, living peacefully and secure,
protected rights of persons, honorable judges,
clearly defined laws, even good roads sometimes.
There's all sorts of things like that that are
the blessing of living in a nation that is pervaded
with a Christian influence. And yet, even for
the unbeliever, these blessings abound, these
collateral benefits, you might say. And so also,
I think, it is with this case in the household.
There's a sanctifying influence that permeates
either a household or a nation through the blessings
of a Christian spouse or citizens. I think this
is a very valid and plausible reason, and it's
one that I think is certainly to be understood.
However, there's also just the fact that this
could simply mean That while a Christian is not
to marry an unbeliever, for that is being unequally
yoked together, this union of believer and unbeliever
is approved and permissible. It is blessed and
sanctified by God as a consequence and extended
blessing of the conversion. So now it's simply
this is God's imprimatur upon them saying what
would have been wrong in one case. You are not,
it's now okay. You are blessed and sanctified
by God in this marriage relationship between
a believer and an unbeliever. Whatever it is,
I think I've given you some good ideas here.
Hopefully they resonate with you. But I will
say this, this principle does not, it does not
give permission or license for a Christian to
marry An unbeliever. With the expectation that.
Oh I'll have a sanctifying influence upon him.
Or I'll win him to Christ. Or win her to Christ.
If I go ahead and marry them. That is possible.
But the command is clear. We are to marry only
in the Lord. So do not use this passage. To make
an excuse for a believer. Marrying an unbeliever.
At the end of this chapter, verse 39, a wife
is bound by law as long as her husband lives,
but if her husband dies, she is at liberty to
be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord.
Only in the Lord. Well, then in verse 15 and
16, he gets into some freedom, though, if the
believer does depart, if the believer departs.
If the unbeliever departs or separates from the
Christian in the marriage, That is, they don't
want to live with the believer anymore, and so
they separate or divorce the Christian spouse.
In this case, Paul says, a brother or a sister
is not under bondage in such cases. That is,
they are no longer bound to this marriage. Not
being under bondage, they are free to remarry.
The desertion by an unbelieving spouse is the
other exception given for remarriage without
violating the word of God given by Jesus and
Paul. After being deserted, the believer is no
longer under bondage. That is, they are no longer
bound to this person. They are thus free to marry
another. The marriage has been breached and there
has been a disillusion of the bond just like
the wife spoken of in verse 39 that I just read.
A wife is bound by law as long as her husband
lives. There's a binding in marriage that takes
place. If her husband dies, she's at liberty
to be married. When he says here, are no longer
bound i believe he's meaning the same thing the
death of a husband frees the wife from being
bound so also the desertion of an unbelieving
spouse frees the other from being bound i will
say though that situations like this can be difficult
and messy and they need good and wise pastoral
counsel and care and wisdom for sure And the
reason that he gives here is that God has called
us to peace. It is much better to live in peace
than with contention and strife. Romans 12, 18.
If it is possible, as much as depends on you,
live peaceably with all men. And again in verse
19 of chapter 14 of Romans. Therefore, let us
pursue the things which make for peace and the
things by which one may edify another. Paul says,
here and it's not bondage they're not in bondage
in such such cases that god has called us to
peace now there are some interpreters of this
that will simply say that simply means that she
needs she or he simply needs to let them go That
they can just go and they don't have to be anxious
about it. But I think the word bondage there
is more indicative of being bound in marriage.
And now they are no longer bound in marriage.
And thus they are free to marry another. In the
search for peace. Remember the sanctifying influence
of the Christian spouse. He says, For how do
you know, O wife, whether you will save your
husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether
you will save your wife? There's an evangelistic
opportunity through continued witness in the
marriage. Peter speaks of this in 1 Peter 3,
verse 1 and 2, when he speaks to wives. He says,
Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands,
that if, even if, Some do not obey the word.
They, without a word, may be won by the conduct
of their wives when they observe your chaste
conduct accompanied by fear. Let us seek then
for peace. Well, let's draw a few final applications
in summary. I know in this I've gotten pretty
detailed. This passage really needs to be unpacked
and I hope I've not. bored you or created difficulty
in it. It's one of those things where it has
to be going through and explained pretty clearly.
So an application. Our culture of no -fault divorce
has wreaked havoc on faithful marriages and the
family. Just follow your heart is not a prescription
for working through difficulties and being reconciled.
No, we are to work it out. To go deep. And sadly,
many of the rom -coms or books and movies glorify
divorce, adultery, and teach a low view of marriage.
And thus then, the culture influences and affects
God's people. And so, be aware of that. We live
in a day of very easy, no -fault divorce. And
it's so easy to say, oh, I just wasn't into him
anymore. Or I just want to follow my heart. Or
this is tough, so I think I'll just go find another
one. And everything lends itself to that. We
live in a culture of no -fault divorce. I don't
want to be bothered by the responsibility anymore.
I just want to go be single again or whatever
it is. What if an unlawful divorce or remarriage
has taken place in the past? And the person or
the couple are convicted by the Holy Spirit and
the word of God that they sinned. We see this
at times. There's sometimes some notable cases
of this where there was an unlawful divorce and
remarriage that has taken place. There was sin
or there was adultery or whatever it is. So what
if this has taken place in the past? Well, then
they need to confess the sin before the Lord
and repent of it. But two wrongs do not make
a right. Therefore, they should stay in the present
marriage and live for the glory of God and work
it out. I come from a background, and this is
kind of rare, but I come from a background in
my Mennonite days where that was not allowed
and they actually forced married couples to divorce
if they had another living former spouse. And
so it just really created a mess. That's why
I just say here, if... If something like that
happened in the past, do two wrongs, do not make
a right. Don't do another divorce in light of
it. Maybe there was an affair and the husband
divorced his wife and married another and then
he saw his sin and repented. Then be faithful.
There are many examples of couples like this
who are now living faithfully and I thank God
for each one, each one that I know of. There's
always things to work through. Sin always complicates,
but do not commit the sin of another divorce.
Next, if you're having marriage difficulties
and you're even contemplating divorce or separation,
then please get help. Please get help. There
are many resources available in the church and
biblical counselors. There are good books. And
furthermore, you're surrounded with people who
love you. We all want your marriages to succeed.
That is what we want. And so if you're struggling
with something, do not give in to the thought
of divorce. For there is a way out through the
grace and the mercy of God. Resolve to fight
for your marriage with the full resources of
the gospel. You have the unique resources for
help. You have the Holy Spirit. You have the
word of God. And you have the church of Jesus
Christ by your side. In summary then. Marriage
is a covenant. God's word gives a strong emphasis
on permanence, reconciliation, and faithfulness,
reflecting God's design. Christian believers
may not divorce each other without a just cause
of sexual immorality or desertion. There are
some faithful expositors that teach that severe
or persistent abuse, especially physical or life
-threatening, may be included as a form of willful
desertion. desertion elders certainly need to
assess repentance safety and whether reconciliation
is possible and certainly matthew 18 church discipline
process applies to the abuser in that case If
a believer divorces a spouse without just cause
and refuses to be reconciled, this is a grievous
sin. And the church is responsible to admonish
the one who is departing. If they will not repent
and be reconciled, then the church will need
to consider church discipline. For this is open
rebellion against the clear commandment of the
word of God. Remember the passage in Malachi,
how the God hates. divorce and the ill treatment
of the marriage partner. And finally, mixed marriages
are not to be abandoned lightly. The believer's
presence can be a means of grace and potential
salvation for the spouse and the children. But
if the believer is deserted, they are free from
being bound and can remarry in the Lord. I hope
that this has been a helpful exposition of this
passage. Certainly, if you have questions, feel
free to ask me about them or talk about them
or further study. This is kind of a compilation
of a number of other things, and I hope that
it has been helpful. So may the Lord be praised
in it all. Let's pray.