The Truth About Marriage and Divorce, Part 2

May 23, 2021 Preacher: Ace Davis Series: The Gospel According to Mark

Topic: Marriage Scripture: Mark 10:1-12

Date: Sunday May 23, 2021      Scripture: Mark 10:1-12 Title: The Truth About Marriage and Divorce – Part 2

 

Link: Region around the Sea of Galilee

Contents

Introduction. 1

Recap of last week’s message on Divorce. 1

Context and Outline. 2

God Hates Divorce (Malachi, Ezra, Nehemiah). 3

Back to Mark chapter 10. 5

Does God allow an exception for Divorce?. 7

Immorality. 7

When an unbelieving spouse wants to leave the believing spouse. 8

Three instances when the Marriage bond is broken. 9

Reconciliation. 10

To those who have been affected by Divorce. 10

The Gospel 10

Closing. 10

 

Introduction

This morning we come to a Part 2 of The Truth About Marriage and Divorce. And within the church we can have a zeal for God and the truth of God. And sometimes we can be dogmatic where God is not dogmatic. One of those areas in which we are dogmatic, or people can be dogmatic where God is not dogmatic is this topic of divorce and remarriage.

  • There have been people throughout the life of the church who have said that under no circumstances does God ever allow for divorce.
  • Others have said that under no circumstance is anyone ever allowed to remarry if they have gone through a divorce.
  • Then you have people that will give approval to divorce for all kinds of reasons. They go beyond the biblical bounds and are even quick to give people an out when one spouse has been sinned against.

 

But what we want to do this morning is we want to be Biblical, right? We desire to be Biblical. And this morning we're going to see what God says in His Word about this issue of divorce and remarriage. 

 

Recap of last week’s message on Divorce

Last week we focused on marriage -- and we talked about what Christ taught about marriage.  And this morning we're going to see what He teaches about divorce and remarriage. And last week we saw that there were two rabbinical schools of teaching on divorce. You remember that? Two schools, two schools of thoughts –

  1. One was the school of Shammai. This school was a strict school, a strict teaching that divorce was only permissible in adultery. That was it. It was the strict school.
  2. But then you had a liberal school, the liberal school of Hillel. Hillel. And Hillel taught that you could get divorced for any reason at all. She burned your meal, divorce her. You didn't like her hair the way it was. Divorce her. Whatever reason you wanted to, you could find a reason and you could divorce your wife and that's what the school of Hillel taught.

 

Link: Map of Israel at the time of Jesus.

 

And Jesus was out in this region of Perea, and He's teaching the crowds. And as we saw last week, the Pharisees show up to test Jesus on where He landed on this issue. Jesus, where are you at with this? What school of thought do You hold to?  Are you with us in the school of Hillel? Because that's what the Pharisees believed.

 

But Jesus confronts the Pharisees with the Word of God. And remember, He points them back to who? To Moses. He points them back to Moses and the writings of Moses. And He teaches them why Moses wrote what he did in Deuteronomy chapter 24, which is what the Pharisees quoted to Him. They had misused Deuteronomy 24 and Jesus corrects them and helps them to understand why Moses wrote what he did in Deuteronomy chapter 24.  Why did Moses write what he did? It's because of the hardness of the people's heart.

 

But as we saw last week in Deuteronomy 24, Moses never commanded divorce, never commands it. Just as God never commands divorce. It is never a command in God's eyes. Moses wrote what he did in Deuteronomy chapter 24 to detour the people from divorce. His whole command was. If you divorce your wife, you can't remarry her. Which means you better think long and hard before you decide to bring a certificate of divorce to your wife. Because you can't get her back.

 

And that was the only command that he gave. And why did he give that command? Because he was trying to push the people away from divorce because the hardness of their heart was that you could just write a divorce to your wife if you wanted to for whatever reason, you divorce her and off you go to remarry another woman. But Moses was detouring them away. He wanted to push them away from divorce. And he wanted them to realize the implications of divorcing a wife. Which is why he said if you divorce her, you can never get her back.

 

That command was meant to cause the Israelites to stop and think about the implications of divorce. Moses never commanded it, and Moses never permitted it either. He never permitted divorce. But the Pharisees had taken Moses’ words, and used them to allow for divorce, as they held to their school of Hillel, the teaching of Hillel.  And they had a view that you could divorce your wife for whatever reason you wanted to.

 

Context and Outline

But what does God say about divorce? We saw it last week in Malachi chapter 2. God hates divorce.

God hates divorce. It's not in His plan for those who are married. So, what I want to do this morning is I want to give you a little bit more context of divorce and why God says in Malachi chapter 2 that He hates divorce. And then we're going to look at the biblical grounds for divorce and what God says about divorce being permissible in His eyes, so before we jump into Mark chapter 10, turn over with me to Malachi chapter 2. Malachi chapter 2.

 

God Hates Divorce (Malachi, Ezra, Nehemiah)

Malachi, as we can see, it's the last book in the Old Testament. Once you get to Matthew, just hang a left and you'll find Malachi there. Malachi is the last book in the Old Testament. But the context of Malachi -- when Malachi is professing the whole context of it, is found in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, Ezra and Nehemiah. Israel was in captivity in Babylon for 70 years because of their idolatry and their rebellion against God. Remember that? 

 

The Babylonian captivity -- they were in Babylon and God used the Babylonians as an instrument of judgment against Israel for the sin that they had fallen into -- their idolatry. And God said, you're going to be judged if you continue up this idolatry. Well, the Babylonians came in and the Babylonians laid siege to Jerusalem, and they destroyed the temple there in Jerusalem. But after seven years of this Babylonian captivity, God promised that He would bring Israel back to the land. And He did that under the leadership of Ezra and Nehemiah.

 

So, as you're reading through your Old Testament, understand Ezra and Nehemiah, once you get there, that's towards the end of Israel's history in the Old Testament there. That's what you're reading about. God used Ezra and Nehemiah to come back and rebuild Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. And they did that. But just as the hearts of the people, of the Israelites, were hard before their exile, before the captivity -- they would return, then even after God brings them back and rebuilds Jerusalem and rebuilds the temple -- within 100 years, their hearts had become hard again. Within 100 years of returning from that exile in Babylon, they are back at their sin.

 

And Malachi is writing to point out their sin and to call them to repentance. That's what the prophet Malachi does. Yeah, and Malachi gives us some details of Israel’s sin that dealt specifically with their home life in Malachi chapter 2, and so let's look at Malachi chapter 2 and verse 10. Malachi chapter 2 and verse 10. Notice what it says here.

 

10 “Do we not all have one father? Has not one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously each against his brother so as to profane the covenant of our fathers? 11 Judah has dealt treacherously, and an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the LORD which He loves and has married the daughter of a foreign god. 12 As for the man who does this, may the LORD cut off from the tents of Jacob everyone who awakes and answers, or who presents an offering to the LORD of hosts. (Malachi 2:10-12)

 

Let's stop right there. Notice what Malachi says in verse 11. Notice what he says there in verse 11. What was the sin of Israel? They had intermarried with Gentile Pagan women. Why was this wrong? Why was it wrong for the Jews to intermarry with the Gentile Pagan women?  Well, listen to what God says back in Deuteronomy chapter 7 -- listen to this -- Deuteronomy chapter 7 and verse 1 says this:

 

7:1 “When the LORD your God brings you into the land where you are entering to possess it, and clears away many nations before you, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and stronger than you, 2 and when the LORD your God delivers them before you and you defeat them, then you shall utterly destroy them.” (Deut 7:1-2)

 

That's what God calls Israel to do. He goes on and He says, you shall make no covenant with them and show no favor to them. Furthermore, you shall not intermarry with them. You shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor shall you take their daughters for your sons, for they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods. Then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and He will quickly destroy you.

 

What did God say to Israel in Deuteronomy chapter 7? Do not intermarry with the Gentile Pagan nations. You are not to marry them. You are not to give your daughters over to them and you are not to take their daughters to be yours. Why? Because if you marry the Pagan women they will turn your heart away from God to serve their false gods.

 

Anybody remember the story of King Solomon? King Solomon had 1000 wives, and what happened to King Solomon? What did those women do? They turned his heart away from the Lord. God said that's going to happen. Don't intermarry with the Pagan women. That's what Malachi is telling the Israelites back in chapter 2 and verse 11. You have married the daughter of a foreign God and you are not to do that.

 

As one commentator says, “Did you hear what Malachi said? They did not just marry the unbelieving woman, but they also married her idolatrous gods.” You see that? That's what's going on there in Malachi, and why God says you shall not go and marry a Pagan woman. Because if you go and marry a Pagan woman, she is going to turn your heart against me. You're not to do that.

 

Let's pick back up in Malachi chapter 2 and look at verse 13. Look what it says there.

 13 “This is another thing you do: you cover the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping and with groaning, because He no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. 14 Yet you say, ‘For what reason?’ Because the LORD has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. 15 But not one has done so who has a remnant of the Spirit. And what did that one do while he was seeking a godly offspring? Take heed then to your spirit, and let no one deal treacherously against the wife of your youth. 16 For I hate divorce,” says the LORD, the God of Israel, “and him who covers his garment with wrong,” says the LORD of hosts. “So take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously.” (Mal 2:13-16)

 

Malachi says to them, you weep, and you cry because God is not blessing you, because God is not receiving your worship, because God is not receiving your sacrifices, and the people at this time are spiritually barren. During this time that Malachi is writing this, again is after that 70 year period of the Babylonian captivity, when they've come back to Jerusalem when they've come back to rebuild the temple -- within 100 years they have become corrupt. Israel has become corrupt again. And both the priests and the people had become corrupt during this time. As the priests go. So goes the people. Right?  We could say that about today. As the pastors go, so goes the people.

 

They had become corrupt. They would go to worship God, but God did not accept their worship because the Israelites were hypocrites. They were hypocrites. They claimed to worship God and yet dishonored Him by their sin. What was their sin? Verse 14 tells us.  They were dealing treacherously with the wife of their youth.

 

What does this mean? They were divorcing their wives with whom they made a vow with at marriage with the wife of their youth, that is their first wife, the wife of their youth. They were divorcing their wives because they wanted to go and marry another woman. Then in verse 15 the NASB says but not one has done so who has a remnant of the spirit. And this is one of scholars say this is one of the hardest verses in the Old Testament to translate right here within the Hebrew. But many scholars believe that a better way to translate this verse in the Hebrew is how the NIV translates it, and it translates it like this “has not the Lord made them one?”  (Mal 2:15 NIV)

 

Now who's he talking about there? The husband and the wife. And what wife? The wife of his youth, his first wife. Has not the Lord made them one in flesh, in spirit? They are His. We know that's what Scripture teaches in marriage, right? The two become one flesh. A husband and wife are one -- and the husband is not to deal with his wife in a treacherous way and divorce her. They were to stay married and they were to stay married because they needed to keep the Jewish line pure. You see that?

 

God cares about His people. That's the line of the Messiah. The Messiah is coming through this line and you need to keep this line pure…do not go and marry other Pagan women, because if you go and marry other Pagan women, they're going to turn your hearts against Me and you're going to become a Pagan just like them. Jesus says, “What, therefore God has joined together, let no man separate”.  Let no man separate, not even the man who is married to his wife. That man is not to separate what God has brought together.

 

That's why God says in verse 16, for I hate divorce. For I hate divorce. And that's literally one of the last things that God says as he closes out the Old Testament. You see that? It's one of the last things that God says to His people. I hate divorce. I hate it. God hates divorce. As the men are divorcing their wives for another woman. And after Malachi, after the close of the Old Testament, there was 400 years of silence, 400 years of silence where God was not giving any new revelation to Israel. That's it, that's the end of the Old Testament.

 

What did Israel do during this time, during these 400 years of silence? Did they listen to God and obey him? No they didn't. No they didn't. As we saw, as we see with the school of Hillel, they disobeyed God in this area. In fact, they had even added more ways for a man to divorce his wife. More reasons, more excuses for a man to go and divorce his wife. They had become careless about marriage in Israel at this time. They'd allowed for a man to divorce his wife for pretty much any reason he wanted.  God's view on marriage did not change. It didn't change. God still hates divorce.

 

Back to Mark chapter 10

And as we come to Mark chapter 10, we see this personal encounter that Jesus has with His disciples as they begin to ask Him more questions about divorce, so turn back over with me to Mark chapter 10 and let's look at what Jesus says to His disciples as they ask questions about divorce.  For context, we're going to pick up in verse 2… Mark chapter 10 and verse 2.

 

2 Some Pharisees came up to Jesus, testing Him, and began to question Him whether it was lawful for a man to divorce a wife. 3 And He answered and said to them, “What did Moses command you?” 4 They said, “Moses permitted a man TO WRITE A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE AND SEND her AWAY.” 5 But Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. 6 But from the beginning of creation, God MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE. 7 FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER, 8 AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH; so they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.”
    10 In the house the disciples began questioning Him about this again. 11 And He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her; 12 and if she herself divorces her husband and marries another man, she is committing adultery.” (Mark 10:2-12)

 

Jesus is there with His disciples, and they’re in this house. What house is this? We don't know. But it's a house they're staying in in Perea.  After Jesus gets done teaching the crowds as the Pharisees come and test Him, they head back to this house. And these disciples then have more questions about this topic that Jesus was tested on…the topic of divorce.

 

And now think about these disciples at this time. What teaching do you think they had been hearing growing up and all over town? The teaching of Hallel. That was in their thoughts. Just divorce for whatever reason you want to. It's OK. As long as you fill out the certificate the way that the certificate is supposed to be filled out, and you go and you hand that to her, they cared more about the certificate than they did about the marriage. And as long as you do that the right way and you go and give her this certificate, well? Divorce. For what reason? Whatever reason you want. Did she burn your meal? Divorce her. And that's what these disciples had heard growing up. That was their thought.

 

But Jesus has a strict teaching about divorce and this must have shocked these guys. What are you talking about, Jesus? Let no man be separated from his wife? What do you mean, Jesus? This shocked these guys. And as we'll see, when we go over to Matthew's account, it shocks them greatly.

 

But look at verse 11. Look at what Jesus says there. He makes a simple statement in verse 11.

Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. And if she herself divorces her husband and marries another man, she is committing adultery. (Mark 10:11)

 

Pretty simple, pretty straightforward, right? Husband, if you divorce your wife and marry another woman, you commit adultery. Wife, if you divorce your husband and marry another man, you commit adultery. What is adultery? Sexual activity with a married person. And God hates adultery. God hates it.

In fact, God is so serious about adultery, because of what it does to destroy marriage, that He says in Leviticus 20 in verse 10:

 

  10 ‘If there is a man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, one who commits adultery with his friend’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death. 11 If there is a man who lies with his father’s wife, he has uncovered his father’s nakedness; both of them shall surely be put to death, (Lev 20:10-11)

 

The penalty for violating that marriage vow was death. Is God serious about adultery? Oh, you bet He is.

God wanted to show how serious that marriage vow was. That promise that you made to your spouse when you said “till death do us part” and you made that promise and that vow before God. God says that's a serious vow. It's a serious thing. Jesus here puts it plain and simple. If you divorce your spouse and marry another person, you commit adultery.

 

Why would Jesus say it in such a straightforward manner like this? Because the most popular reason for a Jew to divorce his wife was so that he could go and marry another woman. That's why they wanted the divorce. He found a better woman. At least he thought was a better woman. He's tired of his wife, he likes another woman, so he would just divorce her and off he goes. And then he leaves this poor woman here alone. What does she need?  Support, someone to care for her. But he's just abandoned her and left her there. So, what is that woman going to do? Go find another man, right? Because she wants someone to support her. 

 

Jesus speaks to the husband. But He also says the same thing to the wife as well. He says it both to the man and to the woman. And why would He say this to the woman? Well, because there was someone in Perea at that time that everyone knew about. We talked about her last week. This woman who did this very thing… who divorced her husband to go and marry another man.  Who was that woman?  Herodias.

 

Remember her?  Herodias divorced her husband Phillip, which was Herod's brother, so that she could go and marry Herod. Herod divorced his wife so that he could marry Herodias. And everyone knew it, in Perea knew it…they knew what was going on with this woman. And what Jesus is saying here is the sin that was committed was the sin of divorce. And that resulted because of the hardness of the heart. You broke a promise that you made with your spouse.

 

As we know, God says He hates divorce. God says that divorce is not in His plan. But then to add to that sin, any man who goes and marries another woman, commits adultery against his first wife. See that?

That's what Jesus is saying here. Not only is divorce bad, but then, to add to that sin, you commit adultery. And God is very serious about the sin of adultery. And Jesus knew that this was the reason the Pharisees were approving of divorce.   He knew that they were approving of divorce, so that a man or a woman could just go off and marry whoever they wanted. And typically, it was the men that would do that -- would write a certificate of divorce and go and marry whatever woman they wanted to. Man didn't divorce his wife so that he could just live the bachelor life and stay single. It's not why they did it. They did it so that they could go and marry another woman.

 

Jesus says when you do that, you are committing adultery against your first wife. You're committing adultery against her. What's He trying to do? Stop the divorce from happening, right? Letting them know the seriousness of it.

 

Does God allow an exception for Divorce?

Was there ever an exception for divorce? God says He hates divorce. Is there ever an exception God allows for divorce? Yes, there are. In fact there's two of them. We're going to look at these two, turn over to Matthew chapter 19 with me. Matthew chapter 19. Matthew gives us a fuller account of this interaction between Jesus and his disciples here in this house in Perea. And in Matthew chapter 19 verse 9 Jesus says this to the crowd that's there. Notice what He says in verse 9:

 

9 And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.” (Matt 19:9)

 

Immorality                

There's the exception. See that there? That's what we call the exception clause. It's the exception clause in verse 9 “except for immorality.” God says if your spouse commits adultery, then divorce is allowable. Now listen carefully. Notice I did not say then divorce is commanded. Divorce is not commanded even in adultery. But divorce is what? Allowable.  It's allowable in this case, because God would never command divorce, even in the case of immorality.

 

But this here is an instance in which God allowed for divorce to take place. That is the exception. And if his wife commits adultery and he divorces her, then as the innocent party, he is free to remarry. If His wife commits adultery and he divorces her, he is then free to remarry, and vice versa if the husband commits adultery and she divorces him, then as the innocent party, she is free to remarry.

 

But what's the whole point of the words of Christ here? What's His whole point? His whole point is that God holds marriage very high. God has a high view of marriage and He takes it very seriously. How did the disciples respond to this teaching? It shocked them. It shocked them. Look at how the disciples respond in verse 10

10 The disciples said to Him, “If the relationship of the man with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry.” (Matt 19:10)

 

It's better not to marry, but if you're gonna be tied to this woman for your whole life, then it's better not to get married at all. Right Jesus? Isn't that what you're telling us? Is that the correct view? Jesus goes on in verse 11 and 12 and says that there are some people who are able to do this. They can remain unmarried their whole life. Look what it says in verse 11,

 

11 But He said to them, “Not all men can accept this statement, but only those to whom it has been given. (Matt 19:11)

 

It's not for everyone. But there are some people who have the gift of singleness, who can remain single their entire life. I've met a few of them and they're completely content being single. And we've continued to try and get this guy to get married. Nope, not going to do it. Not going to do it. He had the gift. It was for him. He could remain single. 

 

But what is God's plan for man and woman?  Marriage.  It's marriage.   As we saw in the garden with Adam and Eve, he brought them together in marriage. And His perfect plan, His best plan, the greatest blessing comes when that man and that woman stay married for life. That's what God calls for in marriage -- to be together for life -- that's God's plan. But He does give one exception. Matthew 19 … the exception is adultery. That's the exception. But again, it's not a command. It's allowable.

 

When an unbelieving spouse wants to leave the believing spouse

 

There's a second allowance for divorce that God gives as well in Scripture. Turn over to what our scripture reading was this morning. 1 Corinthians chapter 7. 1 Corinthians chapter 7. Some of you may have noticed it as we were reading through this passage this morning. 1 Corinthians chapter 7, there's a second allowance for divorce. We'll start in verse 13. Look what it says there. 1 Corinthians 7:13

 

13 And a woman who has an unbelieving husband, and he consents to live with her, she must not send her husband away. 14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband; for otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are holy. (1 Cor 7:13-14)

 

Now let's stop right there. What does he mean by sanctified? He's just saying that the blessings will spill over into that unbelieving spouse’s life from the believer’s life. The blessing that they receive as a believer, as a child of God, when they stay with their unbelieving spouse -- being sanctified means that blessing will spill over to them. But look what he says in verse 15.

 

5 Yet if the unbelieving one leaves, let him leave; the brother or the sister is not under bondage in such cases, but God has called us to peace. (1 Cor 7:15)

 

God, writing through the apostle Paul here, tells us that the second instance in which God allows for divorce, is when an unbelieving spouse wants to leave the believing spouse. In that case, God says, let him leave. Let him leave. He's referring to divorce there. That's what those words refer to. Let him leave.

 

Now notice he does not say that the believing spouse is free to divorce their unbelieving spouse. You see that? He's not saying that the believing spouse is free to divorce the unbelieving spouse, but if the unbelieving spouse wants the divorce, let them go. It's allowable.

 

But because of the lack of peace that would result between the unbelieving spouse and the believing spouse, God says that if the unbelieving spouse wants to divorce, it is allowable in that instance. That's what he says there in the end of verse 15, but God has called us to peace.

 

And if the unbelieving spouse and the believing spouse cannot live in peace, and the unbelieving spouse wants to leave, they can go. God allows for divorce in that instance.

 

And if that happens, if that is the case, then the believing spouse is not under bondage in such cases, not under bondage in such cases, what does that mean? It simply means that the believing spouse is free to remarry…now note this…free to remarry another believer. You see that? They're not free to remarry whoever they want --they are free to remarry --the believing spouse is free to remarry another believer.

 

Because God says that we are not to be unequally yoked when we come together in marriage. (2 Cor 6:14) That is why I will never marry someone who is a believer and an unbeliever. If one of them is a believer and the other one is not a believer, you're not going to get married at Faith Bible Church, because you're not equally yoked.  God says that you are to be equally yoked.

 

Listen to 2 Corinthians 6:14.   

14 Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? (2 Cor 6:14)

 

They don't have fellowship. There's going to be turmoil in that home. There won't be peace in that home. God says that as believers we are not to be bound to unbelievers…that's called unequally yoked.

But the believer is free to remarry ---they're free to remarry and they can remarry another believer.

 

And so those are the two instances in which divorce is allowable by God.

  1. When adultery is committed.
  2. And second, when the unbeliever wants to leave.

 

Three instances when the Marriage bond is broken

And we could say that there are three instances in which the bond of marriage is broken. There's three of them.

  1. The first one is death. In death, that bond is broken. That person who is left is free to re-marry. The marriage bond is broken in death.
  2. Broken in adultery if it results in divorce.
  3. And when the unbelieving spouse wants to leave.

 

Reconciliation

Now a lot of people have questions about individual scenarios and those kinds of things, and obviously we can't get into individual scenarios here this morning. But I will say this…that in every case God always desires and wants for restoration, forgiveness and restoration to happen. Even when adultery has been committed, God doesn't command divorce, God allows for it. But He doesn't command it. Instead, God would desire for forgiveness and reconciliation to take place between that husband and that wife. That's what God would want.

 

To those who have been affected by Divorce

Now there are people here this morning who have been affected by divorce. There may be some here who have even gone through a divorce.

  • Is divorce a sin? Yes, it is -- when it doesn't have biblical grounds.
  • But is that sin forgivable and covered by the blood of Christ? Of course, it is.
  • Does God forgive those who sin in this manner? Of course, He does. God's grace extends to those who confess their sin and repent of their sin and seek forgiveness from God.

 

Listen to 1 John 1:9.

9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

 

The Gospel

All sin is forgivable at the cross.   All sin. Some of you may be here this morning and your sin is not forgiven. Your sin, not just the sin of divorce, but all of your sin. None of your sin has been forgiven, and because of your sin, you are separated from God. God sent His son 2,000 years ago, to come and live a perfect life. A life that you and I could not live. And He lived a perfect life, and He went and died on a cross as the perfect sacrifice for sinners like you and like me.

 

And He died on a cross, and He bore the wrath of God upon Himself, so that all who would trust in Him, so that all who would repent of their sin and put their faith in Christ, would not have to bear that penalty, would not have to bear the wrath of God upon themselves. He took it upon Himself. And He paid the price that you and I could not pay. He died and He was buried, and He rose again on the third day, and He's alive today. He's a living God. He is our living God. He's the living Savior of the world and He calls you to come to Him in repentance and faith. Turn from your sin and put your faith in Jesus Christ today, and you can have all of your sin forgiven.  Your heart can be cleansed. And you can spend eternity in heaven with Him forever. Come to Him today.

 

Closing

In closing, I want to read to you a part of a letter from a father to his son in law who was unfaithful to his daughter to this father daughter. This father, his name is Martin, is pleading for his son-in-law to meet with him and to discuss his sin. And here's what the father says. He says,

 

Dear Joe. You have decided to desert your wife and children to continue your adulterous affair.

Then when we meet, you must acknowledge your responsibility for that decision. You must say to my face the following words: 

 

Martin - I repudiate the agreement I made with you to love and care for your daughter. I also renounce my marriage vows made before many witnesses, and disaffirm my Christian profession. I reject God, my wife, and my children, and explicitly refuse to fulfill my responsibilities toward them.

 

Awful, though, such a declaration would be. It would be more honest than pretending that things just happen over which you have no control.

 

On the other hand, if God works through your afflicted conscience to create within your heart a sense of responsibility for your sin, and a godly sorrow that leads to repentance, I would love to pray with you. I would value the opportunity to ask God's blessing on your life and to encourage you to exercise saving faith in the Lord Jesus, whose blood is able to save us from all sin.

 

I would also like to discuss any ways in which I might be able to help you in the future. I continue to pray earnestly for you, as I do for your wife and children.

 

Yours, in the love that Christ alone can give.

Martin

 

This is a father that understands the seriousness of marriage. But this is a father who also understands the grace of God, that is extended…to even an unfaithful son-in-law. Is God serious about marriage and divorce? Of course, He is. God instituted marriage and He holds it in high esteem. While He does give two allowances for divorce, even those should not be taken lightly, because divorce should always be a last resort.  This is the truth of God's Word on this subject of divorce. 

 

Will you bow your heads with me?

 

Father, we thank You that You are a God who cares, a God who loves, a God who restores, a God who does not break Your promises. While we do break promises, we rejoice that You never break Your promises. Father, we have failed, but You have never failed. Father, we thank You for marriage and the amazing gift that it is. That the two become one flesh. Father help us to love our spouse in a greater way. Father, we thank You that You are a God who extends grace and mercy, and that in Christ there is forgiveness. We thank You for being a God who cleanses and restores. We thank You for being a God who cares for us and loves us.  And Father, as we think about the picture of marriage, we think about how You have illustrated it for us, with Christ and the church -- with Christ and us -- Christ, being the bridegroom, and we being the bride of Christ. We thank You for Christ who came and laid His life down for us. What an example for us to look to in how we are to love one another. Help us to live this out for Your glory and for Your glory alone, we pray this in the name of our savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

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