Revolutionary pt. 3

Part 3 of a 9 part series from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew 5-7.
Download revolutionary_3marriage_divorce_and_telling_the_truth.mp3

Comments

[Nathan]

Hey there. I wanted to say first how much I've been enjoying this series. I don't know what's planned next, but I could not vote strongly enough for another expository series.

So I had a question on this sermon, about divorce and remarriage. I know it's the dominant Protestant position now that adultery/abandonment are exceptions that allow remarriage, but how sure are you that it's correct? And do you have (or know where I can find) good exegesis pointing that direction? As is often the case, there is readily available exegesis on the opposing position (no remarriage as long as the spouse is alive, no exceptions), and the dominant/assumed position is hard to find.

I first started questioning it a few years ago when I was teaching through Matthew, and the fact that Mark and Luke went with an absolute, no exceptions command really stood out. I looked into it some (out of curiosity, not with a real passion or anything), and couldn't find much more than assumption in favor of the modern view, but plenty on how we've gotten it wrong.

I didn't really worry about it again until I moved in with a divorced friend who fit both possible exceptions. Wanting to honor God and willing to stay single if necessary, he asked me to help research to see if these exceptions are legit. Again, we found plenty of detailed exegesis (on Matthew's use of "porneia" instead of "moicheia", 1 Corinthians 7, Deuteronomy 24, etc) opposing remarriage as long as the spouse lives, but nothing comparable for the opposing view.

So I was wondering if you had something, or knew a good place to look. This is a huge issue in the modern American church obviously (as we've unfortunately taken marriage no more seriously than the divorce-on-demand culture), and it would be good to be as sure as we can, whatever the conclusion is.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Kevin]

Nathan, thanks for your thoughtful response. Divorce and remarriage is a thorny issue and dealing with it means dealing with some of the most sensitive places in peoples' hearts. That means grace is critical in communication. I'm glad you've pursued thoughtful, biblical answers as you've sought to help others.

One article I'll recommend to you is from Allen Ross:
http://www.bible.org/page.php?page_id=3939

The conclusions of Dr. Ross's article are particularly helpful. Please feel free to email me if you'd like to talk further.