There’s one command of Jesus that is almost universally ignored in the 21st century church, and it’s the one found in Matthew 19:9:
“I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”
I simply don’t know what to do with this.
On the one hand we have a clear command that obviously is meant to be obeyed.
On the other hand we have millions of Christians in this country getting on and off the marriage go-round and NO-ONE is saying anything in church. Zip. Zilch. Nada. Is the silence a sign of gracious wisdom or a lack of faithfulness?
A while ago when I mentioned in a sermon that “Marriage is a one and done proposition,” it was like I was speaking in a foreign language. Friends just couldn’t get their minds around the idea that if you got a divorce for convenience sake; you were meant to stay single for the rest of your life (unless your spouse was unfaithful or harmful to you and/or your family). Until death. No re-marriage. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200.
At the same time, however, I feel great strain as I type these words, because life is a long time to pay for a mistake that happened, say, in your early 20’s. Why would divorce, unlike all other sins, have a permanent penalty attached to it after it’s been forgiven, while other sins are forgiven immediately with no long-term penalty imposed by God? For instance, if you gossip, you’re not banned from church for 3 years. If you kill someone, there are penalties imposed by society, but none in the eyes of God.
