Whosoever Shall Put Away His Wife

Driving home: It's a fact of history that laxity in standards of marriage is always a clear evidence of a decadent society which is about to undergo the judgment of Almighty God.

The laxity in marriage standards before the fall of Greece and Rome is cited as historical evidence that such laxity signals a decadent society ripe for judgment, setting a serious tone for the sermon's topic.

the judgment of Almighty God. In reading one source, I came across a very interesting fact, that before the fall of Greece and of Rome, marriage was such that women would actually wear rings to keep their marriage. And it's a fact of history that it's a fact of the Bible that marriage was taken into account and was also a fact of the world. I'd remind you that we have an indication of this even in the Bible, when Jesus stood at the well there in Samaria, he talked with this woman and he said concerning her, Thou hast had five husbands, and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband.

4:32 - 5:13 Read in full sermon

Driving home: It's a fact of history that laxity in standards of marriage is always a clear evidence of a decadent society which is about to undergo the judgment of Almighty God.

Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman who had five husbands is used to illustrate the prevalence of lax marriage and divorce attitudes even in biblical times.

the judgment of Almighty God. In reading one source, I came across a very interesting fact, that before the fall of Greece and of Rome, marriage was such that women would actually wear rings to keep their marriage. And it's a fact of history that it's a fact of the Bible that marriage was taken into account and was also a fact of the world. I'd remind you that we have an indication of this even in the Bible, when Jesus stood at the well there in Samaria, he talked with this woman and he said concerning her, Thou hast had five husbands, and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband.

4:32 - 5:13 Read in full sermon

Driving home: It's a fact of history that laxity in standards of marriage is always a clear evidence of a decadent society which is about to undergo the judgment of Almighty God.

The statistic of one in three marriages ending in divorce, observed in the local newspaper, illustrates the contemporary societal problem and its devastating impact on children.

One out of every three marriages ending up in the divorce courts. I never cease to be sick when I open the page in the Newark Evening News and see all the sweet, smiling young brides and realize if there are 15 there, five of them are going to end up in a divorce court. And chances are that some children will have come along in the meantime in the twisted, warped, bent lives marred because of the low standards of marriage and divorce that are prevalent in our own day. And so we come, not because this is a hobby with us, but simply because it's the next passage in our exposition that you and I ...

5:30 - 6:13 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Moses, for the hardness of your heart, Jesus said, suffered you to write a bill of divorcement. It was never the intention of God that the marriage tie should be severed at all.

The practice in some lands where a man can divorce his wife by saying 'I divorce you' three times is used to highlight the kind of unchecked, hasty divorce that Moses' legislation was designed to prevent.

And then when sin entered, severed by nothing other, as we'll see later, than marital unfaithfulness. So this is basically the teaching of Moses with the purpose of keeping this thing from becoming a widespread evil. If a man had to sit down and write a bill of divorcement before he could let his wife go, he wouldn't be apt to let her go simply in a rage of temper. There's some societies today where all a man has to do is stand in his house, say, I divorce you, turn around, I divorce you.

16:16 - 16:47 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin explains how the Pharisees twisted Moses' allowance for divorce into a command, focusing on the legal document rather than the spirit of the law, thereby licensing divorce…

The analogy of a father permitting his son to play in a mud puddle versus commanding him to do so clarifies the difference between God's allowance (suffering) of divorce and a divine command, correcting the Pharisaical error.

Verse 8, he said unto them, Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, suffered or allowed. Now here's the contrast. There's all the difference in the world between an allowance or a permission and a command. I might permit my son to go out into a mud puddle.

18:42 - 19:04 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin explains how the Pharisees twisted Moses' allowance for divorce into a command, focusing on the legal document rather than the spirit of the law, thereby licensing divorce…

A quote from Josephus, a contemporary historian, illustrates the extreme laxity of divorce in Christ's time, where a man could divorce his wife for 'any cause whatsoever,' even bad breath.

Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? They felt as long as you had that bill, get your wife out of the house. Didn't matter why, but get her out. Josephus, a contemporary historian around the time of Christ, said this.

20:37 - 20:53 Read in full sermon

Driving home: This two being one flesh union which constitutes marriage has a permanence which has the very seal of God upon it. What God hath joined let not man put asunder.

The analogy of starting a corporation and having the right to set its rules is used to explain that since God instituted marriage, He alone has the right to set its boundaries and rules.

He has created the institution. He has the right to state how that institution is to function. If I start a corporation under my name, in order to build a certain product, then I have the right to determine what the rules of that corporation shall be. Our Lord has instituted marriage and he and he alone has the right to state what's involved concerning the rules of marriage.

25:52 - 26:20 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin defines divorce and adultery, then explains that Christ teaches fornication (marital unfaithfulness) is the only ground for divorce because it severs the 'one flesh'…

The preacher uses his hands to visually represent the man and woman, their union, and how the 'one flesh' bond is broken by adultery, making the abstract concept more concrete.

I almost was tempted to get the blackboard out but I think I can draw the pictures with my hands. Here's a young man here's a young woman. He's living with his father and mother. He's in the context of his home.

30:24 - 30:34 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin defines divorce and adultery, then explains that Christ teaches fornication (marital unfaithfulness) is the only ground for divorce because it severs the 'one flesh'…

The analogy of trading in a car that doesn't satisfy is used to illustrate the worldly, consumerist attitude towards marriage that views it as disposable if problems arise, contrasting with God's view of permanence.

flesh. They're married. Now after a while they begin to find out that they're not compatible in certain areas. There's going to be problems in their marriage and there's only one marriage in a hundred that doesn't have problems of adjustment learning to die to yourself and your own little peculiarities and learning to live with your mates.

30:44 - 31:02 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not let the world squeeze you into its mold regarding marriage; understand that marriage is permanent, indissoluble, and sacred, rejecting Hollywood's lax standards.

A quote from A.W. Tozer describing Hollywood actresses as having 'faces of angels and the morals of alley cats' is used to condemn the entertainment industry's corrupting influence on young people's views of marriage and sexuality.

A curse be upon Hollywood and all identified with it. That would bring a generation of young people who feel if you hadn't had a cheap weekend motel honeymoon by the time you're 16, you haven't lived. You love it, it's a sacred institution and these international harlots and prostitutes who pose as career girls and actresses, as Tozer said, with the faces of angels and the morals of alley cats.

45:28 - 46:02 Read in full sermon

The point: For those whose lives have been marred by the sin of adultery or unscriptural divorce and remarriage, flee to Christ just as you are, for He offers forgiveness and cleansing on the condition of willingness to quit sin.

The story of Jesus and the woman caught in adultery is used to offer hope and forgiveness to those in the congregation whose lives have been marred by marital sin, emphasizing Christ's mercy.

Now, do I have any word for those who may because of the past been guilty of this very thing? Yes, I thank God I have a word for you. You remember one time they brought to the Lord Jesus a woman taken in the very act of adultery. You remember what the Lord Jesus said to her?

46:54 - 47:11 Read in full sermon

The point: If God has received you, the church receives you, asking for sincere repentance, honest forsaking of sin, and a hearty desire to follow the Lord Jesus from henceforth, without setting artificial standards of membership.

Billy Graham's saying, 'you can't unscramble an egg,' is used to acknowledge the complexity and irreversible nature of past marital messes, while still affirming God's ability to deal with people where they are.

Oh, but you say Pastor, you don't understand my problem and I know what some of you are thinking. All the terrible messes and this Billy Graham said you can't unscramble an egg.

48:20 - 48:29 Read in full sermon