From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Is it really true that the genuinely reborn Jesus believing husband is
maritally bound in the Kingdom of God to his genuinely reborn Jesus believing wife
until death ends the marriage? What about when adultery/fornication occurs?
***1Cor 7:10* Â But to those already married my instructions are--yet not
mine, but the Lordâs--that a wife is not to leave her husband;
11* or if she has already left him, let her either remain as she is or be reconciled
to him; and that a husband is not to divorce/send away his wife. . . .
39* Â A woman is bound to her husband during the whole period that he lives; but if
her husband dies, she is at liberty to marry whom she will, provided that he is a
Christian. WEY
Please note that this Scripture does not say 'But to those already married my
instructions are--yet not mine, but the Lordâs--that a wife is not to leave
her husband except if he falls into adultery/fornication;
11* or if she has already left him, let her either remain as she is or be reconciled
to him; and that a husband is not to divorce/send away his wife unless she has fallen
into adultery/fornication. . . . A wife is bound to her husband during the whole
period that she/he doesn't fall into adultery/fornication; but if she or her husband
fall into adultery/fornication, she is at liberty to marry whom she will.'
In the case of a genuinely reborn Jesus believing married couple, divorce or
separation for adultery/fornication is not a termination of the marriage bond,
but rather is part of the church discipline process (2 Tim 2:22-26; Gal 6:1;
Mat 18:15--18; 1 Cor 5:3-5) that involves such separation by believers from
"believers" snared in sin (2 Thess 3:6-14; 1 Cor 5:9-11), to the end that the
Lord would chasten them into repentance (Heb 12:1-12; 1 Cor 5:3-11 with 2 Cor 7;
1 Cor 11:28-32), so that they may be restored and reconciled in the
fellowship of the Body of Christ (2 Cor 2:1-12). If the one snared in fornic
ation/adultery does not repent, Christians and the Body of Christ are not authorized
to
execute the sinning one, so Jesus saves the snared ones from their sin by
putting their bodies to sleep in death and taking them Home to Himself where they
can't continue in the sin (1 Cor 5:3-5; 11:28-32). If the "sinning saint"
continues on in his/her fornication/adultery without chastening or repentance,
then we know that such a "sinning saint" is/was indeed no
saint/believer/disciple at all (Heb 12:1-12; Mat 18:18; 1 Jn 2:19).
According to Bruce's International Bible Commentary, "Christian marriage is
indissoluble till death." [IBCp.1364}. Please note that the finding is not
that 'Christian marriage is indissoluble till adultery/fornication.' "The married
(7:10,11) -- Here both partners are Christians . . . , and for such divorce
is not permitted. If, however, it does take place another marriage is out of
the question." [IBCp.1361]. In Mark 10 Jesus "indicated, thereupon, that God's
original intentions with regard to marriage were stated in Gen 1:27. (6), and in Gen
2:24 (7,8a), statements which depict the marriage bond as indissoluble. . . . His
conclusion, consequently, was that MAN (i.e. the male member of the partnership,
rather than some legal body), has no right to sever his matrimonial union. . . He had
shown that for a man to divorce his wife was a sin. . . " [IBCp.1170]
According to Matthew Henry's Commentary on Rom 7 we see that "Such is the Law
of marriage (v.2.), the woman is bound to her husband during life, so bound
to him that she cannot marry another; if she do, she shall be reckoned an
adulteress, v.3." [MHCp.408]. According to 1 Cor 7:10,11 we see that in "general,
he tells them that marriage, by Christ's command, is for life; . . . the Lord
himself, with his own mouth, had forbidden such separations, . . . Husbands
and wives . . . are bound to each other for life. The divine law allows of no
separation." [MHCp.538]. According to 1 Cor 7:39, "The marriage-contract is
for life; death only can annul the bond." [MHCp.544]
Jesus Himself shows that even the divorce He allows does not break the
marital bond of husband and wife when He shows us that the wife divorced/separated
for adultery/fornication is not free to remarry, stating plainly that whoever
marries a "put away" (divorced) wife is committing adultery. Why? Because
even though she is "put away" divorced from her husband as a part of church
discipline, she is still maritally bound to him in the Kingdom of God.
***Mat 5: 32* But *I* say unto you, that whosoever shall put away his wife,
except for cause of fornication, makes her commit adultery, and whosoever
marries one that is put away commits adultery.
***Matt 19: 9* But I say unto you, that whosoever shall put away his wife,
not for fornication, and shall marry another, commits adultery; and he who
marries one put away commits adultery.
A child of God, snared in sin, could today in th