Divorce and Conversion Does Conversion Remove Previous Marriages? I. Introduction A. Divorce has become a scourge of society 1. over one-half of marriages end in divorce 2. people constantly marry and re-marry 3. Society seems to place no stigma on divorce B. Problems with divorce have come upon the Lord's people 1. Divorce is becoming more prevalent within the church 2. To account for the situation, some have decided to loosen where God did not loosen 3. Many divisions have already occurred, and many more will likely occur C. Even if, however, no Christian divorced his/her spouse, the matter of divorce would still be a problem 1. We are to convert the world (Matthew 28:18-20) 2. As we saw earlier, 1 out of every 2 marriages end in divorce! 3. There is a strong likelihood, therefore, that some people who may be interested in the Gospel will have had previous marriages and divorces D. What, then, are such persons to do? E. Some, even a few who were noted in the faith, advocate that such persons, before being Christian, were not amenable to the law of Christ, and therefore their conversion "removed" their previous marriages/divorces F. Is this the case? G. This issue gets to the heart of more fundamental questions, which we will attempt to answer today 1. Who is or is not amenable to the law of Christ, and when? 2. What exactly is repentance, what exactly does baptism do, and what does repentance and baptism not do? 3. How is remarriage after being divorced, or after divorcing for reasons other than sexually deviant behavior, considered "adultery", even after conversion? H. Let us examine the Scriptures to determine the answers to this question, and come to a conclusion in regards to these matters II. Who is Amenable to the Law of Christ? A. A fundamental piece of the argument we are examining is that non-Christians are not amenable to the law of Christ 1. after all, since they have not subjected themselves to God's will, how are they held accountable to it? 2. more directly, since they did not marry previous spouse(s) while legitimate children of God, how can we say that God recognized their marriage? B. Let us examine what the Scriptures say about Christ's authority and who is amenable to Him C. Matthew 28:18 1. All authority has been given to Christ in heaven and on earth 2. If all authority is His, then all must be subject to Him D. Acts 17:30-31 / 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9 1. having established to the Athenians that all of us are God's offspring, Paul says that the times of ignorance God has overlooked... 2. ...and now God calls upon all men, everywhere, to repent, because of the upcoming judgment in righteousness 3. in 2 Thessalonians, Paul elaborates, showing that condemnaton befalls those who do not know God and those who do not obey the Gospel 4. if non-Christians are not amenable to the law of Christ, how can they be amenable to the consequences of non-obedience? 5. Why would all men need to repent unless they are found condemned under that law? E. Hebrews 7:27, 9:11-15 1. The Hebrew author stresses that Christ's sacrifice of Himself was superior since it was done once for all 2. The new covenant was made in His blood 3. If the new covenant is in His blood, and His blood was shed once for all, it stands as a necessity that the new covenant is for all 4. This is harmonious with Acts 17:31 seen above, and 1 Timothy 2:4, where God desires for all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth F. What, then, shall we say regarding these things? 1. We see from the Scriptures that Christ has all authority, that all men are called upon to repent, that Christ died for all men, and the new covenant, in His blood, must be for all men 2. The conclusion is manifest: all people are under the authority of Christ 3. They may refuse to accept Him, but that does not negate His authority over them 4. Since the covenant in His blood was made for all men, and we live on earth while that covenant is in force, all men must be under that covenant-- whether obedient or no 5. The idea, therefore, that non-Christians are not amenable to the law of Christ is patently false G. Implications 1. Moreover, let us examine the implications of the idea that non-Christians are not amenable to the law of Christ 2. It is better to not be a Christian a. after all, if one is not amenable to the law of Christ, how can it be said that one is amenable to the consequences of disobedience? b. John, in 1 John 3:4, defines sin as "lawlessness;" if one is not amenable to the law of Christ, then one cannot commit lawlessness, and it cannot be said that any non-Christian sins! c. To preach to such persons Christ would be detrimental, since it is far easier to live as not amenable than to be amenable to Christ! 3. Marriage ceases when you convert a. those who advocate such a position like having their cake and eating it too b. they want to say that all previous marriages/divorces are erased, yet somehow the current marriage stands c. if, as they say, conversion removes all previous marriages and divorces, any present marriage would also be removed d. it would be possible, therefore, for a man to convert, and send his wife away, claiming that he is no longer married to her since he converted to Christ e. we would have to have a wedding day for everyone who converts while being married 4. The NT is full of worthlessness, or at least has two standards a. If non-Christians are not amenable to Christ, why did the Apsotles bother to preach? b. Why would it be better to stay a Christian than to apostatize? c. If nothing else, according to this doctrine, one who is a faithful Christian and is divorced by their spouse is worse off than the sinner who divorces their spouse for no good reason and later converts! H. It ought to be evident, therefore, that there is but one standard for all men: the law of Christ 1. We will either obey or disobey, and will be rewarded or penalized 2. At the Judgment, the standard of the judgment will be the same for all persons 3. It is against every Biblical principle to believe that the non-Christian receives spiritual benefits denied to some Christians I. Let us continue our analyzation with conversion III. The Effects-- and the Non-Effects-- of Repentance and Baptism A. The argument which we are discussing posits the idea that somehow, at baptism, previous marriages are "washed away" B. It would be good for us to look at what the Scriptures teach about what changes-- and what does not change-- when we repent and are baptized C. What is repentance and baptism? 1. Repentance is not just saying "I'm sorry;" repentance is a change of mind, a turning away from one direction toward another 2. In spiritual terms, repentance is the recognition of sin and the determination to sin no more 3. Baptism, as immersion in water for the remission of sin, is the appeal to God for forgiveness of previous sin 4. At conversion, repentance and baptism go together-- repentance is the change of mind agianst the former sin, and baptism is the appeal for that previous sin to be forgiven D. It ought to be manifest, therefore, that repentance-- not baptism-- looks forward 1. Baptism allows for a state of cleanliness, but makes no guarantee of future cleanliness 2. To explain: if you recognize your sinful ways, repent of your sins and are immersed in water for the remission of your sins, but commit the same sins the next day, that baptism will not cover those later sins 3. Repentance-- and the need to ask for forgiveness (1 John 1:7-9)-- looks forward to a new direction, the path of righteousness E. Conversion does not inherently change our stations in life 1. while repentance and baptism allow us to live as new creatures, following God as opposed to sin, conversion does not inherently change our station in life 2. we are still sons/daughters, fathers/mothers, employers/employees-- husbands/wives 3. We have obligations to fulfill, and perhaps we need to change how we interact with people in life-- but none of that changes at conversion F. Likewise, conversion does not change history 1. Since conversion does not change our present station, neither does it change history 2. a convicted felon who converts still must serve his sentence; the hurt and suffering caused by one's sin is not erased because of conversion 3. likewise, the fact that one was married and divorced is not erased at conversion G. Does God forget sin? 1. I fear that we sometimes fall prey to the idea of "forgive and forget" 2. We are certainly to forgive (Matthew 18:22); but there is no command to forget! 3. Jesus, in fact, seems to show the contrary with the parable in Matthew 18:23-35 a. even though the master previously forgave the servant, he obviously did not forget... b. ...else how would he have put the servant in prison to repay the debt after the servant showed no mercy? 4. Does God forget sin? No. He covers sin; He does not consider the sin against us, but God surely does not "forget" sin H. What, then, shall we say regarding these things? 1. Repentance and baptism put us on the road to eternal life 2. Repentance and baptism does not change one's present state, nor does it change the past-- it simply covers the errors of the past 3. God forgives, but does not forget-- if one has been previously married and divorced, it is no different than if that person had always been a Christian 4. Baptism, therefore, does not "wash away" marriages and divorces. Baptism allows for the sins previously committed to be forgiven, but does not change the fact that one was married and divorced 5. Repentance requires the turning away from such sins and living a life of righteousness I. Let us now examine the final matter regarding this issue IV. Continual Adultery A. The big hangup for many holding this position is the idea that God is "punishing" people for sins committed before they became Christians 1. How can it still be adultery when they have been forgiven of past sins? 2. How can the adultery be continual? B. Let us first examine the matter of continual adultery C. In Matthew 19:9, when Jesus says that, "...he commits adultery," He uses the present tense D. The Greek present tense has two possible aspects: continual or repeated action E. Repeated Action 1. even in English we do the same thing 2. e.g., with a profession: "I work at x place" 3. this statement does not indicate for how long nor how long after the statement the person works there, nor does it show that he continually work there 4. he goes there repeatedly to work-- his working there is a repeated action 5. the statement has been presently true and continues to be presently true until the situation changes 6. Spiritual example: 1 John 1:7-9. We do not continually sin and ask for forgiveness, but we repeatedly sin and ask for forgiveness F. Continual Action 1. The situation is simlar to repeated action, but the continual action represents a more fluid state 2. e.g., "I am preaching." 3. This statement indicates a continual action ("preaching"), that began at some point and will end at some point 4. the statement is presently true from the beginning until the end of the preaching G. What does all of this mean? 1. When Jesus says that in the given circumstance, the man commits adultery, He is establishing that the man continually is committing adultery, from the beginning of the marriage until its dissolution 2. this is made manifest from the Greek, and even our English usage suggests this H. Since we saw previously that (a) all men are amenable to the law of Christ and (b) repentance and baptism does not change the current station in life or history, it is manifest that if a man or woman was previously divorced or divorced their spouse for any reason save sexually deviant behavior, and they married another, they are continually committing adultery until that union is dissolved I. To this, many will say that this is unjust, for it requires divorce! 1. after all, if a man converts in such a state, he would have to divorce his wife 2. and we know that divorce is wrong (Malachi 2:16)! 3. Divorce does demonstrate the presence of sin, and that is certainly true in this circumstance 4. This mentality is not God’s mentality, for it does not consider the way that the "marriage" is viewed by God 5. According to the Scriptures, a man who divorces his wife for no good reason, marries another, and has a wonderful family, is no different from the man who one day leaves his wife, takes a mistress, lives with her, and has a family with her 6. Would any Christian justify the behavior of the latter man? I think not! 7. Yet multitudes rush to justify the bevahior of the former! J. Conversion requires repentance! 1. When people convert to Christ, it is expected that they will truly repent, and turn from their sins 2. Paul uses the example of a thief in Ephesians 4:28: the thief is no longer to steal, but work with his hands, and provide benefit to the poor! 3. I am sure that no one would justify a thief who converts yet does not truly repent of thievery and continues to steal 4. So, why does anyone justify an adulterer/ess who continues to commit adultery after conversion? 5. Will we make mistakes in life? Absolutely. Even though we repent of sin, sometimes we are tempted and fall (1 John 1:7-9) 6. Yet one cannot truly repent and willfully continue in sin after they have learned the truth 7. Hebrews 10:26-31: those who sin deliberately after knowing the truth suffer an evil fate 8. Just as one who is a thief and continues to steal will be so condemned, so also will be the one who is committing adultery and maintains that relationship! V. Conclusion A. We have completely debunked the idea that those of the world, before being Christian, were not amenable to the law of Christ, and therefore their conversion "removed" their previous marriages/divorces B. All men are amenable to Christ C. Conversion does not inherently change one's station in life, nor does it change history D. Therefore, anyone who was previously married and were divorced, or divorced for improper reasons, are unable to re-marry, and any such remarriages are actually adulterous affairs and are to be terminated E. This is the same for the Christian and the non-Christian! F. If you are not a Christian, be assured that you are amenable to your God, and He calls upon you to repent and obey Him G. If you are a Christian, make sure you hold to the standard of God's will, and make sure that you have truly repented of your sins and are not sinning deliberately after knowing the truth H. If we can help anyone in any way, please come to the front as we stand and sing