Divorce and Remarriage is Not the Unforgivable Sin

I think I’m going to have to reread my bible. I don’t recall remarriage being the unforgivable sin.

As to the question of remarriage as the unforgivable sin——if, in fact, remarriage IS adultery (defined as the unlawful joining of one person with another who is NOT their lawful spouse), then the relationship itself is sin. If we are to say that we can remain in sinful relationships and be AOK with the Lord, then we need to be quiet about ALL other types of illicit relationships. We can pick one, say it’s ok—even though scripture says otherwise, and then come down hard on another type of illicit relationship. All the world will see is Hypocrisy and wonder how it is that one relationship God called adultery is Ok in the church, but other types of sinful relationships are condemned with demands of repentance (forsaking the relationships) to be in fellowship with that Body.

Man, I am really confused. I’m new here and I tried to read most of your posts. But it sounds like divorce and remarriage can never be forgiven and i was always taught that blasphemy of the Holy Ghost was the only sin that couldn’t be forgiven. I mean, I know a lot of very good Christians who have been divorce and are remarried. You can tell by their lives that they are good Christians and live right. They are not hypocrites. Why can’t remarriage be forgiven like the rest of the sins? I don’t mean to sound dumb, because all you guys typed all those verses of the Bible, but i still don’t understand. I mean think of all those people who have been divorced and are going to hell even though they were saved but got married again. Makes me not to want to get married because you never know what will happen even with 2 Christians.

My 12 year old son feels the same way. My job as his parent is to teach him God’s Word regarding marriage so he is well grounded and I hope you are as well BEFORE you get married. Many are not. You know, the disciples had the very same reaction you and my son had. What Jesus says IS a hard thing to take—that marriage is lifelong and even if your spouse sins against you (committing adultery or whatever), you are bound for life.

See, the thing that has happened is that man has said, “no, I WON’T stay married to her/him because of ……………”, then they go ahead, divorce and remarry. In doing so Jesus has said that they are now committing adultery. How can it be adultery? They got divorced right? Well, the only way it could be adultery to remarry is because Jesus sees the covenant marriage as still in tact. The second marriage is akin to an extramarital affair—maybe it doesn’t look like that to us, but it sure does to Him. That is because we have allowed man’s laws to overrule those laid down by God. He made two into ONE. The “third” person is an intruder into the One flesh God created.

Adultery is forgivable, this is true. Many, many saints have turned away from their adulteries and returned to their spouses. Or, if they have lost spouses due to their sin, have remained single, being faithful to the Lord.

“remarriage is not the unforgivable sin”………a comment I see quite often. This is a true statement. Remarriage (adultery) is NOT the unforgivable sin. I know of a couple right now who are in the process of rectifying their sinful relationship. They are separating from each other and eventually will divorce legally. That is repentance from an adulterous marriage………since God does not view them as lawfully joined in His eyes, they are doing the works of repentance. I personally know of quite a few people who have done likewise. Some who say it’s “not forgivable” are right in that if they are unwilling to discontinue the sin, it is not forgivable—-they are unrepentant. That goes with ANY sin, not just adultery.

It is a real blessing to know someone who is not yet married is reading this thread. Personally, I believe this thread is mostly for you—-to encourage you to seek the Lord extensively BEFORE you seek to be joined as “ONE” by Him. It’s a very serious decision in life to make.

Okay, lets go from another angle – where in the Bible does it say that divorced and remarried people can NOT be forgiven? And where does it say in the Bible that once God forgives a person for these sins, He keeps bringing it back up everyday? David committed several horrible sins, but he certainly was forgiven and had the favor of God.

No one in this thread is saying that a divorced and remarried person cannot be forgiven. One can ALWAYS forsake their sin and KNOW they did right in the sight of the Lord. The issue is whether one can remain in a relationship the Lord calls sin (adultery) and continue in that relationship with the blessings of God upon them………..

The issue also exists concerning salvation—–can one continue in an adulterous relationship until their deathbed and then lose their salvation, or on the other hand, if one does continue such a relationship without even “twitching” after they have “seen” the Word, were they ever really saved? Those are very valid questions since Paul taught the brethren that adulterers cannot enter or inherit the kingdom of heaven. By definition (God’s definition), if someone is an adulterer (extramaritally or through remarriage)—-are they going to inherit the kingdom of heaven?

And then there is grace. Does God allow us to continue to sin over and over because of grace? Yes and No. We do. He hates it. He loves us anyhow and continues to try to grow us to a point of obedience for our own good.

Jesus covered all our sins. There is nothing we can do that is excluded from that. Can living in sin cause you to have a hard heart and turn away? Yes. Your salvation at that point is an issue for another thread.

Salvation is a BIG, BIG, issue. It is a point that cannot be ignored in this topic of conversation. If Paul stated that adulterers will not inherit/enter the kingdom of God, as has been stated, wouldn’t it behoove us to understand WHO are guilty of adultery? And personally, I am not in agreement with you on none changing their mindsets. If one is truly seeking the Lord’s heart on this matter, and is wrong, they WILL change their mind and go in His direction in thought and deed.

Also, concerning unrepentant sin, do you really believe it is all about us as to why we are not to continue in sin? Paul teaches that we are to present ourselves as a LIVING sacrifice to the Lord………and Jesus taught that we are to be a “light” to the world.

I don’t see our lives as really being about “us”, and the motivation for “doing” right is to reap benefits for ourselves. I see the benefits we gain more as a “byproduct”. Sometimes there will be NO benefits seen in the here and now. Obedience unto holiness is really all about loving and worshipping Jesus and for the benefit of others. It all comes back to the 2 commandments Jesus gave……..

I do feel sad though that people limit God’s grace in their determination to prove that they are “right” Scripturally.

You don’t know how much I would love to be wrong in this area of doctrine, but I am fully confident that what the Lord showed me within the last few years IS correct. That is why NO ONE can tell me WHEN a remarriage becomes a lawfully joined union in the sight of God. NO ONE can truthfully go to the Word of God to show how what the Lord calls adultery (unlawful relations with someone who is NOT your spouse) becomes a lawful relationship through confession.

No other illicit relationship can turn into a lawful one in the sight of God just because one confesses their guilt in being in such a relationship (homosexuality, fornicators, incestuous, etc). Only forsaking an illicit relationship is acceptable repentance to the Lord. However, concerning adulterous marriages, people believe they can confess their guilt and then STAY in the sin—-that their confession somehow changes the nature of the relationship. If one is of that mindset, then how do you see the adulterous marriage in which there is NO confession of guilt. Is it a lawful marriage joined by God?

Like I said, at what point in a remarriage does it become a lawfully joined by God union? Until you can answer that question with full confidence with the Word of God supporting your position, I don’t understand how you can be fully “at peace” with your viewpoint.

(Comparing Remarriage to Murder) You cannot continue a murder. Once committed it is done. Any additional murders are additional sins. This is an incorrect comparison on your part and a logical fallacy. God does not allow His followers to remain in sexual sin. And therefore once they repent of their sexual sins, they are clean.

You are right…….once you repent, any additional “doing” are additional sins. If one is committing adultery——meaning they are having UNLAWFUL relations with someone who is NOT their spouse………….how do they repent? Do they stay and continue the relationship with the person who is NOT THEIR SPOUSE? or do you believe that confession turns the person who was not a lawful spouse into a lawful spouse? Exactly at what point in a new marriage does it then become lawful——-the new vow dissolves the previous? The first sexual act after the vow? The realization that the new relationship is adultery and confessing that knowledge? I sincerely ask this: at what point is adultery no longer adultery?

No matter what any of us does, whether we believe it is right or wrong, the only thing that matters is that God loves us no matter what! God would never turn away from his children because of divorce or remarriage.

Yes, God does love His children with a love we cannot comprehend. However, the NT has MUCH to say about adultery, words which we should not ignore……….Paul spoke this truth to BELIEVERS—-not to be deceived: adulterers will not inherit the kingdom of God. Wouldn’t it behoove us to understand what Paul meant and who he was speaking about?
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Has the lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. 1 Samuel 15:22

He who has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and disclose Myself to him. He who does not love me does not keep My words… John 14:23-24

By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says: “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar. 1 John 2:4-5.

Divorce is not a sin that cannot be forgiven; And one cannot compound sin by teaching and commanding those forgiven to further commit sin by denying the blood of Jesus is great enough to wash away this sin… clean as new born babes, in union with Christ, this marriage recognized by God, and command these to break the sanctify of a marriage covenant recognized by God. This is reprehensible.

I just wanted to clarify that for those of us who believe marriage endures until death, the issue is not so much divorce as it is the adultery one enters into when they marry again. Jesus Himself, as well as Paul, labeled this new union “adultery”…………..it can only be adultery because the Lord views the original marriage as intact (not dissolved). So, though we do have an advocate in Jesus Christ, He does not advocate that we should CONTINUE in the relationship that HE calls adultery.

You say that such relationships are recognized/honored by God. Can you share scriptures which indicate that the relationship He has called sin no longer is sin?

Also, in regards to length of time being in such relationships: I do not believe that time erases the nature of a relationship. If the Lord says a relationship is sin, it is sin—-no matter how much time has passed, how many children come from such a relationship, how many people accept such a relationship as “ok”, etc. It only matters what the Lord says about such a relationship.

I truly wish that the ones who fight for the right to remarry would fight as hard for original marriages and the children of those original marriages. I find it quite ironic how many times people use the argument against breaking up those homes the Lord says are adulterous, yet it seems very little is spoken in regards to breaking up what God joined together and the suffering THOSE children go through………..Blessings…….

If divorce is committed and people repent and later remarry I believe there is forgiveness for these people. What sin does the blood of Jesus not cover when someone truly repents? Please tell me?

There is no sin that cannot be forgiven when one TRULY repents. To repent from adultery is to forsake the adulterous relationship. To repent does not mean to say “I’m sorry”, feel bad, then go right back into the relationship God said was sin. Does that work with relationships God says are fornication? Does that work with relationships God says are homosexual? Does that work with other kinds of adultery (extramarital and just plain lusting (pornography, etc)? If we can say, “sorry”, then go right back to doing what we were doing before that was sinful, we are not truly walking out repentance, are we? If we could find scripturally that somehow verbal confession/acknowledgement of sin/sorrow over sin, etc changes the very nature of that sin, then I would agree that the repentance you speak of was right. However, I have been unable to find ANY scripture to prove that a relationship that GOD defined as adulterous can be remained in while one has a living spouse……..ever.

What are the signs that God is working in someone’s life? How can you judge what God’s will is in their life? If you did not know if someone had been divorced, could you tell by looking at their life if they are in sin? How you explain the fact that God is working in the lives of those that you claim to be in sin – even to the point of bringing them together for marriage? What are your criteria for determining what is “of God” and what is not?

How do you determine who is saved and who is not?

God will not orchestrate anything that is contrary to His being, so what do you do if your understanding is incorrect? What damage is done to the body and believers?

I would never presume to say who is saved/unsaved. That is God’s determination. I believe it possible for a saved person to enter into an adulterous marriage—-either through the stubborn flesh or because they truly don’t know it’s adulterous. Ford56 is such a person. I believe she was saved BEFORE she entered into her adultery. I don’t think she became saved because she repented/forsaked that relationship………I think her forsaking that relationship is EVIDENCE of her salvation. Once she KNEW she was in sin, she started dealing with it.

I do believe the Lord is working in His children who are finding the truth in this area………..more and more I’m finding out about women and men who have/are forsaking adulterous remarriages. Unfortunately, the enemy is very busy too—-muddying up the waters of truth. That’s why there is so much confusion today within the confessing church. Many walk by sight today, not by faith. That’s why there are so many remarriages. People see so many divorces all around them and subsequent remarriages, they think “surely it must be ok with the Lord.” People just do not believe that it IS possible for a wayward spouse to turn around and for their families to be restored. Instead, they disobey the Lord and join with another person—–causing further confusion in one’s family—–making everyone in their own extended families to have to accept their decision to enlarge their family by taking another person’s family as their own.

Many judge by appearance (so and so “looks” so Godly and appears so blessed of God)—even though there is very apparent disobedience. Many have forsaken how the Lord told us to judge—-righteously. How do we judge if one is walking by the flesh or Spirit—-by the “fruit” according to the Word of God. Is their life a reflection of obedience, even to the forsaking of their own desires, or do they view Godliness as a way to attain (of gain)? Whenever I hear “surely God wouldn’t……….it’s not fair to expect……the Lord wouldn’t want me to………….”…………I know it’s FLESH, not Spirit. Many turned away from Jesus when they could not stomach His “hard” words. They followed Him no more. So it is in this day. Many have a “form” of godliness, but deny the power thereof. The flesh is ruling. “I can’t” when it relates to giving up something the Lord directs us to—-or a prohibition He places before us…………should never be part of a Christian’s vocabulary except in saying “I can’t disappoint my Lord and go away from His Commands………I Love Him too much!” I WANT His hand on me and my family!! Just my two.

Now let me ask you this. Love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, self-control, etc… Those are fruits of the Spirit. Do you believe that folks who are remarried, no matter the reason for divorce, are in sin and therefore how do you explain the remarried couples whose marriages reflect these traits? Since it is by the Spirit, these are not character traits that we can display consistently in our own strength.

I knew someone who exhibited all these traits and more——consistently……….and he was NOT saved until the very end of his life!!! Hard to explain, isn’t it? The fact is that there are many who can consistently walk in these traits……..many Buddhists, Hindus, etc., yet I know from their profession that they do not REALLY walk according to the Spirit.

Now if you’re asking if I believe remarried people can walk by the fruit of the spirit…….I personally do believe so. I believe remarried people can love God in part of their lives, but be as deceived in their sin as any one of us can be deceived.

The fact is that we have been desensitized to sin. We are no longer appalled by it……..in ourselves as well as in others. We live in a society now that believes that “I” and “my needs” are tantamount. It did not used to be this way in the U.S. The same exact marital sins exist today that have always existed, yet today, our responses are very different…………and now we see huge numbers of families ripped apart. For me, all I can see is unforgiveness and a lack of commitment in our society.

Let me give an example of how I think someone can be walking by the Spirit(at least appearing such outwardly), but be SO wrong in some moral area of life. I personally know of a Pentecostal pastor and his 2nd wife. They were in a wonderfully happy marriage—10 years. Then one day while out on a walk, they just started talking about Jesus’ sayings on divorce/remarriage. BOTH of them suddenly were convicted that they were in an adulterous relationship—-both of them. Just seconds earlier they were as happy as can be together with no care in the world. They were loving God and serving Him together……….

See, I believe conviction can come upon someone in an instant, then a whole life of deception can be torn away and the person have EYES to see truth. Yet, that person is really no different than they were towards the Lord right before the Lord opened their eyes. They still loved the Lord, but didn’t SEE yet. That is how I view those who are remarried in opposition to the Lord’s Will—those who truly DO love the Lord………..they just don’t SEE yet……….but I believe they will someday.

Also, the beliefs of you and other people who think that God winks the eye at repeated sexual promiscuity prior to coming to Christ if the person wasn’t married, and therefore lets them marry someone new (like Nicky Cruz), but does NOT wink the eye at people who maybe only had one sexual partner but had been married and divorced, repented of whatever issues they had and remarry in Christ, is contrary to the nature of God’s character, which is just. One who truly loves and is truly just does not say “oh well I know you slept with 30 people, but since you are now in Christ I will let you marry someone else, but that person over there who only slept with their first spouse and then got divorced and remarried must be condemned to hell if they keep living with their new spouse.” – sorry, this is contrary to the character of God, as it is not just, and God is just. But it is what you people are advocating. I think you all need to get back to studying the very character of God, His love, His mercy, His justice and the fact that we are ALL sinners deserving of death – including those who have only been married once.

I don’t think I nor anyone else takes lightly fornication prior to marriage. It is sexual sin. The thing is, with that sin you are not taking another’s wife or husband. You are having unlawful relations with another single person who has not yet vowed themselves in marriage to another. God takes marriage vows very seriously as He is the one who joins two in marriage as one—–and He is the one in the Word of God who states the guidelines of marriage. We do not have that power, (name deleted). If God says that a woman is bound to her husband until his death, we don’t get to redefine the terms of marriage. God is the originator of marriage and He is the ratifier of the marriage covenant.

I know it doesn’t seem fair that a promiscuous person before marriage (gay or straight) is ok once they are born again and in a first marriage (Rahab, for example), but a person who has only had 2 partners, one their covenant spouse and the other the 2nd spouse, is not ok with the Lord, but in adultery. But, the Lord is the one who defines how marriage is to be used/not used. You speak much about the justice of God and His nature, (name deleted) but the truth is that He has spoken on this issue. It is just too hard for many to bear—-and so they go their own way making God into an image that is more palatable to them. We need to be very careful in doing this. God is a Holy God —-and it is because of sin that His wrath will fall upon the many on that day of judgment.

Question: Do you believe that a person who is divorced and marries another person is doomed to HELL?

Short answer is all required!

Scripture clearly teaches that adulterers/adulteresses(among many other types of lifestyle sinners) will not inherit the kingdom of God. Paul said that we were not to be deceived to believe otherwise. If a person DOES repent/forsake their sinful lifestyle, there would be confidence in the believer that they WILL inherit the kingdom of God, if they truly belong to the Lord. In other words, just because one divorces and remarries does not doom them to Hell………It is remaining in the UNREPENTANT state that will leave one wondering if they fall into the categories of sinners that Paul spoke of.

Paul said to check yourself to see if you are in the faith. If one IS in a “lifestyle” sin, either they need to come to a place of repentance/forsaking in those areas of sin, or they will have serious issue with their conscience and walking in the “peace that surpasses all understanding”

Do you people REALLY have the audacity to suppose that only you very few who have this view will inherit the Kingdom of heaven but all the other born-again Christians who disagree with you will go to hell? Or do you think that the born-again Christians who BELIEVE that remarriage is okay but who aren’t necessarily remarried themselves will go to heaven, whilst those born-again Christians who have acted on their beliefs and have GOT remarried will NOT go to heaven? I would hope you wouldn’t be that discriminatory – or arrogant.

What do YOU think Paul meant when speaking to the Galatian church about those who would not inherit the kingdom of God? Which adulterers is he speaking about? How can you be so sure that those who are committing adultery do not fall into this group of people? Remember, when you speak of my “audacity”, the words I shared are not my own, they are the Words found in the Word of God, spoken by Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit. Paul was issuing a serious warning…….

Because I do believe, as the scripture teaches, that our salvation results from the gift of God, and not by our works, I don’t believe someone who makes the mistake of divorcing will forfeit their relationship with God, but I do believe they will reap the consequences regardless of their reason for choosing to divorce.

Divorce is NOT the big issue. I see no scriptures which state that the divorced will not inherit the kingdom of God. I do however, see quite a few scriptures that say adulterers will not inherit the kingdom of God.

I don’t believe someone who makes the mistake of divorcing will forfeit their relationship with God, but I do believe they will reap the consequences regardless of their reason for choosing to divorce. Unfortunately, so will spouses, children, extended family, and friends who end up being the victims of such a poor choice.

Yes, others do reap the sorrows put on them by people who wrongly divorce and remarry in the first place……..the family left behind……….the new family which is struggling with accepting each other/dealing with rebellion of children who don’t really want another mommy or daddy, in-laws that do not like the new “member/s” of the family, etc…..etc. Then we come to those situations in which a person comes to the Truth on marriage—-that their first marriage is still in force in the eyes of God. If they have children together with the 2nd/3rd spouse, the children suffer because of past/ongoing sin that need to be repented of and forsaken.

Let me get this straight, you believe that anyone who has remarried for any reason will go eternally to HELL if there original spouse is still living when they die?

If they remarry, and there original spouse dies sometime later, they would then be able to go to Heaven?

Do you feel quite confident to tell those who “may” be in adultery, that despite what Paul and Jesus both taught about eternal judgment and practicing adulterers, that they WILL go to heaven? I’m not. I can only believe what the Word of God states on that matter and to me, it is of grave concern to those involved………..
If you are wrong, and remarriage is a STATE of adultery(because one or both belong to others), what do you do with: I Corinthians 6:9-10, Galatians 5:19-21, Revelation 21:7:8, Revelation 22:14-15?

I think what was most startling to me was to realize that you advocate divorce in the case of remarriages because you believe those who have remarried are going to spend eternity in HELL! I believe that this is a very dangerous position, and one I must absolutely reject.

I understand that many will reject the position that adulterers will not inherit the kingdom of God. Many think that if someone says a prayer, goes to church, does good deeds, they will go to heaven—-no matter how they live in opposition to the Word of God. Yet, Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:21-24 that MANY shall come in His name……………and they shall be cast away from Him, being called “workers of iniquity/lawlessness”.

Jesus says, “If you love me, obey me”………..If we love Him, we will not desire to commit adultery, and if we do stumble, we will not desire to STAY in adultery, because we instead, desire to abide in Him. It is only those who “abide in Him” that will spend eternity with Him. One cannot continue a lifestyle of sin and rebellion and claim to be “abiding in Him”………

I’ve already said, no one here is saying that. SCRIPTURE says unrepentant adulterers (those practicing immorality) will not inherit the Kingdom. And Scripture says that those marriages are adultery. One can do the math and come to their own conclusion.

Thank you for clearly stating that. I believe many people who entered into remarriages will spend eternity with Jesus—because they aren’t UNREPENTANT adulterers. Just as Paul spoke to the followers of Jesus concerning their PREVIOUS sinful lifestyles, “as some of you WERE”…………

Edited to add: Lest I be misunderstood, when I said such are not unrepentant adulterers, it is because they were willing to forsake all (including their sin of adultery) and follow Jesus. In other words, they give up those relationships and that is what makes them no longer “unrepentant adulterers”………..

A man committed to is faith in Jesus Christ, marries (his first marriage),a woman also committed to faith in Christ who was divorced because of what the both believed from scripture to be biblical grounds i.e. adultery and abuse by her former spouse. Both continue after the marriage to be devoted to their relationship with Christ, begin raising a family together, are very involved in the life of their church, and are witnessing to those around them and others are coming to Christ because of their testimony.

First of all, the man who married such a woman sinned because Jesus taught: whosoever marries her who is put away (the innocent wife whose husband is now in adultery)commits adultery (Mathew 19:9, Luke 16:18). He took a woman who still belonged to the 1st husband. His sin (the first husband’s) did not dissolve his union with his wife.

It is my understanding that during this marriage you believe both the husband and wife risk spending eternity in Hell if one of them should die; however, the remaining spouse would be able to spend eternity in heaven if they did not remarry after the death of their spouse, correct? The wife could also remarry her former spouse (the adulterous abusive one) either because she chose to divorce her second husband, or because he died and then spend eternity in heaven, correct?

Scripture, not man, teaches that practicing adulterers will not inherit the kingdom of God. As far as spending eternity in heaven, one can’t enter heaven unless they are born again—-that is the MOST important thing. One can be living in a “lawful” marriage and still end up going to hell because they are not regenerated/born again.

What if 10 years after this marriage began, the wife abandoned her faith in Christ, became involved in numerous adulterous affairs, initiated a divorce to pursue a relationship and eventually marry one of the men she was having an affair with, and in that pursuit abandoned the husband and children.

I would have to question whether such a one was really born again to begin with. Sounds like first thing she needs to do is get right with God. Concerning her marital situation, she is still bound to her 1st husband—until he dies. Her second and third marriages were/are adulterous unions.

His first marriage was to this woman, so he is required to restore his relationship only to her, correct? What if he believes strongly that he is not permitted to remarry a spouse that was divorced because of his understanding of Duet. 24:1?

If the man was never married before his marriage to her, he was committing adultery. He is now free to marry another should he choose, but only a woman who is FREE to marry, otherwise he will enter into adultery again.

Her first marriage was to someone else, so she is required to divorce her third husband and remarry her first, correct? Even though all of her children resulted from her second marriage?

Children do not make a relationship lawful. God determines which relationships are lawful and in His Word we find that 1st marriages (for both parties, unless one has a deceased spouse) are the covenant marriages that He joins together—-for life.

This is no excuse to take divorce lightly anymore than taking marriage lightly. But to see the scriptures in a way that makes God condemn these people to hell unless they repent by re-divorcing makes for a one sided flat god. It seems inconsistent when He so very often refuses to be put into a box.

Then that same reasoning should fit with all relationships the Lord Himself views as immoral………Is that what you’re saying or does that reasoning ONLY fit with one particular KIND of adultery?

There is no verse that says those in second marriages will go to Hell, but you still advocate that position.

Jesus and Paul both taught that to enter into a marriage while one’s covenant spouse was still alive was to enter into adultery. The Word of God teaches that adulterers (and other lifestyle sinners) will not inherit the kingdom of God. I take no joy in speaking this truth, but it is in God’s Word and should be heeded by those who profess to know Him.

I believe that your interpretation stands in contradiction to the word of God, and therefore I cannot accept it. You may choose to accept this interpretation; however, I cannot, and just because you tell me that this belief is taught in scripture doesn’t make it so.

It is everyone’s God-given right to receive or reject a word—whether it be from man or from God Himself.

I think those here who espouse the permanency of covenant marriage (til death) have said it is not for us to “interpret” in our minds what God has stated in regards to those who shall not inherit the kingdom of God. What some of us have said is that what GOD’S WORD says should be taken with all seriousness, in view of eternal reward/punishment. We do have the scriptures as spoken by Jesus saying that to marry after a divorce is adultery—-to God. Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, said that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God (of which he included adulterers). This is not a game, nor is it something any of us seek to wrongly interpret to offend those who are in that situation. If we are truly walking in love, we present the Word of God, seeking to save some who have wandered off the path—-unknowingly OR knowingly (James 5:19-20). Blessings………

Yes. will the original poster please address this question directly and not beat around the bush. are you saying if their is divorce then remarriage, even in the case of an adulterous spouse, the second marriage will be adulterous and the wife and husband will go to hell if they don’t divorce?

Jesus, in Mt. 19:9, says that whosoever marries the “put away woman”, commits adultery(because she is not free to marry another). This is after He speaks of her adulterous husband. It appears that Jesus does not honor/join ANY divorced person (from a marriage He joined together) to another prior to the death of their original spouse (Romans 7:2-3, I Corinthians 7:39, I Corinthians 7:10-11).

As to those who are in adulterous unions going to hell if they don’t repent, I think the VERY real concern of many is what Paul taught about those who continue in sin, not inheriting the kingdom of God. Jesus says in Revelation 21 and 22 that the immoral will be shut out of the kingdom and will have their place in the lake of fire. That worries many of us who clearly see the rampant immorality in the confessing church. It is not any of our desire to see men/women perish in their sins (James 5:19-20).

I personally do not believe a REPENTANT person will end up in hell. I do believe, however, scripture teaches that the unrepentant (those who refuse to forsake a life of sin) will not be with Jesus in eternity (Matthew 7:21-24), though they profess to know Him. I hope this was helpful in regards to your question.

Any sinner already feels condemned and it is not for Gods people, teachers etc… to rub the sinners face into the ground over and over again with no message of hope.

Jesus IS our hope. He is the hope for the homosexual who hurts at the thought of departing from his sinful long termed relationship. He is the hope for those who are caught up in extramarital adultery and are hurting knowing that the fruit of true repentance is forsaking such relationships which may in fact be “better” than their actual marriage…………following Jesus HURTS sometimes, yet, He promised to never leave us or forsake us—-period. Do we believe this or not?

I agree with what the last poster stated…it is more about knowing the Lord and following his spirit.

We know the Lord through His Word being sown in our hearts. If we believe “knowing” the Lord in a different way is good, if it contradicts His REVEALED Will, then we need to question if we truly do know His “spirit”. His Spirit will NEVER contradict His revealed Word to mankind.

If the one and only Holy God with the greatest mind of all chooses to forgive and forget, removing all sin as far as the east is from the west, then why do the anti-remarriage debaters here think they have a right to call up the past and make us relive it every day of our lives from now on??

Did God say in His Word that He forgives ongoing adulterous relationships? If I or any of us applies that thinking to ONE kind of illicit relationship (as defined by God Himself), then we have to apply it to ALL illicit relationships, else we be guilty of unequal weights and measures—a practice which God hates (and Jesus did speak quite a lot of hypocrisy, which is what unequal weights and measures is).

Well, my question then would be this. Is my salvation and going to heaven conditional on whether I remain single??? Or if I marry do I automatically forfeit my salvation??? If salvation is not “conditional” as you state, then why the discussion about whether someone is going to enter the Kingdom if “remarried”??? All I have seen printed here is how those in “continuous adulterous” “remarriages” will not enter the Kingdom. Is their salvation in vain?Or is Lucado right? Will it be pardoned at the judgment seat as covered by his blood?

One thing that hit me while reading this post and another in which you say the same thing regarding staying in relationships the Lord has called adultery—-you say it doesn’t matter anyways for the “saved” person. How would you address a person who says they’re saved and they are having an extra-marital relationship (adultery)? Would you tell them that it doesn’t matter to God because they’re saved anyways—he can go ahead and keep the other woman in his life? Would you tell that to the wife who is praying that her husband would give up the other woman—-the wife who cares about preserving her marriage—-the wife who is concerned about Paul’s admonishments to the brethren not to be deceived, that the unrighteous will NOT inherit the kingdom of God?

Also I don’t believe we are at risk to lose our salvation (which I know is another thread) but according to some of your interpretation of the Word, someone who marries will lose their salvation? God searches the hearts of men, but you believe a person who is walking in the spirit in all other ways would be dammed for being remarried?

Jesus says that those who marry others after a divorce are committing adultery. Paul taught that adulterers will not inherit the kingdom of God (I Corinthians 6, Galatians 5)……….Jesus taught that the immoral will have a place in the lake of fire (Revelation 21) and be shut out of the kingdom (Revelation 22). Are those not serious things to consider when one is pondering even entering into such a relationship, not to mention staying in relationships the Lord has called sinful? Paul tells each professed believer to check themselves to see if they are really in the faith. Can one who is truly in the faith continue in sin? Many of the teachers of easy believism teach one can continue in sin and that it is quite ok with the Lord. I do not see any of the apostles, nor Jesus teach such a doctrine.

If a man who marries a woman who has been divorced, is he also considered adulterous?

Jesus says, “whosoever marries one who is put away commits adultery”………so the answer is “yes”, he is considered an adulterer because he has taken a woman who does not belong to him in the eyes of God.

Second question – If a person believes in eternal salvation, ie, once-saved-always-saved, then what difference would it make if they remarried after being divorced? They believe that Jesus has forgiven ALL their sins – even the ones that they haven’t committed. So everything is covered by the blood of Jesus – all sins regardless of what they are except the one unforgiveable sin, which ISN’T divorce and remarriage.

The more important question would be this: How would one truly KNOW they are saved/abiding in Jesus when they are abiding in what He calls adultery. Jesus and Paul both taught that the immoral would not inherit the kingdom of God. If one is immoral in their lifestyle (and remaining in a relationship the Lord labeled as adultery would be to remain in an immoral lifestyle), can they truly say they are saved? I John would seem to contradict the notion that one can continue in sin and also claim salvation.

Third question – The way I read the Bible, when God forgives our sins, He forgets them. So they don’t exist anymore. They are as far from God’s memories as the east is from the west. That covers ALL sin, even what you all say is adultery (remarriage). IF remarriage is a sin, don’t you think that God can forgive AND forget it – and therefore it no longer exists?

Do you believe the same thing about all other illicit lifestyles: fornicators, homosexuals, extramarital adultery, incestual relationships? Can they continue in their sins and truly be saved? Paul was very clear that each of us is to “test ourselves” to see if we are in the faith. Can one be in the faith and continue in sin? Blessings………..

A person who is TRULY saved wouldn’t continually live in sin. And this is most always said on the subject of divorce/remarriage. However, I personally know many people who believe this doctrine and continually, on a daily basis, commit other sins that don’t seem “so big” in their or others eyes.

This isn’t just about living in adulterous situations alone, this is about MANY differing sinful lifestyles. One can be an adulterer and still be married to the same woman their whole life—never PHYSICALLY committing adultery. One can be a lifestyle sinner in their heart/mind. Most of the time, this manifests in the seen, but sometimes it may not be seen by others, but God sees the heart—-even when actions are not outward. You’re right, adultery is not the only lifestyle sin listed there…………..however, this thread is about that particular issue (adultery), so that is why that one sin is focused on in regards to those who will/will not inherit the kingdom of God.

We must not forget that Paul tells the BRETHREN not to be deceived, that such who DO (live a lifestyle of sin) such and such will not inherit the kingdom of God. Why did he tell the brethren this? Was it because possibly the teaching was around that one CAN live unrighteously and STILL inherit the kingdom of God? Seems Paul was trying to right wrong thinking—-within the Christian community.

ALL Christians sin. Does that mean that they aren’t really saved? Sure they are. We are just human. And I won’t bow down and call their sins “mistakes”. Most sins are committed on purpose with forethought. For instance, I used to work with a group of people who believed OSAS doctrine, yet it didn’t bother them to abuse the time-clock rules, use company postage for personal mail, dress immodestly, or even steal from petty cash. Yet they all claimed to be saved – eternally saved.

You know what? The Word of God says that those who belong to God are DOERS of the WORD, not just hearers. Where each of the persons are in their growth—-if they are even saved to begin with—no one knows. What I did early in my walk is not what I will do now—-because God’s Word and Spirit have done a work in me to change me more into His image. As I grow in Him, more and more things will be purged out of my life. The thing is, when someone is TRULY born again, when confronted with their sin and what the Word says, they will feel conviction…………they will come to repentance. If they don’t, are they saved? Such a person would really have to look hard at themselves and wonder if they truly are in the faith. Truly, if one is saved and the Holy Spirit is working in them, it will happen (repentance) in God’s timing as the person is given eyes to see their transgressions and the heart desiring to forsake those transgressions.

A sin is a sin. If all the Christians who committed sins were then declared to never have been saved, Heaven will be empty.

That’s not true. There are lifestyle sins and there are occasional sins. Since we are in the flesh, we do not always walk perfectly. However, when someone belongs to the Lord, they do not CONTINUE in sin once it is made KNOWN to them. Some are quicker to repent than others, that is true, but if one has God living in them, they will not be comfortable. No born again believer should be known as a “liar, thief, adulterer, fornicator, covetous, drunkard, etc”.

So to get back on this subject, I believe that when God forgives the sin of divorce and remarriage, it means that the first marriage no longer exists because God has forgotten it. The person who truly repents then start anew from that moment on. If they are presently in a marriage that wasn’t their first, they have been forgiven and are in right standing with God.

But where do you get that from God’s Word? If Jesus said to marry a divorced person is to commit adultery—–that means He sees the original marriage as still intact. With that said, those who marry a divorced person are joining themselves to another person’s spouse. How does one repent when they take someone else’s spouse in adultery? They confess and forsake the relationship God calls adultery. There is absolutely no biblical evidence that confession changes an illicit relationship into a lawful marriage joined by God. If a person remains in relationship with another person’s spouse, they CANNOT be in right relationship with God.

I still don’t understand why God, in all His love and mercy, would require that the innocent person suffer the rest of their life by being alone, unloved, without companionship, etc. My God is just and He doesn’t punish one person for another person’s sin.

“innocent” people suffer all the time due to other’s sins. It is not God’s punishment. It is a repercussion of sin. If someone takes the life of one’s children, it is not God’s punishment against the parents. They will suffer however, not due to punishment, but due to sin on the part of the murderer. So it is with God’s commands for a wife if she departs from her husband. The husband may have made it unbearable for her to stay in the home, or maybe the husband threw her out, etc. However, God does not allow such a wife to remarry. He commands such a one to “remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband”. Unfortunately, possibly due to her husband’s behavior, she is suffering………..and will suffer due to living in a Godly, obedient manner—-yet, she will walk in the peace of our Lord, and she will have a great testimony to those who are watching her faith walk.

I agree that reconciliation is the thing to pray and seek God for. But if the one who left and is living in sin won’t even consider reconciliation, the innocent one can’t do anything about it.

How can one KNOW what is or is not possible with God and strong faith? We must always remember that God’s timing and ours are very different. If we follow Him, we must allow Him to work things out in the manner/time that He knows is best. Many times, it takes much to turn a wayward spouse around. You are right that in the “natural” most of the ‘innocent’ ones can’t do anything (unless the Lord leads them to say/do certain things to touch the wayward). They can walk obediently and they can PRAY. Those are BIG things, actually. Blessings,

What if I entered a rich man Christian Forum; with love and good intentions…and told them that it would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, then for those on this forum to enter the kingdom of heaven.

Do you think they would all give what they have to the poor? Do you think they would OBEY what Jesus clearly said?

They would if they love Jesus. Us coming here and speaking forth the Word of God is for those who LOVE Jesus—for those whom the Father gave Him from the foundations of the world. I think all of us understand that many will not accept God’s Word, nor the people through whom it comes. For me, and many who believe in the permanency of marriage, it is NOT a comfortable thing to speak the Truth—–but, it MUST be done. Many of us feel COMPELLED to share the truth. I’m sorry that you are so offended by what we speak, but truly, it is within each of us to either reject, ponder, or accept the words that are brought forth from the brethren.

Life brought them to where they are…just as life brought those who are divorced and remarried to where they are.

Yes, “life” has brought all of us to where we are……..many of us have had MUCH sin in our past lives, yet, we know as believers, that we are called to throw off the bonds of sin. Jesus bought us that freedom and we are not to use our freedom to become bound to sin once again. We speak forth to remind those who are are brothers/sisters that we, as believers, are to FLEE immorality, not embrace it, excuse it, etc. To do so is a dangerous thing.

So you and others come in here (with love and good intentions); to a divorce/re-marraige forum and tell the re-married they are committing adultery, and the divorced that if they remarry…they are committing adultry. And then point to scripture, condemn them and tell them they will not enter the kingdom of heaven..

No, we do not say………..God said the sexually immoral will not inherit the kingdom of God. GOD said that EVERYONE who divorces and remarries or marries a divorced person commits adultery (having unlawful relations with someone who is not one’s spouse). You can reject the messenger, but one day we will each stand before Him and acknowledge that His Word is true.

Also to note, not all who post here are remarried. The title of this includes the separated and divorced. For me, I would rather see those in that situation REALLY get into God’s Word and be solidified (no problems answering scenarios thrown their way because they are grounded in what the Word say in regards to allowances and prohibitions) BEFORE they enter into another marriage which may be adulterous. Prevention is a much better thing than trying to remedy the messes one makes when they go their own way in disobedience to the Lord.

In regards to the remarried, all need to ponder whether they in fact HAVE joined with someone who belongs to another in the sight of God. If they have, does confession make that person now belong to them………….and the Lord say to the other spouse, “sorry, too bad, the second wife/husband now is joined to your husband since they said, “sorry” to me for committing adultery”……….

Another consideration is this: does what we want/do not want (for those who believe we have a “choice” to accept/reject a sinning spouse) dictate what marriages are dissolved and what marriages are bound? If that is so, it leaves many who believe remarriage adultery is not a sinful lifestyle in a quandary. See, if the INNOCENT one is standing for their marriage to be restored, then the sinning one is still BOUND to the first covenant. For those who say, speaking a new set of vows nullify the previous set of vows, I have yet to see ANY scriptural evidence of this presented. To the contrary, David took back his wife Michal AFTER she entered marriage with her second husband—–so whatever vows she took to be his wife did not supersede her vows of marriage to David. She STILL belonged to David.

The message “Grace covers all” is just not biblical for the followers of Jesus in regards to continuing in any sin after confession—whether it be immorality, lying, stealing, coveting, etc. If one continues in what they confessed is sin, they are not truly repentant……..and does God’s Word teach that there is forgiveness of sin when there is not repentance?

However, all these things aside. I think the far bigger issue is that those holding to the theology of divorce and remarriage that you have advocated reject the validity of the faith in Christ of all those who disagree. When a person’s theology requires one to reject the validity of the faith of Godly men like Luther, Calvin, Wesley, as well as almost every modern pastor, a lot of WARNING flags should be raised telling us that something is very wrong.

I don’t reject anyone’s faith in Christ based upon their understanding of MDR as you suppose, (name deleted). I think many of the reformers who changed the churches teachings on MDR were wrong, very wrong, but I will not say they were/were not True Christians. Only the Lord knows that.

And yet you STILL imply (or outright state) that they won’t trust Christ, won’t walk out I Cor. (in spite of not knowing anything about them or how they walk out ALL of their faith IN REALITY), are faithless, are unforgiving, are trying to justify something, are unsaved, are going to hell.

I have never stated that people will go to hell for believing a person has a right to remarry while they have a living spouse. The Word of God doesn’t say such persons will not inherit eternal life. However, the Word of God does state that adulterers will not inherit the kingdom of God. The truth of the matter, Coeur, is that what we believe determines how we walk. If I believe I am to love my spouse for as long as I live, irregardless of his actions, he is MINE, that will determine whether I endure, love, am patient, long suffering, etc, etc. If I do not believe I am called to walk in I Corinthians 13 towards my spouse, then that too will affect my choices in life—-some to my detriment, some to my children’s detriment, because I am misrepresenting Jesus Christ and His attributes to them and many very well cause them to distance themselves from Jesus or fall into sin in their own marriages. That is very serious.

and that the only people who disagree with you are those who are trying to justify their remarriages.

No, I never said that. I know many in first marriages who disagree with me. The thing is that those “many” are not able to answer “hard” questions nor provide ANY scripture to verify that the relationships Jesus calls adultery are no longer adultery while one remains in it. That truth is very evident in this thread. People say it’s not adultery because they say it’s not…………they cannot prove otherwise with scripture.

Implication: That those who do not see as you see are blind, have not had their eyes opened and do not know how to walk out their faith in accordance with God’s Word and heart.

Either we have “light” on a topic because the Holy Spirit has revealed truth or we do not. I did not used to have “light” on the MDR issue until I studied IN DEPTH and the Holy Spirit showed me the error being practiced within the confessing Body of Christ. It was a sick, sick feeling to be shown this, (name deleted, not easy at all.

I hope that you don’t think I feel “better” than anyone else, because I surely don’t see myself in that light. Even so, the truth is concerning ANY doctrine/practice, once the Lord shows a person something, they can’t ignore the truth shown them. Scripture clearly states that we are to CARE about the condition of His Body and our brethren/sisters. James 5:19-20 speaks about how we SHOULD care for each other—-if we see one stray from the truth, we should desire to see them turn around/away from error, so that they will be saved from death and hide a multitude of sins. With that said, if I SEE my brethren following the ways of the world in regards to adultery, yet say NOTHING and the Lord Himself has shown me that sin, will I not be held responsible for my silence? I CARE and I can’t say anything more than that to you at this point.

You are confusing blatant in your face unrepentant sin with people who KNOW they are flawed sinners saved by grace. The entire church is made up of sinners you know. Including you. and me. Its one thing to say “I’m sinning and I aint sorry and I aint gonna change…quite another to say I sit here a redeemed child of the Most High God…FLAWED DEEPLY BUT WELCOMED TO THE TABLE….can you not see the difference?

Who says it is “blatant” to them? Do you know that there is a HUGE church (thousands of members) in Texas that teaches homosexuality is AOK with God—-and they BELIEVE it, so fornication is NOT a blatant sin to them. They say they aren’t gonna change. So do many people who are in biblically defined adultery. They say, in spite of what the Word of God says, that they are AOK with God……….and so does their pastor. If a woman or man comes to that pastor and says, so and so has MY husband/wife, the pastor will say, “no, the laws of the land say so and so are lawful man and wife”, yet such a pastor cannot show even 1 scripture where God joined that union as ONE FLESH as He does with those in first marriages.

So you see, to some of us, many in the church ARE in blatant sin—-they may be deceived, uninformed as to what God’s Word says, etc, but they are still in sin, nonetheless—just like the practicing homosexual or single person who believes God is in and approves of ALL “love” relationships, no matter the kind.

We will never become perfect. and that is what you are saying….”get saved and you will be perfect”…what a distortion of the gospel of grace.

No, I did not say we, in our flesh, will become perfect. We who belong to Jesus are in the process of being perfected. Total perfection will not come until we are resurrected.

What I did say was that when sin becomes known to us, we then hate that sin because giving in to that sin causes us to NOT be like Jesus. Because true believers are of the same Body, sin in the Body causes injury and we all should care about that, not ignore it because “we are all sinners” (I Corinthians 5:9-13). The problem is that we pick and choose sins we will focus on. The remarriage=adultery per Jesus’ own words are being IGNORED in most churches today. Why? Because of the number of people who are committing this sin. The Lord wants us to judge righteous judgment……….and His way of identifying sin does not always coincide with how the “world” identifies sin. Because we are not “judging righteous judgment”, the Western Christianity (churchianity) looks just like the world, and it’s sad because the “world” REALLY needs to see the REAL JESUS.

No divorced Christian I know excuses or justifies it. We know, better than anyone, why God hates divorce. We also know grace. Do you?

Some do not justify it, you are right, but many do and will outright, even in the cases that don’t fall under the so called “permission” verse, say they did not commit adultery (join with a person who is NOT their spouse), even though the Word of God CLEARLY in such cases says they did.

Now why do you dump divorced people into the same boat? Divorced Christians know why God hates divorce. To compare them to the above is spiteful, cruel and wrong.

Why do you dump divorced and remarried people all in the same boat? I happen to know many divorced people who are remaining faithful to the Lord and the spouse they entered into covenant with. When I speak of adultery it is in regards to those who have disobeyed God and entered into relationships the Lord has said are adulterous.