The divorce and remarriage question

[ColleenLovesMischief]

and what does the scripture say regarding forgiveness? are we bound by our past sin forever? or does God restore the divorcee just as He restores any other sinner? does "i will remember your sin no more" only apply to those who have not been divorced? just curious as to your take on those questions.

Forgive if I'm wrong, but I didn't see an answer to this question and I am very interested to find out the answer. I too was married and am now divorced and I don't believe that divorce is the only sin that is not forgiven. Hence, "I will remember your sin no more" is then considered invalid. Right??

Jaci, the act of divorce is not necessarily in itself a sin; although depending on the circumstances, it could be. God instituted divorce because sin entered the marraige. God would not introduce a sin to His people within His Torah (Law).

God never introduced divorce. If I am not mistaken....Moses did. The final word from God was that He HATES divorce.

Moses did not pen the Torah on his own. All scripture is from God. If we start down the dangerous path of saying the Torah was written by man and not given by God, all of scripture falls. As to the verse in Malachai you quoted, the original language used the word that means "putting away". God hates abandonment.

Matthew 19:8 He said to them,

[stormy612]

Heaven's no! Right now, my husband is in prison. He's in there for 30 years, with probation for the next 20 years after that. He won't be completely free of the law until he's 84. For now, she is safe from him, but her safety is one of the questions I struggle with the most. Could I ever live with him again? Sometimes I think that I need to divorce him, separate myself from him in that way, but continue to love him in the way a friend would. What kind of intimate relationship could he and I have? Trust? And I wouldn't call what we have now a 'marriage'. Sometimes I think he divorced me with his act, and that I just need to take it to court to complete it legally. It's just hard. I want God to come and say "Yes, you have my permission to divorce him," or "No." This is such a huge decision and it impacts so many people. I just want to be right with God. Prayerfully, God will open his heart and soften his heart so that when he comes out, he'll be a good person to be around, married or not. But he could also be that much more dangerous. That is why I feel helpless. I can't know. I have to trust God. I haven't decided anything yet, Jesus and I are just walking real slow on this one.

[Xan]

and what does the scripture say regarding forgiveness? are we bound by our past sin forever? or does God restore the divorcee just as He restores any other sinner? does "i will remember your sin no more" only apply to those who have not been divorced? just curious as to your take on those questions.

Forgive if I'm wrong, but I didn't see an answer to this question and I am very interested to find out the answer. I too was married and am now divorced and I don't believe that divorce is the only sin that is not forgiven. Hence, "I will remember your sin no more" is then considered invalid. Right??

Jaci, the act of divorce is not necessarily in itself a sin; although depending on the circumstances, it could be. God instituted divorce because sin entered the marraige. God would not introduce a sin to His people within His Torah (Law).

God never introduced divorce. If I am not mistaken....Moses did. The final word from God was that He HATES divorce.

Moses did not pen the Torah on his own. All scripture is from God. If we start down the dangerous path of saying the Torah was written by man and not given by God, all of scripture falls. As to the verse in Malachai you quoted, the original language used the word that means "putting away". God hates abandonment.

Matthew 19:8 He said to them,

[Xan]

- Personally I do not believe that 're' marriage is biblical in any sense because it has the connotation that a lawful marriage can be broken, and a new one can take place. I believe that divorce is only biblical if there was no legal marriage in the first place, so you wouldn't get 're' married, you would get married.

- Jesus teaches us that getting a divorce and then marrying is comitting adultery through the gospels, Matt. 19:9; Mark 10:11-12; Luke 16:18

- We are given an 'exception clause' in Matt. 5:31-32, in which Christ say's divorce is alright if the sin of 'porneia' is committed (unlawful intercourse) which is not 'moicheia' (adultery). How do we reconcile Christ telling us that divorce is unlawful and then turning around and saying its lawful in certain circumstances? Christ is not contradicting Himself, He tells us that a lawful marriage can never be disolved, but you can get a divorce if there was never a 'lawful' marriage that actually took place. If the immoral act of 'porneia' is committed in a marriage, the marriage was never legal meaning that the two partners did not understand what marriage was when it took place, and thus a divorce is fine because there wan't even a marriage to begin with.

- The key word is 're' marriage. Christ absolutely forbids this, because to get 're' married would imply one could have a lawful marriage, sever that union, and participate in another lawful marriage. This is not possible as Christ tells us. Divorce is only permitted if a lawful marriage never took place in the first place, because the marriage then is only a legal one, not a marriage in God's eyes, and you couldn't get 're' married, you would participate in your first lawful marriage. Many Churches term this 'annulment' because the marriage was null and void in God's eyes.

- However these are only my personal thoughts and I do not wish to offend anyone in any manner, I know how emotional divorces can be, but at the same time I have to hold to my principles, and respect anyone else who holds to theirs

God bless

What is unlawful intercourse within a marraige?

- Unlawful intercourse within a marriage would be cheating on your spouse, or some type of action (generalized) in which you are not looking at your spouse as a person but as an object. These actions strongly suggest you were not sincere in your intent when you got 'married' if the intent was not correct, a marriage never took place in the first place, and is declared 'annulled' and you may marry. But 're' marriage is highly un-biblical in that it suggests we can sever what God has brought together and then establish another one, this is something Christ harshly condemns.

God bless

Cheating on your spouse is adultry. However, you said it is not. Please clarify.

[Xan]

Heaven's no! Right now, my husband is in prison. He's in there for 30 years, with probation for the next 20 years after that. He won't be completely free of the law until he's 84. For now, she is safe from him, but her safety is one of the questions I struggle with the most. Could I ever live with him again? Sometimes I think that I need to divorce him, separate myself from him in that way, but continue to love him in the way a friend would. What kind of intimate relationship could he and I have? Trust? And I wouldn't call what we have now a 'marriage'. Sometimes I think he divorced me with his act, and that I just need to take it to court to complete it legally. It's just hard. I want God to come and say "Yes, you have my permission to divorce him," or "No." This is such a huge decision and it impacts so many people. I just want to be right with God. Prayerfully, God will open his heart and soften his heart so that when he comes out, he'll be a good person to be around, married or not. But he could also be that much more dangerous. That is why I feel helpless. I can't know. I have to trust God. I haven't decided anything yet, Jesus and I are just walking real slow on this one.

There is an article on page 4 posted by Nicole that you might want to read. Whatever you do, the entire situation is tough on you and your daughter.

[ColleenLovesMischief]

Matthew 19

1 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.

2 And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there.

3 The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him,

[Guest LadyC]

colleen, you've missed the passage from scripture i quoted.... as has ezekiel. you have apparently both disregarded the study of scripture on divorce/remarriage posted by nicole.

and ezekiel, i was never seeking any pat on the back. i have God's blessing and ordination on my current marriage. human approval is worthless in light of that.

[ColleenLovesMischief]

colleen, you've missed the passage from scripture i quoted.... as has ezekiel. you have apparently both disregarded the study of scripture on divorce/remarriage posted by nicole.

and ezekiel, i was never seeking any pat on the back. i have God's blessing and ordination on my current marriage. human approval is worthless in light of that.

Sweetie that wasn't intended for you.

[stormy612]

To Xan and Nicole W.

Thank you for your insights and references. I read the article and it certainly did give me some perspective on things. Understanding the orginal Hebrew and Greek helps me see God's intentions, which, to me, falls right in line with who I know God to be. Jesus knows I'm struggling with this, so I thank you for offering this and your knowledge and your heart. I feel a bit more at peace.

[Xan]

Matthew 19

1 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.

2 And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there.

3 The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him,