| Don Francisco Home Page Article Home Page   We have a few articles addressing different aspects of divorce and the Christian faith. Many people are hurt over this issue and much of the hurt can be avoided when love, grace, and understanding are applied.*Is Divorce A Sin? *Is Divorce OK In The Case Of Adultery? *Does God Hate Divorce? *Is Remarriage Adultery? *Can Divorced People Minister? *Why Are Christian Divorce Rates So High? |
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Rocky Mountain Ministries Newsletter Articles
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| Is Remarriage Adultery? In Jewish culture, remarriage was not considered adultery for a man, in fact many men had multiple wives. Remarriage was not considered adultery for a woman unless she did not have a valid divorce certificate. Jesus said that if a man "put out" a woman, i.e. without a divorce certificate, he would be forcing her into adultery since few people could endure lifelong forced singlehood. Also, there were really no cultural options for a "put out" woman except prostitution. If another man married such a woman then he would be considered adulterous since she was still technically married to her first husband. Jesus was exposing the cruelty of the misuse of their system. (Please read the article, "Does God Really Hate Divorce" for a more complete explanation of "putting away" in Jewish culture. Jesus was also implying that if a country enacts a law, that law may or may not be in agreement with God. Just because someone followed a written law did not absolve them from sin in God's eyes if the law was unethical or was used in an unethical manner. We believe that the answer to the question, "is remarriage adultery?" is a heart question. In some cases we believe that marriage itself can be adultery. If someone woos another person into a corrupt and captive version of marriage for any reason other than true love and the calling of God, then we believe that this would be viewed as adultery by God. This may seem like a strong statement, but there are many people the world over who do this! Many use the marriages laws of their countries or corrupted Biblical principles to capture and own another person for the purpose of security, sex, money, slavery, and many other godless reasons. The reasons for marriage and remarriage are many. If a person misuses American marriage laws, they can marry, use, and divorce one person after another for shallow reasons and be perfectly legal. But God would just see this as a string of adulterous relationships. On the other hand, a person may have a marriage end for legitimate reasons. God can lead a person to a new partner and bless a second marriage and the love, life, and ministry that flows from it. God sees the heart. He knows when people are using each other and He knows when there is the capacity and desire for real love expressed in a lifelong relationship. |