1. WEEK 5 ¤ DIVORCE & REMARRIAGE
(MATT 5:31-32; 19:3-10)

2. before we start… this is hard! divorce is such an accepted option
what does the Bible have to say concerning divorce and remarriage?
the Bible doesn’t speak specifically to things like abuse within the marriage covenant
how is biblical marriage defined?

3. before we start…
Malachi 2:15-16 (NLT) 15 Didn’t the Lord make you one with your wife? In body and spirit you are his. And what does he want? Godly children from your union. So guard your heart; remain loyal to the wife of your youth. 16 “For I hate divorce!” says the Lord, the God of Israel. “To divorce your wife is to overwhelm her with cruelty,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “So guard your heart; do not be unfaithful to your wife.”

4. Matt 5:31-32 in context: anger and lust can lead to divorce
the focus (same as anger and lust) is in pleasing oneself
“it has been said…”

5. Matt 19:3 “for any and every reason?”
Deuteronomy 24:1 If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house…

6. Matt 19:3
the standard of divorce in our society communicates: "If your spouse ____, you may have another
Jesus’ primary point is to correct the idea that they could divorce one another “for any cause at all”

7. Matt 19:4-6 the divine ideal ‘what’ not ‘whom’
once the relation is entered into, God does not want it to be broken

8. Matt 19:7-8 command vs. concession hardness of heart unrepented sin
expectations not met
flawed practice of dating
selfishness

9. Matt 19:7-8 command vs. concession hardness of heart
Mark 8: …Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? 18 Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves for

10. Matt 19:7-8 command vs. concession hardness of heart
the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” “Twelve,” they replied. 20 “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” They answered, “Seven.” 21 He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”

11. Matt 19:7-8 command vs. concession
since divorce is only a concession to man’s sin and is not part of God’s original plan for marriage, all believers should hate divorce as God does and pursue it only when there is no other recourse

12. Matt 19:9
porneia- extramarital sexual relations of any kind, but also has a broader meaning than adultery; a selling off or surrendering of sexual purity; promiscuity of any and every type; habitual immorality

13. Matt 19:9
after all means are exhausted to bring the sinning partner to repentance, the Bible permits release for the faithful partner through divorce
with God’s freedom, a marriage can survive the worst sins!

14. Matt 19:10 the disciples’ response…
they realized it is a much higher standard
Luke 18: Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! 25 Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 Those who heard this asked, “Who then can be saved?” 27 Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”

15. Matt 19:10 the disciples’ response…
realized it is a much higher standard
Jesus gives the divine ideal, only possible if He is the head of the marriage
“What is impossible with man is possible with God.”

16. remarriage 1 Corinthians 7:10-15
divorce and remarriage is permitted when there is marital unfaithfulness
if you divorce your spouse, remain unmarried or else be reconciled
(it would seem) if you cannot be reconciled (they get remarried or death) -remarry

17. remarriage 1 Corinthians 7:10-15
if an unbelieving spouse leaves the marriage, the believer is not bound to the marriage
God has called us to live in peace
Matthew 18:15-17? {reconciliation}
17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan (or unbeliever) or a tax collector.

18. going forward…
God can heal and forgive past transgressions, when we repent
from that point on, the believer should continue in their current marriage

19. going forward… Malachi 2:16 (NLT)
“For I hate divorce!” says the LORD, the God of Israel. “To divorce your wife is to overwhelm her with cruelty,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. “So guard your heart; do not be unfaithful to your wife.”