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| SERMON #80 It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: But I 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. MAT 5:31-32 This passage has a very important message. The Lord Jesus was demonstrating that during His time the Pharisees were putting away their wives for every cause. They were putting away their wives for the most simple causes, and the Lord was showing that a man may not put away his wife except in the case of fornication. We have been dealing with how Jesus was contrasting the limited view of the Law taught by the scribes and Pharisees with the spirit of the law. The spirit of the law is motivated by love. Jesus was concentrating on the spirit of the law in this chapter from verses 17 to the end. He is dealing with the spirit of the law. The Lord Jesus began each of these principles with, "It was said by them of old time," and then contrasting that with, "but I say unto you...." This referred to the traditions established and enforced by the scribes and Pharisees, that perverted the true meaning of the Old Testament laws. The scribes and Pharisees were not properly dividing and executing the law. They were not properly enforcing the law. The scribes and Pharisees had the commandments of men. They had traditions which perverted the law. Jesus contrasted these with the true spirit of the law, motivated by love and not the legalistic letter of the law. The Lord Jesus spoke of the true meaning of murder; that it was not just the literal act, but it includes the thoughts and words. When we say unto our brother, "Raca" meaning "thou empty fellow", we are murdering in our heart. He pointed out that saying thou fool is heart and tongue murder, because it is touching the eternal destiny of that soul. Jesus taught that adultery was not just the literal act, but also the thoughts and the motives of the heart. Even though the act was never accomplished, the motives and thoughts of the heart still commit adultery in the eyes of the Lord. Our text says, "It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: But I 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." It is very important that we understand this verse. The Lord Jesus is saying that you may not put away your wife for every cause. It may only be because of fornication. Because he, "...causeth her to commit adultery." We have to deal with the way in which it causes her to commit adultery. It goes on to say, "and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery." We must understand the distinction between fornication and adultery. I plan to deal with this. There is a tremendous distinction between the two words. Verse 31 speaks of what was taught at the time of the Lord Jesus and practiced by the scribes and Pharisees. Their teaching was based on DEU 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." This law was limited to the same single narrow principle which Jesus stated in V:32, "Because he hath found some uncleanness in her." It is on the basis of sexual uncleanness. The scribes and Pharisees left that important clause out in their teachings. They worded it, "And it come to pass if she find no favor in his eyes, then let him write her a bill of divorcement." They changed it so that if the woman found no favor in her husband's eyes for any reason, he could give her a bill of divorcement. They left out the clause that says, "and if he hath found some uncleanness in her." So they were not limiting their divorces to cases of uncleanness. This led to many traditions and commandments of men which allowed divorce for any cause. One of the leading scribes taught that a man could divorce his wife for any ill qualities of mind or for any impudent behavior. He taught that the husband could divorce her if she was seen in public with her head or arms uncovered, if she was seen joking with young men, if he discovered any blemish or disease in or on her, or if she spoiled his food either by over-cooking or over-salting it. This was the way they interpreted the law in DEU 24:1. That was the teaching of the scribes and Pharisees. The Lord Jesus is pointing out that the real intent of the law in DEU 24:1 had the same restrictions as MAT 5. Another leading scribe taught, "If she find no favor in his eyes, he can give her a bill of divorcement." This means that he could divorce her if he was tired of her or favored another woman. If he found a woman who was more beautiful or more agreeable to him, he could give his wife a bill of divorcement. Another one of the leading scribes taught, "The Law runs thus, He that would be divorced from his wife for any cause whatever, as many such causes as there are, let him give her a bill of divorce." I'm quoting from teachings of the scribes and Pharisees at that time. This is what they taught. Notice in verse 31 Jesus says, "It hath been said," but He did not say, "by them of old time." This was a new teaching and was in practice in the time of the Lord Jesus. Our text brings us back to the original intent of the law. "But I say unto you that whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication," which was based upon DEU 24:1, "...because he hath found some uncleanness in her." The Lord Jesus is not teaching a new law, he is unfolding the meaning, spirit and intent of the law. This is very interesting to know. There are four words in the Hebrew which are translated "uncleanness" in the Old Testament. The first two refer to dirtiness or contamination, natural or ceremonial. Examples of these are touching a dead body or a person with leprosy. The third word was used to illustrate spiritual uncleanness and is often used to speak about sin. The word "uncleanness," in DEU 24:1 is taken from the Hebrew word, "Ervah [er-vaw]." This word is translated as "uncleanness" only once in the Old Testament, which is in DEU 24:1. This word was only translated as uncleanness one time in the Old Testament. This same Hebrew word "Ervah [er-vaw]," is found fifty other times in the Old Testament. All other fifty times it is translated "nakedness", and it comes from the root word of nudity. Where DEU 24:1 says, "because he has found some uncleanness in her," it means she has disgracefully lowered herself exposing her nakedness to open shame, or uncleanness sexually. It's a naked uncleanness. That is the uncleanness spoken of in DEU 24:1. It is different than the other three original words translated as uncleanness. It is important that we understand this. The word fornication in our text is taken from the Greek word, "Porneia [por-ni-ah]," This word certainly includes everything meant by the word "uncleanness" as used in DEU 24:1, but it goes much deeper. The Greek word "Porneia [por-ni-ah]," means "To act the harlot, i.e., indulge unlawful lust of either sex, including adultery and incest, to commit fornication. When the translators used the word "fornication", it meant much more than just fornication. The Lord Jesus is saying in our verse that we may not put away a wife except for the cause of open harlotry or indulging in open sex with either male or female, including adultery, incest and fornication. In our text the word fornication actually does not convey the full meaning of the original word. MAT 5:32 says, "But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of '[Porneia (por-ni-ah),' which means 'Acting as a harlot, i.e., indulging unlawful lust of either sex, including adultery and incest, or committing fornication],' causeth her to commit adultery." We must understand what the word adultery means. This word adultery is taken from the Greek word, "Moichao [moy-khah-o]." It means, "to commit adultery, to be an apostate, or an adulteress." Two very important principles must be observed from our Saviour's words. There are two very important things that come forth from this. MAT 5:32, "Whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery." What does it mean when it says that he causes her to commit adultery? It is very important to understand this. If a man puts his wife away for any other cause, he causes her to commit adultery. We find the first principle in 1CO 7:2-5. "Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. 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 teaching us how we can cause a woman to commit adultery by putting her away. This says that she has no power over her own body. The husband has the power over her body. When the husband puts her away for any other cause, he puts her into the position of needing another man. She will take another man, and then he will have caused her to commit adultery by putting her away. The word "incontinency" is taken from the Greek word, "Akrates [ak-rat-os]." It means "powerless, i.e., without self control, incontinent." Webster says "incontinency" means, "Want of restraint of sexual appetite." This says that a person cannot refrain. By putting her away, you are defrauding her. It says, "Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer." When you defraud and put her away so that she is not able to contain herself, then she is powerless to control herself. That means that there is a want of restraint of sexual appetite, so we have caused her to commit adultery. I believe that is the first principle Jesus is teaching here. The second principle taught by our Saviour comes through very clearly in the Revised Version which says in MAT 5:32, "But I say unto you that every one who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, makes her an adulteress." I believe something shows through very clearly here. He "makes her an adulteress." I believe this means before the eyes of the world. In other words, he puts her as a prostitute before the world. There is only one Scriptural basis upon which he may put her away, so the act of doing this accuses her of being a prostitute before the world. He brands her as a prostitute before the world. That is a very important thing to understand. This principle deals with defamation declaring to the whole world that she is playing the part of a harlot. For the cause of fornication is the only just cause for which he may put her away. When he gives her a bill of divorcement, he declares to the world that she is a prostitute. We must realize that the bill of divorce is not what breaks the marriage relationship. The bill of divorce is to publicly confirm that the marriage relationship has been broken. We have to understand that the marriage relationship is not broken by man. "What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder." It is not broken by a mere piece of paper. That does not break the marriage relationship in the eyes of the Lord. It says that you cause her to commit adultery when you send her out. Do you know what that means? That means that you cause her to marry another man when your own marriage bond has not yet been broken. You caused that. "Porneia [por-ni-ah]" means, "Acting as a harlot, i.e., indulging unlawful lust of either sex, including adultery and incest, or committing fornication." This is what breaks the marriage relationship. That is the only thing that breaks that marriage relationship. Now that bill of divorce is the public confirmation that the marriage relationship has been broken. When you give a woman a bill of divorcement, you are confirming that the marriage relationship has been broken by adultery, by fornication, by an unchaste relationship and by uncleanness. When a man puts a woman away, "...he hath given occasions of speech against her." He publicly proclaims that she is an apostate, or "makes her an adulteress". This is forbidden if she is clean as we see in DEU 22:13-21. It is forbidden to defame your wife like that. In DEU 22:13-21 we read, "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: 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: And the damsel's father shall say unto the elders, I gave my daughter unto this man to wife, and he hateth her; And, lo, he hath given occasions of speech against her, saying, I found not thy daughter a maid; and yet these are the tokens of my daughter's virginity. And they shall spread the cloth before the elders of the city. And the elders of that city shall take that man and chastise him; And they shall amerce him [i.e., they shall fine him] in an hundred shekels of silver, and give them unto the father of the damsel, because he hath brought up an evil name upon a virgin of Israel: and she shall be his wife; he may not put her away all his days. A man may not bring a defamation upon the name of his wife if she is clean." Now I want to deal with this word "fornication". The word "fornication" is a completely different word than the word "adultery". To understand what the Lord Jesus is telling us in this text, we have to understand that. I believe that this confusion is in all churches when trying to decide if a marriage union is breaking that portion of Scripture. This is something that is horribly misunderstood. To fornicate, according to Webster means, "To commit lewdness, as an unmarried man or woman, or as a married man with an unmarried woman." That is fornication. Now I want to show you the difference between that and adultery. Adultery, according to Webster is, "Violation of the marriage bed...which introduces, or may introduce, into a family, a spurious offspring...the sexual intercourse of any man, with a married woman, is the crime of adultery in both: such intercourse of a married man, with an unmarried woman is fornication in both...." This is talking of a violation of a man with another man's wife. I want to show you why there is a distinction. This may introduce into a family a spurious offspring. In other words, illegitimate children. Sexual intercourse of any man with a married woman is the crime of adultery. Sexual intercourse of a married man with an unmarried woman is fornication. Do you see the great difference there. In the act of adultery, the violation is by two married people which could introduce a spurious offspring into a family. There is a family with an illegitimate child in it. That is adultery. The Lord Jesus says that you caused her to commit adultery. In other words, that marriage bond has never been broken in the eyes of the Lord, because there has not been uncleanness. Therefore, that woman is still married in the eyes of the Lord. She is caused to become a wife of another man when the bond has never been broken in the first instance. That is what the Lord Jesus is teaching here. The Bible distinguishes fornication from adultery in several places. MAT 15:19 says, "For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications...." It shows distinctly. "...thefts, false witness, and blaspheming." In GAL 5:19 we read, "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness." The Lord Jesus definitely deals with fornication and adultery in separate manners. They are two different violations. Our text says in MAT 5:32, "But I 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." It is most important to see and understand the distinction in the words our Saviour used in our text. The term, "...saving for the cause of fornication," comes from the Greek word "Porneia [por-ni-ah]". This means, "Acting as a harlot, i.e., indulging unlawful lust of either sex, including adultery and incest, or committing fornication." That word includes them all. The term, "...whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery," is taken from the Greek word "moichao [moy-khah'-o]". This is limited to adultery only. The meaning of our Saviour's distinction is most clear. The marriage relationship is broken by any one of the following: acting as a harlot, indulging unlawful lust of either sex, adultery and incest or committing fornication. Any one of those will break the marriage bond. A woman who has been put away for any other cause is still bound by her marriage union in the eyes of the Lord. Therefore if she remarries another man, they are living in adultery. If a woman has been put away for any other cause, her marriage union has not been broken in the eyes of the Lord. Adultery means that a man is living with another man's wife. The marriage bond has not been broken. That is why it is called adultery. Today's society has a Pharisaical attitude that a man can put away his wife for any cause. In MAT 19:3-6, "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." Jesus pointed to love as the highest principle in its noblest qualities in the realm of marriage. Jesus returns to the beginning, where God made them male and female and instituted marriage. God brought Eve to Adam to be his wife. God testified, "A man shall leave his father and mother and shall cleave unto his wife, and those two shall be one flesh." We need to see that the Pharisees were tempting Jesus here. What did the Lord Jesus do? He pointed out the noblest bond that holds the marriage union together. It is love. He brought them back to the beginning where God made them male and female and instituted marriage. The marriage union was part of God's creation which He looked upon in this manner: it says in GEN 1:31, "And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day." Marriage was part of what the Lord looked upon when he said it was very good. The Lord looked upon the perfection that he had placed in the marriage bond. We see the special responsibility a man has to his wife in DEU 24:5. "When a man hath taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war, neither shall he be charged with any business: but he shall be free at home one year, and shall cheer up his wife which he hath taken." He may not have anything that has priority ahead of his wife. There are so many marriages today that are destroyed, because people are too busy with their businesses. Men do not render due benevolence to their wives because they are not, "...free at home one year, and shall cheer up his wife which he hath taken." The purpose of that whole year has to be devoted to the pleasure and joy of his wife. This is to establish that special relationship in the marriage bond to make it solid that it might deepen and grow. It is to build a harmony of thinking and oneness of purpose to endure the trials in the future. Jesus was pointing to this high commitment to loyalty in marriage when He said, "Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder." When one breaks that relationship by fornication, even then the Lord does not require that that relationship must be ended through pronouncement of divorce. There is room for forgiveness in the Law of God, but the guiltless party is permitted to publicly confirm that fornication has taken place by the bill of divorce. He is not commanded, but he is permitted. You are not commanded, but suffered, i.e., permitted to put away your wife for fornication. Now watch what we see here in MAT 19:7-9, "They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?" I want you to see how the Pharisees were warped in their thinking. "Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?" What did Jesus say? "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." He didn't say that they were commanded to put away their wives. He said that they were suffered or permitted. "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." Jesus was teaching the spirit of the law since creation. He was correcting the perversion of the scribes and Pharisees. The Lord Jesus was showing how their human reasoning, human law, and commandments of men were perverting the law of God. This is consistent with MAL 2:15-16. "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." The Lord hates putting away. The Lord does not put his seal on it, but he tolerates it. That is what the Lord Jesus was saying here, "because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you." He permitted it, but it was not in His favor. The Lord God of Israel saith that He hateth putting away. Do these teachings of Jesus contradict what God's Word teaches in 1CO 7:15? We read there, "But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace." Does this contradict what the Lord Jesus was teaching? What does this really mean? This is teaching us that if you have an unbelieving partner that departs from you, you are not in bondage anymore. You are no longer bound, because the unbeliever has broken the marriage bond in the eyes of the Lord. It says, "But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases." Let's look at this word bondage. ROM 7:2 says, "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." The word for bound in this verse is the same word in the Greek as the word for bondage in 1CO 7:15. The bond is broken. I want you to see the distinction here. The distinction is that Jesus is saying a man may not put away his wife. Paul is speaking of an unbelieving partner who has departed on their own! They have not been put away, but they have departed because they are an unbeliever. They have no part in Christ. Because of unbelief, the Word's sake and Christ's sake, they have departed. He says that they are no longer bound. That is the other teaching of the Scripture when a marriage bond is broken. In such cases when divorce has been legalized by Scripture, remarriage is automatically legal. When the marriage bond is broken in the eyes of the Lord, they are no longer bound. The marriage bond is gone, and they are free to remarry. This must be observed in context with what is taught in the previous verses. When we speak of what it says here in 1CO 7:15, we must also keep it in context with what it says in 1CO 7:2-3. They say, "Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband." When the unbelieving departs, this commitment is broken--they are no longer rendering due benevolence! Now we are back to what I explained earlier. When a man puts away his wife for any other cause, there is no self-control. The woman has agreed to live with him, love him, cherish him, and be with him all his days. She has now broken that marriage bond and left. He is in a situation where she is no longer rendering due benevolence. What happened? He is not able to control himself. Therefore the bond is broken, and he is free to remarry. When the unbelieving departs, this commitment is broken. Then we must understand what is said in 1CO 7:4-5. "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, [that's the important issue] 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," for lack of power to contain yourself sexually. Therefore, when she leaves and breaks that marriage bond, you are no longer bound. If a woman depart and be joined unto another man, her first husband may not take her back again. Even if the second husband dies or she is divorced from him, she may never return to her first husband. JER 3:1 says, "They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man's, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the LORD." The Lord is saying that if a man leaves his wife and she goes to another man, she cannot return to him again. "Shall not that land be greatly polluted?" In the way of adultery, that would be the most abominable thing. It is absolutely forbidden for a woman to join herself with a second husband and then comes back to her first husband. The Lord says that we have done this very thing to Him spiritually. We have left our first husband. We have been joined to the Lord, and now we go out and play the harlot. Can we return to him? Our first husband was the Lord. Our first husband was in the creation before the fall. We have left him and joined ourselves to the things of this world. Can we return to Him? He says, "Return again unto me saith the Lord." The Lord says that if we are guilty of spiritual adultery, He will yet take us back. The Lord knows our frame. He remembers we are dust. He knows all our spiritual adulteries. He knows everything in our hearts. Yet what does he say in ISA 53:6? "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." The Lord has taken the iniquity of His church and put it behind His own back. That heavenly bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ, has taken the iniquity of us all. He has lain it upon him. He says, "All we like sheep have gone astray." Yet He calls unto us to return. That's the blessedness of the gospel. Even though we have all gone astray and turned our backs upon the Lord in the way of spiritual adultery, even though we are all unclean in His eyes and have sinned against Him; he says to us in JER 3:13-14, "Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD." That is what the Lord wants us to do. He wants us to come and acknowledge our iniquity. The Lord wants to be our heavenly bridegroom. He wants us to come admit and confess our sins before him. He wants us to confess that we have scattered our way. We have played the harlot with many lovers, and we have had so many things come between us and the Lord. There are so many things that have made our hearts polluted. Yet He says, "Return unto me, saith the LORD." The Lord says, "Only acknowledge thine iniquity." He stands with open arms to beckon us all. He stands with open arms to receive us again. The only prerequisite is to acknowledge thine iniquities. He is not going to allow us to come and be His while we continue in sin. We must confess our sins and turn from them back to the Lord. Then he says, "Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD." Why? Look what it says in the next verse. "Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you...." There is the blessedness of it. That marriage union has not been broken. Even though we have transgressed against him and polluted that marriage bond, he is not commanded to put us away. He suffered a man to put away his wife, but did not command him to do so. This is what we see here. He did not allow His marriage union to be broken. The heavenly bridegroom has not annulled the marriage. The heavenly bridegroom still says, "Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion." There is such a blessed consolation if we see and understand how polluted we are before our heavenly bridegroom. He offers peace and pardon. He says, "Turn, O backsliding children." He still beckons unto us to return unto him. He says, "For I am married unto you." Think of the blessedness of that white linen. Think of how we have spotted it. We have marred that wedding garment, but God is so gracious to come with His Spirit into our heart and give us a heart to return unto him. So we might acknowledge that we have sinned and turn as backsliding children unto the Lord, so that we might not pollute that marriage union. Amen. |
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