The John MacArthur Study Bible on Divorce and Remarriage

[@holzmann-]

NO DIVORCE/REMARRIAGE WHEN THE SPOUSE IS STILL ALIVE. PERIOD!

[@johnruiz3059]

First I have studied the subject of marriage out with much prayer. Second, The Scripture teaches that one can separate. This is known as the law of separation found in: 1 Corinthians 7:15 KJV But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace. Here is where most get the idea that they are free to remarry but all it says is >[IF]< they (the unbelieving spouse) leave to let them because God doesn't want you arguing or fighting, but it never states one can remarry. Third, If you do get a divorce you are to remain unmarried or be reconciled to your spouse because only death breaks the covenant of marriage. This is evident because an adulterer would have been stoned to death if found out. 1 Corinthians 7:10‭-‬11 KJV And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband: But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife. 1 Corinthians 7:39 KJV The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord. Romans 7:2‭-‬3 KJV For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man. Fourth, Jesus said Mark 10:11‭-‬12 KJV And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her. And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery. Luke 16:18 KJV Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery. Fifth, When Paul says 1 Corinthians 7:8‭-‬9 KJV I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I. But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn. The unmarried are not the divorced. They are people who have never had a spouse or ones that no longer have a living spouse because only death breaks the covenant. This is the reason widows are also spoken of. Sixth, The Apostles had trouble with this doctrine and after Jesus told the Pharisees what God's original purpose was, they asked him in private. Read Mark 10:10-12 after Mark 10:2-9 Mark 10:2‭-‬9 KJV And the Pharisees came to him, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? tempting him. And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you? And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away. And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. Mark 10:10‭-‬12 KJV And in the house his disciples asked him again of the same matter. And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her. And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery. As you can plainly see, Jesus clarified God's standard of marriage. We do well to remember that God created marriage in the Garden of Eden and at that time man did not die. Meaning that marriage was lifelong/forever. And yes in Matthew 5:32 and 19:9 it states the "Fornication clause", and it is critically important for all to have a correct understanding of them. There is only 2 possible ways to reconcile them with Luke 16:18 & Mark 10:11-12. 1. It was referring to the Jewish custom of the 1 year betrothal period. Jewish tradition treated that time as a contracted marriage, and you would have to get a bill of divorce if you found your spouse to of had sex before marriage see . Deuteronomy 22:13‭-‬21 I.e. Your fiancee cheats on you before the "I do" and you find out you can call off the wedding/marriage. Joseph, Mary's fiancee was going to do this until God stopped him. Matthew 1:18‭-‬20 KJV Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was >>>[espoused]>[before they came together][husband][put her away privily]

[@NilsWeber-mb5hg]

AMEN

[@donut132]

Where to find this free study Bible?

[@BibleIssues]

Not sure if they are still offering it.

[@cr-us9ch]

Here a question for you that has the three pastors stumped. My wife was “saved” and babtised about 8 years ago. She claims to be a believer, she studied her Bible every day when she was here and she goes to church every Sunday, but about 9 months ago, she took the kids and left. We have had some pretty intense arguments, usually over her wanting to control everything and having her way, there has never been any physical abuse or unfaithfulness on my part. I know that 1 Cor. 7:15 states that if the unbeliever leaves, to let them go, but what do you do if a “believer” leaves? She refuses all communication with me, even regarding scripture but she won’t file for divorce. What do you do then?

[@phantom00545]

I would recommend forgetting about all of the fights. In the grand scheme of things...what do they matter. I would read the bible and look up scripture that talks about being a good husband. You must be humble and recognize that you screwed up somewhere. I recommend going to counseling by yourself...and go to counseling with her. You need to get a grip on this or your marriage is going to fail. Ultimately, its your kids that are going to hurt the most. When you both are fighting with one another, you are both loosing and Satan is winning. Pray to God that he gives you wisdom, courage, and understanding. It may feel that she's in the wrong...but it was the both of you being in the wrong that lead to this point in your life. God needs to be in the center of this marriage. I pray that you're able to save this brother.

[@donut132]

You either obey God and serve him as an unmarried man. Or be in disobedience and get remarried and be and adulterer

[@EiderDuck-Coot]

" I know that 1 Cor. 7:15 states that if the unbeliever leaves, to let them go" This does not end the marriage!

[@ajlouviere202]

The divorce and remarriage for adultery doctrine is based solely on the supposed guilt of the wife in Matthew 5:32 and 19:9. However, the wife, in the above scriptures, is clearly not guilty of fornication because the Jews (that Jesus was speaking to) were still living under the law, and if fornication was discovered, there was a moral obligation to report the offender according to Deuteronomy 22:13-24. The wife, who would have been found guilty of fornication, was subsequently stoned to death, according to the law, which had still governed the Jews up until Christ's death on the cross. The same for a woman caught in adultery, according to Leviticus 20:10. How could a wife, guilty of fornication, or adultery, under the law of Moses, be given a writing of divorcement and be caused to commit adultery with whosoever marries her, that is divorced? Jesus is clear, in these examples, that the wife is not guilty of fornication, but is still caused to commit adultery if she marries another man now that she is divorced. This is the only way that Matthew 5:31-32, and Matthew 19:9 keep harmony with Romans 7:2-3, and 1 Corinthians 7:39. Unlike the synoptic gospels of Mark and Luke, which were written to evangelize the Gentiles, Matthew was written to the Jews, and has of 24 characteristics that identify it as intended for the house of Israel. The ancient Jews called the betrothed (engaged) "husband" and "wife" according to Deuteronomy 22:23-24, Matthew 1:18-25, and Luke 2:5-7. Deuteronomy 24:1-4 (Moses's precept of divorce and remarriage) was never for fornication or adultery. Allowing those guilty of fornication and adultery to remain living and become a prospect for remarriage was against the law of Moses in Deuteronomy 22:13-24 and Leviticus 20:10, which commanded that those who were found guilty of fornication and adultery be put away from Israel, and stoned to death. The law of Moses was not given to the world, only to the Jews. From the exodus, to Christ's death on the cross, the law of Moses governed the Jewish people. Christ's death on the cross caused the Jews to become dead to the law of Moses, so they could be joined to Christ under a New Covenant. This is what Jesus's fulfillment of the law of Moses, including Deuteronomy 24:1-4 (Moses's precept of divorce and remarriage), means. Paul gave several warnings to Christian believers against keeping the ordinances of law of Moses as justification, over following Christ and his commands under the New Covenant with Christ. Keeping the ordinances of the law is no longer possible, for Israel, and that is why Christ prophesied that the temple would be destroyed. These scriptures make it clear that if you choose the law over Christ, that you must keep the whole law: Romans 7:4, Galatians 3:1-9, Galatians 3:10-29, Galatians 4:1-7, Galatians 4:21-31, and Galatians 5:1-15. Being unequally yoked to unbelievers is not a cause for divorce, once two become one-flesh in a covenant of marriage, according to 1 Corinthians 7:12-14. Many one-flesh covenant marriages between unbelievers are recognized by God in the scriptures, most notably the marriage covenants between Herodias and King Herod's brother Philip, Potiphar and his wife, Ahab and Jezebel, and Ruth to her deceased husband Mahlon by Boaz when he took her to be his wife. Some are teaching that 1 Corinthians 7:15 implies that those who are abandoned, by an unbelieving spouse, are "no longer bound" in a one-flesh covenant of marriage. The reason this is in conflict is due to the way some translations word it, which gives it an entirely different meaning, and context. 1 Corinthians 7:15, says, "But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace." As you can see, the actual scripture says "not enslaved" which means that the husband or wife is not enslaved to sin with the unbelieving spouse, and is free to worship Christ in peace. Subsequent translations have changed the words to imply that they nullify the marriage covenant, which is not at all the case. The issue that this creates is with 1 Corinthians 7:10-11, which says, "10To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. 11But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife." As you can see, those who claim 1 Corinthians 7:15 shows the Apostle Paul giving those who are abandoned permission to remarry, do not understand the command that Christ gives is to an abandoned husband, in 1 Corinthians 7:11, and that he "must not divorce" his wife, and his wife is commanded to "remain unmarried or else be reconciled" to her husband. The theory that 1 Corinthians 7:15 nullifies two as being one-flesh, due to one's unbelief, puts the Apostle Paul directly at odds with Christ, and himself, by implying that Paul has issued an opposing command to verses 10-14 in verse 15. Some also teach that 1 Corinthians 7:27-28 is referring to both divorced men and virgin women, and not exclusively to men and women (virgins) who have never been married. This has been falsely taught for some time in churches as referring to anyone who is not currently in a marriage, which, for them, also includes those who are divorced. This is a very false assumption, and puts these verses in a different context, that is at odds with both the teachings of Christ and the apostle Paul. We see Paul refer to virgins, which signifies the unmarried who have never before been wed, which is the proper context here. We see Paul saying clearly that it is good for virgins, which is also speaking to never before wed men here, "that it is good for a man so to be." He goes on to say, "Art thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife." Who is he referring to here? Men who, like himself, have never married. The word "bound", in these verses, is a clear reference to betrothal (engagement) and not to a one-flesh covenant of marriage. The ancient Jews were considered bound as husband and wife during the betrothal (espousal/engagement) before becoming one-flesh in a covenant of marriage, through consummation. This is affirmed by the context of the term "bound" seen in Numbers 30:14-16. The Jewish couples in ancient Israel, who were betrothed (engaged) were also bound together until death, either by execution for fornication, or by other causes. Then Paul says, "But and if thou marry, thou has not sinned", which is who? The men who had never married in the congregation at Corinth. So he begins with verses 25-26 speaking exclusively to men that have never married. Paul then says, "and if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned", which is speaking directly in regard to virgin women who have never been married, within the congregation, not divorced women. Notice that verse 34 says, "There is difference also between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband." Paul speaks plainly when he says "there is a difference between a wife and a virgin." Paul goes on to say, "But if any man think that he behaveth himself uncomely toward his virgin, if she pass the flower of her age, and need so require, let him do what he will, he sinneth not: let them marry." This is speaking of a virgin who has become of age to bear children when it says, "let them marry." This is a clear command, to a single man, who has taken a virgin to be his wife. Paul then says, "Nevertheless he that standeth stedfast in his heart, having no necessity, but hath power over his own will, and hath so decreed in his heart that he will keep his virgin, doeth well." This is referring again to the single man who decides it is better not to marry, but to stay betrothed (engaged), under the present distress, by saying that he "hath so decreed in his heart that he will keep his virgin." Paul then says, "So then he that giveth her in marriage doeth well; but he that giveth her not in marriage doeth better", which again means single men, in the congregation, who have betrothed a wife, do well if they marry, and those who choose not to marry their virgin brides do better, under the current climate. For more proper context of the word "bound", let's look further down in this chapter to verse 39, which says, "39The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord" (1 Corinthians 7:39). For so long, these scriptures, between verses 25-38, have been twisted and used to enable divorce and remarriage, by wayward churches and teachers, and have caused many to stumble and to be trapped in unscriptural unions. The use of the woman at the well, in regard to marriage, falsely implies that Christ was endorsing remarriage after a divorce. This teaching is in defiance of Matthew 22:23-28, which shows a woman who had been widowed seven times, and entered into each subsequent marriage without any scriptural conflicts with God's law of marriage (one-flesh covenant) seen in Genesis 2:23-24. Mark 10:1-12 and Matthew 19:1-12 both record Christ's teaching that day beyond the Jordan. There is no mention of the words "fornication", "writing of divorcement", or "divorced" in Mark's Gospel because Mark was not written to the Jews (as Matthew's Gospel was), but to evangelize the Romans, and likewise Luke to evangelize the Greeks, who had no knowledge of the law of Moses in Deuteronomy 22 or Deuteronomy 24. All of these facts draw a clear understanding that remarriage after a divorce, under the New Covenant with Christ, is a scripturally false and baseless teaching. Please use wisdom when living in any situation against what the scriptures command.

[@holzmann-]

AMEN

[@patjones8598]

Unfortunately John MacArthur is incorrect on this topic and am very disappointed in that.

[@phantom00545]

I went on a journey back in September of 2020. I wanted to know if it was biblical for me to remarry since my spouse has had several affairs. The very first Issue I found was this. Matthew had this "exception clause" but mark and luke as well as 1st Corinthians did not repeat this "exception". After digging a little deeper, I found that Mathew was written with for the Jewish followers. That when Jesus say, lest it be for fornication, that he was referring to their betrothal period. That once a marriage was consumated...then marriage was until death. Which made sense to me. If we looked at Joseph and Mary...the bible depicts them as married yet mary did not "know" him. Meaning...they were to be wed but the marriage wasn't consumated. So when Mary came back pregnant with Jesus, Joseph saught for a divorce silently because he didn't was Mary stoned to death. Then an angel appeared and told Joseph to not divorce. Back in that time..a person caught in adultry was stoned to death. Which makes sense because the bible teaches that it was Death that broke the covenant bond. I also looked at Hosea and Gomer. I looked at Gomer who was a harlot and having sex outside of her marriage....yet Gomer found herself into some trouble and God told Hosea to buy her back. Hosea did. My question was this....if The exception clause was true for Christians...then why didn't God have Hosea leave Gomer behind...why not let Hosea be happy with a faithful and Christian woman. This shown a contradiction in the bible. We all know the bible doesn’t contradict itself. So we must challenge scripture with scripture. I then looked at God. God divorced Isreal. I looked at Gods actions after the divorce. God didn't move onto another colony or country for another bride. Isreal was still alive, but lost in sin. My God's actions...we can see that he is standing for his marriage with isreal. So, I know our father in Heaven is not a contradiction...nor are his actions. His actions are clear. God is standing for his marriage and is not moving on with someone else. Fortifying the "till death do we part" covenant. We are called to love, forgive, repent and repeat. We are supposed to be acting as an extension of God's love and will. There are so many thing I can being up about my journey and learning about divorce and remarriage. To sum it up, the only way one can remarry is if the other spouse passes away. Im in the understanding that we must remain open to our lost spouse so that we may be reconciled to them. If we are never reconciled, we are called to serve the Lord Jesus and to do his fathers will. Maybe im wrong...

[@juliettull6555]

But it did not say to remarry. That is if the person is dead. Stop misleading the people.