Divorce
Notes
Transcript
Our idea of marrying for love is a relatively new idea. In the Bible marriages for the most part are arranged and the woman is seen as property. This is not the way we do things anymore. We like the idea of Marriage for love. Don’t believe me, go to the movies. Today we are going to be continuing in the life of Jesus by looking at one of his teachings in particular Divorce. If you are Divorced Don’t see this as a judgmental moment. You more than anyone can tell how important it is to do things right the first time.
Some Pharisees came to test him, asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”
He replied to them, “What did Moses command you?”
They said, “Moses permitted us to write divorce papers and send her away.”
But Jesus told them, “He wrote this command for you because of the hardness of your hearts. But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
Pray
We often talk about what “Christian” Marriage looks like but we unfortunately Divorce is part of Christian Marriage.
Statistics show that somewhere around 50% of all marriages will end in divorce. The more times you divorce the higher your chances of getting another divorce occur
Are these Statistics accurate, I don’t know it seems it sometimes and other times not. I do know that the divorce rate is down a little because people who never marry and just cohabitation (live together) is on the rise. There is one divorce every 36 seconds one report said. The Barna research group measured Baptist with the highest Christian denomination to have divorce at 29%. Which means we beat the national average but it is still to high. Jews actually have the lowest divorce rate at like 3%. So divorce is a part of Marriage worldwide and our model of Christian marriage isn’t working because we aren’t following it
Begin by saying that God hates divorce but he love divorcees. Divorce is a reality of our society. The Bible does allow for divorce in certain situations. But even then it is frowned upon. Our divorce rates are entirely to high. They are high because we don’t take them seriously from the beginning. We don’t take dating seriously. As I watch TV I see couples with a need to be in one romantic relationship or another. They flop and shift faster than I go through a thing of toothpaste. And though this is not reality, It effects our outlook on reality. And young people feel they have to be in one relationship or another And the stars that make our lives so much easier to escape live this out in the extreme. Not all mind you. But the record for shortest marriage stands right now with a coupe in Kuwait who got divorced 3 minutes after they were married. With Britney spears 55 hour marriage in second.
At the turn of the twentieth century (1900’s) A guy and girl became romantically involved only if they planned to marry. If a young man spent time at a girl’s home, family and friends assumed that he intended to propose to her.
A lot has changed. In a book called from front porch to backseat, Which documents the change in dating relationships, The author says that love and romance became things people could enjoy solely for their recreational value
We date but we take the friendship out of the relationship
C.S. Lewis Describes friendship as two people walking side by side with a common goal
Dating has become about coupling not friends. And this leads to physical problems where self-control just isn’t enough because there will always be a time when you were tired or lose control. And with divorce rates high many are holding out to marry but they are instead playing married
Cohabitation, Living together, without the commitment that marriage involves and the legal entanglements.
Children are still a possibility (43% or so of all children will be without fathers).
From the words of a college student, “How can I know if I want to live with her forever if we don’t try it first before we get married”. Sounds like shoe shopping to me. When actually the statistics argue against this thinking. If you live together before you marry (if you marry) You are up to 40% more likely to get divorced.
We don’t take seriously our married life. Marriage is a bond a commitment. And sometimes it does take work
As soon as we make divorce an option we are writing ourselves a recipe for destruction. It must not be an option. But most importantly we don’t take God seriously
53% of very happy Couples Agree with the statement, God is the center of our marriage (Christianity today), 30% of struggling marriages disagree with that statement
Happy couples tend to put God at the center of their marriage and focus on him Rather than on their marriage or spouse or children
But nominal Christians
Those who call themselves Christians but are not actively engaged with the faith are actually more likely to divorce than the general public.
When we grow closer to God as the center of our relationship
We grow closer to each other
Thus the importance of not being unequally yoked. As one grows the other stays the same actually farther apart.
The reality we have to consider is the meaning of Marriage in the Bible. It isn’t just about man and woman it is about God.
Marriage between a man and a woman is to be living testimony of the relationship between the Lord Jesus Christ and his Chosen People, his bride, whom He purchased with His own blood. To be unfaithful to this marriage covenant will not just bring shame upon you personally and lead to negative consequences in your life. To be unfaithful to this marriage covenant will be to lie to the world about Christ and His church. It would be for you to say that Christ is not a faithful husband, does not keep His promises, and that the church does not trust Christ. To walk away from this marriage covenant would be to trample the blood of Christ under your feet.
What can we do?
What can we do?
We have to be a people that Take God seriously
Takes our own relationships seriously
Teaches about what it takes and discourages the current dating atmosphere
Focus on God
Get counseling if needed
If single think of it as a gift. Where you can develop who you are and where you are going in God.
Pray