WWUTT 2441 If Anyone Divorces His Wife (Luke 16:18)

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Jesus made a curious statement about divorce and remarriage in Luke 16 18.

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It seems a little bit out of place but when you look at it in context of everything else around it it makes perfect sense when we understand the text.

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This is when we understand the text studying God's Word to reach all the riches of full assurance in Christ. Thank you for subscribing and if this is ministered to you please let others know about our program.

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Here once again is Pastor Gabe Hughes. Thank you Becky and greetings everyone. We come back to our study in Luke chapter 16.

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One verse we're looking at today but this goes with the context of the parable that we had just read in chapter 16.

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So to keep things in context let me start at verse 14 and go through verse 18.

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Hear the word of the Lord. The Pharisees who were lovers of money heard all these things and they ridiculed him and Jesus said to them you are those who justify yourselves before men but God knows your hearts for what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God the law and the prophets were until John since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached and everyone forces his way into it but it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the law to become void everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.

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We'll stop there but that's the verse we're looking at here verse 18. Once again everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.

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Now this is a challenging verse, and it's probably more challenging than even the parable that we just read.

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Again, you'd have to go back and listen to the exposition of that parable, which is often mistranslated and misunderstood, and so is this verse and where it sits in relation to that particular parable.

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And I will admit it kind of stumped me too, and it's part of the reason why I didn't include it with the exposition that I did last week in the first half of chapter 16.

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I set this verse by itself because the English Standard Version sets it by itself.

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That's the translation of the Bible that I've been reading from as we've been going through Luke. And if you have the

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ESV, you'll notice that things kind of get sectioned out. They'll get appointed out in their own sections, which will have a section heading on it.

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And the section heading is not divinely inspired. The apostles did not write those headings.

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This is the editors of the ESV who wrote those headings in there or whatever translation you're reading, the legacy, the

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Christian standard, the NIV. They all will have these section headings. And those section headings are one of the reason why we call 1

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Corinthians 13, the love chapter, the love chapter. That's how you have to say it. It's the love chapter of the

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Bible because it's love is patient. Love is kind. You're familiar with those verses in 1 Corinthians 13.

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It's called that because in the New International Version in particular, the heading on that chapter is simply one word, love.

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It's Paul's teaching on love to the Corinthians. So that's all to say that these headings are put there by the editors.

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And I don't like that the ESV editors put this verse by itself because it goes with what

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Jesus had just taught. And it even leads into the next story he's about to share.

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And that's the story of the rich man and Lazarus. But we're going to wait and get to that tomorrow. Right now we're just focusing on this verse.

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How does this fit with the parable that we just read of the dishonest manager and then

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Jesus warning to the Pharisees about the law and the kingdom of God. Now we have divorce and remarriage that's kind of set by itself.

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But this is not just some random command that Luke just stuck right here.

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This goes with exactly the warning that Jesus just gave to the Pharisees. So once again, let me summarize the meaning of the parable of the dishonest manager and then

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Jesus warning to the Pharisees. And then we'll look and see how this instruction regarding divorce and remarriage fits into that.

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We'll also talk about divorce and remarriage and how it fits into Jesus teaching altogether, not just in Luke, but all four gospels and even what the apostles talk about it.

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I'm not going to go into too deep a detail because I've done this before. If you go back to my sermons or sermons, the devotionals, either out of Matthew five or Matthew 19, if you look those up online, then you'll find a more in depth look at Jesus teaching regarding divorce and remarriage.

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So I won't spend a lot of time on that today, but we'll at least hit it because that is what Jesus talks about here.

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So again, the summary point of the parable of the dishonest manager is that even people in this world know how to take the things of the world and use them to their advantage.

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So whether that is, whether that's money, because that's what's in the example that's given in that parable, using money in a shrewd way to get what they want.

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So whether it's money and working hard and even being shrewd in business decisions so that they can bring more money to themselves, whether that's opportunities, chasing dreams, having goals, which is usually to get more money, right?

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Whether it's education, using the education system so that I can further myself,

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I can get the piece of paper that will guarantee me a better job in which

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I can get more money. So people of this world know how to use worldly things to their advantage to get what they want.

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We likewise would be wise to use what's in the world, even though all of this stuff is going to be burned up eventually at the judgment.

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It is wise for us to take the opportunities that we have to even use the stuff of this world, whether it's money, opportunity, learning particular tasks, even the education system as messed up and as corrupt as the education system might be in our nation today, the public education system specifically, we can still use that to our advantage to learn a skill, protect ourselves from the propaganda that they might be trying to fill us up with through the education system.

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But using that, that we can learn, develop skills, get the piece of paper and be able to get a job and make a difference in the world.

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We can even use money. It's not a sinful thing to have money. And that's one of the most disappointing teachings that exists in the church today, especially among those who are liberal theologians, but they're just doing it to gaslight to make you feel guilty for being rich.

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You can't be rich because that's a sin. Okay, well, where's the dollar amount? As long as I'm making this much money,

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I'm not sinning. But if I make $1 more than that, suddenly I'm in sin. Where's the amount on that exactly? The Bible doesn't say it's a sin to be rich.

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It's a sin to put your hope in riches. And that was the same thing that Jesus said to the

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Pharisees, you cannot serve God and money as we read in verse 13, but we can still use money shrewdly in a way to give glory to God and even to advance his kingdom.

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So it's wise for Christians to invest, to do a good job, to pick jobs or careers that may make more money.

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If you have those opportunities, take them and then use that money to advance God's kingdom.

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Giving to the church is still very, very important. Giving wouldn't necessarily say a tithe, which is 10%.

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You don't have to give 10%. You can give 5%. You can give 15 or 20%, but give to the church.

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I know that, especially in reform circles, that it's common to speak against the concept of tithing because the

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New Testament doesn't give an exact amount. We know what Paul has said in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, that the

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Lord loves a cheerful giver. Whatever you feel in your heart to give, that's what you should give. But I think somewhere in there, it gets lost that it's still important for us to give.

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We hear that, oh, the New Testament doesn't require a tithe. In the church, that command doesn't exist.

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That was for theocratic Israel. That is not a requirement. If you're not giving 10%, then you're sinning.

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There's nothing in the New Testament that's like that. We hear that and we go, oh, good, I'm free from tithing.

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Giving is still important because it's giving to the Lord and it is giving for the purpose of progressing and advancing his kingdom.

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Your church needs money just to keep the lights on, to pay the pastor, to pay for a cleaning service, unless the volunteers are doing all of that.

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You know what I mean? Even then, the church may want to hire somebody from within the church to take care of all of the cleaning so that it's sure to get done instead of just relying on volunteers to do it.

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You can have volunteers, that's fine, but maybe an investment needs to be made in order to take care and be good stewards of that which

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God has given to you. So the church still needs money and the church will set aside money that they will be giving toward other kinds of ministries, whether that's evangelism within the community or even sending missionaries overseas, which, by the way, costs money.

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I know that we want to think that everything in Christianity is free and we can all just have everything in common and we don't need to give our money to pay for everything, but the fact of the matter is it still takes money to live.

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You still need to pay your bills, you still need to buy food, you still need to travel, especially when it comes to sending missionaries in another part of the world.

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We are very technologically advanced. It's great that we can be in other places, just beaming our face through a screen.

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I got the chance to preach in the Philippines last year that way. I preached via Skype or something like that, was preaching to a church there.

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I couldn't physically be there. It's great that we can do that, but still nothing makes more of a difference than having real world people, warm bodies in those places, caring for and loving those people that need to hear the gospel.

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It takes money. We as Christians need to be wise to that. We need to give and so give as though we're giving to the

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Lord, being willing to let it go out of our hands into somebody else's care and knowing that God is going to use that ultimately for the advancement of his kingdom.

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That really is the point of the parable of the dishonest manager. Jesus teaching us to use what is in the world and to do it for the glory of God.

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People who are in the world will use it for selfish reasons. They don't use it for God's glory.

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They use it for their own glory, but they're still in pursuit of themselves. They're more shrewd in acquiring money and property and things like that than even

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Christians can be a lot of times. Jesus says, and this is in verse eight, for the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light.

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And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, meaning that the wealth is not going to survive the judgment when it comes.

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Everything that is in this world is going to be burned up in the judgment, but we can still make the most of those opportunities that we have so that Jesus says, when it fails, they may receive you into the eternal dwellings on the day when we lose all of that stuff.

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We don't get to take it with us, but it will be the works that we did with it, for which we will be commended when we enter into the eternal kingdom.

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Works don't give us eternal life. Don't hear me saying that. It's not works that guarantee our salvation, but we're still called to work.

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And we do that work to the glory of God. Jesus, again, saying verse 10, one who is faithful in a very little is also faithful with much.

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And one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest with much.

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So let's deal with those things honestly, but do it shrewdly so that we can use what is available to us that we may do it to God's glory for the benefit of our families, for the benefit of others being able to share the wealth with other

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Christian brothers and sisters, or even others who are in need with whom we can share the gospel or using that money to advance the kingdom in other ways.

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Don't waste the opportunities that you have. Don't waste them. Don't look at those things thinking, oh man, well, if I was a sinner,

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I could sure make the most of that opportunity. If I was more worldly, I would sure take an opportunity here.

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No Christians can deal in honest ways and make a good living and a good business for themselves and even accumulate a lot of wealth.

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Don't do it for yourself. Do it that you may benefit others. You may be a blessing to others and especially to God and to his kingdom.

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All right. So going on here with the Pharisees who were lovers of money, heard everything that Jesus had said and they ridiculed him.

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And he said to them, you are those who justify yourselves before men. So you are those who are dealing dishonestly with money and taking advantage of it for yourself.

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You're taking advantage of other people to benefit yourself. Remember that we've read before about the

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Pharisees who would consume widow's houses for themselves and not care for those widows.

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And so Jesus is rebuking them. But God knows your hearts, he says, for what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.

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Now, keep that in mind because that helps us with verse 18. What is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.

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Now, Jesus is about to go to the law with verse 18. Before he gets there, he says, this is verses 16 and 17, the law and the prophets were until John.

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Since then, the good news of the kingdom is preached. In other words, the law and the prophets predicted what is happening right now in their midst with Jesus who is here.

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Jesus is later going to say that the kingdom of God is in your midst. And so Jesus is a fulfillment of those things that had been prophesied.

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Even through the law, the law and the prophets were pointing to this moment. John the

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Baptist prepared the way. He was the last prophet of that old covenant.

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Jesus comes in to inaugurate a new covenant. So the law and the prophets were until John.

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Jesus has come to fulfill. Since then, the good news of the kingdom of God is preached.

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The good news that it's not by your works that you enter into the kingdom. It is by Christ's work and what he is accomplishing and by faith in him and all he has done through his life, his death on the cross as an atoning sacrifice for sins, his resurrection from the grave.

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Through these things, we are forgiven our sins, reconciled to God and made citizens of that kingdom that Christ is bringing in.

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The good news of the kingdom of God is now preached and everyone forces his way into it.

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Everyone is hyperbolic. Jesus is not saying every single person does this because those who believe in Jesus are not forcing their way into the kingdom.

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They're entering by the narrow gate. They're entering by Jesus who is the door as he talks about in John 10.

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But those who don't know Christ, those who don't want to humble themselves and worship

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Christ, they're trying to force their way into the kingdom by their works and even diminishing what

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God has required. And so leading other people astray like laws that God has set, they'll soften them.

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You don't really have to do it that way. I know that's hard and I don't want to follow it either. So just look at the law like this.

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Again, keep that in mind. That helps us with verse 18. So everyone forces his way into it.

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They try to get in by their own way instead of the way that God has said is the entrance into the kingdom.

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Verse 17, but it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the law to become void.

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Just because you change it to try to get in by your own standard doesn't mean that you've made the law void.

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Heaven and earth will pass away before that happens. So then in light of that, in that context,

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Jesus says now it's as if now he's giving an example. Here's an example of the way that you've diminished the law and you're trying to get in by your own way.

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Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery. And he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.

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This is still directed at the Pharisees. And this is an example of exactly what

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Jesus was talking about with the way that they diminish the law and the prophets, the way they try to force their way into the kingdom, the way they soften the laws.

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So now it's something that I can do and I won't be denied entrance into the kingdom because I didn't keep that law.

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Now I've reduced the law into something that is manageable so that I can get in by my own righteousness.

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And this is how the Pharisees twist the word and do so not only to their own destruction, but even to those people that they teach these things to and they follow what the

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Pharisees tell them. So the Pharisees would divorce their wives and then they would go marry somebody else and they would divorce for no good reason at all.

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It wasn't the biblical reason like Jesus gives in Matthew five and in Matthew 19, where if one of you has been unfaithful, if there is infidelity, then the other person to whom you were unfaithful has a godly cause for divorce.

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God would much rather you be reconciled. But if there can be no reconciliation, then the one who gets divorced from the other who was unfaithful, nothing is going to be held against them for that.

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And that's the stipulation that Jesus gives in Matthew five and 19. Unfortunately, because that only appears in Matthew's gospel, there are those who are of the marriage permanence view that say that you cannot get divorced for any reason whatsoever, including unfaithfulness.

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Or if you get divorced, you can't marry another. You have to remarry the spouse from whom you divorced.

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But I disagree with that. I think it is very plainly stated by Jesus twice in Matthew that the allowance to sue out what we would call a biblical divorce is if one spouse has committed adultery with another.

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If that has happened, it is essentially the death of the marriage. They have united themselves in one flesh to another person.

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The apostle Paul talking about this in first Corinthians chapter six. Will you take what belongs to the

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Holy Spirit, talking about your body with the Holy Spirit dwelling within you? If you're a Christian and a follower of Jesus, are you going to take that body and unite it with a prostitute and become one flesh with the prostitute?

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By no means. Don't you know that anyone who unites himself with a prostitute becomes one flesh with her,

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Paul says. So it's not even marrying the prostitute in the sense that you go through all the legal processes to become married.

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It's even sleeping with the prostitute has made you one flesh with her. So the one flesh union is now broken.

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You're not one flesh with your spouse. You've now become one flesh with somebody else outside the marriage. And so that's the death of the marriage.

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And under the theocratic system in Israel, in the Old Testament, the one who was unfaithful, what would happen to them?

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They would be stoned to death. So this is affectionately the death of marriage. And the one who was cheated on has a biblical case to be able to sue out the divorce and can get remarried.

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And nothing should be held against them for that. The Westminster authors of the Westminster Confession of Faith, the

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Westminster Catechism, they stated that in the Westminster. And I think they got that right, that if somebody has committed adultery, then the one that was cheated on can divorce and remarry as if the offender, the one who committed adultery, the adulterer, as if that person were dead.

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That's the way it's stated in the Westminster. And I think that's accurate. But here in here among the

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Pharisees, they were allowing divorce for any reason, not even it doesn't even have to be a biblical cause.

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If you just don't like your spouse anymore, then you can divorce and you can get remarried.

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And this is an example of the way that they were reducing the law and trying to make it to where, see,

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I'm really a righteous person because I keep the law. Look at this new law that I've written. They don't say it that way, but that's essentially the presentation.

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Look at this new law I've written and I keep it just fine. And so I'm going to enter the kingdom of God and you can do so with me.

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Jesus says, no, everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery. And he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.

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And again, this is the way that Jesus is showing the Pharisees, here's how you reduce the law. Here's how you are frauding other people, shortchanging them by giving them less than what

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God has actually declared. It is important for us to know what the law says so that we will know that we have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

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And only by faith in Jesus Christ can we be forgiven our sins, even sins like divorce and remarriage, where it was not okay for us to have done that.

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That was not the blessing of God to do that. I've encountered marriages before where the spouse, one or both spouses realize we got divorced in an unbiblical way.

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We've remarried now in an unbiblical way. So do we need to divorce and go back to our spouses?

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No, because the law says you can't do that either. You can't divorce your spouse and go back to the spouse that you divorced from previously, because now that would be committing adultery, it says.

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So you're committed to that spouse, even though you may have done this in the wrong way, but look to Christ and desire to honor

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Christ with the marriage that you have. God will forgive and he will bless if you look to Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.

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Now live in Christ to the glory of God. Make the most of every opportunity that you have, just as we've been reading here through chapter 16, and do it all for his namesake.

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It is for his namesake that he sent his son to die on the cross for you and rise again from the dead and forgive you and bring you into his kingdom.

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This is all to the glory of his name. So let us live lives in such a way that we give glory to God, desire holiness, and go after it.

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And whatever mistakes or sins that you have made along the way, give it unto the Lord, have him forgive you, and then go forward desiring to do all things to the pleasure of God.

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Let's end there, and then we're coming to the account of the rich man and Lazarus tomorrow. Heavenly Father, we thank you for what we've read here in chapter 16.

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We thank you for the lessons that you teach us, even through these writings that are thousands of years old, yet we still hear fresh and new teaching from the

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Holy Spirit every day, because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever, as said in Hebrews.

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So his word is still just as applicable to us today as it was when it was given in the days that he walked this earth.

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Let us walk in a way that is pleasing unto the Lord, as said in 1

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John 2, 6. Let us walk as he walked, that we may give glory to God with our lives and in all good things.

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Help us make the most of all opportunities for the advancement of your kingdom. It's in Jesus' name we pray.

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Amen. Thank you for listening to When We Understand the Text with Pastor Gabe Hughes. If you'd like to support this ministry, visit our website www .wutt

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.com and click on the Give tab in the top right corner of the page. Join us again tomorrow as we continue our