Marriage
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If a man marries a woman, and, after marriage he finds she is not a
virgin -- that she committed fornication before marriage to him -- he is
allowed to put her away |
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Herbert
W. Armstrong taught that if a man marries a woman, and, after marriage he
finds she is not a virgin -- that she committed fornication before marriage
to him -- he is allowed to put her away: ‘The basic Scriptures on the subject
of marriage and divorce are these, in addition to those given above: "It
hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing
of divorcement: But I [Jesus Christ] say unto you, That whosoever shall put
away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit
adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth
adultery," (Matthew 5:31-32 -- part of Jesus' sermon on the Mount).
"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. They say unto Him, Why did Moses
then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? 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. 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," Matthew 19:3-9. Before quoting the
other Scriptures, let us examine these more closely. Here are the ONLY TWO
places in the New Testament where any exception whatsoever is given. Here,
then, is stated the ONLY "BIBLE GROUNDS" for a second marriage
(except, of course, after the death of a mate). Notice, in speaking to the
Pharisees, Jesus went back to the very beginning of creation for HIS
AUTHORITY for the laws of God respecting marriage. The man-ordained laws in
the nation |
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Confutation |
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The
only Bible grounds for a second marriage is the death
of a mate. Neither fornication – no matter whether it is committed by a woman
before or after marriage – nor adultery allows the husband to remarry. If a
woman commits fornication or adultery, her husband is allowed to send her
away, but he is not allowed to remarry as long as she is alive. That’s the
teaching of the New Testament. |
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Now
let me say some important things about the case of a woman who is not found
virgin by her husband after marriage. First of all, it is not true that under
the Old Testament if a husband found that his wife was not a virgin he was
allowed to put her away, for actually he did not have to write her a
certificate of divorce and send her out of his house. The law says that the
young woman had to be brought to the door of her father’s house and the men
of her city had to stone her to death with stones, for she was regarded as a
prostitute (cf. Deuteronomy 22:13-21). Therefore the man was free to remarry
for in the sight of God he was single or rather a widower. In other words, he
was free to remarry for the bond of marriage had been dissolved by the death
of his wife. So, it was not the sin of fornication committed by his wife that
allowed him to remarry, but the death of his wife. Secondly, we can’t apply
that rule of the law to the New Testament, for nowhere in the New Testament
we are told that if a man finds that his wife is not a virgin,
his wife must be brought out to the door of her father’s house and stoned to
death with stones. What must he do then according to the New Testament? Well,
he must keep his wife with him, for his wife committed fornication before
marriage and not after marriage, that is to say, for when she committed
fornication she was not yet married. Undoubtedly she committed a sin, but she
was not yet married. You may ask me now, ‘Do you mean that when Jesus said,
“Except it be for fornication”, He referred to the sin of fornication
committed only after marriage?’ Yes, that’s what I mean. Nevertheless, as I
said before, even if a wife commits fornication after
marriage, her husband is not allowed to remarry for he is allowed only to send
her away. For Jesus said: “Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth
another, committeth adultery ….” (Luke 16:18). So, in the light of the words
of Jesus, it is wrong to say that fornication is committed only by an
unmarried person, for even a married person can commit fornication. Paul also
confirms this, for when he warns the saints of |
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That
by fornication – when Jesus said “except it be for fornication” – Jesus meant
adultery is confirmed by what Jesus said to the angel of the Church in
Thyatira concerning Jezebel and those who lay with her: “Notwithstanding I
have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel,
which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to
commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. And I gave her
space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. Behold, I will cast
her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation,
except they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children with death;
and all the churches shall know that I am he which
searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you
according to your works.” (Revelation 2:20-23). Note that first Jesus said
that Jezebel taught His servants to commit fornication and then He said that
they committed adultery with her. Thus – inasmuch as Jezebel and the servants
of Jesus were married – we conclude that in certain cases when the Bible speaks
of fornication it refers to the sin of adultery committed by married people. |