Divorce
We recognize the sanctity of marriage realizing that God instituted it for the happiness and welfare of mankind (Gen. 2:24 [show]Genesis 2:24
[24]Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. (ESV)
; Matt. 19:1-9 [show]Matthew 19:1-9
[19:1]Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. [2]And large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.
[3]And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, "Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?" [4]He answered, "Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, [5]and said, 'Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? [6]So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate." [7]They said to him, "Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?" [8]He said to them, "Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. [9]And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery." (ESV); Heb. 13:4 [show]Hebrews 13:4
[4]Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. (ESV)). Therefore, we stand opposed to divorce. Divorce is the dissolution of a divinely instituted bond and a breaking of the covenant established by marriage (Mal. 2:13-16 [show]Malachi 2:13-16
[13]And this second thing you do. You cover the LORD's altar with tears, with weeping and groaning because he no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. [14]But you say, "Why does he not?" Because the LORD was witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. [15]Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union? And what was the one God seeking? Godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and let none of you be faithless to the wife of your youth. [16]"For the man who does not love his wife but divorces her, says the LORD, the God of Israel, covers his garment with violence, says the LORD of hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and do not be faithless." (ESV)). We look with disfavor upon the practice of divorce for any reason whatsoever and we believe that the only scriptural grounds for divorce are immorality and desertion. Even when either of these grounds are present, we believe that if at all possible, the marriage should remain intact and forgiveness be exercised. Due to the grace of God, those who have been divorced and those who have married divorced persons, if they give evidence of repentance and continuance in Christian grace on their part, and forgiveness on God’s part, may be received into church membership and do not forfeit the privilege to be used in Christian service within the church (I Cor. 6:9-11 [show]1 Corinthians 6:9-11
[9]Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, [10]nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. [11]And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (ESV); II Cor. 2:5-11 [show]2 Corinthians 2:5-11
[5]Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure--not to put it too severely--to all of you. [6]For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, [7]so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. [8]So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. [9]For this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything. [10]Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, [11]so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs. (ESV)).