Why is divorce not an option for Christians?

[arunangelo]

In marriage, spouses leave their parents and unite with each other (Mark 10:7) to become one flesh (Gen.2: 24). Because, it is a covenant of love, and God is love (1 John4:8), it is God who seals the marriage covenant; and no one can separate what God has joined together (Matt 19:6). In divorce, therefore, this covenant is not broken; it is rejected. Therefore, remarriage after divorce is adultery (Luke 16:18). Furthermore, since God seals this covenant, divorce is rejection of God. God, therefore, hates divorce (Malachi 2:16) and is not pleased with the offerings of those who divorce their spouse (Malachi 2: 13-14). Jesus tells us that before making offering to God, we must reconcile with those with whom we have grievances (Matt. 5: 23-24). Therefore, a divorced person must first reconcile with his/her spouse before making an offering to the Lord. Furthermore, even if there is unfaithfulness a person must still stay faith to his/her spouse, just as God His faithful to us even when we reject Him (Hosea 3:1).

Divorce is absolutely prohibited in the Gospels (Mk 10:11-12, Luke 6:18; Matthew 5: 31-32). In Matthew’s gospel there appears to be an exception. The exception in the Greek text is porneia (which means incest or fornication), and not moiceia (which means adultery). In the Mosaic Law (Lv 18:6-18) certain types of marriages between close relatives were unlawful, because, they were regarded as incest (porneia). Certain rabbis, however, allowed gentile converts to Judaism to remain in such marriages. The exemption in Matthew’s gospel is against such permissiveness for gentile converts to Christianity. Fornication is another meaning for porneia. Therefore, this exception also applies to couples who fornicate by living together without a lawful marriage (also known as common law marriages).

surrendersacrifice
webs site: surrendersacrifice.com

[Athetotheist]

Peace to you,

Peace to you both (and all),

An exception was made for the people due to the hardness of their hearts (this is unlikely to be the ONLY exception made due to their hardness of hearts). But remember that Moses also said when the Messiah comes, the people were to listen to Him. The Messiah came and He told them what was true from the beginning.


(Granted, not everything in what is written is accurate, even if it was inspired/given in/from the spirit. Due to the erring pen of the scribes, see Jeremiah 8:8, and as Christ also said 'woe to you scribes'. I don't think that makes a difference on this particular point though, since Christ explained that Moses gave them this command due to their hardness of hearts.)

If this is an "exception", why does Moses tell them to indulge in this exception "to love the Lord your God and serve him with all your heart and with all your soul" (Dt. 11:13) and "to do what is right in the eyes of the Lord your God" (Dt. 13:18)?

I don't understand your question. Why are you calling the other two commands, exceptions?


Peace again to you!

I'm not calling any of them exceptions. That's just it----Moses made NO exceptions in the law.

[JehovahsWitness]

My point? Go back and look at the verses I mentioned.

The problem Christianity runs into here is that what Moses wrote is part of scripture (Deuteronomy 24:1), and according to Christian doctrine, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness...." (2 Timothy 3:16).

If the scripture Moses wrote was given by divine inspiration, how could he [Moses] have written it because of people's "hardness of heart"?

Emphasis MINE


Ok: Deuteronomy 24:1 and 2 Timothy 3:16.

How does this change anything I Said? I see no mention of Jésus.. . If I misunderstood your point perhaps you could reiterate what the point above was?




JW

[tam]

Peace to you,

Peace to you both (and all),

An exception was made for the people due to the hardness of their hearts (this is unlikely to be the ONLY exception made due to their hardness of hearts). But remember that Moses also said when the Messiah comes, the people were to listen to Him. The Messiah came and He told them what was true from the beginning.


(Granted, not everything in what is written is accurate, even if it was inspired/given in/from the spirit. Due to the erring pen of the scribes, see Jeremiah 8:8, and as Christ also said 'woe to you scribes'. I don't think that makes a difference on this particular point though, since Christ explained that Moses gave them this command due to their hardness of hearts.)

If this is an "exception", why does Moses tell them to indulge in this exception "to love the Lord your God and serve him with all your heart and with all your soul" (Dt. 11:13) and "to do what is right in the eyes of the Lord your God" (Dt. 13:18)?

I don't understand your question. Why are you calling the other two commands, exceptions?


Peace again to you!

I'm not calling any of them exceptions. That's just it----Moses made NO exceptions in the law.

But Moses did permit them to divorce their wives for various reasons - not because that was true from the beginning - but because of their hardness of heart. Maybe you would not call that an exception, but an allowance?

“Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because of your hardness of heart; but it was not this way from the beginning. Now I tell you that whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman, commits adultery.”





Peace to you,
your servant and a slave of Christ,
tammy

[Athetotheist]

My point? Go back and look at the verses I mentioned.

The problem Christianity runs into here is that what Moses wrote is part of scripture (Deuteronomy 24:1), and according to Christian doctrine, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness...." (2 Timothy 3:16).

If the scripture Moses wrote was given by divine inspiration, how could he [Moses] have written it because of people's "hardness of heart"?

Ok: Deuteronomy 24:1 and 2 Timothy 3:16.

How does this change anything I Said? I see no mention of Jésus.. . If I misunderstood your point perhaps you could reiterate what you were thing to communicate about Moses and the law?

1. The book of the law states that all the law therein is what the God of Israel himself gave to Moses to command the people (Dt.1:3)

2. Christian scripture supports #1 (2 Timothy 3:16)

3. Moses allows divorce in the law (Dt. 24:1)

4. Moses commands that nothing the law allows is to be prohibited (Dt. 4:2)

5. Moses commands that everything in the law is to be followed in order to please God (Dt. 11:13, 13:18)

6.Jesus declares that he has not come to nullify the law (Mt. 5:17)

7. Jesus declares that anyone who breaks any command of the law will be least in heaven (Mt. 5:19)

8. Jesus nullifies the law in #3, violating the law in #4 (Mk. 10:9)

9. Jesus denies the validity of Moses's command in #5 (Mk.10:5)

10. Jesus declares that everything in the law is in keeping with the two greatest commandments, undermining his own position in #9 (Mt. 22:40)

Such behavior is inconsistent with one who could reasonably be expected to be the Jewish Messiah.

[Athetotheist]

But Moses did permit them to divorce their wives for various reasons - not because that was true from the beginning - but because of their hardness of heart. Maybe you would not call that an exception, but an allowance?

Jesus said that Moses allowed them to divorce their wives for their "hardness of heart". Jewish scripture ----which is supposed to be divinely inspired----says that Moses allowed them to divorce their wives because the God of Israel told him to allow it (Deut. 1:3).

[JehovahsWitness]

3. Moses allows divorce in the law (Dt. 24:1)

Jesus allowed divorce for his disciples.

4. Moses commands that nothing the law allows is to be prohibited (Dt. 4:2)

No he didn't.

DEUT 4:2

You must not add to the word that I am commanding you, neither must you take away from it, so as to keep the commandments of Jehovah your God that I am commanding you.

Moses said "The Law", meaning the 613 laws of the divinely inspired national law code is not to be changed. There is nothing in that that prohibits someone telling someone else what to do.

8. Jesus nullifies the law in #3, violating the law in #4 (Mk. 10:9)

He did nothing of the kind. Your point #4 is invalid.

Jesus makes no attempt to "nullify" the national law, he gives a command to his followers which is in perfect keeping with the spirit of the law and absolutely did not violate or break the letter of it.

To illustrate : Proverbs which speaks of obeying the commandements of one's father (Prov 6:20). If a father commands his son to be home by ten, he is neither adding, amending nor undermining,or nullifying the NATIONAL law code. He is simply making a "law" for those that recognise his authority. As long as that father did not mandate something illegal or prohibit something mandated by law his commandements would have been perfectly legitimate whatever they were.

9. Jesus denies the validity of Moses's command in #5 (Mk.10:5)

He absolutely did not. Quite the contrary, Jesus explained the background of divine law and told his disciples what he expected of them. Nothing Jesus told his disciples invalidated or contradicted the Mosaic law.

There was no law that stipulated one MUST divorce ones wife. Nor was there a law rendering it illegal to divorce only on the grounds of adultery.

To learn more please go to other posts related to ...

BIBLICAL LAW, THE MOSAIC LAW COVENANT and ... SABBATH KEEPING

[Athetotheist]

3. Moses allows divorce in the law (Dt. 24:1)

Jesus allowed divorce for his disciples.

Not to the extent that Moses did.

4. Moses commands that nothing the law allows is to be prohibited (Dt. 4:2)

No he didn't.

DEUT 4:2

You must not add to the word that I am commanding you, neither must you take away from it, so as to keep the commandments of Jehovah your God that I am commanding you.

Moses said "The Law", meaning the 613 laws of the divinely inspired national law code is not to be changed. There is nothing in that that prohibits someone telling someone else what to do.

Changing the "national law code" is exactly what Jesus is telling his followers to do when he adds to the law a prohibition of divorces which the law allows.

8. Jesus nullifies the law in #3, violating the law in #4 (Mk. 10:9)

He did nothing of the kind. Your point #4 is invalid.

Jesus makes no attempt to "nullify" the national law, he gives a command to his followers which is in perfect keeping with the spirit of the law and absolutely did not violate or break the letter of it.

He commands his followers to disregard what the law says and accept his prohibition of what the law allows.

To illustrate : Proverbs which speaks of obeying the commandements of one's father (Prov 6:20). If a father commands his son to be home by ten, he is neither adding, amending nor undermining,or nullifying the NATIONAL law code. He is simply making a "law" for those that recognise his authority. As long as that father did not mandate something illegal or prohibit something mandated by law his commandements would have been perfectly legitimate whatever they were.

Jesus's prohibition of almost every reason for divorce does not stay within the law's allowance for divorce.

9. Jesus denies the validity of Moses's command in #5 (Mk.10:5)

He absolutely did not. Quite the contrary, Jesus explained the background of divine law and told his disciples what he expected of them. Nothing Jesus told his disciples invalidated or contradicted the Mosaic law.

Jesus doesn't "explain" anything. In Mk.10:4 his questioners present doctrine, they reprove him, they correct him and they instruct him in righteousness (2 Tim. 3:16) by reminding him of what Moses said in the law, and he makes up something which Moses never said about any part of the law. In fact, it directly contradicts what Moses said about all of the law (Deut.1:3).

Jesus says, "What God has joined together, let not man separate." (Mk. 10:9)

What God has joined together, Moses lets man separate. (Deut. 24:1)

Those positions are mutually exclusive.

There was no law that stipulated one MUST divorce ones wife. Nor was there a law rendering it illegal to divorce only on the grounds of adultery.

There was no general law that stipulated one COULDN'T divorce one's wife. And not divorcing for adultery would be irrelevant since the penalty for adultery was death (Deut. 22:22).

[JehovahsWitness]

Changing the "national law code" is exactly what Jesus is telling his followers to do ...

Can you prove this by reference to anything other than your imagination ?

He commands his followers to disregard what the law says ....

Prove it. Where does does Jesus "command his followers to disregard what the law says" ?


JW

[JehovahsWitness]

What God has joined together, Moses lets man separate. (Deut. 24:1)

Biblically, Moses was merely the mediator, any laws he (Moses) communicated came from God, Moses "let" nothing.

According to the bible since God joins people together in the sense that He alone has the authority establish a divinely instituted arrangement, only He God has the authority to authorize the basis up on which that institution is desolved. Moses did not allow that union to be dissolved (Moses was simply God's instrument), not even the couple themselves, or the man had the authority to dissolve it. The man could petition GOD and He (God ) alone could authorize a divorce.

God authorized divorce for the Israelites when he comminicated the Mosaic law. And subsequently for Jesus disciples (through Jesus) when he reinstituted the divine principle established in Eden. If Jesus disciple chose not to divorce for trivial matters they broke no law.

Those positions are mutually exclusive.

Not properly understood they are not. (see above)



JW

Is conjugal violence biblically ground for divorce?
viewtopic.php?p=1014005#p1014005

Did Jesus propose changes to the MOSAIC law regarding the basis for divorce?
viewtopic.php?p=1028505#p1028505

Were the verses of John 7:53 - 8:11 [also known as the pericope adulterae]/[the Pericope de Adultera] part of John's original gospel?
viewtopic.php?p=813108#p813108

Was the "Jealousy curse" that was part of the Mosaic Law comparable to
"trial by ordeal" as practiced during the Dark Ages ?
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 96#p836096

To learn more please go to other posts related to...

SEX ,MARRIAGE and ... DIVORCE

[tam]

Peace to you,

And not divorcing for adultery would be irrelevant since the penalty for adultery was death (Deut. 22:22).

Thankfully God did not kill Israel when Israel was unfaithful. Instead, God sent Israel away with a certificate of divorce.

I gave faithless Israel her certificate of divorce and sent her away because of all her adulteries. Yet I saw that her unfaithful sister Judah had no fear; she also went out and committed adultery. Jeremiah 3:8

This is in keeping with the truth Christ taught us about divorce, is it not? And, as I think you noted in a previous post, God hates divorce (Malachi 2:16).

The law as written is not without some error (due to the erring pen of the scribes, Jeremiah 8:8). Christ even told the Pharisees to go and learn what it meant that God desires mercy, not sacrifice; and that if they had known what that meant, they would not have condemned the innocent (Hosea 6:6; Matthew 12:7).

I choose to listen to the Messiah, the One to whom God said to listen (the One to whom Moses also said to listen to when He came). I know that His words are true and from God (and so also from love, since God is love and the law that proceeds from Him, that is from the beginning, is love). Love covers over a multitude of sins (Proverbs 10:12; 1Peter 4:8), and there is no law against love (Galatians 5:22, 23).




Peace again to you,
your servant and a slave of Christ,
tammy