I plead for strength and clarity as we come together tonight, Father. May I hear You and share what You would have me to say. Amen.

Luke 16:16-18 (<<click here to read the passage)

In my experience, for a very long time divorce was almost considered an “unforgivable” sin. I remember in my early days as an associate pastor, that if someone were divorced, they could not serve in any leadership position in the church – be it a church board member, a Sunday School teacher, or anything else.

I am glad to say that today, that is no longer the case in many churches.

I want to be very clear here. God intends for marriage to be a permanent commitment. For the most part, I think most couples when they agree to the covenant of marriage, they really are in it for the long haul and are not looking for anything to break that covenant.

I want to sidestep here just a moment and say something about the covenant of marriage. That concept was stressed at the last wedding ceremony Karen and I attended – it is not a contract; it is a covenant and I agree 100%! On a website I looked at, it was stated:

When the Bible mentions a covenant, it’s referring to a strong, solemn agreement between two parties. However, biblical covenants are very different from the kinds of agreements we make nowadays

    • Covenants make two into one.
    • Covenants involve promises.
    • Covenants involve families and bloodlines.
    • Covenants are spiritually charged.
    • Covenants are not easily broken.

(These are just a few highlights – click on this link to read more: https://overviewbible.com/covenant/)

Couples are not looking to break that covenant, but things happen. If God is not included in their relationship, it is much more difficult to maintain through all the challenges of life – not impossible but difficult.

Many times, one of the two involved wants out for a multitude of reasons. The other of the two really wants to work to save and strengthen the marriage. But oft times, the one wins out over the other and it’s a done deal.

My study Bible notes said,

Most religious leaders of Jesus’ day permitted a man to divorce his wife for nearly any reason. Jesus’ teaching about divorce went beyond Moses’ (Deuteronomy 24:1-4). Stricter than any of the then-current schools of thought, Jesus’ teachings shocked his hearers (see Matthew 19:10) just as they shake today’s readers. Jesus says in no uncertain terms that marriage is a lifetime commitment. To leave your spouse for another person may be legal, but it is adultery in God’s eyes. As you think about marriage, remember that God intends it to be a permanent commitment. (Life Application Bible New Living Translation)

That is the law but there is not one of us that is not guilty of sin. All of us that ask for our sins to be forgiven has had them forgiven. Yes, divorce is a grievous sin but any sin in our life is. I don’t want to be flippant about it but much to our chagrin, things happen in life…sin happens in life.

What Jesus said about divorce in relation to adultery is most definitely true, but it is not unforgivable. Remember Psalm 103:12,

He has removed our sins as far from us
….as the east is from the west. NLT

Marriage is a serious covenantal agreement between husband and wife and should be solemnly entered into as a lifelong commitment, but nothing can thwart God’s forgiveness. No sin, except rejecting Christ and His offer of salvation, is unforgivable – and that is unforgivable not because He won’t forgive us but because He can’t, if we refuse to ask for it.

Sept 27th, 2020, Sun, 8:05 pm