Upholding the Sanctity of Marriage

Over these past weeks since the close of the 2009 and into 2010 I have been absorbed in studying the subject of divorce and remarriage. My normal expositions of Mark brought me to Mark 10 where our Lord is confronted again by the Pharisees. Their questions regarding divorce faced me with the task of looking again at a subject I had long since thought I settled.

In my deliberations, which I am still in as I write, certain things became clearer to me and some things gave me new perspectives. Perhaps the clearest issues came in terms of what Scripture really says in terms of divorce and what it does not say. The new perspectives came in the realm of emphasis and focus when it comes to this subject.

It was good to see afresh that divorce is not something that is commanded or required of us. In fact God hates it and sin causes it. Those who experience divorce experience something tragic and painful and something that no doubt cuts deep.

When we raise the subject of divorce the issue needs to be done in the context of the biblical emphasis on the sanctity of marriage and not how many reasons does someone have to get out of their marriage. Mark 10 and Matt 19 indicate that when our Lord was asked about lawful divorce He responded by speaking about the sanctity of marriage.

The exception of Matt 19;9 has caused much disagreement in the church, but I am persuaded that DA Carson is spot on when he says it should simply be allowed to have its normative force in the text. The sin of porneia does give concessionary right to divorce and therefore remarriage, if you understand the inseparable connection between the two. The Lord does not command divorce on such terms, nor recommend it, He simply concedes it.

No doubt marriages that can exercise gospel grace and forgiveness when porneia arises are to be encouraged, but the hardness of heart that can exist does mean that divorce will occur. We must work with those whose marriages are tarnished by such sin, but realise that we still must deal with some harsh realities in the realm of broken marriages.