Divorce and Adultery

Sermon Transcript

First of all I would like to thank Pastor Stucky for another opportunity to preach this morning, and it is my first time preaching in this building. The title of my sermon today is Divorce and Adultery. It is an interesting title because probably if you have heard sermons about this topic, it is usually called Divorce and Remarriage. But today the title is Divorce and Adultery, and I want to explain that.

There is unimaginable pain when children have to suffer the divorce of their parents and that separation. Today is Father's Day and I thought it is fitting to preach a sermon that encourages fathers to take their commitment seriously, to take their responsibility seriously, and to realise that God is actually commanding us to be righteous — commanding us as husbands and even wives that what God has joined together, let no man put asunder. That is something that is going to bless families and bless the children, because if someone is a father it means they have a child.

I do not ever want to see divorce at Soulwinning Baptist Church Melbourne. I do not ever want to see that happening. And that is why I think it is better to preach sermons preemptively than to preach them after the fact. Our Bible reading was in 1 Corinthians chapter 7. My goal today is to really look at what God's word says about this topic, and I know there are many different opinions. I have looked into this subject and really wanted to study it to actually understand it. That is why I want to preach on it today, because there are differing opinions. The Bible says every man seemeth right in his own cause, but then cometh his neighbour and he is able to show him a different way. My goal today is to just bring how I see this topic of divorce and adultery from the word of God.

1 Corinthians 7:10: "And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband." The Lord is commanding this — that the wife stays with her husband, that the husband stays with his wife. But what happens if a married couple does separate? That is what I am going to try to tackle today. We saw from our Bible reading where the Bible says there are two options: "But if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife." You either remain unmarried if you do separate, or you get reconciled. Nothing new under the sun. Marriages have always been on the rocks since the beginning of time. People had hardened hearts. Even in Moses's time people were giving their wives bills of divorcement. And point number one is — do not divorce.

You might ask, why do you link divorce and adultery? Because there is a link between getting divorced and then the temptation to be remarried. God actually wants people to be married. Even to widows, if they cannot contain let them marry. But people might think, I am divorced, I can just go marry someone else. And that is what I want to tackle today and prove from the Bible — that that would be adultery.

Turn to Romans 4.

You know, we do not want to make our own rules when it comes to the Bible. The Bible says study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. I want to show you what I have studied from the word of God to prove what I am saying today. Romans 4:1–3: "What shall we then say that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture?" Keep that phrase in mind — what saith the scripture? "Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness." Salvation is not of works, and you find it in the Bible — what saith the scripture. Jesus often said to the Pharisees, have you not read? This is in the Bible. And that is why it is so important that when it comes to the topic of divorce and adultery, we care about what saith the scripture. Tragically, people twist God's word and even use false Bible versions to explain what they are trying to say about this topic.

Point 1: Do Not Divorce

Turn to Matthew 19.

Matthew 19:1–6: "And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these sayings, he departed from Galilee, and came into the coasts of Judaea beyond Jordan; and great multitudes followed him; and he healed them there. The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? And he answered and said unto them, Have ye 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."

Again — what saith the scripture, have you not read? Jesus always just goes back to the word of God. He says when two people become one flesh, they are no longer two people. They are one. And the Pharisees are asking can a man put away his wife for any cause? Jesus is saying hey, there is no longer two, there is one now. What God has joined together, let no man put asunder. Pretty much point blank — no.

Verse 7: "They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?" They are not done. They are trying to bring up things from the Bible to say there has to be some caveat, some clause where I am able to do this. Verse 8: "He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so." They are asking why was there that caveat in the law where people were putting away their wives? And Jesus says it is because of the hardness of your hearts. Because you were just not able to be forgiving. You were not able to be gracious. And that is why he suffered you to do so.

Verse 9: "And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery." As soon as you marry somebody else, you are committing adultery. A lot of people might say, well, I do not know if that is a continual sin. But can I ask you a question — how many sins can you think of in the Bible that are only a sin the first time you do it? Is it just adultery on the first day of your new marriage and then it suddenly ceases to be a sin? What other sin can you find in the Bible that you commit one time and after that it is no longer a sin?

Let me show you why that one exception of fornication exists. Turn to Deuteronomy 24.

Deuteronomy 24:1: "When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house." So we see here that the person has married someone and has found some uncleanness in her — that is what I want to explain. The uncleanness here is referring to the fornication where he does not find her a maid when he was expecting that to be the case. And that is why Jesus gives that caveat — except it be for fornication. Turn to Deuteronomy 22.

Deuteronomy 22:13–14: "If any man take a wife, and go in unto her, and hate her, and give occasions of speech against her, and bring up an evil name upon her, and say, I took this woman, and when I came to her, I found her not a maid." He is saying she is not a virgin — he did not find the person to be the way she said she was. He finds uncleanness in her and he starts to hate her. This is the hardness of heart — God allowed it as a concession, but from the beginning it was not so.

Verse 15: "Then shall the father of the damsel, and her mother, take and bring forth the tokens of the damsel's virginity unto the elders of the city in the gate." So there is something specific to a virgin — a token. The father says I gave my daughter to this man to wife and he hateth her and is bringing an evil name upon her and saying I found not thy daughter a maid. The father says look, I know my daughter. He is bringing a bad occasion against my family. Verse 16: he spreads the cloth before the elders of the city — a specific cloth from the marriage bed that bears the tokens of the daughter's virginity. He is saying look, here is the proof that my daughter was not a harlot.

Verse 18: "And the elders of that city shall take that man and chastise him; and they shall amerce him in an hundred shekels of silver, and give them unto the father of the damsel." The father receives recompense because this person tried to lie about his daughter. And verse 19: "She shall be his wife; he may not put her away all his days." The token of virginity — sealed by the blood — meant there was no way out. It was done. It was sealed. And I think there is a deeper picture here — the same way God the Father can never put us away because we are sealed with the blood of Jesus Christ. He was without spot, without blemish. He shed his blood for us that we would be eternally secure in Jesus Christ. That is the spiritual picture here.

But what if there are no tokens? Verse 20–21: "But if this thing be true, and the tokens of virginity be not found for the damsel: then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die." A really grievous consequence for a woman who would lie about her purity. And the Bible says it is because she hath wrought folly in Israel. You know, can you imagine after seeing this, you think any other women would want to lie to their future spouses about this? They would be honest about it because the consequences were grievous. And these are things they had to read out of the law all the days of their lives, meditate upon, and teach to their children.

So why did God allow divorce? Jesus said it was because of the hardness of your heart. It is why divorce was even sufferable — but it had to be for that specific clause in Deuteronomy 24, for that specific uncleanness of fornication.

Now let us look at Deuteronomy 24:2. We see the same situation happening. A person finds out his wife is not a virgin. He gets this other option because the first option is he makes a huge deal about it and she ends up getting stoned. This option is where he is a little more just — if you know the story of Joseph and Mary, he being a just man wanted to put her away privily, did not want to make her a public example. In the same way, this person has a little more empathy but still will not live with this person. He is not willing to deal with it. He still has a hardened heart according to Jesus Christ.

Deuteronomy 24:2: "And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man's wife." She goes and is another man's wife because she fits within this cause of fornication — she fits within this parameter so she is able to remarry. But what happens if that second husband ends up divorcing her, or what if he dies? Verse 4: "Her former husband, which sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before the Lord." He is saying, look, that person who sent her away because of fornication — because of the hardness of his heart — he does not get to change his mind about that. He sent her away for that cause. She was able to go and be another man's wife because of the fornication. But he cannot take her back. He might be like, look, I actually miss my wife now. But it is done. That is the only cause for divorce and remarriage — the fornication.

Point 2: Do Not Commit Adultery

The only cause for divorce and remarriage is if it is because of the fornication. That is the only cause.

Go back to Matthew 19.

Jesus is saying all these things and then you see the reaction of his disciples, which shows that they actually understand what Jesus is saying. The condition he describes is so rare that most married people are simply going to continue going forward. And I think that is what Jesus is trying to say — what God has brought together, let no man put asunder. If you are walking down the aisle with your wife and neither of you has been married before, understand that is from God, that is for life. No man can put that asunder. That person that God put in your life, that person should be with you for the rest of your life. And that is why this is a Father's Day sermon — it is obviously something that is going to really affect children. We could avoid this topic because it is uncomfortable, but we have to be honest with ourselves that it is an issue in our time just as it was then.

Matthew 19:10: "His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry." They are saying, look, if it is this strict — if it is only for fornication — it is probably just better to stay as we are. So it is pretty telling when you hear people say the exception should be for sexual immorality in general, because why would the disciples say if it is this strict it is better not to marry? That would only make logical sense if the condition was as strict as Jesus described it.

The modern Bible versions corrupt this word to make divorce easier. The New International Version says except for sexual immorality — a free-for-all. The New Living Translation says unless his wife is being unfaithful — which opens the door to anything. I have even heard someone say if the husband looks at pornography that is a clause to get rid of him and go marry someone else. That is madness. The New King James Version also says except for sexual immorality. The English Standard Version says except for sexual immorality. The New American Standard Bible the same. You can see what drives churches today to preach this, because they are saying as soon as this happens I am not committing adultery anymore. But the King James says except it be for fornication. I have already explained what that is — fornication happens before marriage, not afterwards. Afterwards it is adultery. Fornication is the specific uncleanness discovered at the beginning of the marriage. There is no other cause.

That is why the disciples say if it is so strict, it is better not to even marry. God actually expects a lot from you when you enter into a marriage covenant. He expects you to be loyal, till death do you part. You made your vows. And I believe marriage is just that picture of eternal life. Once Jesus Christ has given us eternal life, he never breaks his promise. He never breaks that covenant.

1 Corinthians 7:39: "The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord." People read this as, well, my spouse did some sin, so now I am at liberty to be married, but only in the Lord. But it does not say that. It speaks about if the spouse passes away. So is your ex-husband or ex-wife still alive today? Well, then you are still bound to them. Regardless of whether you have gotten divorced, you are still bound to that person — because it was not for the cause of fornication. It was because of irreconcilable differences, or I just do not really get along with them anymore, or I just want to be happy and I do not think they are for me. That is not a cause for divorce and it is not a cause for remarriage. There is no cause except if that person is no longer alive.

Turn to Romans 7.

Romans 7:1–3: "Know ye not, brethren, for I speak to them that know the law, how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man." The Bible says as long as you live, you are bound to that person. You are going to be called an adulteress if you are married to another while your first spouse still lives. And the Bible says in Proverbs that if someone commits this sin, their reproach shall not be wiped away. That is just who you are. You decided to do this sin.

People might say, well, I am divorced and remarried but I have the government paperwork. The government allows abortion too. That does not mean God justifies it. Proverbs 6:32: "But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul. A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away." You do not get a free pass, and the Bible says you are bound to that person as long as they live.

Now you might say — God forbid someone is in a situation where they are fornicating, and then they get married to the person they were fornicating with. That ceases to be fornication because now they are married. But just by getting married to the person you were committing adultery with does not mean that now it ceases to be adultery. The Bible says if you marry another, you commit adultery. It is an ongoing sin that you have to stop doing for it to stop being a sin.

People sometimes turn it into a kind of game where they defraud their spouse over months on end, and then when that person does something stupid because of the pressure, the Bible says lest Satan tempt you for your incontinency — they say now I have got the clause for divorce. They are basically trying to get that person to commit the sin and then saying, well, I am fine, I have no fault. But you do have a fault if you are defrauding your spouse.

1 Corinthians 7:3–5: "Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband. The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife. Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency." This is equality — the husband and wife get the same authority over each other's bodies. They are to receive this due benevolence when it is needed. You need consent to abstain, not to be intimate. And God forbid there is a sick child or something really happening in the family — a legitimate reason to fast and pray together. But as soon as one person needs that due benevolence, you are commanded by God to give it. People will use this against their spouses, and then when Satan is really destroying that person and they stumble, they say, look, you have committed adultery, now I have grounds for divorce. The devil is cunning and he is going to use evil translations to destroy families and ultimately leave the children vulnerable — going off with different stepdads and stepmoms, opening them up to vulnerability. The devil wants to destroy families.

Matthew 19:9 again: "And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery." As soon as that single person marries someone who is divorced, that single person is now committing adultery. If two unmarried people sleep together that is fornication. But if either one of the parties is married or divorced, as soon as that person marries the other, they are committing adultery. And we know the Bible says that adultery carries the death penalty. Not all sins are punishable by death, but this one has the death penalty — just as sodomy does. So as hard as I preach against the sodomites, I want to preach just as hard against adultery.

1 Corinthians 7:39: "The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth." What is the only thing that looseth you from your first spouse? Their death. If your spouse is still alive, you are not free from the law. You are still bound to them regardless of any paperwork the government issues. The government allows abortion too — that does not mean God is going to be okay with something just because there is a legal justification for it.

Now let me also address the defrauding situation more carefully. Turn to 1 Corinthians 7.

We already looked at the due benevolence passage. To summarise — you need consent to abstain from the marital relationship, not consent to participate. The Bible says to come together again that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency. How long can you fast for? Very rarely does someone do a forty-day fast. Say you are going to fast and not eat anything for three days. In a healthy marriage there will be times when both of you are consenting and it is fine. But as soon as one person needs that due benevolence, you are commanded by God to give it. And I believe this passage is tied to fasting and prayer specifically. It is not a blanket excuse to deprive your spouse indefinitely. Satan is the serpent, he is cunning, and he is going to use this to destroy families.

Matthew 19:9 says whosoever marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery. That means even that person — possibly even a virgin, someone who has never been married — as soon as they marry someone who is divorced they are committing adultery. Adultery is punishable by death in the Bible. That is something to be taken very seriously.

Bound by Law — The Testimony of Michal and David

Now let me talk about what I believe someone should do if they are in an adulterous remarriage situation. In my opinion, as controversial as it sounds, I believe that person should go back to their first spouse — the person they are bound to in God's eyes. Let me show you this from the word of God.

Turn to 1 Kings 15.

1 Kings 15:5: "Because David did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, and turned not aside from any thing that he commanded him all the days of his life, save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite." The time when David committed those sins was with Uriah the Hittite — the adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah. That was it. He did that which was right and turned not aside from any thing. Let us look at 2 Samuel chapter 3 with this in mind.

David had a wife — Michal — who was valid, his first wife. She was given to another man by King Saul. And then we see her return to him, and the Lord did not say this falls into the category of Deuteronomy 24 where the land would be defiled. This was not because of fornication — it was because King Saul just decided to take his wife from him and give her to someone else, just as Samson's father-in-law gave his wife to his friend. It is madness because the Bible says you are bound by the law to your spouse.

2 Samuel 3:13: "And he said, Well; I will make a league with thee: but one thing I require of thee, that is, Thou shalt not see my face, except thou first bring Michal Saul's daughter, when thou comest to see my face." David is saying bring me my wife. She is my wife. He sends messages to Ishbosheth: "Deliver me my wife Michal, which I espoused to me for an hundred foreskins of the Philistines." She is mine. Bring her back. And the man she had been given to — Phaltiel the son of Laish — went along with her weeping beside her. Then Abner said unto him, go, return. And he returned. If you are stupid enough to marry someone's wife or someone's husband — that is the shame you deserve. David says bring her back, she is mine. That person committing adultery with someone else's spouse should be put to shame. And that is what everyone should have happen to them when they decide they are justified to marry someone else's spouse.

This is my belief — if you married your first spouse and both of you were each other's first spouse, I believe you should fight for that relationship. Even if she has gone off and done things like Hosea's wife committing all this sin — go buy her back. Go bring her back. Fight for that relationship because that is your wife. And we see David doing exactly that.

Now people might say — but I have children with my new spouse. What am I supposed to do? Look at Ezra chapter 10. Towards the end of that chapter you are going to see that there were men who had taken strange wives — unlawful unions — and some of them had children with these women. And yet they were still required to put those strange wives away from among them. Think about the heartbreak of that. The mother of my children. And yet God was not happy with the union and that is what they had to do. People say, well, let us make an exception because they have a family now. But what started all of that hurt? Sin. That is what started it. The divorce and the remarriage caused that pain and that hurt for those future children.

People come out of really bad, horrible families — broken families where parents have gone through messy breakups and are living in sin — and are still able to serve God. Everyone has free will and children get to look at the situation and say I do not want to go down the path of my parents. And they can still turn out right. Likewise, if you have really good parents, that does not guarantee you will succeed. You have that free will as you grow up to seek the Lord for yourself.

Now I remember in my old church, a couple of us brothers who are here today asked the pastor whether he had ever condoned divorce and remarriage. He started telling us the story of someone in his church who divorced his wife and then fell in love with another girl from the church. We asked did you marry him to his new spouse? He said well, we did because we did not want to lose him as a member. What were we meant to do? He fell in love with someone else. What can we do? You know, sometimes it is not even because of the fornication clause — sometimes people just say I do not love that person anymore. And churches condone it and remarry people and it is rampant. I have also heard a horror story of a woman being married to a pastor's son in a Pentecostal church. The guy ends up divorcing her and marrying someone else from the church. She is sitting on the front row with her little baby, crying at her husband's wedding — the man she is still bound to for life. She is sitting there crying because the clergy has remarried that couple.

I am glad that the new IFB movement will never remarry someone who is divorced and remarried. But I believe it is not just remarrying them that we should take a stance on — we should not validate that marriage either. Because if you divorce and anyone you marry after that outside of that fornication clause is adultery. And why was that the only clause? Because it would have really been hardness of heart to put her to death in the way Deuteronomy 22 describes. Joseph was a just man. God wants us to be merciful. God does not want us to have hardened hearts. But what God has brought together, two become one, it is for life.

John the Baptist and Herod — Standing Firm

John the Baptist also did not approve of adultery and did not allow this sin to go on unchecked. Turn to Matthew 14.

Matthew 14:1–4: "At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus, and said unto his servants, This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead; and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him. For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife. For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her."

Herod is committing adultery with this woman — she is someone else's wife. Philip was his half-brother. And John gets thrown into prison because he is criticising a man in authority for committing adultery. He is saying hey, that is someone else's wife. You have that person's wife. Verse 4: "For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her." Her spouse Philip is still alive. It is not lawful for you to have her. In Mark 6:17 it says that Herod had married her — so he is legally married to this woman. And John the Baptist is saying it is not legitimate. She is bound to someone else.

People might say, why do you not just leave them alone? They are not part of the church. They have probably been married for two years now, they might even have a family. Just leave them alone. And yet John says it is not lawful for you to have her. You can kill the preacher who rebuked you, but you cannot change God's opinion. In God's eyes, Herodias, it is unlawful for you to be with Herod. You can kill the preacher and shut him up, but God's word still stands true. It is written in the Bible. People will have to answer to God for their adultery and their sin. And I believe they should stop that adulterous relationship.

Now, the daughter of Herodias danced before Herod and pleased him at his birthday, and he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she would ask. She was instructed by her mother and said, give me here John the Baptist's head in a charger. She just wanted John the Baptist dead. She did not like him intruding into her personal business, into her marriage. Verse 9: "And the king was sorry: nevertheless for the oath's sake, and them which sat with him at meat, he commanded it to be given her. And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison. And his head was brought in a charger, and given to the damsel." She brought it to her mother, saying here is that prophet, here is that man of God who was talking against your divorce and remarriage. That woman just wanted to shut up the preacher. But you can kill the preacher and his opinion does not change things in God's eyes.

People might say, well, maybe the issue there was that it was his brother's wife, not the remarriage itself. Leviticus 20:21 says if any man shall take his brother's wife, it is an unclean thing — he hath uncovered his brother's nakedness, they shall be childless. If people want to say that was the hill John wanted to die on — the brother's wife issue, not the remarriage — well, in the case of adultery it is punishable by death, which would be the greater punishment. Either way, he is saying it is not lawful for you to have her. The greatest man born among women, the man Jesus himself affirmed as the greatest, died on this hill. I believe I should have the courage to preach it.

This is my stance. I am not going to justify people who are divorced and remarried. I believe it is a sin. There is mounting evidence in the Bible to prove it. If somebody believes differently and wants to bring forth the truth they see in the Bible and clearly show me from the Bible, I am ready to be corrected. But I need people to show me the Bible.

We kick people out of church for fornication — Pastor just preached 1 Corinthians 5 and we are going to kick people out for fornication. But we are going to allow people who are divorced and remarried in our church while they are committing ongoing adultery? For me that is a far more grievous sin. And I would not want anyone in this church to be guilty of that. I would not want it to potentially corrupt other families in this church who see that divorced and remarried couple and think they seem fine, they look really happy. If little leaven leaveneth the whole lump and you are meant to kick out a fornicator, I definitely believe you are meant to kick out adulterers too.

I am not going to stay silent on this issue. And I do not have pity for adultery because it is a sin worthy of death.

Turn to Malachi 2.

It is Father's Day today and I believe fathers should understand this truth. There is no cause for divorce. I am going to be in my children's lives. I am going to love their mother and be a good father and realise this is till death do us part. And if you know there is no exit programme, no way you could ever be married to someone else unless your spouse dies, guess what? You are going to want to put a lot of effort into that relationship. If you think well I can always get out of this because someone else in the church is in that situation and the church loves them — that is not going to encourage you to make the most of your marriage and actually love your spouse. Whatever you invest into, you love. If you invest into a hobby you start thinking about that hobby. In the same way, invest into your marriage. Care about it. Put time into it.

Malachi 2:14–16: "Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the Lord hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant... Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth. For the Lord, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the Lord of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously."

God hates divorce. That is clear from Malachi. And if you are bound to that person as long as you live, that person in God's eyes is still your spouse. It is awesome to see children in the church serving God — parents who brought them up in the fear and admonition of the Lord who are now going soul-winning and serving God. I hope my children are going to be future soul winners that I can instruct in the ways of the Lord and raise as godly seed as God has asked me to do. And that is the purpose Malachi describes — why God made two to become one. That he might seek a godly seed. God wants your children to be godly. God wants you to give those children to God and for them to one day become the next soul winners of Soulwinning Baptist Church Melbourne. That is what God actually brought two together to become one for.

So God willing, this church is going to be a church that has strong families, strong believers that actually fear God. I do not want this to be named in our church. Fornication should not even be named among you — not once named among you, let alone adultery.

This is why the title of my sermon is divorce and adultery. If you divorce and you are not reconciled to your spouse, you have two options — you remain as you are, or you are reconciled to your spouse. The idea of getting married to someone else means you are just going to be an adulterer. And I believe if you are in that situation and it was not for the cause of fornication, you should go back to your first spouse. That is the person that in God's eyes you are bound to. What God has joined together, two have become one. That is your first spouse, the person that you made that vow with in the beginning.

John the Baptist got beheaded for saying it is not lawful for you to have that new woman. And I know it is an ugly situation. People might say you are not coming to this with empathy and mercy. But we live in a really ugly, sinful world and there are a lot of ugly things happening. We cannot compromise on the word of God just because we do not want to offend people.

With that I hope this topic has been understood. I believe I have understood it, but Lord if there is room for me to be reproved and people can help me understand it better from the Bible, I am open to that. But I really believe this is the best way to protect our families from ever even contemplating this grievous sin. I just pray that you bless the families of Soulwinning Baptist Church and that you would help us to have strong families that fear you — husbands and fathers that love their children and love their wives and are good fathers. And if there are any marriages that are broken up, I pray that those whom God brought together would be reconciled and that you would bless us to all have great marriages. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.