Diabolical Divorce Dictators

These vile animals are those who pretend that they are the only ones who can rightly divide the word of truth while they have followed the line of false teachers.

“For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.” Matthew 23:4

There is a growing brood of divisive, devilish, defiling, evil and beguiling warlocks who pose as Christian ministers as they wield their witchcraft over the unlearned by pretending to hold the key of knowledge on this matter of divorce and remarriage. They do this while corrupting the message of our gracious, merciful heavenly Father. Beware!

Any person who teaches that there’s no such thing as remarriage is a false teacher and a wolf. Run!

Questions Answered

Is all Remarriage Scriptural? Does the Person Who Remarries Automatically Commit Perpetual Adultery? Do Remarried People Have to Go Back to Their First Marriage?

Email Received Concerning Remarriage:

“Greetings from the United Kingdom. My name is Michael I live in the UK. I read with great interest your article on remarriage and wanted to thank you for publishing it on your website. Sadly, my marriage of nearly 20 years finished about five months ago. When I first met my wife she was not a believer but after I shared my faith she started attending church and started to profess some sort of faith even coming to our pastor and wife for counseling for marriage counseling prior to getting married. We got married but two months or so afterwards she stop coming to church and never took any interest in the Christian faith again. This broke my heart but I still loved her very much and went on to have two children together and married life went on. Last October she said she no longer loved me and wanted out that she wanted to sell our house and go our own way. I asked if she had really made a commitment to the Lord all those years ago ( I asked four or five times over the intervening months ) and she denied it each time saying she had no intention of ever living life as a Christian. My wife even said if I ever met anyone again she had better be a Christian. Although I always prayed for her to come to know Messiah she never did. I did not want the split but am resigned to letting her go. Can I remarry? There have been many negative articles on the internet about Divorce / Remarriage but yours was very encouraging. Some extreme views even suggest eternal damnation even for doing so on biblical grounds. I believe this view is held by Mr. Phil Schlamp a Canadian pastor. Mr. David Pawson is very well known in the UK and I was quite shocked to read of his views on the subject (Pawson is a heretic). These things don’t help when you are losing your wife even though I didn’t want this and having to sell your home and all the sadness and depression this brings. If God willing some (TRUE) Christian lady comes into my life whom we could serve Him and share our lives with I would hate to have to worry where I am spending eternity (based on the views of some ). At times some of these suggestions have sent me into the depths of desperation and condemnation on top of everything that’s falling apart around me. So thank you again for your bold stand. And thank God that some good solid Bible ministries and others do recognize legitimate Remarriage. I wish you every blessing in the Lord, please reply to this if possible. God bless from s freezing cold Great Britain. Michael

Reply:

Brother Michael, thank you for writing. Yes, you may remarry and anyone who says otherwise is teaching a “doctrine of devils,” one of which specifically is “forbidding to marry.” (1 Timothy 4:1-3) 1 Corinthians 7:15-16, 27-28 make it clear that to remarry is not a sin and God allows it, especially in the situation you have endured, where you were with an unbeliever who departed from the marriage. Deuteronomy 24:1-5 reveals that the woman who is put away by her husband is free to go remarry.

These self-righteous, crass, and sadistic devils started with a certain, determined end in mind and then go into Scripture to find that predetermined conclusion.

Those who teach that remarriage will result in eternal damnation are simply adding to God’s Word, lifting verses out of context, and bringing great bondage to the lives of believers just like the Pharisees/false teachers of Christ’s day did (Matthew 23). These are vile devils who have made the LORD out to be a cruel taskmaster. They take His holy name in vain by attributing to the Almighty, loving, gracious, merciful, forgiving heavenly Father the attributes of Satan himself.

Proverbs 19:27 instructs us this way: “Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that causeth to err from the words of knowledge.”

God’s Word assures us that “GRACE and truth came by Jesus Christ” who said “I will have MERCY and not sacrifice.” (Matthew 9:13;  John 1:17) Doesn’t James 2 tell us that “mercy triumphs over judgment”? How does this brazenly condemning attitude and doctrine these evil workers are preaching align with the whole of Scripture and what it reveals about the divine attributes of our Father and Jesus Christ? It doesn’t.

Jesus came to make men free – not free to live in disobedience – and yet, also, God is not the author of heaping condemnation and undue hardship on one of His own children due to being victimized by another person who choose/chose not to fear and serve Him. Such a picture, painted by this epidemic of vile wolves who teach such, is clearly the picture of a false god – Satan himself!

“Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” Galatians 5:1

Let me say this beloved brother, taking liberty as a mere man: Some of the most harmonious and glorious marriages I know of, between two God-fearing people, are second marriages for one or both of them.

Paul told us that anyone who is married should not in any way seek to break up their marriage, but if a marriage has been broken up by a person rebelling against the LORD, the victim of that tragic divorce is free to remarry and God will bless that marriage if they serve Him.

Are you on the email list brother? We send out an email to edify the body of Jesus. If you wish I will add you. Just let me know.

Remember, how a person views this topic at this point in their understanding, is not essential to their salvation.  Some are very concerning with their insistence in making this a make-or-break issue. Are you finished learning? Do you know and understand ALL? Concerning this very issue of marriage/divorce/remarriage, one disciple notes:

“The problem is that so many will pull out a few scriptures only. Unless we can use all the scriptures, laying them out on the table and using them all together, then we will misrepresent the truth of the scriptures. We cannot “rightly divide” one scripture.”

And He hates adultery even more. Does God’s Word tell us that He hates divorce? Yes (Malachi 2:16). God hates divorce and it’s devastating affects on people and children. Yet, the LORD told us that He hates the sins that cause divorce, namely fornication/adultery and abandonment. There is room to exercise forgiveness if the offended party chooses to do so, yet is not obligated to do such (1 Corinthians 7:14-15). “Divorce” appears one time in the Bible and “adultery” appears 40 times. Do the math.

Yes and they cite how God says once that He hates divorce (Malachi 2:16) and yet ignore that God Himself DIVORCED His own wife/people for infidelity/adultery (Jeremiah 3:8). Also, they conveniently ignore that God hates adultery more than He hates divorce and in fact, that’s exactly what causes divorce …. and the LORD is righteous and does not punish or confine the victimized party (person) to celibacy. This is an evil group who have brought many into untold bondage and sadistic evils. Beware of these no divorce, no remarriage devils. A thorough, prayerful reading of the whole counsel of our LORD’s Word will grant you His understanding.

Like it or not, God made provision for divorce from the beginning (Deut. 24:1-4). We must look at all that He stated concerning this topic as with any topic, or, we will be deceived. In a perfect world – one we definitely don’t yet live in – the two would be one and live happily ever after. BUT, there is Satan and sin in this fallen world and regrettably, some will yield to sin instead of the Savior. Even those who had once been saved but have since fallen away and departed from the faith. If they violate the marriage vows, namely with fornication/adultery, or departing/abandonment, the victimized party is free to stay or to go. Keep reading.

It’s extremely important to behold the full counsel of God’s Word, taking into account every single thing He spoke about this topic.

Jesus and His apostles were not exacting or harsh or condemning as some today are being with no biblical authority. WHY don’t we see them ever saying things like “go back to your first mate” or “you are committing perpetual adultery”??? – It’s because God still forgives sin and if He didn’t you and I would both be doomed. Have you left your first love? Is the extend of your “relationship” with God now reduced to do’s and don’t’s?

Marriage was originally intended to be permanent when instituted by its Designer (Matthew 19:3-6). The following words are presented to bring to light what the Almighty has stated concerning the unfortunate issues that face the victims of marital sins and what instructions and liberties He has sovereignly granted in such cases. Through the preponderance of Scripture it becomes clear that just like our covenant relationship with the LORD, so marriage is conditional upon the continued fidelity of each party.

The following biblical view is utterly important to apprehend, especially in light of “deceitful” or “evil workers” like Stephen Wilcox and his cultic followers who seek to bind people to their first marriage using twisted and convoluted interpretations of Scripture to the exclusion of what the whole of divine Counsel reveals (2 Cor. 11:13; Phil. 3:2; 2 Tim. 2:15). These people also seek to break up second marriages and are bringing great destruction to those gullible enough to follow their legalistic and un-scriptural counsel. Beware!

WHY DO SOME FORCE THEIR INTERPRETATION AND INSIST UPON MAKING GOD OUT TO BE A CRUEL, MERCILESS TASKMASTER WHO PUNISHES INNOCENT VICTIMS AND/OR REFUSES TO SHOW MERCY AND FORGIVE SINS? (HOS 6:6; MATT 9:13)

“I believe that God permitted divorce and remarriage, and yet of course, not to lower His standards of the ideal but to reach out and heal those victims and casualties in war caused by the other party. And, to give them hope and grace to start a new life and with their new wife. I think those legalists who cast a stumbling block using this issue are like those Pharisees in the time of Jesus. Of course we do not want to suggest that what the Law says is not holy, just and good (Romans 7:12). It is. And, because the Law expresses something of God’s own character, we can be guided by law in our living. In fact, the New Testament makes it clear that anyone walking with God and empowered by His Spirit will, in fact, fulfill the Law (Romans 8:4). The point is they acted as if law was complete. They put the focus on externals rather than on inner realities. This, of course, was Jesus’ own evaluation of them: they paid attention to details of the Law while neglecting the weightier matters of justice and mercy and faith (Matthew 23:23-24). Their approach to God was a legal approach and when we do such, we also will fall into the trap of the Pharisees. So we always want to be sure we recognize that God’s revelation is a total kind of thing, with goals and standards, yes and also with justice and grace and mercy as parts of the total picture. God’s grace gives us permission to leave under certain circumstances perpetrated by the other party, and permission to try again and start a new beginning. How gracious God is!” E.

The late Donald Stamps, in his Life in the Spirit Study Bible commentary wrote:

“EXCEPT IT BE FOR FORNICATION. God’s will for marriage is one mate, one marriage for life (vv. 5-6; see Gen. 2:24, Sol. 2:7; 4:12; Mal. 2:14). To this Jesus gives an exception, namely ‘fornication.’ Fornication is marital unfaithfulness (Gk. porneia) and includes adultery or any kind of sexual immorality (5:32; 19:9). Hence divorce is to be permitted when sexual immorality is involved. The following are important biblical facts concerning divorce.

(1) When Jesus criticizes divorce in 19:6-7, He is not criticizing a separation because of adultery, but a divorce permitted in the O.T. in those cases where a husband discovered premarital unchastity after the marriage ceremony had taken place (Deut. 24:1-4). God’s desire in such cases was that the two remain together. However, He permitted divorce due to premarital unchastity because of the hardness of the people’s hearts (vv. 7-8).

(2) In the case of immorality after marriage, the O.T. law prescribed the dissolving of the marriage by executing both the offending parties (Lev. 20:10; Deut. 22:22). This, of course, would leave the innocent person free to remarry (Rom. 7:2; 1 Cor. 7:39).

(3) Under the new covenant the privileges of the believer are no less. Although divorce is a tragedy, marital unfaithfulness is such a cruel sin against one’s mate that Christ states that the innocent party has a proper right to end the marriage by a divorce based on adultery. He or she is free to remarry another believer (1 Cor. 7:27-28).

(4) Paul’s treatment of marriage and desertion in 1 Cor. 7:12-16 indicates that a marriage also may be dissolved by the desertion of an unbelieving spouse. He further indicates that remarriage by the believer in such cases is not sin (see 1 Cor. 7:15; 27-28).” Donald Stamps, Life in the Spirit Study Bible, p. 1443

Recently, a common question about divorce and remarriage came to me via email and here it is:

QUESTION:

If you are married and a believer, and your spouse leaves you, who is not a believer, by Biblical terms, are you free to marry again?

ANSWER:

*There are two Biblical (divine) reasons that one may choose to be freed from a marriage covenant – when it is broken by their sinning partner:

1) Adultery/Fornication – Matthew 19:9

Matthew 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.”

2) Abandonment – 1 Corinthians 7:15-16

1 Corinthians 7:15-16 – “A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases” 

15 But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage (not bound to that covenant which the sinning spouse broke) in such cases: but God hath called us to peace.

16 For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife?

v15 – One must become an unbeliever, “fall away” (Luke 8:13) in order to depart from their mate for no warranted cause. No longer bound to the covenant that has been broken by the departing/abandoning party who has violated the marriage covenant. The bond of marriage is broken by the sin of the transgressing spouse – just as our relationship is broken when we sin against God who is “Holy, holy, holy,” especially in an unrepentant, ongoing fashion such as when Israel did such and were divorced by the LORD (Jeremiah 3:8).

v16 – Paul is arguing that one person (wife) is not responsible for the other, especially in terms of them rebelling. This is exactly what the LORD taught us throughout Ezekiel.

Paul says to “Let them depart” and the believer is not under bond-age, not bound to the marriage covenant if their spouse adulterates or abandons (1 Corinthians 7:15-16). GOD gave them the permission to do so due to the sin of their spouse. He put them in the drivers seat. Read Deuteronomy 24:1-4 and 1 Corinthians 7:15-16.

Many today are not being honest with the whole counsel of God’s Word. These are openly disregarding much truth from the Holy Scriptures. This will lead to dismal results in their lives.

Being “NOT under bondage”, not bound to a marriage, no longer bound to another person, comes also with the stated liberty to remarry.

“When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. 2 And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man’s wife. 3 And if the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife; 4 Her former husband, which sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before the LORD: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.” Deuteronomy 24:1-4

**Whether the departing party (“unbelieving”) was saved in the past or not is irrelevant at the time of the departure. JESUS taught that one could stop believing and become “unbelieving” or an UNbeliever (and therefore no longer be saved). See Luke 8:13; John 6:66; Ezekiel 33:12-13; Col. 1:23; Heb. 3:6, 14; 10:38-39; 2 Pet. 2:20-22… In light of this clear Biblical truth, what state a person’s heart is in at the time they “depart” from their own mate is what is important to acknowledge when considering this matter/text. I am personally of the opinion that a truly saved person (abiding, remaining presently in Christ-John 15:1-6) absolutely would NOT depart from a marriage covenant without clear Biblical grounds. Isn’t holy matrimony the second most important and sacred vow made upon the earth?…”For better or for worse, for richer or for poorer…”.

Paul speaks of being MARRIED to an unbeliever and so God does honor that as marriage. Also, more proof is when Jesus told the woman at the well that He knew she had had five “HUSBANDS” He was honoring those marriages, otherwise the Son of God would not have used the word “husbands.”

Below, Bible commentator Donald Stamps speaks to this text in 1 Corinthians 7:15:

“IS NOT UNDER BONDAGE.  In the event that an unbelieving partner abandons or divorces a believer, the marriage relation is dissolved and the believer is freed from his or her former marital obligation. “Not under bondage in such cases” means that the believer is released from the marital contract. The word “bondage” (Gk. douloo) literally means “to enslave”; ie., the faithful believer is no longer enslaved to his or her marriage vows. In this case, the abandoned believer would be free to remarry, provided he or she marries a Christian (v 39).” Donald Stamps, Life in the Spirit Study Bible

“Wherefore they are no more twain (two), but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” Matthew 19:6

One disciple notes:

“It all comes down to an issue of the heart. If the heart is right, there will be forgiveness. But no matter how right a heart might be, it cannot control the actions of the other person in a marriage and the decisions they make. If a person has done all they can to make things right, and the other refuses, then I think the scriptures show that such a person is free. Why should the innocent, and repentant party be punished for the sin, refusal, and hardness of the other?”

David Pawson’s False Teachings on Divorce and Remarriage

Many of the ruthless heretics who troll the internet to sell unsuspecting souls on their deceitful lies about marriage, divorce, and remarriage, got their teaching from David Pawson. Regrettably, based on something amiss in their own disposition, they see Pawson as convincing.

Many today hold sadistic, demonic views on divorce and remarriage which is a major sledge hammer wolves love to wield over the gullible. Unthinkably, they make God out to be some kind of harsh task master who punishes His own children when they are victimized by an unbeliever in marriage. Many of these beguilers get these teachings from David Pawson who is a false teacher. Below will be enough examination of David Pawson’s manipulation of Scripture which should be enough to reveal where he’s coming from. Like myself, David Pawson is a mere man. When people gullibly buy into the deceitful twists of men like Pawson, it reveals something about them, something that is of the enemy of souls, not the Holy Spirit of truth. “The spirit of error” is upon them (1 John 4:1-3). “Forbidding to marry” (that would include remarriage if one chooses and especially isn’t the violator) is a “doctrine of devils.” (1 Timothy 4:1-3)

DAVID PAWSON SEEMS TO APPROACH THIS SUBJECT WITH A PRECONCEIVED NOTION ABOUT GOD THAT IS NOT ALIGNED WITH WHAT THE LORD REVEALS ABOUT HIMSELF IN HIS WORD. THIS SELF-RIGHTEOUS, HYPER-HOLINESS DISPOSITION SEEMS TO APPLY TO MANY OF THOSE WHO HAVE BOUGHT PAWSON’S PUTRID PACKAGE.

Pawson, along with those gullible followers of his, make God out to be a sadistic, cruel tyrant. Below are examples of David Pawson’s purposed twisting of Scripture. In his video “Divorce and Remarriage part 1” at min. 14-15, David Pawson gives a mistruth. Pawson says:

“The only thing that Deuteronomy 24 said was that she couldn’t go back to her first husband after marrying a second. And that’s all it says.” David Pawson, Divorce and Remarriage Part 1, Min. 14-15

Really? Pawson is dead wrong and loses all credibility for this dishonesty in purposely negating vital parts of this passage. Right here in the middle of this Deuteronomy text (v2) Pawson is dealing with, Moses wrote: “And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man’s wife.“ (Deuteronomy 24:2)  So, David Pawson says concerning the divorced woman that all the Bible says here in Deuteronomy 24 is that she can’t go back to her first husband. That’s a bold faced lie because Moses here says in v2 that “she (the divorced woman) may go and be another man’s wife” which clearly sanctions remarriage.

THE LORD SAYS TO THE WOMAN WHO IS DIVORCED BY HER HUSBAND THAT “SHE MAY GO AND BE ANOTHER MAN’S WIFE.”(DEUTERONOMY 24:2) COULD IT BE ANY PLAINER?

“And when she is departed out of his house, SHE MAY GO AND BE ANOTHER MANS’ WIFE” here is a clincher for remarriage. (Deuteronomy 24:2)

Pawson says: “Moses permitted divorce but I don’t … Moses allowed divorce but Jesus didn’t.” David Pawson, Divorce and Remarriage Part 1, Min. 14:10-30

Really? Jesus 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.” (Matthew 19:9)

Pawson says:

“Moses permitted divorce but I (Jesus) don’t.” Is that true? No. Regardless of how Pawson seeks to twist and negate it, Jesus says that “for fornication” divorce is permitted (Matthew 19:9) David Pawson then erroneously states that “Moses allowed divorce but Jesus didn’t.” Jesus certainly did allow divorce and yet narrowed it down to “fornication.” Jesus gives one of the two scriptural reasons for divorce (fornication or abandonment). Notice closely the word Jesus used – “EXCEPT.” “Except” is the root word for exception. THERE IS an exception Christ gives here – “fornication.”

When dealing with the words of the Son of God recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, David Pawson really gives away his sordid attempt at promulgating his lies on this one. First, Pawson attempts to discount the Gospel of Matthew’s divine authority to non-Jews by saying that Matthew was written to the Jews, as if this first and vital New Testament Gospel/book doesn’t apply to Gentile believers. Then, David Pawson attempts to play down the plain divinely-instituted clause for divorce in Matthew by surmising (assuming) that many who are married want to go get someone else and so they desire a divorce. He attempts to read into the motives of others, the masses, by saying that those who seek a divorce do so because they are looking for a “loophole” in the divine system to get out of their current marriage. First off, this is very presumptive and stereo typish. He paints everyone with a broad brush who dares to search God’s Word for an answer concerning this subject of divorce and remarriage. I disagree and believe many others do also. Besides, Pawson’s evil surmising (guessing) has nothing to do with the divine decree and position of God on this topic.

Pawson purposely slants his message to make it sound like the Gospel of Matthew is not authoritatively written to the Gentiles. But the Gospel of Matthew is the very first Gospel and book of the New Testament canon of Holy Scripture. It’s particularly interesting that while Pawson is blaming people for seeking to find a “loophole” as an excuse to get divorced, he himself is hypocritically finding a reason to crassly write off or dismiss divine authority from Jesus’ words in Matthew concerning “fornication” being a reason to divorce. Hypocritically, Pawson himself seems to be looking for a loophole to excuse what the Son of God clearly tells us in this first of the four Gospels – that for the cause of “fornication,” divorce is allowed.

Overbearing beguilers often act as if Luke 16:8 cancels out what Jesus states elsewhere such as in Matthew 19.  It is obvious that the whole of what the Bible states about this topic must be synthesized in order to apprehend/understand the mind of Christ (Isaiah 28:10; 1 Corinthians 2:13, etc.).     …………    to illustrate this point, let’s look at another topic where the Gospels includes bits of information and yet the whole of what is taught ….

David Pawson is an insidious false teacher.

He’s convincing in his delivery but manipulates Scripture to his own evil liking. What kind of person is this sadistic?

This man is hell bent on putting people in bondage. Jesus came to set captives free didn’t He? (Luke 4:18; John 8:36; Acts 26:18, etc.)

When Jesus met the woman at the well He knew she had had five previous “husbands” and was living with yet another man (John 4). Notice that Christ Himself validated that she had 5 husbands so He recognized those as marriages and He forgave her and told her how to worship Him. She then went out and evangelized.

According to Paul, if the unbeliever leaves the believer, the believer is free to marry and is no longer bound or in bondage to that marriage covenant which is now broken by the sin of the unbeliever (1 Corinthians 7:15-16).

When you listen closely to Pawson’s message on youtube, you begin to see how he is manipulating Scripture to reach a pre-assumed, pre-decided conclusion. He does violence to Scripture in order to come to his desired conclusion.

Take a step back for a moment and ponder this: Was Jesus harsh, binding, enslaving, oppressive, and cruel in His words? Or, did Jesus come to free people? Memorize 2 Corinthians 3:17 and John 8:36. Now, the freedom and liberty Christ’s offers is of course not a license to sin but divorce is never named as a sin in Scripture much less that all sin except blaspheming the Holy Ghost is forgivable (Matthew 12:32). Where in the New Testament Scriptures do we see Christ or any of the apostles speaking works like Pawson and others teach? Where did they address this topic this way? The truth makes men free. Lies bind them. Memorize Galatians 5:1.

Then, speaking of “grounds for divorce” David Pawson says….

“Moses was regulating divorce

Pawson acknowledges that Moses taught that the woman being divorced by her husband must be given a certificate to show that she is being divorced. WHY a physical certificate other than to show another future MAN she may marry that she is free to marry him? Certainly God is all knowing so He certainly didn’t need her to have the physical paper certificate. Interesting.

Pawson then interjects his subjective view when he says:

“In my experience most people who divorce do so because they want to get remarried.”

In my opinion, this is not true and yet Pawson is using this as a reason to justify his teachings. Perhaps deep inside, Pawson himself has wanted or presently wants to be remarriage and so projects this on others (Romans 2:1-3).  Most people, or perhaps a large percentage, divorce for the very clauses Jesus and Paul His apostle gave – fornication and abandonment. How fitting that the LORD, who knows all things, prepared a clause so as to protect His people from being abused – by those who commit adultery or abandon them in a marriage covenant. This is fitting in light of the principle Christ taught in Matthew 7 where He told us that we were not obligated to remain in fellowship with “dogs” and “swine” or to give them the pearls of our time or talents because they would abuse us with those resource – “turn again and rend (tear) you.” (Matthew 7:1-6)

Pulling out stats and making questionable blanket statements is typical of one who wishes to sway minds using externals or otherwise, Pawson often speaks of the common practice of divorce and remarriage in the professing church world. But that in itself has no bearing on Scripture and deciphering biblical truth.  The Bible instructs us to study the Bible to “rightly divide the word of truth,” not statistics (2 Timothy 2:15). The simple fact is, that we live in an hour – the last hour before our LORD’s return – where the Bible foretold that those who claim to be Christians, those who have a “mere form of godliness,” would be “lovers of their own selves” and that “evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse.” (2 Timothy 3:1-13) Epidemic apostasy from that which is right in this “evil and adulterous generation” (Matthew 12:39)

The problem is, that most people have never done their own study on this topic detached from some other mere sinful man (like myself and Pawson) walking them through it and perhaps showing their own brand or even twist. So, they are relegated to be led by that mere man instead of the message of the full-counsel of Holy Writ.

Is it possible that David Pawson is producing fruit that is showing up in many who espouse his teachings that is not the “fruit of the Spirit” ….. it’s rigid, unmerciful, without divine grace and unloving? Jesus never acted this way about sinful people who were caught in adultery (John 8 ) or married to 5 men then living with another (John 4) …. you speak of Pawson’s exegesis which can be wielded in different directions according to the one piloting that exegesis ….. the Bible in our own language, as God has preserved it (Ps 12:6-7) is the line upon line, precept upon precept divine authority …. Jesus says “for the cause of fornication” and Paul gives the clause of departure or abandonment (1 Cor 7:15-16) …. so, to believe we all need Pawson, a mere man, to tell us what God has said is in itself faulty …. That would mean that no one knew the truth on this subject until now, when pawson showed up ….

Also, does God divorce those He was once “espoused” to (2 Cor. 11:2) if they violate the covenant by certain sins? YES! See 17 of those deal-breaking, covenant breaking sins in Galatians 5:19-21. So, in light of this, how could we possibly believe that God would then turn around and force us to remain in a marriage where adultery or abandonment are committed? Makes no sense.

. . .

David Pawson positions himself as the authority and for that reason many novices (young Christians) are taken in by him and sadly adopt his twisted, calculating, sadistic theology and view of God.

There’s so much MERCILESS, sinful teaching on this subject … Satan’s wolves love to use this topic as an axe to destroyed souls. David Pawson is one such wolf and those who have gullibly learned his filthy lies and are now perpetrating them upon others. They should be ashamed of themselves in their foolish self-righteous rage. For a while now I have heard of this guy Pawson and his teaching on this topic and was asked again to watch his videos on this and sent the link. So I did and it soon comes clear just how weak in the Word people are by how they just eat of what this guy says almost just because he’s just saying it. It’s pitiful.

There is SO much false teaching on this topic brother ….. David Pawson is teaching falsely about this topic and hurting a whole lot of people ….. i am uncovering some exact deception and violence he is doing to the Scriptures on this topic ….. will be adding to the above link

“Divorce is the result of sin, and like any sin the sin that leads to divorce is never OK. Note divorce is not sin, it is the result of sin, just like death is not sin, it is the result of sin. This may or may not be the result of the sin of the one divorced just like death may or may not be the result of the one who dies. We read that the wages of sin is death, so however the marriage ends, death or divorce, it’s the result of sin. Any sin that leads to divorce is not OK.” unknown author

Pertaining specifically to this topic, Paul Jennings notes:

“Some people think that having a more strict judgment than God, somehow brings God’s approval; or is it mens’ approval they seek?”

“On this subject, a lot of confusion comes, not from the scriptures (Matt 5:32 is not hard to understand) but from people sitting under bad teaching and preaching. There are many individuals setting themselves up as teachers “understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.” (1 Tim 1:7) They need to be taught all over again that the word of God is the only rule of Faith and Practice, instead of assuming the role of Pope and declaring things to be sin that Jesus has said are not sin. Trust in the Bible, not in men who twist the Bible and say it doesn’t mean what it says!” Paul Jennings

“The law teaches us that we cannot be perfect. Jesus came not for the righteous but for sinners. Jesus does not deal with the righteous legalism of always being right and never sinning (like I thought 15 years ago), but with the mercy and grace towards those who admit they are sinners.

So, you’re a sinner. Accept and live with it. So, your marriage ended as the result of sin (maybe not yours), accept it and move on in the love and grace that Jesus offers.

It’s not about your righteousness, it’s about the righteousness of Jesus and us accepting that.

So, there is no reason for divorce that is OK, all are sin. No exception. The key fact is that we have the mercy and grace of Jesus to save us from sin, and the sin that leads to divorce is exactly the same.

The one factor is that if in any way, even a small way, the sin that led to divorce was that of the divorcee, before the mercy can be received repentance is required. Once repentance is made the mercy is received and we continue with a new commitment to live to please Jesus again. If that means in a new marriage relationship, that is only fine if the Lord leads us this way. If so, no-one else can speak against it in the power and authority of Christ, since He is the final word, and He speaks directly to us if we listen to Him, and He does not control us through others.

It’s about forgiveness.” unknown

asking simple questions can often help qualify biblical truth and thereby discern true and false teachings….

Why is it that some can’t see that abandonment is abuse and a breach in a marriage covenant? Ask: WHAT was the LORD original purpose/reason for marriage? – ” And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.  … And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. … 21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; 22  And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. 23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. 24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. 25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.” Genesis 2:18-25

God permitted divorce due to sin. In the original marriage Scriptures and divine declaration concerning marriage, there was no sin. Sin entered and divorced was sanctioned due to certain sins being committed, namely abandonment and fornication/adultery. There were lots of things different before sin entered into the human race. For example, there was no ruling over the wife by the man before sin (Genesis).

***ARE THERE reasons for divorce? Is all divorce perpetual adultery? Where does the
Bible say remarriage is sin? Nowhere. It’s not mentioned in any list of sins of
which there are many lists of sins. The David Pawson sophomore’s have taken his
teaching to an even more negative extreme in that they push their poisonous
wares on others with great vitriolic venom and bitterness. They are quite
merciless. BUT the LORD and Savior Jesus never spoke or acted this way about
sinful people who were caught in adultery (John 8 ) or married to 5 men then
living with another (John 4). Only those who do not know Him would do such. Jesus
says “I will have MERCY and not sacrifice.” (Matthew 9:13)

Only an apostate (one who has departed from Christ after once knowing Him) heart could “put asunder” what God hath “joined together” without a clear Biblical precedence (Matt. 19:6; Hebrews 3:12-14). Leaving one’s mate by departing from a marriage covenant without clear Biblical grounds is sinful and hurtful to all parties and takes a hardened, conscious effort and decision to go through with. It is my opinion that this is proof in itself that the departing one is not a believer.

Is OSAS True or False?

Note: “But if the unbelieving depart, LET HIM DEPART. A brother or a sister is not under bondage (to the marriage covenant because it has been broken) in such cases: but God hath called us to peace.” 1 Corinthians 7:15

Here the Holy Ghost instructs those who have been abandoned to “Let him depart.” Notice that God does not instruct the victimized (abandoned) marriage partner to run after the departed spouse, nor does He say to “hang in there, it might get better.” Nor does God instruct the deserted one to seek to be the saving agent of this unsaved alienated partner. Although this is the belief of many in Christendom, such is no where to be found in Scripture and would be utter foolishness. In most cases, God would be contributing to the misery of His own child.

In the next verse He illustrates the possibility of the current heart state of the departing partner never changing:

“For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife?” 1 Corinthians 7:16

Paul is saying here that there is NO guarantee that the departing UNbeliever will ever choose to change his/her ways. So, in light of this, “Let them depart.” Is Paul not saying here: “Don’t try to be a hero, you are free if you would like to be. You can’t force the departed unbeliever to repent and be saved and there is no guarantee they ever will?”

Again, it is my opinion that a true believer (one who is currently believing – saved) could not possibly abandon (“depart” from) his marriage partner without Scriptural reason which would be the ONLY case in which the Holy Spirit would give him liberty to do such. The marriage covenant is sacred before God and is to be sacred before His people – For better or for worse, for richer or for poorer. Holy Matrimony is to be permanent.

Another Bible commentator states the following concerning the believer who is victimized by an abandoning or adulterating marriage partner:

“There could not possibly be such a thing as any two people of this kind having disagreements enough for a divorce or any Scriptural grounds for it.”

In following what this commentator states here, we realize that two who are truly believers, would have absolutely no reason to divorce. At such a time as one of those two would begin to turn his/her heart away from the Lord (“depart from the living God” having “an evil heart of unbelief” Heb. 3:12-14), becoming an unbeliever, this person could ultimately cause there to be a divorce.

Remember, the person departing without Biblical reason, is violating the most sacred covenant upon the earth (second only to that one with the LORD). 1 Corinthians 7:15-16 seems to confirm that the LORD doesn’t make the victimized party suffer for the sins of the violating party any more than is necessary to overcome this major offense.

The prophesied end times apostasy is also a popular angle used among those who insist on no divorce and no remarriage under any circumstances. They say that “The majority of Christians divorce and remarry-just as much as the rest of the world.” Yet, this has little to do with what the LORD reveals about marriage, divorce, and remarriage. This fact of the great falling away does nothing to alter or to negate what the Bible teaches about the subject at hand. The unbelief and disobedience of sinful men, including those who claim to be saved, does not change the will or nature of the immutable God. – “For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? 4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar.”  (Romans 3:3-4)  So, to base a conclusion on this is not wise and many today are doing just that as they lead others into bondage.

REMARRIAGE

That is, especially if the divorced person was not the violator but the violated party (victimized).

That remarriage is honorable to the LORD is also clear from the following passage:

1 Corinthians 7:27-28

27 Art thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife (divorced)? seek not a wife.

28 But and if thou (divorced person) marry, thou HAST NOT SINNED; and if a virgin (unmarried) marry, she hath not sinned. Nevertheless such shall have trouble in the flesh: but I spare you.

If John and Mary are married and John commits adultery, Mary is NOT guilty of adultery and is free to remain married to John or to divorce him. If she divorces John for violating the marriage covenant/vows, she is not under bondage to that marriage covenant John violated and is free to remarry (1 Cor. 7:27-28; Deut. 24:1-5).

One prominent Bible Commentator states the following:

“Divorce on scriptural grounds meant that a person was free to remarry, providing it was to another Christian (v15, 27-28; Matt. 5:32; 19:6). The innocent was not to be held responsible for the sins of the guilty (Ezek. 18:2-4, 13, 17-32).”

Did you know that GOD divorced His own people? The LORD got a divorce! What?! Well…

Jeremiah 3:8  “And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also.”

Do you realize that GOD Himself would not qualify to pastor certain denomination’s churches because He got a divorce and Remarried – the Gentiles?

God was abandoned by Israel and they also committed adultery on Him. Either of these violations alone warrant and fully justify divorce (Jeremiah 3:7-9, etc.).

Isaiah 50:1  “Thus saith the LORD, Where is the bill of your mother’s divorcement, whom I have put away? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away.” 

God commanded the Jewish men to divorce their wives whom they were unequally yoked with:

Ezra 10:3-5 “Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law. 
4 Arise; for this matter belongeth unto thee: we also will be with thee: be of good courage, and do it. 
5 Then arose Ezra, and made the chief priests, the Levites, and all Israel, to swear that they should do according to this word. And they sware. 

This proves that some marriages are so bad, that God would command a divorce – to get the victimized partner to safety.

Beloved, if you are going to stare the Word of God in the face and still say that abandonment is not a Scriptural reason for divorce, are you not willingly deceived and full of self-righteous religious pride as the pharisees of Christ’s day?

“And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition…Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.” Mark 7:9, 13

“Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.” Matthew 22:29

Does your denomination of mere men have any authority at all outside of obeying the Word of God? Obviously not. Are mere men and their silly doctrines final authority? Not for the true disciple of Jesus. Time to get a real life isn’t it?

Does God Punish the Victim?

Consider that Paul said that “forbidding to marry” is a “doctrine of devils.” (1 Timothy 4:1-3) So, if a child of God gets victimized by their first mate, are they forbidden to marry? In my opinion, that is nonsense. “Forbidding to marry” always leads to sin and so we must ask if God is the Author of putting someone, namely one of His own children who has been victimized, in that position? – “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man.” (James 1:13)

According to the whole counsel of Holy Scripture, the victimized party in a divorce is not sinning if they remarry (1 Corinthians 7:27-28). No amount of parading and campaigning by Satan’s evil workers is going to change this biblical fact. Such a notion is not only grossly unbiblical, but also paints the picture of a sadistic, false god who is no where to be found in Holy Writ. These false teachers, “whose damnation slumbereth not,” are brazenly misrepresenting the God who reveals Himself to us in His Word (2 Peter 2:1-3). He is the only true God and defines Himself as a merciful God of restoration to all who come to Him in repentance, no matter what their sin (Isaiah 1:16-20; Luke 15; 1 John 1:9).  A brief glimpse across the LORD’s dealings with the nation of Israel should make that more than clear (Isaiah 60:10; Ezekiel 36:36, etc.).

Divorce is horrible and destructive and yet, the God of Holy Scripture instituted and sanctioned divorce and remarriage when and if certain covenant violations are committed (Deuteronomy 24:1-4; Matthew 19:9; 1 Corinthians 7:27-28). Oh, and He did that without the puny permission of any mere sinful man.

That being said ….. Adultery is a soul damning sin (1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Galatians 5:19-21; Hebrews 12:4; Revelation 21:8, 27). Let me ask you where the Bible says that adultery is the unpardonable sin? Chapters and verses please? If God forgives an adulterer, then that divinely-forgiven person is not committing adultery anymore in God’s holy eyes, unless they choose to go back to such. Remarriage, especially concerning the victimized party is not adultery. One will notice that the adultery police who run around condemning remarried Christians show no fruit of the Holy Spirit in their rampage to bring condemnation upon those who have repented of their sins. They teach that if you are remarried, no matter the reason why, you are committing perpetual adultery. Nonsense! These evil doers who perpetrate such wicked lies are under divine condemnation and this is the fruit of their separation from God. They even go as far as to break up families and think that they do God service!

Notice how some of these vile and ungodly bondage enforcers will liken sinful homosexuals, liars, thieves, and cultists to Christians who endure a divorce based on the sin of adultery committed by their ex-spouses. They put divorces as a sin among the others listed in Scripture but God never did. How wicked and twisted! Where is divorce ever mentioned as a sin in the New Testament even one time? Chapter and verse please. Let me save you some time, it’s never mentioned as a sin. So, we must ask whether or not the Almighty forgot to tell us something we need to know. If not, those who perpetrate such falsehoods are a false teachers who are insisting that all cases of divorce, for whatever reason, are sin and that those who remarry are committing adultery! Such teaching can only come from sinful, condemned persons. No godly person would teaching such an atrocity! Those who teach such are to be marked and rejected.

“A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject;  ¹¹Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself.” Titus 3:10-11

Where O Where in any other situation, did God purposely punish a victim? This evil system of diabolical theology has the fruit of the one who has come “to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.” (John 10:10) Those who are preaching this doctrine of devils reveal who their father is – Satan.

“Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” Galatians 5:1

Beloved saint, do not be moved by the conglomeration of wolves who have their ridiculous, worthless, self-righteous degrees and teach this bondage nonsense. Remember that wolves run in packs just like the Pharisees of Christ’s day and the “conspiracy” of false prophets in Ezekiel’s day (Matthew 23; Ezekiel 22:25-27). Like the hell bound, self-righteous Pharisees of Jesus’ day, these vipers carry no authority in God’s kingdom.

“Let God be true and EVERY man a liar.” Romans 3:4

Jesus and the Woman at the Well

What Jesus Christ, the One who created man and woman and marriage, said to the woman at the well is telling:

“The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: For thou hast had FIVE HUSBANDS; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.” John 4:18

The Son of God acknowledged that this woman had “NO husband” at this time of their meeting. Yet Jesus acknowledges that though she has a man now, he’s not her husband. Yet, Jesus does the unthinkable, overthrowing self-righteous devils throughout the centuries since not withholding those of today.

Like it or not, it appears obviously that the Son of God honored “FIVE” marriages of the woman at the well. That’s the only honest conclusion one can draw from this passage. Jesus could have just as easily said “You have had one husband and then four illegitimate marriages” but He didn’t. No, instead He used the words “five HUSBANDS.” Also, Jesus had all the opportunity in the world to tell this lady that she needed to go back to her first of the “FIVE HUSBANDS” and yet didn’t. So, who’s the false teacher, Jesus Christ, or the diabolical scoundrels who are running around teaching people to go back to their first husband or wife and thereby causing and sanctioning yet another divorce?

THINGS TO PONDER:

1. In John 4, when Jesus acknowledged the woman HE SAID had“FIVE husbands”….. Did Jesus tell this lady to “go back to your first husband”? NO!
2. So, Jesus doesn’t sanction breaking up a marriage to send a divorced person back to their first husband like the devils who instruct people to do this in our day.
3. We never once see Jesus or His apostles sending a divorced person back to their first wife/husband.

There is not even one example of any of Christ’s apostles telling someone they couldn’t be remarried. Jesus never mentioned it. Paul even specifically states that one who remarries “has not sinned,” namely if they were the victimized party in the previous marriage (1 Corinthians 7:27-28). Yet, today, there are vile animals (wolves) seeking to spoil the precious souls for which Christ’s died to give liberty, as they pretend to be doing the holy work. This is what I call hyper holiness which is a feigned or false holiness that is actually brazenly unholy in the eyes of the Almighty who Himself divorced His own people (Jeremiah 3:8). Yes, God got a “divorce!” Deal with it (Jeremiah 3:8) Jesus says “I will have MERCY and not sacrifice” and when He stated this, it was to the false leaders of His day (Pharisees) (Matthew 9:13).

“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, MERCY, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. 24 Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. 25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.” Matthew 23:23-25

“Mercy, and faith” are two components Jesus lists here that are “the weightier (most) matters of the law.” (Matthew 23:23-25)

“For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.” Hosea 6:6

It’s a feigned holiness undergirding devilish wolves who inflict further harm on souls that are already greatly damaged from a divorce, namely those victimized by an adulterous traitor they were once married to.

Specifically speaking of “false prophets” and “false teachers,” Peter wrote of those who are “presumptuous” and “selfwilled.”

“But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.” 2 Peter 2:10

Actually, some people today are so arrogant as to think that God has called them to go around and correct people about things we do not see the Son of God or His holy apostles individually correcting people about, namely remarriage and insisting those remarried people need to destroy their marital bond, break up their families, and go back to their first mate. They are minding God’s business as Nicolataines like to attempt to do (Revelation 2:6, 15).  See The Deeds and Doctrines of the Nicolaitanes.

There are many divisive wolves teaching falsely on this matter. In my opinion these guys are far too presumptuous in their conclusions. The apostles and Christ are never seen telling someone to divorce for ANY reason, including a second marriage. WHY didn’t the Son of God tell the woman at the well whom He said had 5 “husbands” to go back to her first husband or to even separate from the man she was now living with? John 4 If Jesus didn’t tell this woman at the well such, why would we?

Yet, there is division being caused – schisms – among God’s people by those who are going around dictating that people leave their spouses or they are living in “perpetual adultery” – a term we see no where in Scripture. In 1 Corinthians 12:25 we are warned about unnecessarily creating “schism” in Christ’s body. A “schism” is a rent or division.

Beware: These divisive wolves who are busy bodies that are seeking to mind the business of God and others.

“But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters.” 1 Peter 4:15

For these ravenous wolves today to go around demanding that families be divided, is treasonous.

These wolves usurp authority over others, pretending to be God’s little policemen who go around demanding that remarried people leave their current mates and go back to their original mate. Going back to the first mate is actually something God calls an “abomination” in Deuteronomy 24:1-4.

You see, this is a red flag. These presumptuous methods and fruits are disturbing. This points to the same evil spirit that worked in the Nicolaitanes Jesus warns us about in Revelation 2:6 and 15. The Son of God told us that He hates their deeds and doctrines (false teachings). Nico means conquer and laitanes means the laity/the people.

God knows all hearts and we don’t. God alone knows all situations, no two which are exactly the same. No mere is all knowing and some need to cease acting as if they are (Isaiah 2:22).

We are commanded not to be “a busybody in other men’s matters.” (1 Peter 4:15) This is exactly what some are doing with no biblical authority. Again, we have 27 New Testament books with no mention of Jesus or His apostles breaking up marriages or telling even one person that they couldn’t remarry or divorce (for the sin of adultery or abandonment).

The axe-carrying devils who insist upon what they term “the permanency of marriage” often cite the Hosea exclusive predicament to try to add weight to their argument. The prophet Hosea was told by God to marry Gomer, a prostitute and to continue to get back together with her after she would leave for other men. This was done to illustrate God’s love for His people Israel and yet it’s not a catch-all intended to teach us that we have to remain married to an adulterous husband or wife. Jesus sanctioned divorce yet only if there was infidelity.

“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.” Matthew 19:9

Jesus was specifically targeting the Jews who were deceitfully finding “creative” ways to divorce their wives – petty excuses to break their vows. Jesus says that unless they commit “fornication” (have sex with someone other than their husband or wife) there is no cause for divorce. Yet, if they do adulterate – “except it be for fornication” – then there is just cause to divorce them if the victimized party chooses to.

Some of these wolves use quotes from figures from the first few centuries as if to add weight to their arguments. Yet, most of those so-called “early church fathers” are heretics and should not be considered for any doctrinal concern – like Origen, Augustine, etc. Origen of Egypt butchered the 2 manuscripts that underlie all modern corrupt Bible versions and now controlled by the catholic church (Sinaticus, Vaticanus). Augustine was a catholic pagan.  They carry no weight. Only God’s Word does and we never see in Holy Scripture any statement forbidding someone rightly divorced not to remarry. And, we do see it sanctioned (1 Corinthians 7:15-16).

According to the apostle Paul, “Forbidding to marry” (that includes remarriage) is a“doctrine of devils.” (1 Timothy 4:1-3) WHO shall we trust?

Divine authority is in the 66 glorious books of the Bible canon. This early church fathers spin is used by many to give supposed credibility to their teachings.

For God Himself to have placed the desire in His people for the opposite sex and then turn around and forbid them to marry, leaving them open to fornication, is not the God revealed in Scripture but rather a sadistic demon posing as God – a false Christ. The LORD told us that we are to “avoid fornication” which means one thing – get married (1 Corinthians 7:1-5).

Is “divorce” found in any list of sins in the Bible?

Can the sin of adultery and fornication be forgiven? Or, are they greater than Christ’s very blood?

It concerns me that you Steve, a novice at this point (no offense meant at all), have drawn conclusion  on this matter with a tight fist. I think that is unwise. You have cause division in the body of Christ by doing so.

“That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.” 1 Corinthians 12:25

In my estimation, this is further proof that satan, not God, is behind this whole “search” that some embark on as they take up with wolves who sell them on the falsehood that all remarriage is sin. It’s true that marriage is designed by God to be permanent and yet it’s also just as true that this same Creator gave all men free will and in some cases (regrettably), some choose to sin against God and violate others. God hates adultery and names it hundreds of times in His Word. Divorce is mentioned far less and one of those references reveals that God Himself divorced His wife, Israel due to her using the free will He gave her to sin against Him (Jeremiah 3:8).

Divorce and remarriage should not be but due to the sin of adultery and abandonment, God sanctions it. It’s obvious that unrepentant adulterers are going to hell yet one cannot prove that remarried Christians are adulterers, especially those who were victimized by their ex spouse.

Adultery which is a form of fornication, can be forgiven as can any and all sin except blasphemy of the Holy Ghost – “And lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and that I shall bewail many which have sinned already, and HAVE NOT REPENTED of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they have committed.” (2 Corinthians 12:21)  Notice that it was only those who “have not repented” who were in trouble. Self-righteous religious devils such as the marriage police do not understand or like the blood of Christ which forgives all sin upon repentance and confession. Too bad for these snakes!

This teaching calls into question the fruit and hearts of those who propagate this evil bondage on others.

Where is the grace of God?

Where is the mercy of God without which not one of us has a chance?

What depth of self-righteousness must under gird this evil teaching?

Of one false teacher who was running around teaching these falsehoods, a sister in Christ responded:

“She (the false teacher) has been attacking another brother in Christ on this topic of marriage. She is so wacked in her thinking, twisting Scripture. I fear that some of the babes in Christ will think that they are not forgiven of this sin, once they accepted Jesus Christ. She (the lady teaching falsely) would falsely make them believe that they MUST get a divorce from their current spouse or they will go to hell. She has been like this lately and although I forgive her, she must repent of what she is saying. She is adding to Scripture and twisting it to her beliefs.”

DIVORCE AND MINISTRY:

Does divorce disqualify a person from God’s calling on their life to serve Him? Let’s briefly examine the Scripture most used to prove such:

1 Timothy 3:2 KJV “A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;”

What does the term “the husband of one wife” mean? One study Bible states the following about this phrase:

“the husband of one wife”:

No polygamist. One could be a bishop without a wife, as Paul (1 Cor. 9:5).

Sexual immorality (fornication), including polygamy, was popular in the east in the days of the NT writings, especially in Corinth. It would appear that this is what Paul is addressing here.

The term “the husband of one wife“, means that a bishop could not be a polygamist. Paul had no wife (1 Cor. 9:5). Therefore we know that there was no requirement for a minister to be married to a wife. So, if Paul were speaking of this being a requirement, then he himself was disqualified from fulfilling the office of a bishop and yet he fulfilled the very highest office in the Church – that of an apostle. In light of this, we can see that what the Scripture is saying here is that a bishop must not be one who has many wives or more than one at a time. This is no way justifies a divorce on unscriptural grounds.

Yes, the Bible says (one time) that God hates divorce (“putting away” – Malachi 2:16), and He does. It hurts everyone involved, especially precious children. But He obviously hates abandonment even more than divorce if abandonment breaks the marriage covenant. He certainly hates adultery more than divorce because it is mentioned 40 times in Scripture and stated as a covenant breaking violation. Why would the Lord make provisions for divorce if no divinely justified divorce were possible? His provision for such started in the OT (see Deut. 24). For certain we know that God hates divorce because of the great destruction it causes to all the people involved (the marriage partners, children, extended family, friends, etc.). He cares about His creation and grieves when His people are afflicted (Judges 10:16).

Isn’t it amazing that we usually only hear one side of this issue in the BOC (Body of Christ)? Yes, God hates divorce and divorce should be avoided as much as is possible, but the same God who is unchanging (Malachi 3:6), hates abandonment and adultery even more than He hates divorce and has made provision for divorce given these violations! One is not forced to leave his/her mate if they commit one of these two offenses, but would not sin if they did (1 Cor. 7:15-16; 27-28). Forgiveness is an option/liberty for the offended partner and it is his/her decision alone to choose between staying and leaving. Every marriage in completely unique, so please don’t expose your ignorance by implying that you completely understand someone else’s situation.

No doubt that as believers we should do all and everything to cause our marriages to flourish, yet there are certain offenses which the LORD says break the covenant of marriage. Unfortunately people in this life, including marriage partners, make decisions that are not in the way of righteousness and those decisions/choices affect the people around them.

At the point that either abandonment or adultery are committed, it is up to the offended partner to choose to stay or go. The violated partner can certainly choose to remain in the marriage, forgive their mate, and help bring restoration to his/her life. (There are so many variables here that I won’t take time to expound, but the Lord will give wisdom in each individual case when His wisdom is sought – James 1:5). God has granted the liberty to stay or go to the offended party and no man can take it away. Man didn’t give the liberty to divorce for these two offenses and man can’t take it away. The choice is solely granted by the Lord (who is the One who joins people together in holy matrimony) to the offended party.

Those rabid souls who insist that there is no divorce or remarriage sanctioned of God like to use a phrase Paul uses to negate what he stated about these topics.

1Co_7:10  And unto the married I command, YET NOT I, BUT THE LORD, Let not the wife depart from  her husband:

1Co_7:12  But to the rest speak I, NOT THE LORD: If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away.

If Paul’s words and counsel in 1 Corinthians 7 are not of divine inspiration then the apostle lied in 2 Timothy 3:16 when he stated that “ALL scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine.”

Please read the following text very carefully:

“Art thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife (divorced for a Biblical reason)? seek not a wife. But and if thou marry (remarriage), thou hast not sinned; and if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned. Nevertheless such shall have trouble in the flesh: but I spare you.” 1 Corinthians 7:27-28

Why would Paul say “Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife. But and if thou (RE) marry, thou hast not sinned” if remarriage were not permitted in certain cases? Note that in this scenario Paul is speaking of the case when a believer is “loosed from a wife” (Scripturally). He then states that that person “hast not sinned” if he remarries. LORD, let Your truth make us free! Amen.

Neither of the covenant breaking clauses stated in Scripture are an excuse to seek to be loosed from a mate. God sees our hearts and would count it to be adultery if one were to seek to get out of a marriage without clear Biblical justification. Marriage is intended to be permanent (Matt. 19:3-6). Once again, this article is only being written to bring to light what the Lord has stated concerning the unfortunate issues that face the victims of marital sins.

Seeking to divorce a mate who has not violated the marriage covenant in one of these two ways (Adultery or abandonment) is a violation of God’s Word and will result in the sin of adultery (Matthew 19:9).

Matt. 19:6-9 Never be apart of causing a marriage to end in divorce. The child of God must do nothing to contribute to the demise of any marital bond (their own or anothers). If and when another person is divorced, the unmarried believer can consider that person for marriage especially if that other person has had a divorce based upon being violated by the other party in their previous marriage.

“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.” Matthew 19:6-9

There are two books offered on this topic at http://www.divorceremarriage.com/. Here is their introduction:

The conclusions (of the books):

• The Bible’s message for those suffering within marriage is both realistic and loving
• Marriage should be lifelong, but broken marriage vows can be grounds for divorce
• Biblical grounds for divorce include adultery, abuse, and abandonment
• Jesus urged forgiveness but allowed divorce for repeated unrepentant breaking of marriage vows
• Only the victim, not the perpetrator of such sins, should decide when or whether to divorce
• Anyone who divorces on biblical grounds or who is divorced against their will can remarry.

Very quick summary:

This book interprets the words of Jesus and Paul through the eyes of first century readers who knew about the ‘Any Cause’ divorce which Jesus was asked about (“Is it lawful to divorce for ‘Any Cause’” – Mt.19.3). Christians in following generations forgot about the ‘Any Cause’ divorce and misunderstood Jesus.

The ‘Any Cause’ divorce was invented by some Pharisees who divided up the phrase “a cause of indecency” (Dt.24.1) into two grounds for divorce: “indecency” (porneia which they interpreted as ‘Adultery’) and “a cause” (ie ‘Any Cause’). Jesus said the phrase could not be split up and that it meant “nothing except porneia”. Although almost everyone was using this new type of divorce, Jesus told them that it was invalid, so remarriage was adulterous because they were still married.

The Old Testament allowed divorce for the breaking of marriage vows, including neglect and abuse, based on Exod.21.10f. Jesus was not asked about these biblical grounds for divorce, though Paul alluded to them in 1Cor.7 as the basis of marriage obligations. This book argues that God never repealed these biblical grounds for divorce based on broken marriage vows. They were exemplified by Christ (according to Eph.5.28f) and they became the basis of Christian marriage vows (love, honour, and keep).”

EXHORTATIONS:

To the violated marriage partner: Remember that if God granted you a liberty, no man can take it away. The decision is yours and should be approached with much prayer (James 1:5). Beware, the legalists will cause an interruption in your peace if you do not yet have the full revelation about this matter from the LORD/Word (Matt. 22:29). Study, pray, study, pray… Close your ears and depart from those who refuse to acknowledge the full counsel of God’s Word – in most cases they are willingly blinded and lifting tradition above God’s very Word (Proverbs 9:6; Mark 7:6-13). I have personally found those who harshly attack remarriage to be some of the most vile pharisees I have ever encountered. Something inside them is dark and sinister, driving them to take up the cause of destroying others whom the LORD has freed and sanctioned to remarry. If the LORD says you are not in bondage to a marriage where your spouse has departed from you (this breaks the marriage covenant), then that choice lies in your hands and no one elses (John 16:22; Gal. 5:1).

Concerning this whole topic of divorce, marriage, and remarriage, Stephen Michels notes:

“I see no mercy from those teachers who, like that one who looked like a teenager, seem to have all the answers in a neat package. Jesus said the heart of the law is mercy.”

Beloved, though it may never happen to you (I certainly hope not), there are many Christ-centered disciples whose spouses have waxed cold and departed from them or committed adultery as the LORD foretold would happen, especially in these final days (Matt. 24:10-13; 2 Tim. 3:1-5, etc.). To them (the violated party) God gives liberty to remarry and man or religion can’t take that liberty away. It wasn’t man’s to give and it isn’t his to take away! Give God the praise.

Let us never frustrate the grace of God by attempting to impose upon these violated Christians, something that God Himself doesn’t impose upon them (Matt. 11:28-30). Whether you understand this or not at this time, it is clearly revealed in Scripture and must be acknowledged by all who name the name of Jesus, acknowledging the Bible as the final authority. Friend, let God’s Word override the myths you may have espoused in past teachings about this topic.

Here is a truth that will help govern you:

“And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.” Acts 10:15

Remember, the LORD doesn’t hold the innocent partner in bondage because the other marriage partner chose to break the covenant. God “hath cleansed” them from that marriage covenant. He is not going to punish them (the victim) for the actions of another (See Ezekiel 18:19-24; 33:20). God judges all people on an individual basis. He is perfectly just/fair. In light of this, it stands to reason that He would not force one of His own to endure the covenant-breaking sins of the other partner.

Have you noticed that when God, who is eternally perfect, made the rules, He didn’t ask for your input nor mine nor the input of a denomination? The Word of God is non-negotiable. The kingdom of God is not a democracy. Your vote means nothing. :o) If it seems that I am being harsh in repeatedly making this point, it is due to the fact that there have been far too many believers who have been disdained and rejected in various ways because they had the misfortune of being a victim of marital abuse that lead to a divinely sanctioned divorce on Biblical grounds. There are those around you and I who have experienced this misfortune and need to be healed and lifted up, not condemned or looked down upon because they went through a divorce. Divorce is terrible enough as it is. These people have and are suffering greatly and need to be lifted up with healing oil poured upon their wounds. This is why Christ came (Luke 4:18; Psalms 147:3). As you condemn not, but rather facilitate healing, you are living out the cross and following the Master who came not to condemn the world but that the world through Him might be saved (restored). See John 3:17; Luke 9:56.

We should humble ourselves and acknowledge “every word of God” to be true, lest we be found to be “liars” before the Almighty. See Matthew 4:4; Proverbs 30:5-6.

“Art thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed.” 1 Corinthians 7:27

Let those who are married seek total romantic fulfillment within our marriages as we build our homes upon the foundation of God’s truth (Proverbs 5:15-23; Psalms 127:1). God sees our hearts. He says: “seek not to be loosed.” 1 Corinthians 7:27 If we are lusting in our hearts for one who is not our marriage partner, we are committing adultery and should repent (Matt. 5:28). This is what Scripture calls “evil concupiscence” which means the secret desire for that which is forbidden (Rom. 7:8; Col. 3:5; 1 Thess. 4:5).

Let those who are married love our spouses. In the cases of others around us, let us also acknowledge the whole of the written Word of God (2 Tim. 3:16), and be transformed from the legalistics about divorce and remarriage that have long occupied the leaders and denominations of men. We must become resourceful Berean believers who are of “an honest and good heart” (Luke 8:15), and take God’s Words in the full-counsel setting in which it was placed (Acts 17:10-11; 20:20,27).

We should immediately cease from attempting to experience God vicariously – through a denomination or minister (man). Let’s get a real relationship with the LORD by getting into His Word daily for ourselves so that we can know Him and His truth for ourselves and be made free from all erroneous concepts of God (John 8:31-32).

*For sound commentary on Scriptural divorce and remarriage, see the Life in the Spirit Study Bible.

**For more information about the Scriptural doctrine of conditional eternal security, see articles under Eternal Security heading toward bottom of the Articles Page.

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MORE . . .

Someone else wrote in with these pertinent questions:

QUESTION: What about 1 Co. 7:10-11 and verse 39?

ANSWER: Good question. I wondered the same about vs 10-11. As you read this text though, vs 10-11 coupled and compared with vs 15-16, I believe you will see that vs10-11 deal with a Christian marriage or a marriage that is in tact with no covenant-breaking violation.

The key difference between vs 10-11 and 15-16 is the word “unbeliever.”

Vs 15-16 clearly deal with abandonment BY A PERSON WHO IS AN “UNBELIEVER”. Vs 10-11 speak to (are instructions to) two believers who are married and may have a time of separation due to troubles of some type, which could include great periods of persecution of the Church. Vs 15-16 deal with a believer who is married to an UNbeliever. Read the three texts closely and prayerfully and the Lord will give you the mind of Christ. Here are the three texts: vs 10-11; 15-16, 27-28.

When an UNbeliever departs, the covenant is broken and the Christian victim is free to “marry” and “hath not sinned” by doing such – see vs 27-28.

Concerning v10-11, the Full Life Study Bible, commentated by the late Donald Stamps, states:

IF SHE DEPART, LET HER REMAIN UNMARRIED. In v10 Paul recognizes that God wants marriage to be permanent. He also acknowledges, however, that sometimes a marriage relationship may become so unbearable that separation from the partner is necessary. In v11, therefore, Paul is not talking about divorce, permitted by God because of adultery, or the abandonment of the marriage partner. Rather, Paul is speaking of separation without legal divorce. He may be referring to situations where a marriage partner is acting in such a way as to endanger the physical or spiritual life of the wife and children. In such conditions, it may be best that one of the partners leave the home and neither partner remarry. It is inconceivable that Paul would advocate that a woman remain with a husband who repeatedly brought physical harm and abuse on her and the children.

Vs 39 deals with the permanence of holy matrimony, yet does not negate the instructions of God when the covenant is broken by adultery or abandonment. The only way to apprehend the mind of Christ in this matter is by considering the whole counsel of Scripture, otherwise there will be confusion and false beliefs. All preconceived and taught conceptions about this subject should be laid down in order to hear the voice of God speaking through His Word and Holy Spirit. The Lord is not as rigid and stiffnecked as many religionists today, and is not going to punish a person who has been victimized by a sinning, unbelieving marriage partner. This would be cruel wouldn’t it? Is such the nature of the one true God revealed in Scripture? I think not.

One prominent Bible Commentator states the following:

“Divorce on scriptural grounds meant that a person was free to remarry, providing it was to another Christian (v15, 27-28; Matt. 5:32; 19:6). The innocent was not to be held responsible for the sins of the guilty (Ezek. 18:2-4, 13, 17-32).”

——   EMAIL RECEIVED:
1 Corinthians 7:16
“For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife?”

“For what knowest thou, O wife” – You that are Christians, and who have heathen partners, do not give them up because they are such, for you may become the means of saving them unto eternal life. Bear your cross, and look up to God, and he may give your unbelieving husband or wife to your prayers.

As far as remarried people “bearing Godly fruit” – remember:

“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.   Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” (Matthew 7:21-23)  

Iniquity = LAWLESSNESS – man and woman are bound till death do they part. 1 Corinthians 7:39

RESPONSE:

Look at the verse for what it says please …

1 Corinthians 7:16
“For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife?”

Paul is saying exactly the opposite of what you said he’s saying Steve …. That’s clearly seen by the context …

“But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace. For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife?” 1 Corinthians 7:15-16  

If that unbelieving spouse leaves let them go because you are not in bondage (Greek = enslaved) to such a relationship. Then he goes further to convey to us that WE are not going to make the ultimate decision for our spouses or anyone else – only they can do that as is taught in Ezekiel:

“The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.” Ezekiel 18:20

Jesus told His people to shake off the dust of their feet and move on if someone doesn’t receive His Gospel message. So what you are teaching is contradicting known divinely-revealed truth.

In v16 Paul is saying “How in the world and why in the world would you think that YOU are going to save your unbelieving husband or wife? In other words, that’s NOT YOUR decision – it’s there’s only.

Comment:

“Great Article!” Frances P.

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What about the qualifications for elders?

Aren’t elders in the body of Christ forbidden from ministering if they have a living wife they are divorced from?

Reply:

Well the phrase “husband of one wife” is found in 1 Timothy 3:2 ….. there’s 2 schools of thought on this ….. many believe this simply means one wife at a time and others, as you point out, believe this means one living wife at a time. Since there are covenant breaking offenses and such allows the offended party to divorce and remarry, I see why people believe the first one.

FALSE TEACHERS: David Pawson exposed, Stephen Wilcox exposed, and Phil Schlamp’s False Teachings exposed, marriagedivorce.com cult exposed, no remarriage false teaching exposed as false

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