Divorce Series

The Great Commission

Part 19 – Offences

Pastor Bruce A. Shields

House of Faith – www.PS127.org | www.TruthDigest.org

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Happy Birthday to Roberta Miller

6:00PM Evening Service at the church –

“Seminary Students will be preaching”

May 25th – Walker Spriggs

June 1th – Deacon Kurt Ulman

June 8th – Grace Steadman

June 15th – Lori Ulman

June 22nd – Lynnette Higgins

WHERE WE ARE AT

† Disciples argue about who is Greatest?

† Jesus speaks to them about offences and followers.

† Attacking Children of God

† Divorce

SCRIPTURE READING

Matthew 19:1 – 12

1 When Jesus had finished saying these things (speaking about attacking the Children of God), he left Galilee and went into the region of Judea to the other side of the Jordan. 2 Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.

3 Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?"

4 "Haven’t you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator ’made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ’For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."

7 "Why then," they asked, "did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?"

8 Jesus replied, "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. 9 I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery."

10 The disciples said to him, "If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry." (Spiritual gift of Celibacy)

11 Jesus replied, "Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. (You must be given this Spiritual Gift) 12 For some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it."

INTRODUCTION

Jesus left Capernaum (Peter’s house) and traveled into Judea and across the Jordan.

Mark 10 - Crowds came to Him, as was His custom, and He taught them.

It was Jesus’ custom to let the people come to Him, He preached the word, and taught, and healed.

The Pharisees also came, to test.

The question was asked;

“Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”

They didn’t ask because they wanted to know, or understand, or gain knowledge of the Word, but because they were trying to get Jesus to say something against the Law of Moses.

I. What did Moses command you?

a. Moses permitted Divorce.

Deuteronomy 24:1-4 When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favor in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give [it] in her hand, and send her out of his house. And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man’s wife.

You see, God allows divorce for what Moses called “uncleanness”, which Jesus defined as marital unfaithfulness.

Which is not limited to adultery, which we will see in a moment.

But the Israelites took what Moses had said, and turned it into something else.

Divorcing because of selfish reasons.

God allows divorce if there is uncleanness (marital unfaithfulness) found.

Many have translated this to be fornication, but upon studying the Word, fornication means more than adultery, it can mean idol worship, or even abuse.

I have seen some stay married to abusers because they thought it was what God wanted.

I have seen people stay in situations where their children were being abused because they thought God hated divorce.

What does God hate more? Divorce, or children being viciously abused?

In Jude 1:7, fornication is described as “going after strange flesh…”

This would be going after anything other than what God intended...1 man, and 1 woman.

It’s also described as prostitution, adultery, incest…

For these reasons a man was able to divorce lawfully.

BUT, many read the law to say, if the man found anything displeasing about her, he could divorce her. And that is not what Moses wrote.

They were divorcing over the slightest displeasure, which gave way to a selfishness that was beyond reason.

Jesus said that Moses wrote this law to begin with because their hearts were hardened, this is usually the height of selfishness.