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NASB | Matthew 5:32 but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 5:32 but I say to you that whoever divorces his wife, except on grounds of sexual immorality, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who has been divorced commits adultery. [Deut 24:1-4; Luke 16:18] |
Bible Question: In Matt 5:32 whoever marries the unlawfully divorced woman (or man) commits adultery. But in 1 Cor 7:15 the unlawfully divorced may marry again. How do we decide which rule to follow when 2 believers are involved, with neither acting in a biblical fashion? for example: one may leave but the other critisized her into leaving. |
Bible Answer: Hi, tortoise! You have presented two divergent points: In Matthew 5:32, Jesus is speaking to the people of Israel and declares that the children of Abraham are not to behave as the gentiles who have not bond with Yahweh. They are to be firm in their covenant with God... not seeking to divorce their wives (back them mostly the males had wealth and power) when the next best thing came along or when the easy young thing could be had for a house, some jewelry, and an allowance! Jesus' Word is exact: He commands against divorce then and now; yet Christendom has succeeded in retaining Moses' divorce decree rather than obeying their Savior's Command! Now, 1 Corinthians 7:15 though seemingly contradicting Jesus' Word, since it is a different issue, it does not! Jesus warned that there will be a time when people will be chosen by God while others will be left behind... He went to the extent of the bedroom's intimacy (be it spouses or siblings or parent/children): I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. (Luke 17:34) This is precisely Paul's argument... during the Apostles' time Christianity was in its infancy, people were exposed to Christ's Gospel for the very first time in their lives; some were readily open to God and the Holy Spirit enlightened them and they sought Jesus, were baptized and became new creatures in Christ; other's rejected this strange doctrine of a man-God who died for them, who offered his flesh and blood for them to eat, who promised to resurrect them if only they obeyed and worshipped Him! Some of these people were living in a common-law marriage, some may have even been married in their civil/religious customs... Paul did not preach that those who converted to Christ separate themselves from their spouses who refused to believe in Christ; rather, he offered that the new convert stayed in their union with the nonbeliever... but only as long as the nonbeliever did not hinder their Christian life! Paul knew that a Christian wife/husband could assist in the conversion of the other spouse or at least bring the offspring of their union to Christ! Yet, if the believer's love and tolerance was not enough for the nonbeliever, Pual saw this as God's sign that the union was not accredited by Him, thusly the union/marriage was null and void, allowing the believer to dissolve this unequal yoke! Sadly, too many "Christians" twist Scripture to mean that if physically or mentally abused one is bound to her/his spouse... conversely, the other rule suggests that it is OK to divorce one spouse if we discover that that person was not our "soul-mate" or some other mumbo jumbo rhetoric! Paul tells us that we are to remain faithful in the service of the Lord and that we are to abide by the Lord's Command--he seeks not to set limits on us, but to allow us full and continuous growth in the Holy Spirit... this is why he calls us to imitate him as he imitates Christ. As he is enlightened by the Holy Spirit, Paul is able to negotiate the problems faced by the believers in light of Jesus' Doctrine! Recap: Christians -- no, no divorce, unless Christ's Command is broken! The world -- hey, they do as they please--even at the cost of eternal damnation! God Bless! Angel |