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I want a divorce. I told her I want the food ready by 5 p.m. It's 5 10. It's not there. I'm done with this thing. That's what they're asking. Talk about a stupid question. Can I just get divorced for any reason? I wanted her to wear a pink dress and she wore a blue dress. I'm done. What a stupid question. That's the question they're asking Jesus though. Can a husband just divorce his wife for any reason that he wants? Right? He's not happy about something small. Just get a divorce.
Verse four and answered and said to them, have you not read? Do you not know the Old Testament scriptures that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female and said for this cause show a manly father and mother and shall cleave to his wife and they shall twain. They twain shall be one flesh. Wherefore they are no more twain but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together. Let not man put asunder.
Now that is referencing all the way back to Genesis chapter two. That's pretty early in the word of God. Right? It's going all the way back to when he was created by the way God created Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve. It should be pretty obvious. But in the world we live in today, it seems like it's not so obvious. Right? But that references all the way back to Genesis two and he's saying at the very beginning when he first instituted marriage. You know what God said?
He's like these two become one. What God has joined together. Let not man put asunder. But when I perform wedding ceremonies, I will say this phrase. You know, we believe God has brought these people together in the sight of God and inside of a friends and family in the church family.
Well, God brought together. Let not man put asunder. Let not the husband put it asunder. Let not the wife put it asunder. Let not the mother in law or the father in law put it asunder. We're your friends that give you stupid advice. No, when you get married, you stay married.
Well, God has joined together. Let not man put asunder.
Hey, what that would teach us is that before you get married, you better make sure you're marrying the right person because it's not something where you just have a do over.
Right? We're well, you know, I tried. It didn't work out. I'm just going to move on to a different job. It doesn't work that way with marriage.
You marry somebody, you stay married for better or worse and sickness or in health and poverty. So as in, well, why got married? They had a really nice job and now all of a sudden they lost their job. They don't have any money and poverty.
So as in, well, your spouse has a major illness because literally there's cases where a spouse, either husband or wife will get some major illness like cancer or become in a car crash, become handicapped.
And then their spouse divorces them a year later, right? But God says in sickness or in hell, it says till death do us part, right?
It says in verse number seven, they say unto him, why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement and to put her away?
Do you see the wording that they say here? It's kind of like, wow, you know, Moses made sure they got the 10 commandments, but wait, wait, don't forget the fact that we're allowed to get divorced.
Right? That's very important. Is that what Moses did in the Old Testament? Did Moses say, you know what, this is like one of the most important commandments of all. There has to be an opportunity for divorce.
Is that what you read in the Old Testament? Because what we just read and what we reference is God saying, hey, to become one, stay married and let them not be put asunder.
That's what God says, right? God is against divorce. Then it says in verse eight, he said, I thought of them, Moses, because of the hardness of your heart suffered you to put away your wives.
But from the beginning it was not so now this word suffer. What is the best way to say this in our modern language in English?
Allow. It's probably the simplest way to understand it. Moses allowed God allowed for a specific situation we're going to look at.
But from the beginning it was not so meaning God did not intend a lot of people to be getting divorced or getting annulments or whatever.
Now in America where divorce is legal, what you're going to see is over half of marriages end in divorce.
And statistics tell us 75% of husbands cheat on their wives. 60% of wives cheat on their husbands.
Well, it's not hard to see why there's going to be a divorce when you're committing adultery with somebody.
And you know what that says? Over half of adults in America, according to the Bible, deserve the death penalty.
Isn't that what we just looked at with adultery? And it's not just, you know, the United States.
Yeah, that's pretty wicked on the part of the United States, but I'm sure it's all over Europe.
If you have statistics, same sort of thing. And it's like the world we live in today, marriage is not that big of a commitment to people, is it?
It's like you get married and it's okay to just move on and marry somebody else. Not a big deal to people.
But before God, he said, let not man put us under. You're meant to stay married. Why?
Because God hates divorce. And in every single marriage, there are going to be times as the husband or as the wife where you're just like, man, you're not happy.
Things aren't going well. Because look, the reality is we're all sinners. And when two sinners around each other 24 seven, you're going to have problems.
It's just the way it is. I mean, look, if there was anybody in this room you hung out with 24 seven, you would end up getting so mad and frustrated with them eventually.
Why? Because they're not always walking in the new man and neither are you. Right.
That's reality. But it does not change the fact God says he hates putting away. He hates divorce.
It was not so from the beginning because at the beginning when he had the first man and the first woman, what did he say?
He's like, leave father and mother and cleave on to your wife, leave on to your spouse and you become one flesh support.
Number one, God is against divorce. I think that's pretty simple in the word of God. It's not very confusing.
It's pretty clear. Why? Number two, there is one exception to divorce when it comes to marriage.
One situation where God says, you know what? A divorce is allowed only one situation.
So that's what it says in Matthew 19 verse nine.
And I say unto you, whosoever shall put away his wife excepted be for fornication and shall marry another committed adultery and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.
Now, when people see this word fornication, they will say for sexual sin.
Doesn't say sexual sin or they'll say, well, this applies to adultery.
Also, if it applies to adultery, also, why would he use the word adultery in the same verse?
Fornication and adultery are different. He says, except to be for fornication.
You say, what's the definition of fornication? What's the definition of adultery?
As I said, when we preached through Matthew five, if two people are married and then they end up coming together away from their spouse,
it's adultery. If one is married and the other isn't, and they come together, it's adultery.
If the other ones married, the other ones not, they come together, it's adultery.
If neither one are married, it's fornication.
And any any dictionary you look at is going to say the same thing.
That is what fornication is.
Before you actually come together as husband and wife, you're physically involved with someone.
That is fornication. This is consistent throughout the entire word of God.
The word fornication is used many times. The word adultery is used many times.
Adultery is after you are married. Fornication is before you're married.
That's what the Bible teaches.
OK, so he says the grounds for divorce is fornication.
He does not say adultery. What does that mean?
It means if you're married and your spouse commits adultery, you are not allowed biblically to get divorced.
Because it says except to be for fornication, not adultery.
For better or worse.
Those are not just empty words, for better or worse.
I'm not advocating or trying to condone adultery.
I'm pretty sure I just explained a couple weeks ago it deserves the death penalty,
which is also something Baptist churches aren't going to say.
But what I'm saying is that if your spouse commits adultery,
you are not allowed to then get divorced or put them away, according to the word of God.
You are meant to stay married.
Now the government is meant to put that as the death penalty,
and the government doesn't do that, but that is reality.
And so when you get married, you're meant to stay married.
OK, now go to Matthew chapter one.
Matthew chapter one.
She said, what exactly would fornication be then?
Like, how would that actually work in real life?
We're going to look at an example in Matthew chapter one.
But here's the idea.
You get married to someone with the belief that they are pure.
They've never been with someone, and that's very important to you.
And then when you actually end up getting married,
you find out that, wait a minute, they're not pure.
Right?
It turns out that they have not waited until marriage.
This is obviously a very unique situation.
Let's say you legally get married,
and then your spouse's ex-boyfriend shows up at the wedding,
and it's like, I slept with your wife a couple years ago.
That's how unique and strange of a situation it would be.
It's like, well, wait a minute, I thought you were pure.
That doesn't happen in most marriages.
This is a very unique situation.
This is a very, very, very unique situation
where before you're actually with your spouse,
you find out, wait a minute, they weren't pure,
and I thought they were, and we agreed to that,
and it was important to me.
Why would this exist in real life?
Because in some cultures, you legally get married,
but you don't actually yet start living with them and come together.
Now, this is not something that really exists here in the Philippines
because you get married and then you're together immediately.
It doesn't really exist in the U.S.
because you get married and you come together.
Every situation I've ever known,
you immediately start living with your spouse.
But with Joseph and Mary, it did apply
because they legally got married,
and yet they were not yet together.
And in some cultures around the world, that exists.
And then, of course, you know, we're going to see here
that Mary ends up being with child,
and of course, Joseph's like, well, wait a minute,
I thought she was a godly, pure woman.
This is what she told me, and it turns out she's not,
and then that's what she told me.
She's not, and then that's when he's thinking about getting a divorce.
That's the situation we're looking at.
Matthew 1, verse 18.
So when it comes to marriage,
there's basically two aspects to marriage.
There's the legality of marriage,
where depending on the country you live in, it could be different.
You sign, you make an agreement,
you have a ceremony, you have witnesses,
and it's like, yeah, legally, we're together,
via whatever taxes or anything you want to look at,
we are legally married now.
But the second aspect is when you actually come together.
What the Bible's stating is,
if you legally get married and you're not yet come together,
that is the ground where you could get a divorce
if it turns out your spouse had committed fornication
before you got married and you were not aware of it, okay,
before you actually came together, right?
Verse 19.
So Joseph doesn't want to embarrass this woman.
He just wants to quietly, you know, put her away,
get divorced because Joseph was pure
and he wanted his wife to be pure.
Now that being said, you know, a lot of times in marriage,
both people are not pure
and it's not that big of a deal to people that get married.
And obviously that is up to you,
but to some people it's a big deal that you've never been with someone.
So if they lied about it or you got married under false pretenses,
then you would have the grounds to get a divorce
before you actually come together.
You say why?
Because when a husband and wife come together,
there's this union that takes place
and you're just completely unified inside of your mind.
It's like a bond that exists between you.
It's not meant to be something that you have
with every single person under the sun.
It's meant to be with a person that you get married to.
Verse number 20,
But while he thought on these things, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying,
Joseph, thou son of David,
fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife,
for that which is conceived in hers of the Holy Ghost.
And she shall bring forth a son,
and thou shalt call his name Jesus,
for he shall save his people from their sins.
Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled,
which was spoken of the Lord by the prophets, saying,
Behold, a virgin shall be a child and shall bring forth a son,
and they shall call his name Immanuel,
which being interpreted as God with us.
Then Joseph, being raised from sleep,
did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him,
and took unto him his wife,
and knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son,
and he called his name Jesus.
So he did not know her or come together with her
until after Jesus was born, the Bible says.
Now, look, it should be obvious to us
because we're not Catholics, but you know what?
After they got married,
Mary did not stay a perpetual virgin after Jesus was born
because that verse clearly says,
and knew her not until.
And what that means is he had a normal marriage with Mary
and Mary had a normal marriage with her husband, Joseph,
after Jesus was born.
And, you know, it should be obvious
when Jesus had many brothers, four brothers,
and at least three sisters, right?
So you say, well, well, you know what?
In the original language, it was actually the word cousin,
and it just translates it as, you know, sister or brother.
I mean, that is insane.
That's ridiculous.
But here in Matthew 1, it's very clear
that they did come together after Jesus was born,
had a normal marriage.
You know what Catholics say with Joseph?
That if you're going through a lot of trials
and not getting what you want,
pray to Joseph because he knows how it feels.
He went through his whole life
and his wife wouldn't physically be with him.
What kind of a weird and sordid teaching is that
from the Catholic church?
Pray to Joseph.
It's like, you don't get the job you want,
hey, pray to Joseph.
He knows what it's like not to get what he wants.
I mean, literally, you can go online
and it's like, this is what the Catholic church does.
If you're struggling with this, pray onto this, saints.
Explain to me what the difference is
between saying saint or God in the Catholic church.
It's the same thing.
They're praying to those saints like they're gods
and it's wicked and it's wrong.
But the Bible's very clear here in Matthew 1
that he did have a normal marriage
after Jesus was born with his spouse, okay?
Besides the fact, and go to Deuteronomy 24,
the Catholic church says in some weird way
that a husband and wife being together
is actually impure or wrong.
Now, if that's the case,
then why is it that God instituted marriage
and that's the means in which children are born?
That was God's plan.
That's what the Catholic church teaches.
And so according to the Catholic church,
I guess it's okay for priests not to get married
and just molest little boys,
but God forbid a husband and a wife
have a normal marriage, right?
But the Bible says very, very clear
God is against divorce.
And the only exception to this
is fornication that takes place
before they come together as husband and wife.
This is not that complicating the word of God, is it?
And here's the thing.
You might say, wow, this is tough preaching.
It might hurt people's feelings.
But if people had this preaching,
they wouldn't make these mistakes.
I want to help the youth in this church.
I mean, my kids are not at that point,
but I want my sons and my daughter to realize this.
So when they get older,
they realize when they're getting married,
hey, it's for better or worse.
And sickness or in hell,
and poverty so is in wealth,
till death do us part and you make it work.
You don't run home to mom or dad
when your marriage is struggling.
You stick with it and make it work.
That is what the Bible teaches.
I'll tell you what.
You know what?
These days will creep up with you as a parent.
My son Zeph just asked me the other day.
He's like, dad, how am I supposed to meet a wife?
I'm just thinking, you're five years old.
I didn't think I had to worry about that
for another like 15 years.
And then I was like, don't worry about it.
It's not a big deal.
It's like, you don't have to worry.
He's like, but you know,
because I guess from my preaching,
I said, I don't know whatever made him ask the question.
I was like, in church.
Okay.
In 15 years in church, you can ask me that.
Meet them in church.
Okay.
But anyways, Deuteronomy 24,
Deuteronomy chapter 24, verse one.
When a man hath taken a wife and married her
and it come to pass that she find no favor 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 is the reference where Moses speaks about divorce.
And what does it say?
A guy marries a woman.
He finds out she's unclean,
which is a symbolic way to say she's been with somebody else.
And then let him give her a writing of divorcement
before they're actually together as husband and wife.
Now, I don't know about here in the Philippines,
but in the US,
the common thing that people do before marriage
is they have their partner take an STD test.
Now, my wife and I didn't do that
because we didn't have to worry about that.
But that is what most people do before they get married
because they want to make sure
they don't care if their spouse is pure.
They want to make sure they don't have an STD.
If they do have an STD,
okay, I don't want to marry you, okay?
And I don't think that's exactly what it's saying here
in verse number one,
but the idea is that you would get married
and then all of a sudden you find out,
wait a minute, my spouse wasn't pure.
I don't want to get married to them anymore, right?
Before you actually come together.
So you legally get married
and then you never come together.
It's like this is the final act
that makes you permanently bound together.
So you can still separate the two together
but you can still separate after you legally got married
but haven't been together.
I hope that makes sense.
I mean, it's hard for us to understand
because the way our culture works is different.
You legally get married
and then you immediately live with your spouse
in 90 whatever percent of situations,
but it's not always like that.
And so in some situations you can legally get married
but not actually come together yet
and you would still have the grounds biblically for divorce.
Of course in the Philippines
you don't have the grounds biblically
or I mean by the government for divorce
but biblically speaking
God would not be against you getting a divorce
if you got married
and you had not come together
and you found out your spouse was unclean.
They had not been pure.
Verse two,
and when she is departed out of his house
she may go and be another man's wife.
So you get married to someone
and then before you come together you get divorced
because you find out they're not pure.
Guess what?
Both of you can get married to somebody else
because you have not yet come together
as husband and wife
and so you can both get remarried to somebody else
if you would choose.
That's what the Bible teaches
because you had not come together yet.
That's what the Bible says.
Verse three,
and if the latter husband hate her
and write her a bill of divorcement
and giveth it in her hand
and sent her throughout of his house
or if the latter husband die
which took her to be his wife
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
and thou shalt not cause the land to sin
which the Lord thy God giveth thee for inheritance.
Now the woman that's being used as an example here
is not exactly the most flattering thing.
So a guy's going to get married to her
and his wife lied
and she's been with somebody else
so he divorces her.
She gets married to somebody else
and then later on the first husband says
actually I want to get married to her now.
It's like no, you can never get married to her.
Ever.
Now that might seem like a strange situation
but isn't this what celebrities do?
Wasn't it like a couple years ago
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez are back together?
It's like, you know, 25 years ago
that was like the big Hollywood romance
and now they're back together
you know, 20, 25 years later or whatever.
Well, God says that's wrong.
God says you can never get remarried to that person.
It's like you made the decision.
It's like, no, you cannot be with them.
And so here's the thing.
You could reconcile to them
but once they're with somebody else
you can never go back to that person
the Bible says
if you've legally gotten a divorce
now this is not the same thing as adultery
because if you're married to someone
and they commit adultery
you can reconcile that marriage
because you're still bound by them by law.
Okay.
But what the Bible is saying is
if you divorce them
or get an annulment
and they marry somebody else
you can never marry that person again
or go back to them.
It's too late according to the word of God.
Now go to Jeremiah chapter 3
Jeremiah 3
Honestly this is not that confusing in the Bible.
I mean the situation is a very unique situation
that we only see with Joseph and Mary
seeming to exist
which actually it wasn't true with that situation either.
This is an extremely, extremely rare situation.
The Pharisees
can you, can you put away your wife for every cause?
I said synagogue
and you made gula-lo
it's over.
No.
It's like you know I told her
you know that you know whatever
you know to wear a pink dress
and she wore a yellow dress
it's done.
It's over.
Right.
No.
Now those are very big exaggerations I hope.
I hope you wouldn't consider divorcing your spouse
because and I mentioned synagogue
because that's very near and dear to my heart.
I love synagogue.
But it's like
in marriage you have problems.
You say well what if
you get in a big fight with your spouse
and they don't talk to you for a couple days
and they're mad.
Hey you know what?
That's part of marriage.
In marriage you have fights.
You have problems.
You make it work.
You stick with it.
And the reality is
you ought to think more about your kids
than your own self
because honestly
you know what a child needs in this world?
They need a mom and a dad with them.
Right.
That's what they need.
I mean how are kids gonna make it
in the difficult world that we live in?
They need a mom and a dad.
And obviously I understand
this is not always a situation for everybody
and this is why when it comes to this topic
it's a harder sermon to preach
because I feel compassion for people
that are in these situations.
I don't feel that much compassion
for the sows I talked about last week
but I feel compassion for people
that are in this situation
because of the fact
you know if your spouse leaves you
it's like you're not able to get remarried
the Bible says.
And it's like honestly
kids need a mom and a dad in the home
to raise them.
Right.
This is what the Bible teaches.
Now Jeremiah 3
what are the arguments justifying divorce?
Because make no mistake about it
you will not hear what I just preached
in other Baptist churches.
Right.
You will not hear that.
In other Baptist churches
the pastors commit adultery
and they're still pastoring.
It blows my mind.
And it's like no I'm not just making up
a fake situation.
One of the most famous Baptist pastors
here in the Philippines
that's his situation.
Right.
Committed adultery
had a mini church split.
I mean our church split is
hey we got a new ministry in Laguna
it's like some go to Laguna
some to passing
their church split
well the pastor commits adultery
should we stick with it or not?
I mean that's madness.
Right.
You're not going to hear a pastor
like that preach against divorce.
You're not going to hear him preach these things.
Why?
Because he's guilty.
Right.
And a lot of people are too worried
about what their members think
but my job is not to be the best friend
of everybody in this room.
My job is to preach the word of God
with compassion but without apology.
Right.
You say why?
Because when people hear the truth
you know what takes place?
Some will follow it and some will not.
Anyone I owe it to everybody in this room
to give you a chance to follow
what the word of God says.
And also the next generation
because we have a lot of kids
that are church
and I want the next generation
of people here at Verity Baptist Church
to grow up and love God
and go soul winning
and read the Bible
and then wait until they're married
and marry somebody else that loves God
we owe it to the kids
to preach the word of God here.
Because as adults we're often guilty
so we get really offended at things
but as kids you know what
kids are like a blank slate.
You can preach these things to them
before they even have thoughts of this stuff.
No child at a very young age
is thinking about you know
like they have no interest in someone
of the opposite gender
at a very young age
but they can learn the word of God
at a very young age
and look make no mistake about it
kids understand more than we often realize.
I'm amazed at the questions
my sons have asked me
and I'm just like
I didn't even know he was paying attention
during the sermon
and then he'll ask questions
and he clearly knows what the Bible says
just from a sermon I preached.
But let's look at the arguments
they use to justify divorce.
Jeremiah chapter 3
this is one of their big arguments
and it says here in verse 1
they say if a man put away his wife
and she go from him
and become another man's
shall I 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 sayeth the Lord.
Now here's what you need to understand
God is using symbolism
and he's using like a parable
or a story as like an example
and he's using a literal marriage
to prove a point
when you're forming your doctrines
on what you believe
do you know what you do?
You go to clear passages that say
for example the Lord God of Israel sayeth
that he hated putting away
it's pretty clear
as opposed to this story
that I'm going to look at for these
9 verses and explain
it's like this is not as clear
and you know sometimes in parables and stories
you might make the wrong application
so for example
people will look at the prodigal son
and they'll say
well the prodigal son lost his salvation
he had to repent and come back to God
and then I look at that same story
and say I don't really apply it to salvation
I apply it about getting right to God
but he was still his son you idiot
he was still his son
when he was backslidden and gone from his dad
biologically that doesn't change
so if you want to apply it to salvation
you got a wrong application anyway
that is not about being saved
it's about getting right with God
here's the thing about this
you can easily make the wrong applications
with parables and stories
what we do is go to clear verses
so for a salvation
do you go to the prodigal son
to prove your point
no you go to John 3 16
whosoever believeth
that is pretty clear
you go to Acts 16
what must I do to be saved
and they said believe
you go to clear places that tell us
here in Jeremiah 3 this is not clear
he's using this example
he's using this story
and he's saying
if there's a husband and a wife
and because symbolically
we are married to God
and here in Jeremiah 3 specifically
it's talking about the nation of Israel
and some of the nation of Israel
is going to talk about the nation of Judah
so he's proven to point to the nation of Judah
through the example of the nation of Israel
because he had the northern kingdom of Israel
the southern kingdom of Judah
they separated with Jeroboam and Rehoboam
ten tribes went north
two tribes Judah and Benjamin went south
so the word Jew comes from the southern kingdom of Judah
Judah, Jew, right?
makes sense, right?
he's using this example
because of those two kingdoms
which one was more wicked?
Israel
no question about it
the southern kingdom of Judah
stayed better for a longer period of time
in fact the Jews and the Israelites
they became very much enemies
it's like people don't understand this today
because they used the word Jew just generically
to refer to any of the 12 tribes
a Jew is someone that was part of the southern kingdom of Judah
but he's proven this point to the northern kingdom
or to the southern kingdom of Judah
basically Israel rebelled against me
they spiritually committed adultery on me
and they kept leaving me
but yet I said return Israel
I'll give you a chance, right?
come back to me, okay?
now remember in Malachi what it said is
did not he make one
and in the Old Testament
God's original intent was to use one nation
not two
just as in marriage
you're meant to be married to one person
not multiple
Mr. Muslims and Mormons
you're married to one person
and eventually he intended one
but then what happened
well Israel and Judah separated
and Israel became wicked
and eventually what takes place we're going to see here
is God is done with Israel
notice what it says in verse number two
lift up thine eyes unto the high places
and see where thou hast not been lying with
in the ways hast thou set for them
as the Arabian in the wilderness
with thy whoredoms and with thy wickedness
therefore the showers have been withhold
and there hath been no latter rain
and thou hast a hoarse forehead
thou refusest to be ashamed
wilt thou not from this time cry unto me
my father thou art the guide of my youth
we reserve his anger forever
will he keep it to the end
behold thou hast spoken and done evil things as thou couldest
the Lord said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king
hast thou seen that which backsiding Israel hath done
she has gone up upon every high mountain
and under every green tree
and there hath played the harlot
for she hath done all these things
turn now unto me
but she return not
and her treacherous sister Judah saw it
so Israel rebels against God
commits spiritual adultery
is leaving God worshipping false idols
and he's saying return return
and Israel doesn't return
and I saw when for all the causes
whereby backsiding Israel committed adultery
I had put her away
I had divorced Israel
and given her a bill of divorce
yet her treacherous sister Judah failed
and she feared not
but went and played the harlot also
yeah you know it's true
God divorced Israel
what does that have to do with the marriage
between a man and a woman
because in clear verses in a marriage
between a man and a woman
God hates putting away
and the only grounds for divorce
is fornication that takes place before you're married
this is a nation
it's not the same thing
you say well I don't get the difference
let me explain you the difference
it was not for better or worse
it was called you better act appropriate
and obey my commandments
or you're gone
that's what he clearly said
to the nation of Israel
it wasn't the same thing as a marriage
where it's like for better or worse
no matter what happens we stay married
no with the nation of Israel
what he said was these are the conditions
but you know here's what's crazy about this
because what the Bible shows you is
God does not justify divorce
but he divorces Israel
and yet the average Baptist Church
they justify divorce
but God would never divorce Israel
it's like it's the exact opposite
of what the word of God teaches
yeah you know what God's done with Israel
isn't that what we see in Jeremiah chapter 3
I mean that's all throughout the Old Testament
and what is God doing
I mean we preach through Hosea
what is the whole book of Hosea about
hey don't be like Israel Judah
and God said you know what
I'm gonna have the same thing happen to you
well I mean did Judah keep serving God
no they killed the Lord Jesus Christ
so guess what
God divorced Judah also
and now what does he do
he uses the local New Testament church
to evangelize the world
okay and this is not me being
you know you know
man my mind's blank
pastor Stuckey's an anti-Semite
look honestly I don't care
what happens in Israel and Palestine
because Israel's wicked and so is Palestine
and Jews are wicked and so are Muslims
I hate every false way
I also hate the religion of Hinduism and Buddhism
and I don't need to rank them
they're all wicked and they're all evil
last I checked he that believeth not the Son
shall not see light
the Bible does not say just believing in
any kind of God gets you to heaven
Jesus said I am the way
the truth and the life
no man cometh unto the Father but by me
that does not change
for a specific group of people
that's ridiculous
God says clearly here yeah I divorce Israel
but that does not give you a justification
to divorce your spouse
because we already looked at what the Bible says about that
this is a parable or a story
that you're looking at
you can't take that to form your doctrine
okay turn to 1st Corinthians 7
we'll close up
1st Corinthians chapter 7
and I'm going to read these verses in 1st Corinthians 7
and then I'm going to answer kind of questions
that you might have in your head
because look sometimes people ask sincere
and honest questions that they're not sure
what the answer is
oftentimes when you look in the Bible
people ask Jesus questions like
can you get a divorce for any reason
it's like quit asking Bobo questions
you just make yourself look like an idiot
I mean what if there was a woman
that was married to a man
and the man dies then she marries the brother
and he dies she marries the brother
he dies she marries the brother
she married all these guys
like yeah she's a serial killer my friend
don't ask stupid questions
right
but there are honest and sincere questions
people have about this right
and I want to answer those after I read you
1st Corinthians chapter 7 verse 10
and under the married I command
yet not I but the Lord
let not the wife depart from her husband
so once again don't leave your spouse
but and if she depart
don't remain unmarried
or be reconciled to her husband
and let not the husband put away his wife
so the Bible says don't leave your spouse
but if you do
don't marry somebody else
this is not giving grounds
to leave your spouse
it's saying hey I don't even want you
to leave your spouse but if you do
make sure you don't marry somebody else
and say why because
the judgment is going to be worse upon you
because now you're committing adultery
according to the word of God
and if you do
make sure you stay unmarried
right that's exactly what it's saying
verse 12 but to the rest speak I not the Lord
if any brother hath a wife that believeth not
and she be pleased to dwell with him
let him not put her away
and the woman hath a husband that believeth not
and if he be pleased to dwell with her
let her not leave him
for the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife
and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband
else were your children unclean
but now are they holy
so look if you get married to someone that's unsaved
after you're married
you stay with the person you're married to
even though your spouse is not married
that's clearly what the Bible says here
there are so many situations
I know this existing in real life
and here's the thing I know many situations
where the spouse ends up getting saved
right you know there's a family
in my early days of Christianity
they really helped me grow as a Christian
they love God and you know when the husband
and wife first got married like way way way
in the past because their kids were my age
it's like they were in that situation
one was married and one was not
and yet you know what the spouse ended up
getting saved and they love God
and their kids love God and are serving God
there's not an ideal situation
obviously you want your spouse to be saved
and to believe similar things to you
but if you're married to an unsaved person
it is not a godly thing to divorce them
to marry somebody that's saved
or to get an annulment
and marry someone that's saved
no you stay married to them
that's what the Bible says
verse 15 but if the unbelieving depart
your sister is not under bondage in such cases
but God hath called us to peace
now what is it saying in verse 15
let's say for example you're married to someone
and you're trying to get it to work
and your spouse leaves you
and you want to stay married
you want to reconcile and they leave
and look no husband or no wife
does a perfect job in marriage
none of us do
what the Bible is saying is
you don't have to beat yourself up
your entire life or feel guilt for decades
because your spouse left you
and you were trying to make it work
yeah you know of course
every single person could have been
a better husband or better wife
that doesn't justify what the other person did
what God's saying is
and what Paul's saying what God is saying is
you don't have to the rest of your life
carry this guilt because
man you know what I'm a failure
and I can't do anything for God
no it's like you know what they left you
you tried to make it work it didn't work
it's not your fault
but you know all of us
all the men here can be better husbands
all the wives can be better wives
but you know what if you're trying to make your marriage work
and you make mistakes and you get in fights
but you try to reconcile and they leave you
and they refuse it's not your fault
that's what he's saying in verse 15
he's showing compassion and honestly
I have compassion on people that are in that situation
I know of situations of people that are new IFB people
they got married
and then within the first couple years
their spouse says I never believed this
they wanted to marry me
and they got divorced within a couple years
and it's like I mean I don't know
the whole details in those situations
but it's like does that mean
that person can get remarried
no they can't get remarried
because the Bible is very clear
that you can't and that's why I have compassion
because it's a difficult situation
it'll be very difficult as a young person
because there's a natural desire that you have
toward marriage to basically never get married
but that is what the Bible says
but you don't have to beat yourself up
over things that happened a long time ago
you're trying to serve God
you tried to make it work
it's not your fault
that's what he's saying
it's like let them depart
you tried to get it to work
it wouldn't work they refused
they moved on it's not your fault
is what he's basically saying
don't beat yourself up your entire life
it's very easy for us to carry guilt
for a long time
like you think of the story of Joseph and his brothers
they still don't think they've been forgiven
they've got guilt for decades and decades and decades
and God's saying hey you know what
you don't have to carry that guilt your whole life
everybody makes mistakes
things happen you just move on
you tried your best
it's kind of something similar
let's say you try to give the gospel to a family member
and they reject you
you don't have to carry guilt
I mean look you tried
sometimes you can't do anything about it
you're not under bondage
where basically your entire life
it's like yeah now you are bonded by marriage
till death do us part
and that doesn't change
but you don't have to carry that guilt for decades with you
then it says verse number 16
for what knowest thou O wife
whether thou shalt save thy husband
or how knowest thou O man
whether thou shalt save thy wife
you got to stay married to someone
who's an unbeliever wife
you might get them saved
look you may agree with my explanation on these
you may not
but I just want to address the questions
that we think inside of our heads
right let's say for example
you marry someone and it turns out
they're like an evil person
they're a reprobate
they're a pedophile
right they're a serial killer
something crazy
you just stay married to that person
you know what's the answer
well the Bible says you stay married
to an unbeliever because you might get them saved
get away from that home
and get your kids out
and you might agree or disagree
I'm just saying the advice I would give
and I would have no hesitations
it's like get your kids out of there
if you find out your spouse is a pedophile
I'm not justifying
oh you know my husband did something wrong
or my wife did something wrong
no no no but I'm saying you actually find out
your spouse is a reprobate
they can't get saved
who knows if you might get them saved
but if they're a reprobate
you pray every night you don't get killed by them
I mean let's use some common sense
I mean that's my opinion
because they can't be saved at that point
another question people would ask
what if your spouse is like
literally beating you to the point of death
and you are scared for your safety
look I would never justify divorce
but I would also say in that situation
I would recommend leaving for your safety
not ever getting married to somebody else though
now you might agree or disagree
but I mean and I'm not saying you get into a fight
and they yell at you but literally
it's like you've got these massive bruises
they try to choke you you're almost dead
you know at that point yeah
I would literally if I had somebody coming
that's the advice I'd say
hey I would just leave them
and just you know what for your own safety
now you might agree with that
or disagree but
and if they depart don't marry somebody else
is what the Bible says
there could be in my opinion
extreme and rare situations
where yeah you know what
for your own safety get out of there
and look if you want to try to take my words
and justify every situation and leave your spouse
well that's your own wickedness
because that's not what I'm saying
but I'm saying if you're literally worried
every single night I'm going to be killed
because they're choking me
yeah you know what that's a little bit of a unique situation
right so my opinion
yeah you know what I would recommend to someone
just leave them for your own safety
right or if you find out your spouse
is a reprobate I would say yeah get away from that
so let me give you an example of this
there's this guy who used to be so called
a new IFP pastor Tyler Doka
who knows Tyler Doka?
probably a lot of people
another name for him is Jesus Christ according to him
he decided he's Jesus
so he was a new IFP pastor
you know and then all of a sudden he determined
you know he started believing all these weird things
and then all of a sudden one day he decided
he's Jesus Christ
from the book of John
but not Jesus from the book of Matthew Mark and Luke
you know look I didn't waste my time watching
like all of his videos
I don't know what the difference is
between Jesus and Matthew Mark Luke and John
because to me it's the same Jesus
I mean Jesus feeds the 5,000 men
in all four of the Gospels
so like how do you have a different Jesus
I don't get that right
but this guy decided he's Jesus
and somebody asked him on his YouTube videos
it's like well what does your wife think about this
and your child and he said my wife left me
because she says I'm insane
and she's afraid I'm going to kill her
leave him
look if tomorrow your spouse says
I am the appointed you know whatever
it's like leave them
I am Jesus Christ
leave them
that's what I would say you say why
because they're likely to end up killing you
many people that declare themselves to be Jesus
end up killing a lot of people
right so is that a rare situation
yeah it's a rare situation
I mean there are going to be a lot of false Christs
during the end days but that's and that's my opinion
I don't think every single like-minded pastor
would say the same thing and that's fine
I'm just saying my opinion on this
but that doesn't mean that you can get remarried
make sure you do it right the first time
and sometimes you know let's say you get
fooled into marriage or doesn't go the way you think
it's like you know what you still follow
what the Bible says verse 39
the wife is bound by the law
as long as her husband liveth
but if her husband be dead she's at liberty
to whom she will only in the Lord
so here's the thing you get married
and it doesn't work out
you are stuck together until
they pass away
because it's till death do us part
and at that point
you can get married to somebody else the Bible says
this is what the Word of God says
now I said this is a difficult thing
because honestly I have had several conversations
with people at our churches where I had to sit down
and show them what the Bible said
and they didn't even know what the Bible said about this
and some people ended up leaving church
and some people ended up staying at church
and praise the Lord for that
and some people that have left over this
because I had to talk to them about this
and they listened to all of my sermons
and they're nice people
and whether I should or not I feel compassion for them
because I understand it's a difficult situation
and what the advice I would give to people
in this situation the Bible says that
whosoever shall lose his life you know
here on earth shall gain it
and shall gain so much more at the end
and I know it's very difficult
but you know what God is gonna bless you
and you reward you for doing what's right
especially as you're an example to your children
and you're able to serve God
and I understand it's very difficult
for people that are in that situation
but I have compassion
you know I hope you realize that
whether you do or not
but you know what the thing is
it doesn't matter that divorce is illegal
here in the Philippines
and annulment is basically impossible
which is basically what divorce is
because it's so expensive
it doesn't change what the word of God says
and the Bible is just very very clear
you get married you stay married to that person
and here's the thing
there are certain sins
that will get you removed from the local church
and I get it
we're the only Baptist church in the Philippines
that preaches this just about
but verity means truth
and I'm not mad at people
that have had you know marriages
and things didn't work out or whatever
as I said I feel compassion
but you know what at this church
we're gonna preach what the word of God says
is what it says in Matthew chapter 5
and look God hates divorce
let's close in word of prayer
Heavenly Father
thank you for allowing us to be here today
and just getting to see the word of God in this topic
and ask you to help all of us in this situation
help us understand this
help us to teach and train our kids
to make the right choices in marriage
and help them all find a godly person
someone that genuinely loves you
and wants to serve you
help all the kids grow up and love you
and serve you and go soul winning
and bless their lives
people that are doing what's right
and making the right decisions
and I'll just ask you to help those
that are no longer at our churches
that know what the Bible says
God help them to do the difficult thing
and bless their lives
as a result of making the right choice
we pray this in Jesus name
Amen
I hear the Savior say
Thy strength indeed is long
Child of weakness, watch and pray
Find in me Thy holy call
Jesus, clean and full
Woe to Thee, my Lord
Sing of the Lord
Jesus, clean and full
Woe to Thee, my Lord
I hear the Savior say
Thy strength indeed is long
Child of weakness, watch and pray
Find in me Thy holy call
Jesus, clean and full
Woe to Thee, my Lord
Sing of the Lord
Jesus, clean and full
Woe to Thee, my Lord
I hear the Savior say
Thy strength indeed is long
Child of weakness, watch and pray
Find in me Thy holy call
Jesus, clean and full
Heaven's angels ever sparked
Heaven's meadow, the heart of stone
Jesus, clean and full
Woe to Thee, my Lord
Sin and lack, but crimson stain
Be washed in fire and stone
For the things that I have done
I have done
For nothing good have I
Whereby Thy grace to be
I'll wash my garments white
In the blood of the risen
Jesus, clean and full
Woe to Thee, my Lord
Sin and lack, but crimson stain
He washed it white as snow on last
And when, before the cold
I stand in Him complete
Jesus died my soul to see
My lips shall still repeat
Jesus, clean and full
Woe to Thee, my Lord
Sin and lack, but crimson stain
He washed it white as snow
Jesus, clean and full
Woe to Thee, my Lord
Sin and lack, but crimson stain
He washed it white as snow on last
And when, before the cold
I stand in Him complete
Jesus, clean and full
Woe to Thee, my Lord
Sin and lack, but crimson stain
He washed it white as snow on last
And when, before the cold
I stand in Him complete
Jesus, clean and full
Woe to Thee, my Lord