A Word Concerning Divorce (Part 1) Series

A Word Concerning Divorce (Part 1)

Matthew 5: 31-32

As we approach our text, I am reminded of the words of Dr. Alan Carr. “When you preach through books of the Bible one of the great blessings is that, sooner or later, you will preach on every subject imaginable. But, one of the disadvantages is that, sooner or later, you will preach on every subject imaginable.” This text certainly fits that clear description. However, I made a commitment to the Lord to preach this series on the Sermon on the Mount, and this is next in the text, so we must deal with it. These verses are there and we cannot and should not avoid them. If the truth were told, the failure of marriages in America would be directly linked to the failure of preaching in America.

Let me say as we begin, it is not my intention to single out or condemn any who have faced divorce. Being raised in a Baptist church, I am well aware that folks would be forgiven of a felony quicker than they would for divorce. I know the hurt and devastation that divorce brings to the home. I was raised in a broken home. As we will see, divorce doesn’t just affect the married couple; it affects the entire family.

I am sure, if we were to take a poll of those present, we would have varied opinions on divorce. I am not going to share my opinion; I hope to allow God’s infallible Word to speak for itself. I do think we would all agree that we have seen an epidemic in regard to the divorce rate. It appears that those numbers are decreasing, but that is only due to the fact that many never get married; they just choose to live together outside of marriage.

Jesus saw the need to address the issue of divorce and since I have been called to preach the whole council of God, I too share that burden. I want to carefully examine the imperatives our Lord reveals as we consider: A Word Concerning Divorce.

I. The Perception of Divorce (31) – Here Jesus dealt with the way men perceived divorce. I want to mention two points of view as we consider the perception of divorce.

A. The View of the World (31) – It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: As with several previous statements, Jesus began by addressing that which they have heard and held to be true. Jesus lived in a day where divorce was more rampant than it is even in our society. Historians tell us that many Roman men would have between 15 and 20 wives in a life-time. The Jews did not divorce at such a rate, but it was commonplace nonetheless. Jesus lived in culture much like the one in which we live, where all that was needed for a divorce was a writing of divorcement.

Jesus was making reference to Deut.24: 1-4. (Quickly turn there with me and let’s consider what that says.) Clearly God had addressed the issue of divorce within the law given to Moses. If one or both parties desired a divorce, the man was to issue a legal document stating their divorce. As we will see in a moment, this was never God’s will and He never encourages divorce.

Much of what we hear today, and even the perception of the world, is influenced by those verses in Deut.24. If that were all we had, then one might argue that there was absolutely nothing wrong with divorce and it is permissible under any circumstance. But that isn’t all we have. Now let’s consider:

B. The View of our Lord (32) – But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery. Jesus revealed that divorce is not readily acceptable; in fact, it is quite limited when viewed in regard to Scripture. Here Jesus revealed that it is permissible in regard to fornication.

Now I had always been taught that this was reserved for an act of promiscuity prior to the consummation of the marriage. (I do not agree with that entirely. There are men that I love and respect that hold that point of view and I know some of them would not agree with me. I have come to my conclusion based on what God’s Word says rather than the opinions of men.) That is certainly one aspect of fornication, but when we consider the true meaning of the word, we discover that it encompasses all manner of sexual immorality. It comes from the Greek word porneia from which we get our word pornography. Fornication in the marriage isn’t limited to an act that was committed prior to the wedding vows.