Who Is Amenable To Jesus’ Divorce And Remarriage Law?

Matthew 19:9 reads “And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.” Some Christians say this verse doesn’t apply to non-Christians, and therefore sinners may divorce and remarry all they want to for just any reason, and then when they become a Christian, they can just stay in whatever marriage they are in at that point in time. For example our brother Homer Hailey wrote about Matt 19:9 and marriage “A covenant and the laws of the covenant are bound only on those who are under that covenant (… Rom.3:19). The alien, not being under Christ’s covenant, is not judged by its laws, but is judged by the universal moral law under which he lives.” (The Divorced And Remarried Who Would Come To God, pgs.24-25).

It was true the law of Moses was only binding upon the Israelites (not Gentiles), but the law of Christ (the gospel) is binding upon “all nations” / “every creature”:

· Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations …

· Mark 16:15 … preach the gospel to every creature …

Since the gospel is binding upon “every creature,” then Matthew 19:9 (which is part of the gospel) is binding upon “every creature” (not just Christians).

Now there is only one law for all:

· John 12:47-48 if any man hear my words, and believe not … the word that I have spoken … shall judge him in the last day

· Acts 17:30-31 he will judge the world in righteousness by that man

· Romans 2:16 God shall judge the secrets of men … according to my gospel

· Titus 2:11-12 the grace of God … hath appeared to all men, Teaching us

· John 17:2a … You have given Him (Jesus) authority over all flesh

· Revelation 20:12 the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books

Saint and sinner alike are going to be judged by the same New Testament law, which includes Jesus’ law on divorce and remarriage.

I might ask – is the denominational believer amenable to these laws?:

· Romans 1:26-27 homosexuality?

· I Corinthians 7:2 polygamy?

· Matthew 15:9,14, I Peter 4:11 false teaching?

· Matthew 23:8-10 call no man your father upon the earth?

· I Corinthians 14:34-35 women preachers?

· Ephesians 4:29 cussing?

· Matthew 5:27-28 did Jimmy Swaggart violate this law?

This is the very reason a non-Christian is a sinner; he has violated the law of Christ! Why would the denominational believer be amenable to all these other laws, but not God’s law on divorce? Why is there only this one exception?

That’s right, only on Divorce And Remarriage do gospel preachers make a distinction about who is amenable. For example, who is responsible to avoid these sins?:

fornication – the world and the church

nudity – the world and the church

pornography – the world and the church

covetousness – the world and the church

stealing – the world and the church

drunkenness – the world and the church

faith – the world and the church

repentance – the world and the church

idolatry – the world and the church

homosexuality – the world and the church

divorce – just the church?

So those in unlawful marriages (Mark 6:18) according to New Testament texts like Matthew 19:9 must quit committing adultery when they repent to become a Christian. In short, they must terminate their unscriptural marriage.

hear Bible Crossfire Sunday nights at 8:04 central on SiriusXM radio Family Talk 131 or at http://www.BibleCrossfire.com