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NASB | Ephesians 5:1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Ephesians 5:1 Therefore become imitators of God [copy Him and follow His example], as well-beloved children [imitate their father]; |
Bible Question:
Can anyone tell me where to find information on marraige in the bible. What the reasons for divorce in this day and age. Not of the past. What is excepted and what is not in the eyes of our lord. |
Bible Answer: Here is the second half Next is the classical reason for Divorce. Matt 5:32, 19:9 says, “I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness…” Here Jesus clarifies a debate. Deut 24:1-4 allows divorce if the man finds something indecent. Rabbi Hillel said that could mean she burnt his dinner. Rabbi Shammai said it meant only marital unfaithfulness. Jesus statement is in the category of Rabbi Shammai. Though you hear many excuses to justify divorce, because action X or Y is an act of unfaithfulness, those actions are not unfaithfulness. Marital unfaithfulness only means sex with another after marriage. See Jer 3:6 plus The except clearly states that if a person divorces for another reason, then if the partner remarries adultery is committed. If the person remarries, adultery is committed. Some try to say that means if people remarry for any reason then adultery is committed. God put the word except in. He did it for a reason. It is clear “If a man divorces for any reason EXCEPT DIVORCE and remarries, he commits adultery. This is a warning that we do not force scriptures to say what we believe, but we change our beliefs to fit scripture. One important point is when adultery occurs. We all know that to come home and discover adultery is grounds for divorce. Notice that in Matt 5:32, Mark 10:11-12, Luke 16:18, the divorce occurs first, and then the Adultery. Even if a legal marriage occurs, it is still adultery. Therefore if a person is innocent and the partner divorces them, and the partner remaries, adultery is committed. In this case, the person is now free to remarry. Now, one cannot divorce another and then sit and wait for them to commit adultery. That is entrapment. In Matt, the person is condemned for having caused the other to commit adultery. Here, the person files for divorce and waits. If after the partner commits adultery, the person feels free and remarries, it is still adultery. The only exception is the one I mentioned. When one person is willing to remain faithful, but the partner chooses divorce. If the person stays single in hopes of reconciliation, but the partner remarries, the faithful person is then free to remarry. So your partner can commit adultery, and either can file for divorce, or the unfaithful partner can file for divorce and then commit adultery. In either case the faithful partner is free to remarry after both divorce and adultery. Focus again on 1 Cor 7:3-6. Withdrawing sex until the partner is desperate and commits adultery to justify yourself is wrong. This is just another form of forbidden entrapment. Though the partner sinned, the entrapper will still sin by getting married. Abstinence must be mutual and only for a short time. This goes along with the Old Testament passage (Deut 24:4) on divorce. Here, if a man divorces hie wife, she remarries, and the second husband also divorces her, the first husband is forbidden to remarry her. If on remarriage one is forbidden to marry the exspouse ever again, it is silly to insist the person could not marry anyone else. Thus, the exception for adultery. Even here, the divorce is optional, one can choose to forgive. Also see Deut 22:13-19 Here, a man falsely accuses a woman of sexual sin in order to justify divorce. This man is forbidden to divorce her ever! Again, trying to manipulate the system is forbidden. The person can’t file for divorce and wait for the other to commit adultery. The person can’t withhold sex and wait for adultery. The person can’t falsely accuse the partner of adultery. There are only two ways. The partner can commit adultery, and the person can file for divorce and get remarried. The partner can file for divorce. If the partner is the first to either have sex or get remarried, the person is free to remarry. Fourth, Paul adds a new reason. In I Cor 7:15 “If the unbeliever leaves” We have three situations, two unbelievers married, two believers married, and now a believer married to an unbeliever. The believer cannot leave except for adultery, but the unbeliever is not constrained by Christian rules. “A believing man or woman is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace.” To understand the meaning, notice the parallel to when the widow is released, and the believer is not bound, i.e. to the law. This has to mean something different than the case in the same passage where one has to remain single or be reconciled. One situation allows for staying single but not being free to remarry, and the other allows the person to remarry. Greentwiga |