2. “For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband.” - Rom. 7:2 God’s ideal will is that marriage last until death !

3. Could I Divorce and remain Unmarried?  Some get tired of being married  Want to be single again  Do not intend to remarry  Is this all right? NO !

4. Could I Divorce and remain Unmarried?  Marriage is a permanent arrangement Life long obligation – Rm.7:2 Death ~ Sexual Infidelity 1 Cor. 7:39 “as long as her husband liveth”

5. Could I Divorce and remain Unmarried?  Marriage is a binding covenant Mal. 2:14 “wife of thy youth” Covenant breaker Marriage has responsibilities 1 Cor. 7:3-5 Eph. 5:22 1 Tim. 5:8 We cannot vacate our marriage

6. Could I Divorce and remain Unmarried? Unscriptural divorce brings temptation Subjects mate to temptation Matt. 5:32 God will hold us accountable

7. Jesus Teaching on Divorce Matt. 19:1-9 & Matt. 5:32 Matt. 19:1-6 Pharisees ask questions Is it lawful to divorce for every cause? Have you read God’s will ? Gen. 2:24-25

8. Jesus Teaching on Divorce Matt. 19:1-9 & Matt. 5:32 Matt. 19:7-8 Why did Moses command to give a writing of divorcement? Moses allowed – not a command Deut. 24:1 Never intended for there to be divorce

9. Jesus Teaching on Divorce Matt. 19:1-9 & Matt. 5:32 Matt. 19:9 Matt. 19:9 “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.” Any person, all persons In or out of the church

10. Jesus Teaching on Divorce Matt. 19:1-9 & Matt. 5:32 Matt. 19:9 Matt. 19:9 “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.” Divorce, release, liberate

11. Jesus Teaching on Divorce Matt. 19:1-9 & Matt. 5:32 Matt. 19:9 Matt. 19:9 “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.” Marital unfaithfulness Adultery, homosexuality If and only if fornication is the cause

12. Jesus Teaching on Divorce Matt. 19:1-9 & Matt. 5:32 Matt. 19:9 Matt. 19:9 “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.” Another person Another man or woman

13. Jesus Teaching on Divorce Matt. 19:1-9 & Matt. 5:32 Matt. 19:9 Matt. 19:9 “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.” Keeps on – continuous action As long as they live together

14. Jesus Teaching on Divorce Matt. 19:1-9 & Matt. 5:32 Matt. 19:9 Matt. 19:9 “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.” Marry a put away companion Keeps on committing adultery

15. Jesus Teaching on Divorce Matt. 19:1-9 & Matt. 5:32 Matt. 19:9 Matt. 19:9 by implication this says: “All persons who because of fornication put away their companions and form another marriage with an eligible person are persons who do not commit adultery.”

16. Jesus Teaching on Divorce Matt. 19:1-9 & Matt. 5:32 Matt. 5:32 Matt. 5:32 “But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery. Contrasting the Law of Moses This was his regulation About divorce and remarriage

17. Jesus Teaching on Divorce Matt. 19:1-9 & Matt. 5:32 Matt. 5:32 Matt. 5:32 “But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery. Divorce Break the Marriage

18. Jesus Teaching on Divorce Matt. 19:1-9 & Matt. 5:32 Matt. 5:32 Matt. 5:32 “But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery. All unlawful marital relations The one and only grounds For scriptural divorce

19. Jesus Teaching on Divorce Matt. 19:1-9 & Matt. 5:32 Matt. 5:32 Matt. 5:32 “But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery. If she remarries she will be Committing adultery The husband causeth her

20. Jesus Teaching on Divorce Matt. 19:1-9 & Matt. 5:32 Matt. 5:32 Matt. 5:32 “But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery. New companion is in adultery She is not free to remarry The husband would be in adultery if he got married again

21. Why did God make the Exception ? 1. To discourage unfaithfulness 2. To punish the guilty 3. To protect the Innocent

22. Why did God make the Exception ? Under O.T. law the guilty party was stoned to death - Lev. 20:10-16 The innocent party was free to remarry In the N.T. innocent party is free But not the guilty party !!!!

23. Why did God make the Exception ? In our society a legal divorce implies a legal right of remarriage. But a legal divorce does not necessarily imply the scriptural right of remarriage.

24. Ways that Men try to avoid These Scriptures Those out of Covenant are exempt Non-Christians cannot be guilty of any sin except those of civil law They reason: people outside the church can marry, divorce and remarry for any reason and it is not adultery.

25. Ways that Men try to avoid These Scriptures Those out of Covenant are exempt False Doctrine ! ! All men are accountable to God Mark 16:15 2 Thes. 1:7-10 obey or be lost

26. Ways that Men try to avoid These Scriptures Those out of Covenant are exempt All men are commanded to repent Acts17:30 If they are not accountable to God’s laws then they could not repent. If they are not guilty of sin then they are not lost !

27. Ways that Men try to avoid These Scriptures Those out of Covenant are exempt Rom. 1:24-32 – people out of the church were condemned for sins Matt. 14:4 “It is not lawful” Gal. 5:19-21 – the world is guilty of sins including adultery and fornication

28. Ways that Men try to avoid These Scriptures Laws Do not apply to us today Not repeated after Acts 2 when the church was established When did Matt. 19:9 apply ? Not before Christ - Deut. 24:1 Not in Heaven – Matt. 22:30

29. Ways that Men try to avoid These Scriptures Laws Do not apply to us today Matthew, Mark, Luke, John were written after Pentecost. Did not have to be repeated after Acts chapter 2 for it to apply for us today. Many things in Gospels not repeated after Acts 2

30. God’s regulations about DIVORCE and remarriage are for all people. We must abide by these regulations because we will be judged by them.

31. Sermon by Arthur Pigman Evans Church of Christ 515 Gibbs Road Evans, Ga. 30809 706-855-1249 arthurpigman@cybrtyme.com www.evansgachurchofchrist.org Sunday Evening Feb. 18, 2007