8 notes &
Sins Committed after being a Christian (continued)
(Follow up to this post about marriage after divorce)
Anonymous asked: In regards to that person’s question in “What about sins committed after becoming a Christian?”, you said you didn’t see any scriptural ban on re-marriage. I, too, was always taught re-marriage is only an option to the innocent party, not the guilty, and that the guilty party must repent and live a life of celibacy if their spouse moves on, which I believed to be true…until I read your response. Now I’m confused. Could you explain what you mean by there’s no scriptural ban? What about Mark 10:11?. Thanks (: (edited to combine 2 questions)
I Said:
When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this. 11 He answered, “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her -Mark 10:11 (NIV)
Adultery is bad, I think we can all get on board with that concept. But the question is, is it so bad that Jesus will refuse to redeem someone from it because they have proven themselves to be a dirty little sinner who is unworthy of grace? I am saying no. Looking at someone with lust is also adultery, but if everyone who did that was automatically disqualified from marriage, there would be exactly zero marriages.
And if you really want to pick through the letter of the text here: what if a woman cheats on her husband, but she wants to go to counseling and try and work it out; whereas he just wants a divorce? Technically he is divorcing her, so should he never be able to marry again? If she has already committed adultery against her husband, why not remarry? Can Jesus forgive one adultery but not two?
The situation posed in the original question was “my friend cheated on his wife, and she divorced him. Can he get married again?” Now the idea that this guy should sit in a lonely corner for the rest of his life thinking about his sin sounds a lot like punishment to me. And the Bible is very clear that Jesus took all our punishment for us on the cross. So I reiterate that there is no sin beyond the redemption of the cross. Having an abortion does not mean God will make you barren, screwing up big time in relationships doesn’t mean God will fail to address your loneliness. Having a past does not mean God will limit your future.
I really appreciate the thoughtful, insightful question, and I hope I cleared something up.
