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Marriage
and Divorce (Part 3) By
Bob Myhan The
sex drive is one aspect of man’s unique nature. Thereby the human race is
perpetuated. And, inasmuch as the first recorded command of God to Adam and Eve
was “Be fruitful and multiply” (Gen.
1:28), sex is a vital part of a healthy marriage. Therefore, it is God's will
for a scripturally married man and woman to satisfy one another sexually (1 Cor.
7:2-5). However,
those who have sex outside of scriptural marriage are “fornicators
and adulterers” (Heb. 13:4; Matt. 19:9). To
avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her
own husband (1
Cor. 7:2). While
the word “fornication” is defined as “voluntary sexual intercourse between
two unmarried persons or two persons not married to each other,” the Greek
word simply means “illicit sexual intercourse.” This includes sexual
intercourse with a person of the opposite sex, a person of the same sex, or even
a brute beast. The
word “adultery” is defined as “voluntary sexual intercourse between a
married person and someone other than his or her lawful spouse.” Jesus,
however, expanded this to include sexual intercourse between two persons who are
married to each other without God’s approval. “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” (Matt. 19:9, KJV). While
God “hates divorce” (Malachi
2:16; Matt. 19:6; Mark 10:11-12; 1 Cor. 7:10-11), He allows it under certain
circumstances. First, He allows an individual to divorce his/her scriptural
spouse if that spouse is guilty of fornication (Matt. 19:9). One who divorces
his/her scriptural spouse for any other reason does so without God’s approval.
If either party then marries another he/she is guilty of adultery. Also, one who
marries a person who has been put away by his/her spouse is guilty of adultery
(Matt. 5:32; 19:9; Luke 16:18). On the other hand, one who divorces his/her
spouse for fornication (sexual infidelity) and marries another is not guilty of
adultery (Matt. 19:9). In other words, one is not obligated to remain married to
a fornicator. Therefore, an innocent person who divorces a sexually unfaithful
spouse is no longer bound and may marry someone else with God’s approval. Second,
those who are in an unscriptural marriage are not bound to one another; they are
guilty of adultery and ought not to remain married. “For
the woman which hath a 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”
(Rom. 7:2,3, KJV). She
is guilty of adultery because she is still bound, though no longer married, to
the first man. Therefore, though they have been pronounced “husband and
wife” by a duly appointed representative of the state, they have not been “joined
together” by God and ought not to stay together, because “fornicators
and adulterers God will judge” (Heb. 13:4). As
mentioned in part one, the state may join two persons in a marriage but only God
can join them together in the marriage bond. For this reason, there is a
difference between being married and being bound. As a matter of fact, there are
five possible states, relative to marriage and the marriage bond: (1) unmarried
and unbound, (2) married and bound
to the same person, (3) unmarried
but bound, (4) married to one but
bound to another and (5) married
but unbound. A
man is unmarried and unbound (a)
if he has never been married, (b) if he put away his wife for fornication and
has not married another, (c) if he has never been scripturally married but had
to end an unscriptural marriage or (d) if his wife died and he has not married
again. A
man is married and bound to
the same person if he is in a scriptural marriage. A
man is unmarried but bound if he
was in a scriptural marriage but either (a) he was divorced by his wife and has
not married another or (b) he divorced his wife for some reason other than
fornication and has not married another. In either case, he is still bound
though no longer married. A
man is married to
one but bound to another
if (a) he has married another after having been divorced or (b) he has married
another after divorcing a scriptural wife for some reason other than
fornication. A
man is married but unbound if he
is eligible for a scriptural marriage but married to a woman who is not. The
woman, of course, would be married to one but
bound to another. Marriage
was ordained by God but so is civil government ( Capital
Punishment By
David Watts, Sr. (Deceased) Prominent
politicians, influential columnists, liberal theologians, and famous movie stars
may oppose capital punishment, but certain criminals should be put to death,
according to the Bible. God
ordained capital punishment long ago. In Genesis 9:6 the Bible says, “Whoever
sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God He
made man.” The prescribed penalty for murder was being put to death
“by man” — that’s capital
punishment. Later,
God gave a special law to the Jews, and He again required capital punishment. In
Exodus 21:12, 15, 16, 17, 29, God specified that certain criminals were to be “put
to death.” Exodus 22:18-20, Numbers 35:16-21, and Deuteronomy
22:22-26 also taught capital punishment. (The sixth commandment, “Thou
shall not kill” refers to murder, and does not refer to capital
punishment which is not murder.) The
New Testament shows capital punishment is still ordained by God. Concerning
civil rulers, the Bible says, “he is
God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not
bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath
on him who practices evil” (Romans 13:4). When civil rulers put to
death those who commit crimes worthy of death, they are serving God by executing
His wrath upon the lawless. Acts
25:11 tells us the apostle Paul once said, “if
I am an offender, or have committed anything worthy of death, I do not object to
dying.” Paul’s statement confirms the fact that some crimes are
worthy of death. Although he denied being guilty of violating them, Paul did not
dispute the justice of those laws. Many ignore it, but God still teaches us in the Bible that certain criminals should be put to death. & |