God’s Word On
Divorce
Matthew 19:3-10
God’s Word on Divorce
We continue our study on the subject
of marriage and divorce in the Bible
It’s important that we understand what
God says on the matter
We know and hear everyday in our
society what the world thinks of
marriage and divorce
God’s Word on Divorce
What we need to do is open our ears to
what God’s word says about it
It’s not an easy subject to discuss,
simply because it affects so many
people
We must not avoid any biblical
subject, no matter how tough it may be
Conflict of Law
In the minds of many, divorce doesn’t
seem like such a bad thing or a bad
option
That thought is different than what the
Bible teaches
Why has there been such a departure
from the attitude of the scriptures?
Conflict of Law
As is the case with many other things,
we have gone the way of the society
around us
In other words, we allow society to
dictate our feelings and thoughts
toward things instead of God’s word
Ex. decency in radio, television, etc.
Conflict of Law
There are two sets of law that at times
are in conflict with one another
One is the law of the land which we
live in
That law says that a man and woman
can get divorced for any reason (or no
reason)
Conflict of Law
Then there is God’s law which gives us
2 reasons that God recognizes a
divorce or separation:
– God separates because of death
(Rom. 7:1-3; Matt. 22:23-30)
– God separates because of sexual
immorality (Matt. 19:8-9)
Conflict of Law
So what do we do?
The apostles said “We ought to obey
God rather than men” (Acts 5:29)
The marriage law that we live under is
not U.S. law, but rather God’s law
How different things would be if
people lived by this law!
God’s Word In Malachi
A few weeks ago we looked at God’s
thoughts and feelings on divorce
Malachi 2:11-16
God is a witness to our vows and our
joining together with our spouse
We are not to deal treacherously with
our spouse
God’s Word In Malachi
God Himself says “that He hates
divorce” (v. 16)
If God hates something, we should
have the same feelings towards it
(Prov. 6:16-19)
I try not to spend too much time doing
the things that I hate
Jesus’ Thoughts
It should be of the utmost importance
to us to see what Jesus said on the
matter
Jesus spoke twice on this issue
Matthew 5:31-32
God’s word is pretty cut and dry
Jesus’ Thoughts
Again Jesus was questioned about
this same thing
Jesus answer followed in
Matthew 19:4-9
This seemed to be such a difficult
command to follow that the disciples
thought it better not to marry
Jesus’ Thoughts
The command given by Jesus here that
originated with God from the
beginning is not difficult to understand
The problem lies with those who do
not wish to follow God’s law
Would that not fall under willful sin in
Hebrews 10:26?
What about Paul?
Paul spoke further on the matter in
I Corinthians 7
Vs. 10-11 speaks to the married in
general
It commands no divorce
However, if one leaves, they cannot
remarry
What about Paul?
Paul even encourages one with an
unbelieving spouse to stay (vs. 12-14)
v. 15 – “under bondage” means the
commands to serve or be subject to one
another
Allegiance to God should always
trump allegiance to our spouse
What about Paul?
No where here does Paul give
permission to remarry
Living as you were called does not
mean that we continue living in sin
(Rom. 6:1-2)
It is more in reference to things done
under the old law vs. new