DIVORCE

Dear Brethren - I am writing this article on Divorce in answer to questions asked me in e-mails on the subject - you may not like what I have to say but I do hope you will read what I have to say with an open mind before you throw it away in disgust.

I will say this before getting into the main part. I do not believe in divorce. I don't believe it was originally intended by God that this happen and certainly do not believe in modern day practice of Divorce

BUT - I also believe that God did bring divorce into being in Moses day due to the fact that those people in their human nature could not live up to the standards God demanded. We call that the depravity of man. I don't believe that we are any better today so I believe God has left an opening for divorce. He has laid the ground rules for Divorce very plain. I will say more on that later.

I want to say this before I start. I do not come to any conclusions of Bible doctrine or practice lightly. I do so only after weighing every thing I know on the subject that I can find in the Bible. I DO NOT care what other men believe no matter how learned they are. They might be right and I might come to the same conclusion as they do - but I do not get the result from them I get it from what I read in the Bible and of course the Holy Spirit teaching me. The most learned men can be wrong - the Bible can not.

One thing I have learned that all too often men will take one scripture and make a great deal more out of that scripture than was intended and just latch onto it and lock everything else out. They just dogmatically say that so and so scripture says this and that is final - case closed. And yet there are other scriptures on the same subject that does not say what this fellow is saying about that doctrine. I believe this is one of those subjects.

You referred to 1 Timothy 3:2 - A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach, etc.

Now Brethren - Just think of this verse and its ramifications if you were to take it literally as you want to. The statement the pastor(bishop) must be the husband of one wife. Have you ever stopped to think what that would mean? It would mean a pastor would have to be married. It would also mean that a pastor or missionary if he was married and lost his wife he would have to retire from his pastorship - or get remarried real quick in order to qualify to be a pastor - after all - isn't that what that says - a pastor must be the husband of one wife? You see how foolish it is looking at it in that way. Other problems could arise from looking at it in that way too. But NO problems arise from this statement if taken in the way you say you disagree with. I thoroughly believe that the writer is speaking out against plurality of wives in the Lord's church - especially among the deacons and pastors. If left at that there is not problems that crop up for the Old Testament teaches against plurality of spouses too - commonly called polygamy. But you said that you believed it only common sense that a person would have only one wife. You tell that to a lot of people. Polygamy is very common in our age as well as in about any age you could mention - including the days in question - Jesus' day. There is a religious sect that used to practice this openly until banned by U.S. law. Even today die-hards still practice it. These people are the Church of Latter Days Saints - or Mormons as they are also called. Have you heard of Elizabeth Smart's abduction? Well her abductors captured her to be his 2^nd or 3^rd wife. They were polygamists.

You see - by being so hard line on one scripture you are not obeying other commands of God - such as "to judge righteous judgment" or "not to judge by the letter of the law but by the spirit of the law. I think this means that there are exceptions we have to take into account when looking at situations - there could be extenuating circumstances in a certain situation that may not fit into a hard line attitude but may be excusable by God under those circumstances. I will give you an example.

I know a pastor that when he married neither he nor his wife was saved. God saved that man several years after they had married - but He did not save his wife. His wife flatly refused to have anything to do with his religion. Now - was that this mans fault? What was he supposed to do - in his manly rule of the house force the woman to become a Christian or to at least accept his new found way of life. Come now - you know as well as I do you do not force this on anyone. This woman turned into a real Jezebel - a real whore that turned unfaithful, ran away from home with another man leaving their only child with him - divorced the husband and remarried the person she ran off with. Was any of this the man's fault - the pastor - would it be fair to penalize him for any of this. He sure didn't want this to happen - he loved his wife and would loved to have had her saved and had a happy life together. People who would blame him just do not think properly - certainly not in a spiritual mind in him. The pastor eventually did remarry. And I find nothing wrong with that. If you read Jesus own words there are two reason that God will excuse a divorce. 1. For fornication on the part of the other spouse. 2. If a person who is not saved in a partnership leaves a person who has been saved after they have been married. Both those qualifications are involved in the case I just quoted. Jesus own statement is that if the spouse leaves then God in His sovereignty has given the saved spouse "rest" from the problems which would arise in an unequal marriage.

Another thing - in Old Testament rules divorce was allowed. It was stated very clearly that if a wife separated from the husband and later relented and returned to him that was ok provided she did not have any partners in the meantime. If after she left she married another man or even had sex then she according to God's rules could not leave the second husband and return to the first. That this was an abomination to God. And note- this separation must have been recognized because it was stated it was ok for her to go to the second husband - but not to leave him and return to the first husband. Return - she would have to have been away officially for her to return.

So that is what I believe. Yes a pastor if divorced should be looked at very closely - if he is at fault in any way that drove his wife away then you are right - he is not qualified to be a pastor. But you should also look for extenuating circumstances - if he was in no way at fault by abuse or neglect on the part of the wife or children but was a good, loving, devoted husband who would die for his family yet the wife took the initiative to take off - how can anyone in their right mind penalize the husband - pastor or otherwise. Think - think - think in godly terms.

I hope and pray this will be of some help to you.

In Jesus name David Shortt