Bible Message On Divorce

Matthew 19:1-12

Jesus teaches about Divorce

19 When Jesus had finished saying these things, 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,’[a] 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’[b]? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one 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 sexual immorality, 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.”
For there are different reasons why men cannot marry:some, because they were born that way, others because God made them that way—and there are others who do not marry for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this teaching let him do so.

Sermon
Verse 3-6, says that the Pharisees came to test Jesus with the question can a man divorce his wife for whatsover reason that pleases him?. Jesus replied them with the Sacred, Undiluted law of God and Nature,he said, God created them man and woman and for this reason a man will leave his mother and father and the two will become one. They are no longer two, but one. WHAT GOD HAS JOINED TOGETHER,MAN MUST NOT SEPERATE.
That is the divine law of God,that which our Heavenly Father wants us to obey.

Verse 7-9 shows a modification to the law due to the "hardness of heart" of the Jews which implies that the Jews were hard to teach, an issue which arose all through the scriptures. They continually left true worship to worship foreign gods in spite of all the miracles God performed. The modification says a man can divorce his wife only on the case of ADULTERY, any other reason will lead to adultery on his side and on the woman's side.

Verses 10-12, Jesus made an important point to note, he said, this teaching does not apply to everyone but only to those WHO GOD HAS GIVEN IT. Who then are those who God has given it to?. To the disciples who felt the message was a big burden, he made it clear that there are some men Who do will not marry, some because they are born that way, some who are made that way e.g castrated, some for the Kingdom of God hence making a case for the missionaries like St Paul (1 Cor 7:7), Priests, Rev. Sisters and some evangelists who chose not to marry. (1 Cor 7:32,38)

THE EARLY CHRISTIANS
The early Christians followed the Divine, Undiluted law of God as through the letters of St Paul. They did not divorce their spouses and could only remarry due to the death of a spouse but they were allowed to SEPERATE in threatening situations e.g Domestic violence and abuse, the separation did not allow them to have sexual relations with any other person.

1 Cor 7:10-13: For married people I have a command which is not my own but the LORD'S: a wife must not leave her husband; but if she does, she must remain single or else be reconciled to her husband; and a husband must not divorce his wife.
Vs 39: A married woman is not free as long as her husband lives; but if her husband dies, then she is free to be married to any man she wishes, but only if he is a Christian.
Romans 7:2-3: A married woman is bound by the Law to her husband as long as he lives; but if he dies,then she is free from the law that bound her to him. So then, if she lives with another man while her husband is alive, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is legally a free woman and does not commit adultery is she marries another man