| & JESUS KNOWS ABOUT YOUR MARRIAGE
By Harold Hancock 109 Parker Drive Lufkin, Tx. 75901 John the Baptist told Herod, "It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife" (Mark 6:18). Today, many, like Herod, have taken mates who are forbidden by God. These marriages are unlawful and constitute adultery. Marriage was instituted by God in the beginning with Adam and Eve (Genesis 2:20-24). God's basic teaching for marriage was reiterated in the New Testament by Jesus and Paul. Jesus told the Pharisees, "Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder" (Matthew 19:4-6). Paul told the Corinthians, "Let not the wife depart from her husband: But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife" (1Corinthians 7:10,11). To the Romans, Paul wrote, "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" (Romans 7:2). The writer of Hebrews says, "Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge" (Hebrews 13:4). God intended that if a man and a woman marry, they should be faithful to one another and should remain married until death. This is marriage as God designed it. If one ignores God's wishes and divorces a mate for reasons other than the fornication on the part of that mate, any new marriage relationships involving these people are adulterous marriages. Jesus said, "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). Again Jesus said, "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" (Matthew 5:32). Notice, the one who puts away a mate and marries another when no fornication has been committed by his or her spouse commits adultery (Matthew 19:9). He or she "causes" the one put away to commit adultery (Matthew 5:32), and whoever marries the one put away commits adultery (Matthew 19:9; 5:32). No one involved in these new marriage relationships escapes the sin of adultery. One who marries again after his spouse dies does not commit adultery. Paul said, "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. So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man" (Romans 7:2,3). A person whose mate dies is free to marry again. From these teachings, we can deduce who may rightfully marry whom. Three types of people are free to marry: a person who has never been married before; a person who has put away a mate for fornication; and a person whose mate is dead. These three types of people may marry any of the following: one who has never been married before; one who has divorced a mate because that mate committed fornication; or one whose mate has died. These are the only people who may scripturally marry, and these are the only people they may rightfully wed.
The Bible's teaching about "marriage, divorce, and remarriage"--"whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery," and "I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery." (Matthew 5:32; 19:9,NKJV)--is relevant today. One of every two marriages ends in divorce and three of every four divorced persons marry again. There are people in the church who have been married, divorced, and have married again. As we teach people the gospel we are, more frequently, encountering people who are in their second, third, and sometimes, even their fourth marriage. We do not always know who has been married, divorced, and remarried. We may never know the reason for their divorce nor whether their present marriage is scriptural or unscriptural. Jesus does! It is evident from the story of the Samaritan woman that Jesus knows about our marital status. Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here." The woman answered and said, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You have well said, `I have no husband,' "for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly" (John 4:16-18). The woman later told the men of the city, "Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did" (John 4:29). Surely, Jesus knows as much about us as He did the Samaritan woman; He knows how many husbands or wives we have had. Passages about the judgment also imply that Jesus knows about our marriage. Judgment will be committed into the hands of Jesus (Acts 17:31). Every work will be brought into judgment, including every secret thing whether it is good or whether it is evil (Ecclesiastes 12:14). Jesus knows, therefore, if we have ever been divorced and if so, why. He knows whether our marriage is right or wrong. Preachers, elders, and members of the church must not fail to preach and to teach the whole council of God, including God's word about "marriage, divorce, and remarriage." We must deal with these problems of sin when we know about them. Christians, however, are not on "seek and search teams" licensed to "dig" into the past of each member or prospective member to discover their "deep, dark, secrets." The things that are hidden from us that do not come to light in this world, Jesus knows and will judge righteously when He comes again. It is imperative, therefore, that each person be honest with himself, his mate, and the scriptures. Jesus will judge with all knowledge and without partiality (Romans 2:11).
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