Adultery in the Church As Published in The Christian Baptist, April 1996 "Have you not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder" (Matthew l9:4-6). It seems conclusive, to me, that God intended that man should have one wife and that woman should have one husband and that the laws of man should not be able to terminate that God sanctified covenant relationship. The Scriptures only give two reasons why a marriage may be broken; they are death and fornication (Rom. 7:2, 3; Mat. 5:32;Mat. l9:8, 9). Anyone who puts away (divorces) his wife or her husband for any other reason than these have only two options--they are to remain single or be reconciled to his wife or her husband (l Cor. 7:l0, 11). The Scriptures offer abundant evidence that anyone who divorces, except for the latter reason, and marries another is not only guilty of adultery, but is also guilty of the sin of causing others to commit adultery (Matt. 5:32; l9:9; Mark 10:11; & Luke l6:l8). Marrying a second wife or husband without scriptural grounds for divorce from the first is adultery because the first marriage still exists. Malachi 2:14-16 makes it abundantly clear that: "...the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet she is thy companion and the wife of thy covenant." Is it not evident that "the wife of thy youth" is the first wife that was married? Is it not also evident, by the scripture, that the first marriage still exists until broken according to God's law? There can be no doubt that divorce and remarriage, without scriptural grounds, is adultery, and adultery is sin (Ex. 20:l4). Adulterers shall not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:9). These truths, having been established by out Lord Jesus Christ and recorded in the Scriptures for our instruction and direction, are why the true church has always declined to receive into fellowship those who have committed this sin and continue in it. However, we now have among us those who say we should receive such, and they are already engaged in this practice. When I have asked if they will continue to receive these unrepentant sinners, they have replied that the ones that they have received have repented. When I asked, "How can we believe that they have repented while they continue in their sin?," they replied that we must accept their word on faith. John the Baptist evidently did not know this! He told the Pharisees and Sadducees, who came to him for baptism, .... "Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance..." (Matt. 3:8). Is there any doubt that by "fruits" he meant evidence of repentance? There seems to be some who believe that to say, "I repent," is sufficient, without any change in behavior. Strong's concordance translates the Hebrew word for repent as shuwb, which means "to turn away." There are two Greek words for repent; one, metamellomai, means "to regret"; the other, metanoeo, means "to think differently or to reconsider." If we would have one to believe that we have repented, we must give some evidence that we have reconsidered our actions, that we now regret them and have turned from them. To my knowledge, there is no scripture to indicate that God has given repentance to anyone continuing in the same sin. If one has truly repented of one's sin and has hope of forgiveness, one certainly will not, like the dog, turn to one's vomit again or behave like the sow who wallows in the mire. It was told that God would not expect one to leave his or her second spouse. I would point out that God would and did (see Ezra l0). Their reply was that God had ordered Israel not to take wives of that people, so He was punishing them for their disobedience. Has God not said, "Thou shalt not commit adultery"? Should not God punish this disobedience? To say that God would not require one to leave an adulterous relationship is akin to the "no-hellers" saying that a loving God would not send anyone to hell. "He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me" (Matt. 10:37, 38). If the Lord would require one to leave father, mother, son or daughter, would He not certainly require one to leave an adulterous relationship and take up his cross and follow the Lord? One of the men who advocates receiving these adulterers into the church said to me that, for one to break the second marriage vows would be as sinful as breaking the first marriage vows. We read in Mal. 2:l4 that the "...wife of thy youth is yet thy companion and the wife of thy covenant." Therefore, the first marriage still exists in the eyes of God so that vows to a second are NOT God-sanctified vows of eternal affection and fidelity, but simply vows to commit adultery! First Cor. 6:11 is often quoted: "...And such WERE some of you..." You will note that the word is were and is in the past tense, indicating that they were no longer such. The same scripture continues to say, "...but ye are washed...." Old Baptists have always held that all are sinners by nature, and some have been washed, but not all. Would he who has hope that he has been cleansed of his sins by the shedding of Christ's precious blood ever want to crucify Christ over and over again by continuing in sin? I would ask those who believe that we should receive ones who have entered into and continue in unscriptural marriages that, if a couple came asking to be received, but stated that they intended to continue to live together without the benefit of marriage, would you receive them? If two sodomites asked for a home in the church, but refused to discontinue their abominable behavior, would you receive them? If one who had claimed to have repented, but continued to rob banks, would you fellowship with them? If you have answered "no" to any of these questions, how can you, with a clear conscience, receive unrepentant adulterers?! Brethren, let us pray that God will forgive these men of this grievous error and restore them to the belief in sound doctrine and protect His little flock from all who would deceive. ..... EMS |