(Matthew 19:3-9)
The
Pharisees asked this question of Jesus. Our Lord gave the following answer: “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.”
The
Pharisees then raised another question: “Why
did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?”
Here is the Lord’s answer to their second question: “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.”
Note
the following:
- Jesus did not say that this is such a controversial subject; my elders* have requested that I not preach or talk about it.
- Jesus did not say, “I’ve been studying this subject for years and have not decided what the will of the Lord is on the subject.”
- Instead, Jesus gave a clear, concise, unmistakable and scriptural answer to the question.
We
should learn to do the same! Let the Bible answer those questions. God has
preserved His Word to do just that, to teach, correct, rebuke and guide our
ways (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:3). Therefore, as Jesus explained, the only
thing other than death, which will release one from his wife, so that he may be
married again, is fornication, an illicit sexual act (Matthew 19:9 KJV).
~Wayne Rodgers
*For clarity, this is used as an example. My elders have never hindered the truth in any way of being taught at the Gulf Breeze church of Christ. Unfortunately, there have certainly been plenty of instances where preachers have been forbidden to preach the truth when it comes to Marriage, Divorce & Remarriage.
