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NASB | 1 Corinthians 7:15 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. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 Corinthians 7:15 But if the unbelieving partner leaves, let him leave. In such cases the [remaining] brother or sister is not [spiritually or morally] bound. But God has called us to peace. |
Subject: divorce is not always a sin. |
Bible Note: Friend, your challenge to my usage of the word "sanction" paves the way for a brief lesson in English usage. Therefore, if what follows strikes you as being pedantic it is probably because it is meant to be pedantic. The etymology of the English word "sanction" goes back to a Latin word which means "to make holy." The word "sanction" encompasses a definition which involves a great deal more than merely permitting or condoning an act or condition. The core sense of "to give sanction to" is to give effective or authortative approval of, to endorse, or to encourage an action or condition. In no sense is the verb form "to sanction" to be used to convey merely the idea of "to permit" or "to condone." God permits divorce on the limited grounds of sexual immorality, but this is not to say that He encourages it, endorses it, applauds it or gives it His unqualified approbation. He does not, in fact, sanction divorce. His design for the union of a man and wife as set forth in Genesis 2:24 still stands. He hates divorce now as He did when Malachi was inspired to write the words of Malachi 2:16..... As to what I termed a flawed analogy between God's treatment of Israel and the rupture of the marital bond between a husband and his wife, my point is that it is not our privilege to draw any analogy between God and man, or between God's sovereign authority and ours. Neither man nor his thoughts or acts can ever be compared to the transcendent God. The closing chapters of Job show how swiftly and adroitly God can put man in his proper place. --Hank |