What does God really think about divorce and remarriage?

Broadway Church

WHAT IS GOD’S VIEW OF DIVORCE AND REMARRIAGE?

www.broadwaychurch.com

(MULTILINE REVEAL SMALL)

How God Deals With “The Ideal vs. the Real”…

Just as God made a concession for our imperfection when it comes to our relationship with , God has also made a concession for our imperfection when it comes to our relationships with .

A. God’s Ideal for Marriage

1. Marriage is a invention.

“Haven’t you read… that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female’ 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?'” (Matthew 19:4-5)

2. Marriage was designed by God to be a lifelong, monogamous, safe and secure place to

our and our .

(Genesis 2:24)

3. Marriage was designed by God to be a relationship of .

“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” (Ephesians 5:21)

“Wives submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord.” (Ephesians 5:22)

“Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her…” (Ephesians 5:25)

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails…” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8a)

B. What About When We Fail to Achieve the Ideal?

“When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went into the region of Judea to the other side of the Jordan. Large crowds followed him and he healed them there. Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked him, ‘Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?’ ‘Haven’t you read,’ he replied, ‘that at the beginning the Creator “made them male and female,” 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”? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.’ ‘Why then,’ they asked, ‘did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?’ Jesus replied, ‘Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning.'” (Matthew 19:1-8)

1. In his response, Jesus expressed the “ideal vs. the real” regarding sinful humanity and marriage:

a. What : “It was not this way from the beginning…”

b. Where : “Your hearts were hard…”

c. How : “Moses permitted you to divorce…”

Some Biblical Advice for a Marital Mess…

1. Do everything that you can to .

“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:31-32)

2. If reconciliation is not possible, do everything you can to

with your former spouse.

“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” (Romans 12:18)