Divorce and Remarriages - Essay Example

Divorce and Remarriages Introduction Biblically, God hates divorce. God hates it because it involves the unfaithfulness on the covenant of marriage in which both partners have made before God. According to Malachi 2:14-16, God also hate divorce because of the adverse consequences it causes to both the partners and their kids. However, the bible also permits divorce in the case of man’s sin. Due to the fact divorce is not part and parcel of the God’s initial marriage’s plan and it is just man’s sin concession, the local church marriage’s policies should solemnly condemn it. However, in case of lack of recourse couples should be allowed to pursue it. For the divorce option to be accepted the church need to consider the divorce’s ground according to scriptures. The main grounds for divorce according to the New Testament are on either desertion by an unbeliever or sexual sin features (Adams 1986, p.24).  These features comprise of sexual sin like homosexuality, incest, bestiality and adultery. In the case one of the partners violates the intimacy and unity of marriage by any of the sexual sins, thereby forsaking the covenant responsibility the faithful member is left in a very difficult situation. Under such condition, the bible permits the release of the faithful partner via divorce. After divorce has occurred the faithful partner is free to remarry if at all the divorce took place on biblical grounds. However, in case of people divorce on other grounds, they have sinned against both their partners and God. In mark 10:11-12, if these partners remarry, they will be considered to have committed an act of adultery. Paul made an explanation for this and proposed any person who divorces sinfully should remain unmarried for the rest of their life unless either of them reconciles with her or his partner (Cherlin 1992, p.54). Discussion The Jesus’ teachings on the issues of divorce should be read repeatedly in both the church and at home. It should be done in every part of the world in the essence of spreading the gospel. The society has witnessed an increase in the number of remarriages and divorces in the present days. The main reason of this problem facing the society is that people tend to ignore the instructions that are provided in the bible. Some people also tend to listen to what other men think about the teachings of Jesus rather that reading for themselves in the bible (House & Laney 1990, p.76).  The local church's marriage policies should be formulated in accordance to bible teaching. According to Anglican denominational thinking the church need to first understand the role they play when it come to the issue of divorce and marriage as per Jesus’ teachings. The Jesus teachings should be highly regarded when formulating the marriage policies in the local churches. The policies should incorporate the fact that all the believers who divorce on any other grounds except on the biblical grounds are liable to face church discipline. The reason is that they will have openly rejected God’s word. Jesus in the book of Matthew 5:32 taught that anyone who pursues an unbiblical divorce and goes ahead to remarry is guilty of the act of adultery. It is brought about because God did not permit the initial divorce (Adams 1986, p.25).  Such a person according to Jesus’ teachings in the book of Matthew 18:15-17 is a subject to church discipline’s steps. Jesus taught that if a Christian violates the covenant of marriage and do not repent, that individual should be regarded as a nonbeliever and be put out of the church. However, after the reclassification of the disobedient partner as an unbeliever or outcast, the faithful partner has all the rights of divorcing as in the of unbeliever’s departure as the bible records in 1 Corinthians 7:15. Reasonable time should, however, be taken before such a divorce takes place for the possibility of the return of the unfaithful partner due to discipline. Among the Jesus’ teachings, this is one reason the local church needs to set many emphases on when formulating marriage’s policies (Cherlin 1992, p.56). The policies of the local church should incorporate the roles of the local church’s leadership in helping the divorced believers. It can be achieved by helping the single believers who have just divorced to understand their situation biblically their situation. It is mostly when the use of the appropriate bible teachings may be unclear to these believers. For example, the leadership of the church may at a particular time be required to make a decision whether either one or both of the previous spouses can legitimately be considered as believers. It is on account of the past divorce that will determine the biblical principles’ application in the current situation (Adams 1986, p.27).  The fact that people move from one church and to another, the church leadership need to be vigilant enough when dealing with divorce and remarriage issues because some churches do not observe and practice church discipline. It forms a necessity for the local church’s leadership to make a decision whether the former spouse or estranged member should currently be regarded as an unbeliever due to continued disobedience. The reason behind this is that to some extents it may affect the biblical principles’ application (House & Laney 1990, p.78).  Jesus also taught people that when a person places his wife away, he should provide for her a written divorce. It has been written in the bible in the book of Matthew 5:31, 32. Jesus said to the people of the world that every man who places his wife away at the cost of fornication has caused her to cause adultery. Also, any person who gets married to the same woman he too has committed adultery. This sermon was taught on the mount by Jesus to his disciples. He wanted them to listen to him, hear his sayings and practice them (Cherlin 1992, p.57). The church tries to bring out the subject that Jesus reveals in these teachings. The Jews had believes that a man can place away his wife and divorce them through writings. The aspect is common in the traditions of many people. It does not matter what the traditions illustrate the key point was that their traditions were not pleasant to him and the father in heaven. It is worth remembering that when Jesus was on earth he spoke the will of the father. It is indicated in the book of John 12:49-52. The Anglican Church teaches people to follow the teaching of Jesus. It educates men that when they divorce their wives on other grounds rather than fornication, and the wife gets married again the men are the cause of the adulterous marriage (Adams 1986, p.29).  The church teaches people that when a man and a woman claim to love each other and they became one flesh they shall not be apart till death. It is practiced in the Anglican Church during weddings; the spouses are made to swear that they shall stick together until death separates them. As Jesus Christ loved the church so are married people advised to love one another for the period they are alive. It is termed as a sin for a person to be a part of stealing, murder and adultery. The separated companion and the new spouse are victims of adultery when they get married. The person responsible for that case of adultery is the person who unlawfully separated with the wife (Cherlin 1992, p.58). In the book of Matthew 18:7 Jesus taught that woe unto the people of the world because of the occasions of stumbling that happens because there are needs that the occasions occur. However, woe unto the person through him the occasion happens. The person referred to is any man who has placed his wife away. Jesus taught that a man is in serious trouble with the father, in heaven. It teaches a person to be lenient with his wife on the cases that they might encounter. It encourages a man to rethink on the issue of divorcing a wife. Nevertheless, if the spouse was found guilty of fornication while they were living together, Jesus taught that the innocent spouse has all the right to do away with that companionship. Jesus went ahead and taught that in case that spouse goes ahead and marries him or she will not be bound of an adulterous marriage (Adams 1986, p.30).  Another teaching that the local church need to put into consideration while formulating policies to govern the divorce and remarriage aspect is the Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 5:32. Jesus did not comment anything concerning any husband who may unlawfully do away with his wife and remarried. It is, therefore, important to note if doing away with the wife may cause her to become a victim of adultery in case she marries again, it will be unlawful as well for a husband to remarry. In Matthew 5:32, Jesus taught that no one of the spouse has a right to remarry if fornication was not the cause of their divorce (Cherlin 1992, p.60). According to the Anglican argument the local churches need to put many emphases on Jesus teaching in Matthew 19:3-9 is when Jesus was teaching the Pharisees after they questioned Him if at all it was lawful for a husband to do away with his spouse for any purpose. Jesus answered the Pharisees telling them that God the creator created both men and women. Jesus explained to them that due to this fact every man shall leave his parents and he will cleave to the wife. After the man and a woman have become married, from hence they will become one flesh. He further explained that any couple that God have joined no one should separate them. They further asked Jesus the reason as to why Moses commanded giving out a written divorce letter and, therefore, put his spouse away. Jesus answered them that Moses gave that command as a result of the hardness of people’s hearts. However, since the beginning this was not the case (House & Laney 1990, p.79).  Jesus further taught the Pharisees that any man who will do away with his wife unless under a case of fornication, if he remarries the man will have committed adultery. Similarly, whoever will marry the wife will have also committed adultery. In the above teachings, it is important for local churches to note while formulating marriage policies that Jesus does regard the law mosaic law. The Anglican denomination further argues it that the reason as to why this Mosaic Law did not feature anywhere in the New Testament is because God did not want the believers to follow that law (Adams 1986, p.30).  The local church is required to put weight on Jesus' teaching so that the believers will not be committing adultery in defense of the Mosaic Law. The local churches are, therefore, required to be very vigilant so that they may not be deceived to put into account the Law of Moses in their divorce and remarriage policies. The reason behind this is because Jesus taught that believers are subject to His laws who bear all the powers and authority in both the heaven and the earth (Adams 1980). According to john 12:48 Jesus will judge all the believers and in accordance to His word. The church, however, needs to put into consideration some other factors like the willingness of the spouses to divorce if their relationship is subjected to conflicts. God called the believers to live in peace as it is recorded in 1 Corinthians 7:15. It will be, therefore, preferable for a couple to divorce if trying to keep their marriage only causes much conflict and tension (Cherlin 1992, p.62). Conclusion Divorce and remarriage aspect has become a common phenomenon in the society in the world today. The church consequently bears a great task to make sure that divorce and remarriage processes are taken in the right manner. It is by making sure that Jesus’ teachings have been exercised fully in case of divorce and remarriage cases are encountered. There is a great urge for the local churches to formulate policies that are compatible with the Jesus teachings. The effects of this will enable divorce and remarriages activities to be carried out in a Godly way. The church’s policies should strictly adhere to Jesus law and, therefore, no one should be allowed to carry out any form of adultery in the defense of the Mosaic Law. References List Adams, J. E. (1986). Marriage, divorce, and remarriage in the Bible. [Phillipsburg, N.J.], Presbyterian and Reformed Pub. Co. pp.24-30 Adams, J. E. (1980). Marriage, divorce and remarriage in the Bible. Grand Rapids, Zondervan. Cherlin, A. J. (1992). Marriage, divorce, remarriage. Cambridge, Mass, Harvard University Press. Pp.54-62 House, H. W., & Laney, J. C. (1990). Divorce and remarriage: four Christian views. Downers Grove, Ill, InterVarsity Press. Pp.76-78 Read More