Matthew

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NASB	Matthew 19:8 He *said to them, "Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way.
AMPLIFIED 2015 2015	Matthew 19:8 He said to them, "Because your hearts were hard and stubborn Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way.

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Bible Question: OK, I know this is a common topic and I did do a search and find a lot on the particular verse. I did not however, find the question or answer I am looking for so I'll ask here.

1Cor. 7: 15 says regarding the bonds of marriage:

"But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace." (KJV)

My question is, what exactly does "unbelieving" mean here. I'm not playing on words here.

In the time in which Paul was writing, many were hearing the gospel preached (with no prior knowledge) and believing and were already married. I can see the serious conflict this would cause, especially in a Jewish home. If the unbeliever wants ot leave, it's his/her choice and the left behind believer is not in bondage to the vows. Easy to understand.

Not so easy today in many cases. How would one know if his/her spouse is an "unbeliever"? Because someone professes to be a believer does not necessarily make him/her one.

If a man wants a divorce, and his wife presents him with the will of God from scripture he might say, I'm a believer but I'm divorcing you anyway.

Where does this leave the wife in regards to her freedom to remarry?

Because he confesses to be a believer while intentionally disobeying God, is the wife now obligated to remain unmarried for the rest of her life?

Bible Answer: Thoughts on your question. How can the woman/man truly know the heart of another? Is it not true that we can only discern these things by ones actions compared to what we know about God's word. Would it not be logical that if one confesses their belief in God, yet their actions are contrary to God's will because of a willingness and premeditated choice to go against God's will, then their belief is probably not a true belief but falls in the category of unbeliever. Sinning in a moment of weakness and thinking it through and still sinning, I would think is where we can discern that the man or woman is a true believer or not. At least in man's finite understanding. Or I should say, in my finite understanding. I don't think man has the ability to truly know another's heart, but that we can only discern based on the abilities God has given us. Or is my way of thinking here actually being judgmental? I don't mean to confuse or mislead but rather understand myself.

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Matthew

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