(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

But if we actually look at what the Mosaic law teaches, it actually fits together perfectly with what Jesus said, which makes sense because Jesus, just a few verses before he taught that in Matthew 5, said, Think not that I am come to destroy the law of the prophets. I came not to destroy but to fulfill. And he said, Whosoever shall break one of these least commandments and shall teach men so, the same shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. So it wouldn't make sense for Jesus just to teach something completely different than what Moses taught. Basically he's reiterating what Moses taught and strengthening it and really tightening it up for people to understand that, you know, hey, don't divorce your wife. And if you do, for any reason other than fornication, not adultery, fornication, then you're committing adultery. You say, well Pastor Anderson, how could a person divorce their wife because of fornication? You know, they're married, so it would be adultery, it wouldn't be fornication. Let's just change that. That's what the editors of the NIV say. We don't understand it, we're dumb, so let's just change it. No, because actually if you go back and read it, it is about fornication that took place before they're married. Okay, because let's read it. Don't take my word for it. But it says in verse 13 of chapter 22 of Deuteronomy, it says, If a man take a wife and go in under her and hate her and give occasions of speech against her and bring up an evil name upon I took this woman and when I came to her I found her not a maid. Now maid is a word there for virgin. That's an old word that was used for virgin. So what he's saying here is that a person marries a wife who was put forth unto them as being a virgin. This isn't somebody who knew that his wife wasn't a virgin and that he was marrying someone who wasn't a virgin. This is a man marrying a woman who he thinks is a virgin, who he's been told by the father of the bride that his daughter is a virgin. And he is very angry and upset and even hateful of the fact that he marries her and finds that she's not a maid. Now let's keep reading. It says he bring up an evil name upon her and say I took this woman and when I came to her, meaning when he went to consummate the marriage, he found her not to be 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 of the gate and the damsel's father shall say unto the elders I gave my daughter unto this man to wife and he hated 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 the city shall take that man and chastise him and they shall immerse him in a 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, watch this, he may not put her away all his days. And then look what it says after that, but if this thing be true and the tokens of virginity be not found for the damsel then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father's house and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die because she hath wrought folly in Israel to play the whore in her father's house so shalt thou put away evil from among you. So in the Mosaic law God does not put the death penalty on people just committing fornication but he does place the death penalty if a woman is basically living in her father's house and dad is basically vouching for her virginity to a man and she's being given in marriage to a man to marry her and it turns out that she has secretly gone out and committed fornication when she was supposed to be keeping herself under that man and that's what she's basically saying and that's what her dad believes. So because of that it says here that she would be stoned with stone. You say well this is all just really harsh, yeah I know you probably think God's really mean maybe you should go find some other religion that has a cotton candy rainbow unicorn god up in heaven but you know what the God of the Bible is the true God, he's the God of the universe and the Lord Jesus Christ is the only savior and you know what these biblical truths ought to shape our thinking and we ought to think to ourselves hey you know what fornication is bad, adultery is bad, you know somebody lying and saying you know that they're virgin and their dad think you know I mean think about parents raise their kids they raise their daughters and take care of them and that they would deceive their father and deceive their mother and deceive their future husband and do this you know it's sin, it's wrong, it's wicked and so that's what we see in this passage and whether you agree with it or not you're wrong, the Bible's right so get over it. So when we read this passage it helps us to understand how a guy could basically divorce his wife or put away his wife as a result of fornication but look at chapter 24 and remember we just read that in chapter 22 this is only a few verses later in chapter 24 verse 21, watch this, when a man had taken a wife and married her and it come to pass that she find no favor in his eyes because he had 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 and when she is departed out of his house she may go and be another man's wife and if the latter husband hate her and write her a bill of divorcement and giveth it in her hand and sendeth her out 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 an inheritance. So what is this saying? It's saying a man marries a wife and she finds no favor in his eyes because he finds some uncleanness in her. It doesn't say well she finds no favor in his eyes because he just didn't like her or because you know she's just not a good cook or because they're just not compatible or not getting along. No it says because he finds uncleanness in her and if you study the word uncleanness in the Bible it is synonymous with fornication. The proof is that in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 he says for this is the will of God that she even your sanctification that she abstain from fornication that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor not in the lust of concupiscence even as the Gentiles which know not God that no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter because the Lord is the avenger of all such even as we have forewarned you test about. But listen to this for God has not called us to uncleanness but unto holiness. So he says abstain from fornication because God has not called us unto uncleanness but unto holiness. And uncleanness is listed in lists of sins you know right there with fornication adultery lasciviousness you know uncleanness doesn't just mean you know turned out she didn't take a shower and here it is it's the wedding night that's it we're divorced you know you're not you haven't showered. No when it says he finds uncleanness he finds evidence of the fact that she is unclean you know as a woman and this could obviously refer to a lot of things you know I'm not going to go into great detail but anyway you know could be STDs obviously or it could just be the fact that she was not a virgin. Okay but either way both passages Deuteronomy 22 and Deuteronomy 24 have to do with a man basically finding out immediately upon marrying a woman and going to consummate the marriage hey this is not what I expected or this is not what I was bargaining for. Now flip over to Matthew chapter 1 and remember when you're reading Matthew 5 you've already read Matthew 1 haven't you because you read chapter 1 then you read chapter 5 then you read chapter 19 okay. So watch how God and God always gives us all the answers in the Bible because when you're reading Matthew 5 you're scratching your head what's that mean except to be for fornication well if you read Deuteronomy you'd know what's that mean except to be for fornication well if you read chapter 1 you'll see an example of this because in chapter 1 it says in verse 18 now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise when as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph before they came together talking about before they consummated the marriage she was found with child of the Holy Ghost then Joseph her husband being a just man and not willing to make her a public example was minded to put her away privately meaning secretly. So Joseph is marrying a woman whose name is Mary and he expects her to be a virgin and all of a sudden she's found to be pregnant I mean imagine you're a man and you're basically marrying a woman and it turns out you find out she's pregnant and you know you have not been with her you know that you have not come together with her and she's pregnant obviously what are you thinking she has committed what fornication you know she has committed fornication because it's found out that she's already pregnant with another man's child so he doesn't want to make her a public example okay but he is minded to put her away privately you say well why isn't she stoned well because they're under Roman rule they're not they're not governing themselves at this time the Jews have been taken over by the Roman Empire and they were not allowed to put anyone to death that's why that's why the Romans had to execute Jesus because the Jews said well we're not allowed to put anyone to death so she wasn't going to be put to death and he didn't want to just you know humiliate her and make her a public example so basically Joseph decided just put her away privately he's going to divorce her but the angel comes on him and explains to him she is a virgin but you know that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost so do you see how this is a perfect example of what we see in Deuteronomy of a guy who you know marries the woman has not yet consummated the marriage and finds out she's with child that's fornication he's going to divorce her per Deuteronomy 22 and Deuteronomy 24 that's what Jesus is saying so basically neither none of this is saying oh you're married for years and then you divorce your spouse is that what any of this teaches no this is the thing of immediately divorcing your wife immediately because of the fact that hey this isn't what I expected and by the way we have that even in the legal system in America today it's known as an annulment have you ever heard of people getting a marriage annulled instead of getting divorced an annulment is as if it had never happened as opposed to a divorce now they give annulments for all kinds of other reasons and things like that but usually when you're getting an annulment you have to convince the judge to give you an annulment by saying that the person who you married put themselves forth as something other than what they were like you find out something about that person that's really shocking and it's not a lack of virginity in today's world but what it is is it's just you find out something where you didn't realize who you're marrying and so you get it annulled at the very beginning and that's a throwback to this biblical teaching so what I'm saying is that the Bible does not teach exceptions for those of you who are married and you've already consummated the marriage and everything was fine and everything's been was dandy on that wedding night you know what guess what you're done you're married till death do you part let's just change that that's what the editors the NIV say we don't understand it we're dumb so let's just change it no because actually if you go back and read it it is about fornication that took place before they're married okay because let's read it don't take my word for it but it says in verse he's least commandments and shall teach men so the same shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven so it wouldn't make sense for Jesus just to teach something completely different than what Moses taught actually he's reiterating what Moses taught and strengthening it and really tightening it up for people to understand 13 of chapter 22 of Deuteronomy it says if a man take a wife and go in under her and hate her and give occasions of speech against her and bring up an evil name upon I took this woman and when I came to her I found her not a maid now maid but if we actually look at what the mosaic law teaches it actually fits together perfectly with what Jesus said which makes sense because Jesus just a few verses before he taught that in Matthew 5 said think not that I'm come to destroy the law of the prophets I came not to destroy but to fulfill and he said whosoever shall break one of the that you know hey don't divorce your wife and if you do for any reason other than fornication not adultery fornication then you're committing adultery you say well pastor how could a person divorce their wife because of fornication but you know they're married so it'd be adultery it wouldn't be fornication