Part II: Does the Teaching of Jesus Regarding Divorce and Remarriage
Apply to People Outside the Church?
Some people believe that Jesus' teaching regarding divorce and
remarriage was addressed only to those who are in covenant
relation****p with Him (disciples, Christians, members of His church).
It does not apply to people outside the church since they are not
citizens in Christ's kingdom, not members of the body of which He is
the head, etc.
It is argued that people outside Christ are condemned because they
have not subjected themselves to Christ or because they have violated
God's universal moral law; but until they become Christians, God does
not notice or hold them accountable for violations of specific New
Testament teachings such as divorce laws.
So it is concluded that, no matter how many times such people divorce
and remarry before they become Christians, when they are baptized they
just keep the companion they have then. But consider the following
points:
A. Jesus Is Lord over All Men, Not Just Those in the Church.
Jesus is not just Head of the church or King of His kingdom. There are
other positions He holds that show that all men are obligated to obey
Him. He is:
Jesus is God (Deity)
John 1:1,14; 20:28,29; Phil. 2:6-8; Col. 2:9. If He possesses Deity,
all people must obey His rules.
Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords
Rev. 17:14; 1:5; 19:16. Hence, He possesses authority over all people
on earth, even the highest of human authorities.
Jesus is Creator of all things
John 1:1-3; Col. 1:16. If He created all things, then all must obey
Him (cf. Acts 17:24,30,31).
Jesus is Lord and Ruler of all
Matt. 28:18; John 3:31; Acts 10:36; Rom. 9:5; l0:12; Phil. 3:20,21;
Eph. 1:21; John 17:2; Phil. 2:9-11. As Lord, He is Master or Ruler.
His authority extends to all people, regardless of whether or not they
are disciples.
Jesus is Judge of all
Acts 17:30,31 (spoken to unbelieving Gentiles); John 5:22-29; 2 Cor.
5:10; Matt. 25:31-46. Men will be judged according to the teachings of
Jesus, even if they reject Him - John 12:48. If they do not obey the
gospel, they will be destroyed - 2 Thess. 1:8,9.
Furthermore, the law of Jesus and the law of God are the same. What
Jesus taught is what was revealed to Him from the Father (John 12:49f;
17:8,20,21,10; 16:15; Luke 10:16). Hence, people are obligated to obey
Jesus' law because it is the law of God, and God's rule is universal.
It follows that all men are obligated to obey Jesus' laws. To deny the
duty of all men to obey Christ's commands is to belittle the authority
and exalted position of Christ, and also to deny the responsibility of
all men to obey God the Father!
B. Jesus' Law Is a Whole, Complete Unit.
Those who are subject to Jesus' authority (that includes everyone),
must be subject to the whole law.
James 2:8-12 - Like the Old Testament, the perfect law of liberty is a
"whole." We must keep it all or stand condemned as transgressors (cf.
Gal. 5:3).
Acts 3:22,23 - We must give heed to Jesus in all things whatever He
says or we will be destroyed. This was spoken to people who were not
His disciples.
(cf. Matt. 28:18-20; 4:4).
People outside the church are clearly subject to some of Christ's
commands. Since the gospel is a wh whole system, they must be subject
to it all.
Alien sinners are obligated to obey the gospel commands to believe,
repent, and be baptized (Mark 16:15,16; Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 17:30;
2:38; 22:16; 10:48; 2 Thess. 1:8). If people are not subject to Jesus'
law, then how can they be held accountable for refusing to believe,
repent, and be baptized (Rom. 4:15)? But clearly all people are
accountable to obey Jesus' commands to be forgiven. But these commands
are just part of His law which must be taken as a whole. Hence, those
outside the church are accountable to the whole system.
If Christ's laws are not binding on people who are outside the church,
then how could these people be guilty of sin? 1 John 3:4 - Sin is
transgression of God's law (not civil law). If people outside the
church are not subject to Jesus' law, and Jesus' law is God's law,
then how did these people become sinners (Rom. 4:15)?
The church consists of people who have been saved from sin (Acts 2:47;
Eph. 5:23,25). When a person hears the gospel, believes, repents of
sin, confesses, and is baptized for remission of sin, then Jesus'
blood forgives his sins (Eph. 1:7; Rev. 1:5; Matt. 26:28; Rom. 5:6-9)
and the Lord adds him to the church (Acts 2:47). But why would a
person even need to do this if Jesus' law does not apply to him?
If people are not subject to Jesus' law, what sin can they be guilty
of, how can they be held accountable for becoming a Christian, and why
should they even enter the church? The fact they are obligated to obey
some commands, proves they are accountable to the whole law.
Note: It is true that certain specific laws regulate only people in
certain cir***stances, such as laws for women, men, elders, parents,
children, etc. (In this sense the Lord's supper is only for those in
the cir***stance of having been cleansed by Jesus' blood.) If we are
not in the cir***stance described, then we cannot obey that law, but
this is because we are not in the cir***stance rather than because we
are not subject to the law as a whole. Jesus said there are people who
are eunuchs and therefore the law of divorce and remarriage would not
affect them (Matt. 19:10-12). But that is the only exception He gave.
People who are married are in the cir***stance such that the law
applies to them.
C. Jesus' Teaching Regarding Divorce and Remarriage Was Addressed to
People in General, Not Just to His Disciples.
Matthew 19:3-9 - To whom did Jesus address these instructions?
Note whom He addressed.
V2 - He was speaking to great multitudes.
V3,4 - His teaching on divorce was an answer to a question asked by
Pharisees who were seeking to "try" Him. He addressed His answer "to
them" (v4). Clearly, they were not His disciples but His enemies and
opponents (disciples were later called Christians - Acts 11:26). (cf.
Mk. 10:2; Lk. 16:14,15,18).
V5 - He quoted Gen. 2:24 saying "a man" should leave father and mother
and cleave to his wife (cf. Mk. 10:7). We will soon see that this is
universal in application. It includes all people everywhere.
V9 - "Whosoever" shall put away his wife and marry another commits
adultery. NIV says "Anyone" who ... " Luke 16:18 in ASV and NASB says
"Everyone that ... " (cf. Mark 10:11).
V10-12 - Jesus discussed the issue of to whom this teaching applied.
He said there were exceptions to whom it did not apply - eunuchs!
Hence, the only exceptions to Jesus' law of divorce and remarriage are
unmarried people!
To those who say this is a "covenant" passage, I ask what "covenant"
people it is limited to.
The "whosoever" cannot be just Jews under the Old Testament covenant
since Jesus clearly admits that His teaching is different from that of
Moses. It cannot be just Christians under the gospel since the
Pharisees, to whom Jesus spoke this, were not disciples. Hence it
cannot be limited to any "covenant" people. It must be a universal
application to all people.
[If it be pointed out that Mark 10:10-12 says Jesus stated the
teaching to the disciples in the house, I would point out that this is
after He stated His general teaching on divorce. He had already made
clear to His enemies that God's word was opposed to divorce. Hence,
this does not help the case of those who believe Jesus' teaching
against divorce does not apply to aliens.]
Matthew 5:31,32 - To whom does this teaching apply?
"Whosoever" (KJV), "Every one ... " (ASV, NASB), "Anyone" (NIV).
Clearly Jesus intended for His teaching about divorce and remarriage
to be universal in application. There is nothing to imply He meant it
only for His disciples. On the contrary the whole context shows that
it applies to His enemies and non-disciples as well as to His
disciples.
D. Jesus Based His Teaching Regarding Divorce on God's Original
Marriage Law, Which Applied to All People.
Matthew 19:4-8 - Jesus based His teaching about divorce and remarriage
on God's law "from the beginning," and quoted Gen. 2:24.
To whom did that law apply? This is Jesus' law and it is God's law. It
is a broad as Jesus' authority and as God the Father's.
Further, this law was not a church law or church ordinance, but was
originally given some 4000 years before the church began. How then can
it be restricted only to people in the church?
This law was given to the first man and woman from whom all people
descended. It must have been intended for the descendants of Adam and
Eve, since it describes "a man" leaving father and mother (which Adam
and Eve did not have). Hence, the instruction, as originally given,
applied universally to all men.
But Jesus quoted the passage and said the same teaching is in effect
today, and Paul also quoted it in Eph. 5:31. This principle is the
basis of Jesus' teaching about divorce and remarriage. To whom does
the principle apply?
The original principle applied to "a man." That expression must be
just as broad in meaning today as it was when originally given. To
whom did it apply then? Who is that "man"? All men, descendants of
Adam and Eve. Since Jesus' divorce and remarriage teaching is based on
that law, His teaching must apply to the same "man" - all men!
Further, God's marriage law is as broad in application as is human
***ual reproduction. God's marriage law is the basis for limiting the
***ual union to people who are married (one flesh). This law is used
in 1 Cor. 6:16 to forbid *** outside marriage (cf. Heb. 13:4; 1 Cor.
7:2-5).
But, from the beginning, the command to reproduce was addressed to the
people God made in His own image (Gen. 1:26-28), and that includes all
people (Gen. 5:1-4; 9:6; etc.). Hence, anytime, anywhere people
participate in the ***ual act, they are bound by God's marriage law.
It is not just for people in covenant relation****p with God.
But this universal marriage law is the basis of Jesus' law about
divorce and remarriage. It was later quoted in the New Testament (Eph.
5:31; 1 Cor. 6:16). If the original law was universal in application
to all people, and if that law is the basis of Jesus' law of divorce
and remarriage, it must have the same universal application.
If God's marriage law applies only to church members, consider the
consequences.
It would not matter what non-Christians did regarding marriage or
***ual conduct. Either God's marriage laws do apply to non-Christians
or they do not. If the laws do not apply then it follows that:
* God does not recognize the marriages of non-Christians at all.
(Yet note Matt. 24:38f; John 4:16-18; Acts 24:24; Matt. 27:19).
[Would this mean that all people, when they become Christians, are
unmarried in God's eyes and therefore must get married after baptism
else their relation****p would then become adulterous? See notes on 1
Cor. 7:14.]
* It does not matter what ***ual conduct people outside Christ commit.
All laws regulating ***ual conduct are based on the marriage law (Gen.
2:24; Heb. 13:4; 1 Cor. 6:16; 7:2-5). (We will later show that people
outside Christ are held accountable for ***ual conduct.)
It would furthermore follow that, when a person outside Christ has a
***ual relation****p, no matter whom he has it with or under what
cir***stances, it is not sin, for there is no sin where there is no
law (Rom. 4:15). If aliens are not subject to the Jesus' divorce laws,
it must be because they are not subject to God's marriage law, which
in turn means they are free from all regulations regarding adultery,
fornication, homo***uality, etc.! We should stop preaching to aliens
about their adultery, etc.!
* If the marriage law does not apply outside Christ, why would an
unbeliever be required to provide for his wife or care for his
children (1 Tim. 5:8)?
* It also follows that, if a person is considering becoming a
Christian, but does not like his companion, he should get rid of her
and marry the person he wants before he is baptized.
On the other hand, if God's marriage law does apply to those outside
Christ, then God's laws against ***ual misconduct do apply to them,
and so does Jesus' teaching regarding divorce and remarriage, because
it is based on God's marriage law. It is all or nothing.
[Note that this argument is valid no matter what means a person uses
to get aliens subject to God's marriage law. If they say they are
subject to the gospel, to the "moral law," to the "law on the heart,"
the "law of love," or whatever law they say, if they admit people
outside Christ are subject to God's marriage law, then Jesus' teaching
about divorce and remarriage applies too.]
E. The Bible Expressly Mentions People Outside the Church Who Were
Held Guilty of Violating God's Marriage Laws.
We have seen that God's laws against ***ual immorality are based on
His marriage law. But that same law is the basis of Jesus' teaching
against divorce and remarriage. Hence, the marriage law, the laws
regulating ***ual conduct, and the divorce law all apply to exactly
the same people. In particular, divorce and remarriage (without
Scriptural grounds) Jesus said was adultery, a particular form of
***ual misconduct.
Hence, if we can find passages saying aliens outside Christ are
subject to God's laws on ***ual conduct, then it must be because they
are subject to God's laws on marriage. It will follow that they are
subject to His laws on divorce and remarriage, since all stand or fall
together.
Note these passages:
1 Corinthians 5:9,10
There are fornicators in the world (in contrast to the church). Hence,
people outside the church are subject to God's laws on ***ual conduct.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11
The Corinthians had been fornicators, adulterers, etc., before they
were washed and justified by Christ. God held these people accountable
for obeying His ***ual laws even when they had been outside the
church. This includes adultery, and divorce and remarriage constitutes
adultery.
Colossians 3:5-10
Those who come into Christ should put off the conduct of the "old man"
- i.e., the way they lived before they became Christians. This old
life included fornication (v5), hence, God's ***ual laws do apply to
those outside Christ.
1 Timothy 1:9-11
People who commit the various sins listed are practicing that which is
contrary to the "gospel." Included in the list are numerous moral
issues, thus showing that "moral" laws are included in the "gospel."
In particular, people who commit "fornication" are violating the
gospel. But the gospel is to be preached to "every creature" in "all
the world" (Mark 16:15,16; 2 Thess. 1:8,9). Hence, all people must
obey the gospel, including its prohibitions against fornication.
1 Timothy 5:8
One who will not provide for his own household is worse than an
unbeliever. Yet if God's marriage laws do not apply to unbelievers,
how can they be held accountable for their household?
All these passages clearly show that people outside the church are
subject to God's laws regarding fornication and adultery. But
unscriptural divorce and remarriage constitute "adultery."
Furthermore, if people are subject to God's ***ual laws, this proves
they are subject to His marriage law. And if people are subject to the
marriage law, then they must be subject to Jesus' divorce and
remarriage law, since it is also based on the marriage law.
God's laws regarding marriage (and therefore His laws regarding
divorce and remarriage) apply to people outside the church just the
same as they do to people in the church.
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