The Believer & Divorce Part 2 | 1 Corinthians 7:12-16

Scripture

• 1 Corinthians 7:12–16

About this sermon

Introduction: Believers are different. Not different by nature — different by new nature. Not a difference explained by the individuals, but a difference explained by the grace of God. Salvation does not just change our status with God, it changes us. The heart of stone is taken away, a heart tender to God and His commands has been granted — the heart of flesh. Slavery to sin has been broken. We have been released from the kingdom of darkness and the god of this present age. Old things have passed away, BEHOLD, all things have become new. It is impossible to think (and indeed Scripture makes this clear) that such a salvation would produce no difference in the realm of marriage and divorce. Believers are different when it comes to the subject of divorce and remarriage. They see what unbelievers would never see about marriage. They are aiming at something in marriage that unbelievers do not aim at. They are characterized by a kind of covenant loyalty and fidelity that unbelievers dismiss. ALL OF THAT IS SEEN IN THE INSTRUCTION THAT WE RECEIVED THIS MORNING. Review: • DIVORCE BETWEEN BELIEVERS (VS.10-11) • IT IS BINDING TRUTH • IT IS THE TEACHING OF CHRIST • IT IS THE TEACHING OF NO HARDHEARTED DIVORCE • IT IS THE TEACHING OF NO REMARRIAGE • IT IS TEACHING FOR BOTH WIVES AND HUSBANDS Lesson: But what is God’s standard for a believer married to an unbeliever? • DIVORCE BETWEEN A BELIEVER AND AN UNBELIEVER (VS.12-16) Someone might well say, “Well, I can understand why a marriage between two believers should be maintained, despite difficulties, but I’m married to an unbeliever. And I was saved after marriage. Am I not free to be married to a believer? Can’t I leave this marriage with an unbeliever and find happiness and peace in a marriage with a fellow believer since I’m a new creation?” And what is interesting about this question is that it accords with the very reasoning that has been used to allow for remarriage when a DIVORCE occurred in an unsaved state. Basically, the teaching is that the new birth wiped out that past marriage. I have heard it said regarding people who were GUILTY of VIOLATING THEIR MARRIAGE COVENANT PRIOR TO SALVATION, that they are still free to remarry (despite Christ’s clear teaching to the contrary) because THEY WEREN’T SAVED AT THE TIME. This amounts to the idea that with the forgiveness that salvation brings comes the freedom to remarry where the marriage covenant was violated. But if the new birth could wipe out a past divorce, why can’t it wipe out a past marriage? If the new birth could be used as an argument for remarriage, why couldn’t it be used as an argument for divorce and remarriage? Indeed, IT COULD if you follow that logic, and if you ignore the reality that marriage is a CREATION ORDINANCE. Marriage is something that God recognizes whether the parties are saved or lost. A marriage between two unbelievers will never be able to experience all that God meant for marriage to be, but those two people are married nonetheless so far as God is concerned. WHAT DO I DO IF I AM IN AN UNEQUALLY YOKED MARRIAGE? Before we look at what God’s word says about this let us be clear about something. This HAS to be a situation where one of two things has occurred. *The person has been saved after marriage *The person entered a marriage disobediently Why? Because the Bible, Old and New Testament, clearly teaches that a believer is not to be unequally yoked, a believer is not to marry an unbeliever. (vs.39) So, either you were saved after marriage, or you disobeyed the Lord, and now you are in a marriage with an unbeliever. • CHRIST DID NOT ADDRESS THIS We have already noted that Paul is not just offering “advice or counsel” here. This is as binding as the previous instruction. He is simply saying that this is new revelation. • DO NOT SEND AWAY THE UNBELIEVER The teaching is clear. The believer is not to initiate a divorce. If the unbeliever is willing to live with the believer, the believer is not to seek a divorce. Now this is instruction given with the full knowledge that a spiritually mixed marriage presents great difficulties. *THE THINKING WILL BE VASTLY DIFFERENT *THE AFFECTIONS WILL BE VASTLY DIFFERENT *THE STANDARDS FOR BEHAVIOR WILL BE VASTLY DIFFERENT (AT THE VERY LEAST IN TERMS OF WHAT MOTIVATES THE BEHAVIOR) And this will not only cause conflict between the two people who are married, this also brings conflict in the case of children. In fact, someone may well have wanted to argue that not only was a divorce allowed, it was appropriate since the unbeliever would bring defilement to the life of the family. Someone may have wanted to argue that the unbeliever’s presence brought spiritual dangers and defilement to the home.

Topics

• Faith
• Marriage