Insights on Marriage and the Family On the World Wide Web at papamaui.com/index_perspectives.html Ch. 3: The Challenging Passages
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"Successful marriage requires falling in love many times with the same person"
The scriptures mentioned in "Chapter 1: Marriage
and the One-Flesh Union" and "Chapter 2: Teachings
of the Apostle Paul, are crystal clear in their teaching
of the quintessential "one-flesh union",
and its spiritual counterpart, the "one-spirit union", that only God
can create. Both unions are essential
parts of God's plan and purpose for his people. It's not unexpected that non-believers
often ignore these concepts. Regretfully, believers also often misunderstand
or ignore their meaning and intent or try to find "loopholes" in the
Scriptures to justify their personal choices. The scriptures they usually find
to support divorce and remarriage and thus the creation of man-made
"one-flesh unions"
are these three:
1- But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God has called us to peace (1 Corinthians 7:15 KJV).
2- Art thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife. But and if thou marry, thou hast not sinned; and if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned (1 Corinthians 7:27-28 KJV)
And finally, the infamous "exception clause" passage:
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?"
"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. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not 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.
I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery."
The disciples said to him, "If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry."
Jesus replied, "Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given.
For some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it." (Matthew 19:3-12 NIV)
Here are a few guidelines to help you understand difficult or challenging passages.
First, pray that God will help you understand and then be willing to apply his help properly.
Second, understand the importance of keeping the passage totally in context and finding everything in the Bible that pertains to that context.
Third, if you don't fully understand a word, look it up in Strong's Concordance, a Bible Dictionary or a regular dictionary. If you don't understand a particular teaching, look up all the passages on that topic. Remember, let the Bible be its own best commentary!
Next: Chapter 4 Resolving the Challenges 1 Cor. 7:15