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Monday 1 October 2012

Divorce - Sunday Sermon Review

Sunday Sermon Review - September 30, 2012
( from my home church that I attend regularly)

Matthew 15: 4-6 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

Topic - Divorce
Text - Matthew 19:1-13 entire text posted at the bottom of this post.

Today Pastor Ben preached at our church. Continuing on in our Matthew series, he spoke on the topic of divorce. Here is some of what he said:

Divorce causes a lot of pain. We are all affected by the divorce of a couple we know. Some of you may be divorced.
The problem of divorce is not new nor only a modern day problem.
God's ideal plan for marriage from the beginning of creation is seen in the first couple of chapters of Genesis. God created male and female - joined them together to become one under God. This was God's original plan and he ordained it from the start before sin entered the world.

What does it mean to become one?
It does not mean doing everything together with your spouse or agreeing with him/her all the time. God created each individual unique and wants you to be you.
Becoming one means - you do not put your own needs ahead of those of your spouse? The question is not - What do I want to do today but rather "What would my spouse like to do?"
It means taking on the hopes and dreams of your spouse.
It means being joined together and commited to face life together.
It means keeping your wedding vows - For richer and poorer, in sickness and in health , in better times and in worser times, forsaking all others and being faithful to you alone till death separates the marriage.
God is the One who binds us together with our spouse in our marriage.
Becoming one means to become intimate in all aspects of life - emotional, physical and spiritual
You share your deepest and darkest secrets with your spouse.
You are commited to facing life together till the end.

The context of this passage is that the Pharisees are trying to trap Jesus with the question on divorce - Matthew 19: 3 The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?
The Pharisees remind Jesus that Moses allowed a written divorcement - Verse 7 Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?
The answer is found in verse 8 He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.
Due to the hardness of people's hearts - Pastor Ben stressed the importance of have a soft and forgiving heart in order to become one with your spouse in your marriage.  Failure in marriage is a result of sin and hardheartedness.
Pastor Ben took time to point out that singleness is also an option that is blessed by God just as marriage is a blessed option in life.
Pastor Ben now went on to Verse 9 in the passage where it says:  And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.
Notes from me  - As Pastor Ben was trying to explain this verse there seemed to be a barrier that prevented him from being clear in his explaination of this verse. Perhaps it is due to the fact that so many people are hurting from a broken marriage.
 Personally I think Jesus is very clear in Verse 9 and Jesus says here that there is one condition in which divorce is an option and that is if there is fornication of any kind within the marriage. Fornication here refers to sexual immorality - that is  any sexual activity outside the bond of the husband and wife togetherness. So this includes any kind of sexual immorality - premarital sex, extramarital sex, prostitution, homosexuality, pornography and beastiality etc.
According to the notes in my Bible, the part of verse 9   and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery. refers to a man who marries a woman who has been divorced because of immorality in her own body. So basically any person who becomes divorced due to immorality in his or her own life is not to be married again to another person at all.

Matthew 19: 1-13 And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these sayings, he departed from Galilee, and came into the coasts of Judaea beyond Jordan;
And great multitudes followed him; and he healed them there.
The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?
And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,
And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?
Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?
He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.
And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.
10 His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry.
11 But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given.
12 For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.
13 Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them.

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