This is going to be a four part study on “ Divorce “

Part “ one “

“Marry in haste; repent in leisure,” is a saying laced with frighting possibilities.

Jesus and the apostle Paul said...

Matthew 19:10
The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.”

Romans 7:3
So then, if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress, even though she marries another man.

...kept equating wrong divorce with the sin of adultery. Let’s not allow worldly immorality to desensitize us to what a grave offense this is. Under the Old Testament – still in force when Jesus uttered the words – adultery incurred the death penalty. No wonder Jesus’ teaching on divorce sent such a chill down the disciples’ spines that in horror they responded...

And let’s not suppose we can get away with this under the New Covenant:

1Corinthians 6:9-10
Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

That does not make the sin unforgivable, but just as a fireman cannot save a person who refuses to leave a burning building, so Jesus cannot save people who refuse to leave their sin. We cannot save ourselves but we must be willing to let Jesus convict us from the sin we love, or we will die in our sin.

Although we tend to drastically oversimplify the biblical and moral dilemmas of divorce and remarriage, it does not necessarily mean we have reached the wrong conclusion. thus exposing us to the grave danger of sinning against God or of being responsible before God for directly or indirectly influencing others to sin.

Your church and favorite Bible teachers might be excellent and have far deeper understanding, but does that make them infallible?

Provide a checklist of things that should be prayerfully considered before deciding you have God’s direction on the issue of divorce and/or re-marriage. You will discover that some points seem pro-divorce and some seem anti-divorce. Seek God’s will for your situation.

Since Christians have vastly different views on this matter, let’s start by considering whether one’s sincere beliefs about the morality of divorce will influence God’s judgment of us if we go ahead and do it. Suppose two Christians in identical circumstances each remarry. One sincerely believes that he has God’s blessing on the new marriage. The other believes that by remarrying he is committing a gross sin. Will God judge them differently?

In two long passages of Scripture, Paul explains that some things become sin merely because a person believes them to be sin ( Romans 14:1-23; 1 Corinthians 8:1-13 ). It is most important to realize, however, that Paul was referring to acts that are not of themselves sinful. He is not saying that if someone believes “sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery” are moral, then they suddenly become acceptable. On the contrary, these belong to the list of which Paul declares, “I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God”...

Galatians 5:19-21
The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Elsewhere he says the same about adultery...

1Corinthians 6:9-10
Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

If Jane Doe believes something that is innocent, is adultery, then if she chooses to do it, she is guilty of adultery in the eyes of the One who sees her heart. If, however, she does something that in God’s eyes is adultery, then she is committing adultery even if she sincerely believes that what she is doing is innocent. If Jane’s ignorance was genuine, God will be lenient, but she will still be held accountable.

Luke 12:47-48
“That servant who knows his master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.

There is greater leniency for one, but both are punished.

Ignorance is not bliss.

Proverbs 16:25
There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.

If your “belief” that something sinful is acceptable is merely because you have contrived to silence your conscience or to fool God by trying to convince yourself that it has God’s approval, then such “belief” will not even buy you leniency.

If you have a shadow of doubt over the legitimacy of something, you must avoid it.

Romans 14:23
But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.

This Scripture is talking about eating because it applies to minor things, not major matters like adultery, but how much more does it matter with major matters?

A divorced woman I know said...
I have friends who say I should consider remarriage, but I don’t dare, because I do not want to rationalize that remarriage is permissible if it’s not – and for centuries the understanding of the church was that it was not permissible.

Is it mere coincidence that over the last decades, as the world has grown increasingly accepting of divorce, so has much of the church?

To discover how addicted to change this world has made us, look back to an era when most people were farmers working the same plot of land as their father’s father, or craftsmen engaged in the same work in the same place, not just all their lives, but for generations. Look at an era where one’s mode of transport or plow puller was not a heartless machine to be traded in next year for the new improved model, but an animal that inspired affection and loyalty and whose death was mourned. Our era stands out from the past as one that exalts self pleasure over duty, personal “advancement” over loyalty, and change over stability. (Notice how the words duty, loyalty, and stability seem old-fashioned.)

The issue to entreat God to search your heart, however, is this: Are you, and the Christians who influence you, being led by the Spirit of God or unknowingly led by the spirit of the world?

Divine forgiveness is perhaps life’s most wondrously liberating experience. We must understand, however, that total forgiveness of our past mistakes does not make us free to keep sinning or to keep enjoying the benefits of past sin. For example, if you stole a million dollars, forgiveness does not make it acceptable for you to continue to live off your ill-gotten gains. Scripture is clear that you must return all the money you stole.

Forgiveness does not mean God ceases to be holy and lowers his standards of honesty and faithfulness. If I broke my marriage vows, forgiveness would remove my past guilt, but not my continued moral obligations to the woman I promised myself to.

Suppose marrying a particular person was an act of rebellion against God. You might now despise that person but if in God’s sight you are still married to him/her, forgiveness does not mean you are free to commit adultery. A man who is unfaithful to his wife can find forgiveness, but not a divine license to keep committing adultery. To confuse forgiveness with a license to sin is a grave offense against God.

End Part #1

TGIF

Before marrying anyone else you would need to be certain that you are not, in God’s view of marital commitment, still being married to your former partner, because that would make re-marriage adultery in his eyes, no matter what divorce documents you can produce and how much your past offenses are forgiven.

“Re-marriage” Jesus gives an exception to the general rule.

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Matthew 5:32
But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.

G/K # 4518
sexual immorality, fornication, marital unfaithfulness, prostitution, adultery, a generic term for sexual sin of any kind
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Jesus does not say that the person initiating the divorce commits adultery. What he says is much more puzzling. He says the man divorcing a woman causes her – “the innocent party” – to commit adultery.

Matthew 5:32
But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.

I refer to “Jane” and John” but the genders could just as easily have been reversed.

Jane is a good, faithful wife who longs to remain married to John, but he divorces her. As far as the divorce is concerned, Jane is utterly innocent. If John remains celibate for life, he has not committed adultery. Nevertheless, John’s decision to end the marriage exposes Jane to the strong temptation to eventually re-marry. Of course Jane is responsible for her response to the temptation, but by initiating the divorce, John is guilty in causing Jane to suffer the strong temptation to “commit adultery,” that is, to re-marry. To be the cause of temptation is a grave offense:

Luke 17:2
It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.

But why would Jesus imply the innocent party commits adultery if she remarries? Because, according to this interpretation, in God’s sight a marital union can be dissolved only by death, regardless of how innocent one party is or how guilty the other one is.

Whoever Jane marries is likely to be doubly innocent regarding the divorce and yet this person is committing adultery, because despite a divorce certificate and subsequent marriage, in God’s sight Jane is still bound to her former partner, even though he no longer wants her.

Jesus gives an exception to the above – one that applies if Jane were not innocent. Suppose Jane were committing adultery before John even considered divorce. Since she is so determined on committing adultery that not even marriage keeps her faithful, it could not be said that by divorcing her, John was causing her to commit adultery. She would commit adultery even if he didn’t divorce her. Nevertheless, John would himself be committing adultery if he remarried, because marriage is binding for life no matter what either party do.

Mark 10:11
He answered, “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her.

To honor God, one should be certain it is wrong before proceeding with divorce or re-marriage.

Could there be situations where God actually requires divorce – or at least separation? We see an Old Testament instance of this in Ezra chapter ten, where those guilty of marrying pagan wives were compelled to divorce. This must be read in the light of...

1Corinthians 7:12-16
To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. But if the unbeliever leaves, let him do so. A believing man or woman is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace. How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or, how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?

...which seems to take a very different approach. Nevertheless, here is a case where divorce was not merely permitted but was mandatory.

Now let’s move to the New Testament. It speaks of the importance of separating from those who claim to be believers but are engaged in blatant, repeated, unrepentant sin. We read, for instance:

1Corinthians 5:11
But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat.

Suppose, you are married to someone who considers the ideal is to “enjoy” both sexual unfaithfulness and the benefits of being married to you. If you knowingly allow your spouse to pursue this, does that make you a partner in his/her sin? Of course you cannot prevent your partner from being unfaithful, but if you are aware of what is happening, it is your decision as to whether your partner can enjoy marital privileges with you while pursuing extramarital sin. In theory, you could give the ultimatum: “Either be completely faithful or the marriage is over.” What if giving this ultimatum is the one thing that would keep your partner from sin? If you give and maintain the ultimatum and your partner disregards it, no one could say you have made it easy for him/her to sin.

Imagine for a moment if in God’s eyes marriage is dissoluble only by death. Would that mean that if Jan is married to a divorced man, every day that she remains married to him she is continuing to commit adultery? Does this mean that in order to stop sinning she must separate from him? Does it mean that if for these reasons she divorces him, she is free to remarry, since her first marriage was not a marriage in God’s sight but an adulterous affair?

One might suppose that remarrying someone you had previously divorced would be a godly way of correcting a past mistake. However, our Lord revealed in the Old Testament that, at least in some instances, this could be highly offensive to God. It says that if a man divorced his wife and she married someone else who then dies or divorces her, it is a gross sin for the first husband to remarry his former wife...

Deuteronomy 24:1-4
If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, and if after she leaves his house she becomes the wife of another man, and her second husband dislikes her and writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, or if he dies, then her first husband, who divorced her, is not allowed to marry her again after she has been defiled. That would be detestable in the eyes of the LORD. Do not bring sin upon the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.

This should be treated with extreme seriousness, given the fact that it is found in the same Testament that permits divorce. The precise situation it describes, however, might be critical. Without David divorcing his wife, her father had her married off to someone else. David took her back again...

2 Samuel 3:13-16
“Good,” said David. “I will make an agreement with you. But I demand one thing of you: Do not come into my presence unless you bring Michal daughter of Saul when you come to see me.” Then David sent messengers to Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, demanding, “Give me my wife Michal, whom I betrothed to myself for the price of a hundred Philistine foreskins.” So Ish-Bosheth gave orders and had her taken away from her husband Paltiel son of Laish. Her husband, however, went with her, weeping behind her all the way to Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, “Go back home!” So he went back.

...presumably because although she had been remarried, there was no divorce of the first marriage. This suggests that each condition of Deuteronomy 24:1-4 must be fulfilled before God considers remarrying the same person an abomination.

End Part #2

TGIF

“Divorce” God’s commands are not always blanket statements divinely intended to cover every rare and unlikely scenario. For instance, of all the Gospels, only Matthew says “except for fornication” when forbidding divorce. Presumably Mark and Luke regarded this as an intended exception that they felt no compulsion to spell out.

For an example, the Ten Commandments forbid the coveting of a neighbor’s wife, but say nothing about a woman coveting a neighbor’s husband. Clearly this is a law not intended to include every possible scenario. It is an obvious instance of the Lord expecting his people to draw principles from general laws and under his inspiration and guidance – not our whims – apply them to specific situations.

Jesus said, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, and taking the consecrated bread, he ate what is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions”...

Luke 6:3
Jesus answered them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, and taking the consecrated bread, he ate what is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.” Then Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” On another Sabbath he went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled.

...Jesus seems to regard this as acceptable, even though such an exception is not spelt out in the law.

There are grave dangers with pursuing this line of thought but the next point demonstrates that the other extreme is not without its dangers.

“Re-marriage” It is possible to offend God by being too strict in interpreting his commands. Many devout Jews felt they were honoring the Almighty by insisting that Jesus not heal on the Sabbath. This seems reasonable; after all there were six other days in which one could heal. Nevertheless, their strict interpretation was wrong and drew Jesus’ wrath because it showed lack of compassion.

If, through too strict an interpretation of Scripture, you influenced a woman not to leave her abusive husband, could God hold you guilty of pressuring her to be molested or tormented by her husband? Or could you cause an abandoned partner to fall into sexual sin because you have convinced that person that re-marriage is forbidden?

We must avoid being like those experts in Jewish law whom Jesus accused of loading people down with burdens. Even the apostle Paul, whose personal preference was that every Christian remain unmarried, recognize that celibacy is an impractical and excessive burden to lay on most people...

1Corinthians 7:1-11
Now for the matters you wrote about: It is good for a man not to marry. But since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband. The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. The wife’s body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband’s body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife. Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. I say this as a concession, not as a command. I wish that all men were as I am. But each man has his own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that. Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I am. But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion. To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.

Let’s not forget that God allowed divorce in the Old Testament because of people’s “hard hearts.” Does this mean that Jesus was describing the ideal – what we should all aspire to – but the Old Testament was describing God’s understanding of practical reality in a fallen world?

Jesus himself said...

Matthew 19:11
Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given.

And even if you have a soft heart, your partner may not.

The Lord says...

Malachi 2:16
“I hate divorce,” says the LORD God of Israel, “and I hate a man’s covering himself with violence as well as with his garment,” says the LORD Almighty. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith.

...so one would think that at least one partner in a divorce – but not necessarily both – would be grieving God’s heart.

“Re-marriage” If you are hurting over the way your partner is treating you, it breaks God’s heart, as it did for him to see his Son being tortured to death. Our amazing Lord would rather suffer himself than see you suffer. Nevertheless, the undeniable reality of God’s extreme compassion does not of itself indicate whether cruelty is sufficient grounds for divorce or even separation. We must weigh up the fact that the following clearly applies to women with less than godly husbands:

1Peter 3:1
Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives,

Furthermore, this Scripture is found in the very letter that repeatedly speaks of the importance of physically suffering for Christ, and tells slaves to submit even to harsh masters.

Just as with Jesus’ suffering, there are times when more eternal good is achieved by our short term suffering than by us having an easier life.

“Divorce” Do you know of someone divorced and remarried who seems greatly blessed of God and powerfully used by him? You have probably also heard of men of God whom the Lord seemed to treat that way despite them being repeatedly involved in secret sex outside marriage. Is their sin a license for others to act that way? Who knows what devastation such people will experience when they stand naked before their Judge?

Matthew 7:22-23
Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

God temporarily withholding his wrath – as he did even with Sodom and Gomorrah for years – is no foundation on which to build moral conclusions.

“Re-marriage” Scripture stresses the supreme importance of “ one’s word ”

Psalms 15:4
who despises a vile man but honors those who fear the LORD, who keeps his oath even when it hurts,

Even when unforeseen circumstances make fulfilling the promise devastatingly painful and costly.

When marrying, it is the norm to vow to remain committed to one’s partner “till death do us part” or “for as long as we both shall live.” I haven’t come across marriage vows that allow the option “until my partner commits adultery” or “until my partner marries someone else.” The vows you made, not the ones you wish you had made, are the ones you have committed yourself to.

Have you, because of your vow, obligated yourself before God to remain faithful to your partner “for as long as you both shall live,” regardless of what he or she does?

“Divorce” “. . . what God has joined together, let man not separate”...

Matthew 19:6
So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”

But who exactly is it that “God has joined together”? It cannot be only those who have had a church wedding because in Bible times there was no such thing as a church wedding. Scripture applies this Bible truth of two becoming one flesh principle even to a fleeting, sin-ridden encounter with a prostitute...

End Part #3

TGIF

1Corinthians 6:15-16 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.”

It might be that “what God has joined” [or what God declares to be one flesh] applies to every sexual encounter, no matter how contrary to God’s will that relationship is.

Might it be similar to Joshua and his nation, who were tricked into making a covenant with people whom God had declared should be destroyed? The Israelites had been conned, they regretted it, and it was completely contrary to God’s will, but merely because they had made a covenant, it was so binding in God’s eyes that he insisted that they, ( Joshua 9 )

2 Samuel 21:1-9
During the reign of David, there was a famine for three successive years; so David sought the face of the LORD. The LORD said, “It is on account of Saul and his blood-stained house; it is because he put the Gibeonites to death.” The king summoned the Gibeonites and spoke to them. (Now the Gibeonites were not a part of Israel but were survivors of the Amorites; the Israelites had sworn to [spare] them, but Saul in his zeal for Israel and Judah had tried to annihilate them.) David asked the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you? How shall I make amends so that you will bless the LORD’s inheritance?” The Gibeonites answered him, “We have no right to demand silver or gold from Saul or his family, nor do we have the right to put anyone in Israel to death.” “What do you want me to do for you?” David asked. They answered the king, “As for the man who destroyed us and plotted against us so that we have been decimated and have no place anywhere in Israel, let seven of his male descendants be given to us to be killed and exposed before the LORD at Gibeah of Saul — the LORD’s chosen one.” So the king said, “I will give them to you.” The king spared Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the oath before the LORD between David and Jonathan son of Saul. But the king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons of Aiah’s daughter Rizpah, whom she had borne to Saul, together with the five sons of Saul’s daughter Merab, whom she had borne to Adriel son of Barzillai the Meholathite. He handed them over to the Gibeonites, who killed and exposed them on a hill before the LORD. All seven of them fell together; they were put to death during the first days of the harvest, just as the barley harvest was beginning.

2 Samuel 21:14
They buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in the tomb of Saul’s father Kish, at Zela in Benjamin, and did everything the king commanded. After that, God answered prayer in behalf of the land.

...and even subsequent generations, must keep that covenant in its entirety.

Other nations were so furious with these people for selling out to the Israelites that they massed their armies to destroy them. This seemed an ideal opportunity for the Israelites to have their past mistake eradicated. Without lifting a finger against these con artists, the Israelites could let heathens wipe them out, as God had originally intended. But instead, the Lord insisted that they fight to protect those they had made the covenant with. And to assist, the Almighty even made the sun stand still ( Joshua 10:1-15 ). There is biblical evidence that God regards sex as entering into a binding covenant.

Could it be that a major factor behind God being so strict as to who one has sex with is that he views sex as joining people together in a bond that should never be broken, no matter how much God may wish it had never happened?

One of the themes threading through Scripture is that God is moved to treat us like we treat others. In Luke 6:37-38 Jesus lines up one example after another:

Do not judge, and you will not be judged.

Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.

Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

Give, and it will be given to you.

Matthew 5:7
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

A couple others...

Psalm 18:25
To the faithful you show yourself faithful,

Galatians 6:7
. . . God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.

In addition to the above, we know that Scripture sees a close similarity or link between marriage and our relationship with God. Let’s team up these two truths and see where they lead.

No matter how unlikely it seems that I could at some time fall into a delusion or become so infatuated with sin that I turn my back on my Savior and, as it were, divorce him. We have a God who, if I were stupid enough to do this, would remain free to be joined to me again, should I later come to my senses.

If I had a wife who was unfaithful to me and divorced me against my will, dare I remarry – thus permanently cutting myself off from the woman I had committed myself to – and it would be the worse thing for God to treat me the same way?

“Divorce” Under Old Testament law, a number of sins incurred the death penalty, including rejection of the true God and certain sexual sins – proven adultery, homosexual acts, bestiality, incest.

Leviticus 20:10
“‘If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife — with the wife of his neighbor — both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.

We all know that the death of one’s partner frees one to remarry:

Romans 7:2-3
For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage. So then, if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress, even though she marries another man.

The death penalty no longer applies to these sins, but does it reveal a divine principle that if one partner continues to remain unrepentant of such gross sin --- is dead to God? The innocent one is free to remarry as he/she would be had the partner died?

“Remarriage” Even if divorce in certain circumstances were acceptable to God, that of itself might not mean that re-marriage is acceptable. For instance,

1Corinthians 7:10-11
To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.

In wedding vows one promises to love. This is a beautiful, highly Christian concept that is too often ruined by confusing it with the worldly love of romantic fiction. Romantic love can never be promised. It is fickle, fleeting and selfish. It is not a virtue and the only predictable thing about it is that it will fizzle. In contrast, the love that can be promised is noble. It is a virtue of eternal worth.

Ideally, we should marry not for our own pleasure but for God’s glory. Our decision about divorce should be based not on our ease but on what will maximize God’s glory in a difficult situation. Are we driven by what will make us more like Christ, or by what will make us more like a bit part in a soap opera?

Just because romantic love vanishes does not make it time for divorce; on the contrary, it is your chance to start gaining eternal glory.

If you are facing divorce or the prospect of loneliness, prayerfully consider all the spiritual issues involved.

Perhaps the discrepancy between the ideal and God’s response to practical reality explains some of the seeming contradictions could be due to misinterpreting what God is really saying in certain Scriptures, because of us not recognizing the cost of doing right; forgetting that we are called to follow the One who was tortured to death?

Deferring all critical decisions until you feel confident that what you believe God has revealed to be his will for you can be reconciled with the full truth about items on the above checklist. As you seek God, you might not be given all the answers as to how what you believe to be God’s will fits every point on the checklist, but I suggest you need to keep seeking until you at least feel peace that such answers exist and that in God’s eyes your decision blends perfectly with every part of the Bible.

Oh yes; I know that this does not answer every situation imaginable but it should be used as a guide line. First check the Bible and be in prayer to God.

End Part #4 - The End

TGIF