Hello SheD: I am so sorry to hear how unhappy you are. "Lord I pray that for your child and I ask that Your will be done and this marriage can be healed completely. Please show this sweet sister what it is that You would have her do to begin this healing. You are a great, great God of love and peace and I pray that you will pour all Your love on her and her husband. It seems, Lord, that he may need Your salvation, that his heart is not in the right place with you, so I pray he will be convicted and give his heart to you that Your blessed salvation will be his so he will have the love of Christ in his heart and for his wife. I pray Lord that this sister will put her eyes on you and trust you completely that your will is done. Oh Lord, give her strength to be all that she can be as the wife you would want her to be even if her husband doesn't respond right away. Give her patience mightily to treat this man with Your love and to do it with the fruit of the spirit. Your, precious word says that the way of a wife sanctifies the husband because he sees her loving him as You love her. I pray dear Lord, again, that above all else in this trouble our sister is going through, that Your will be done. and this marriage is healed in a beautiful way. Amen" God Bless :)
1 Peter 5:7 says that we should cast all our cares on Him because He cares for us. Several passages in Psalms discuss God's compassion and or mercy. Romans 9:15 states that He will have mercy on whom He will have mercy; and compassion on whom He will have compassion. Ultimately; of course that involves those who come to saving faith in Christ; but of course for now it rains on the just and the unjust. ( Matthew 5:45). Luke 18:38 shows how Bartimaeus asked for mercy and Christ healed his blindness.
According to Lamentations 3:22 his compassions they fail not; and that is due to His mercy that we are not consumed. The theme there is the destruction of the Babylonians with the horrible famine in particular focus. This verse could be taken as physical survival of the ordeal but also spiritual preservation of the soul. God always preserves a remnant; and God honors His covenants and that is through the remnant that is purged in various trials.
God's Attributes: Covenants
I have discussed covenants in particular focus on the marriage covenant in previous posts. I have given at least an outline of the (imlied) covenant with Adam and the first one in scripture regarding the rainbow and God preserving the world from another global flood; the Abrahamic Covenant; the Mosaic Covenant; and finally the new covenant that Christ has given His people under the blood and how it is even more stringent with thoughts and intentions than the previous one (see Matthew 5:20 on exceeding the righteousness of the Pharisees). I will reinforce the fact that except for the abrogation of the Old Covenant in terms of the law and righeousness for the New under Christ; covenants in God's eyes are eternal; or at least as far as the terms made between men and God or even between men as to the length (in marriage it is until "death do us part" which fits in with 1 Corinthians 7:39.) We are not to take a vow flippantly ( Ecc. 5:4-6).
My belief (and I do believe that I rely on the written Word of God) is:
One may divorce his/her wife/husband because of adultery as seen in Matthew 5:31-32. God does not demand people to stay with someone who is not faithful to them.
BUT
They can not remarry again as seen in 1 Corinthians 7:10-11:
"10 And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband:
11 But and if she depart(AND THAT IS ONLY ALLOWED BECAUSE OF ADULTERY), let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife."
Also see 1 Cor 7:39, "39 "The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord.
So as a conclusion a man can divorce his wife ONLY if she has committed adultery, BUT afterwards he must accept that he must stay unmarried for his whole lifetime OR until his wife dies. Then he is free to remarry any woman he wishes. The alternative way is to forgive his wife and stay with her. The same is valid for a woman. So your girl friend if she marries that man, then they will both find themselves in a sinful situation.
How to reconcile these four passages in light of the scriptures you have presented? 1 Corinthians 7:19 , Rev 12:17 , Rev 14:12 , Rev 22:14?... either the bible is full of contradictions or there is misunderstanding of biblical text. btw, Constantine passed a Sunday law in 321 A.D.
Amen, & I think these verses say it best.. John 3:17 For God sent not His son into the world to condemn the world: but that the world through Him might be saved. 9:5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. 12:31 Now is the judgement of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. 12:47 And if any man hear my words & believe not, I judge him not; For I came not to judge the world, but to save the world (it's a choice). 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye (you) might have peace, in the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. 17:14, I have given them the word, & the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 1 Corinthians 7:31 they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away. James 4:4 Ye adulterers & adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world, is the enemy of God. 1John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in Him. 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes & the 'pride' of life, is NOT of the Father, but is of the world. 5:4 For whatsoever is born of God, overcome the world & this is the victory that overcome the world, even our faith. *next verse I have a Qs: does it mean that we don't have to believe in Christ walk on earth to be saved yet we must believe that He died for our sins to be saved? Matthew 12:32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come*. which kinda goes with John 12:47 does it not? I've always heard & live by, "just because we are in the world doesn't mean we have to be of the world".! God bless 'Texsis'
I was not looking for a response but thank you. You said that "a verse has to be interpreted in accordance to the text of which it is a part of."
I fully agree with that and that is why I said what I did about Verse 39. I used it in context with the four verses you shared.
Now as far as this word patience in Hebrews 10:36, I'm guessing that you already know that the word patience doesn't do that verse any justice.
The proper word is endurance, not patience. There is a difference if we take it from an English standpoint.
But why endurance? And why after we have done the will of God? And why would we need to endure after receiving the promise.
Endurance comes first. So how do we do the will of God? By remaining under our circumstances. Giannis, I believe you already know that the word used in Verse 36 is the word HUPOMENO and it doesn't mean patience. It means to endure or remain under. That's how we do the will of God, by remaining under our circumstances and trusting Him. That's endurance.
As far as Hebrews 10:26 is concerned, that verse has nothing to do with a saved person walking away from or losing salvation.
Now in Hebrews 10:29, where it says "wherewith he was sanctified," that word sanctified does not necessarily mean salvation. Yes, the word sanctified (HAGIOS) means to be set apart, and when we receive Christ, we are sanctified, or set apart for His purposes.
But if you are saying that sanctified means salvation, what do we do with 1 Corinthians 7:14, "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."
Please let me ask you this. Do you know what would happen to a Jewish person back in Jesus' day if they would receive Jesus as their Messiah?
The bible makes it very clear that the responsibility of leadership in marriage falls squarely on the husband's shoulders. 1 Corinthians 11:3 says that "Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ."
The scripture states that the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church. A good husband loves his wife unconditionally and is a servant leader just like Christ.
Unconditional Love
In Ephesians 5:25 the bible commands husbands to love their wives just as Christ loved the church, and gave Himself up for her." A husband's love for his wife should not be based on her actions. He should respect, affirm and love her at all times.
Sacrifice
Sacrificial action is an integral part of the husband's role as the head of the home. Again, Christ is a wonderful example of this. He demonstrated servant leadership by washing his disciple's feet. In marriage, being a servant leader means ensuring that the wife's material, emotional and spiritual needs are met.
Ephesians 5:25-33, Colossians 3:19, 1Peter 3:7-22, 1Corinthians 7:3-17, these are part of the scripture in context because you've only asked the Husband's duty.
Giannis, thanks for mentioning the part about adultery. I found that in several passages related to re-marriage when the spouse is still living, regardless of the circumstances. When I think about it, it would be like jumping out of the frying pan into the fire. Things could be worse.
You have done the right thing dear sister and God has blessed you for obeying Him in your life. The church I am serving doesn't remarry divorced people and also doesn't give divorces for any other reason than adultery. We are very firm about it. But this is very rare to find nowadays in christianity, most churches have given up to their members' demand for remaryring, but that leads to adultery since in God's eyes remarriage is not valid. So what is our (born again christians) difference with the worldly churches, non really (even worse since we actually know the truth but don't follow it).
Thank you Chris for your encouragement. I stopped giving my testimony years ago because of such an unpleasant response, even from church members: some who had been unequally yoked, even if the spouse had gotten saved and all was well; some who had been touched by re-marriage somewhere in their family. It was my story, but they were offended My 1st pastor was at a loss & would not comment on the situation; 2nd pastor would not perform a ceremony for divorced people because of an oath he had made to God when he went into ministry, but said I could get married at justice of peace and then both parties could serve at his church; 3rd pastor said being released from bondage meant that I was free to re-marry and he would do ceremony as long as the union was "in the Lord". Even pastors were not willing to embrace the truth and stand on it. But I could not get past the stigma that would be there if my husband was living. It seemed the only way to have a clean slate and start over with the best odds of having a successful relationship, & be married in the church with full support was for my husband to die first. Then there would be no questions or argument about it, and less stress for me. It became my sanity. In the meantime, I never ran into anyone that I was interested in that met the criteria of "in the Lord". I had a few boyfriends along the way and each time I asked myself how would I have more peace ? with or without them -- it was always without them. I have had a wonderful life and a career that provided very well for me and great friends and family. I had not looked at these verses in decades. I received word recently that my husband's health is failing and he is on kidney dialysis now, and I started wondering if I had mis-interpreted scripture way back then. So I re-read all the verses and they seemed clearer now than before and found this website when clarifying the meaning of bondage. I am encouraged now to give my testimony if asked about my situation.
That was heartening to read, Jrpon, of your faithfulness to the Lord & to your marriage vows. In spite of maybe times of loneliness & a patient waiting on the Lord for His provision, you have proved the sufficiency of His Grace to surmount those trials. Yes, many have carelessly entered into an unequal/unloving marriage & have suffered through it & regretted it. But the comfort that He gives, is His special peace, that He has not forgotten you & will only give you His very best to live this life for Him. John 14:27.
Thank you for this reminder. When taken along with the verses surrounding I Cor 7:15 about letting the unsaved leave and you are no longer under bondage , but God has called you to live in peace, it helps to clarify bondage. Some would say that if you are no longer under bondage, then you are free to re-marry. I hold that you are no longer responsible to the unsaved who left, but you still have a responsibility to your oath "til death do you part" made to God in the marriage ceremony. NOT "til divorce do you part". It does seem harsh that the saved should be bound to the oath until death of the spouse, but God is big enough to allow me to outlive spouse if he wants me to remarry. 46 years ago when I was very young and saved, I married an unsaved man and it was a horrible experience. I confessed it within 2 weeks of the marriage and told God that I was sorry but I would keep my oath but need his grace to do it. In the 3.5 yrs I was married, my husband periodically tried to convince me there was no God, and then convince me that WE should get a divorce. I told him there was a God and WE would not be getting a divorce because I had made an oath til death do us part, but he could make his own decisions. He did not want marriage but did not want responsibility for divorce either. He finally left, filed divorce and I let him go. I was free from him but still had my oath. Due to severe diabetes he had been on death bed twice and I thought he would not live long. 43 yrs later he is still alive, with multiple near death experiences, and I am still unmarried. The only way I can explain it is that God has given husband multiple opportunities to get saved, to no avail. And I guess his death would be wasted if God has not brought all the puzzle pieces together yet for me to have a partner. It is easy to fantasize how my life could have been if I had remarried years ago, but many people have that with much sorrow. I will never know what horrors God has saved me from.
"For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man". The same goes for the husband, if his wife dies he is free to marry another woman. GBU
Scripture about an Angels carrying ._. Not "spirit" Luke 16:22, 'your question spirit seeing loved ones on earth', more importantly GOD ALMIGHTY sees us Psalms 139, Psalms 27:10, & Jesus intercedes for us Romans 8,
It's important to understand the Biblical laws of marriage were given to Moses for Israel & "the Children of GOD" John 1:12, also Romans 8, relevant.
These laws are for GOD fearing, believers, a guideline for what's best.
Mark 10:2-12, Matthew 19:3-12, Matthew 5:31-37, notice it was to test, Jesus. Deuteronomy 24:1-4
1Corinthians 7,
Malachi 2:10-15, John 3:16, Matthew 25:31-46, Jude 1,
If a Husband divorces his wife and wife agrees . If she marries again , she and her new husband will be committing adultery , and should remain unmarried? #2 Question When someone dies , they are asleep but there spirit is with the Lord if they believe in Him . Does the spirit see there love ones that are here still on earth and will God allow there familiar spirit to guild you for his glory ?
A eunuch is somebody who is unable to produce children. That is just a general definition without getting into it.
It says in Matthew 19:12, But there are some eunuchs, first of all, which were so born from their mother's womb. They were born with a physical defect and are not able to produce children.
And there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: That is, people take them and they castrate them, which is what they did for the guards that had to guard the harems for the various royalty and kings. They were castrated so that they would not have a desire for a woman.
And there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. That's personal. It's a calling, and it is self-discipline!
In first Corinthians Chapter 7, Paul answered the question, and this is the area of marriage and divorce, and remarriage for the Gentiles. But Paul says it is best if everybody is just a like I am.
Paul says that he is single, and it is best if you stay like I am. And if you have the grace to do it, stay single. That is 1 Corinthians 7:8.
But, he says in 1 Corinthians 7:9 that if you cannot contain yourself, and you are burning with passion, then it is better to get married.
Those are the three kinds of people. People born with the physical defect, people who have been castrated, or a personal calling that God is giving you the grace to be single, or God hasn't given you the grace to be single, and you are burning with passion. Then he says it is best to get married.
"The wife(husband) is bound by the law as long as her(his) husband(wife) liveth; but if her(his) husband be dead, she(he) is at liberty to be married to whom she(he) will; only in the Lord.
But she(he) is happier if she(he) so abide, after my judgment: and I think also that I have the Spirit of God."
I believe it's possibly scriptures mixed together that are actually separate. However the main point you're getting from it seems to be in Paul's letters to the Church in Corinthian: 1Corinthians 7, note 1Corinthians 7:10-17,
Mark 10:1-31, Luke 16:13-31, John 4:1-43, Ephesians 5:33, Romans 7:2, John 8:1-11
Where is the story found where the wife believed on Jesus but the husband did not so she left an went to a relative. Jesus advised her to return home to not mention her faith
I guess you mean something else when you say that God is a divorcee.
Before going to our topic of discussion let's see if divorce is allowed according to the Gospel, and if yes in which cases.
Matthew 5:31-32.
Here it says that the only reason divorce is allowed is due adultery, not for any other reason. If the pair separates for any other reason and gets married again to smb else then in God's eyes this is adultery. God does not accept the separation, for Him the pair are still married together nomatter what churches do.
Next question. I was divorced because my wife went with another guy, can I marry now to another woman?
Answer. 1 Corinthians 7:10-11. Verse 11 says that if a woman is divorced (permitted only due to adultery) then she must stay unmarried or go back to her husband. Same with men. No remarriage is allowed by the Lord even if the separation was legal by the Gospel.
There is only one case that remarriage can be accepted. Romans 7:1-3. Here it says only in the case that one of the pair dies the other person if free to marry again.
So lets go back to what we were discussing.
1. About children
The verses in Titus are clear. A believer can only be elder if his children are in faith. Do you believe that this can change after he has become an elder for sometime and now can remain an elder even if his children are gone away? So different things are required when one is to become an elder and when he has already became one? It doesn't seem right to me.
Deacons. Elders are selected from the body of deacons, that is why the requirements for both elders and deacons are precisely the same. 1 Timothy 3:1-13
Pastors. They are selected from the body of elders. Same requirements.
2. Wifes. The text says " husband of one wife". So it must be "one" and "a wife".
Definitely he must have (not had) a wife, not divorced, not a widower.
One wife means that he cannot keep his ministry if his wife has died or gone away from the house (or has left the faith).
That's a big topic Jewelgh & hope you get other answers. I would first make a distinction between slavery & the slave trade. Slavery was acceptable in the Bible but trading in slaves was not ( Exodus 21:16): & punishable with death.
1. Slavery was normal amongst the Hebrews because some people needed to survive because of their circumstances. Slaves could be taken from their own people or from outsiders. Hebrews could become slaves because of committing crime ( Exodus 22:3); having a debt they couldn't pay ( Leviticus 25:39,40), but treated as a hired servant; or a father's right to sell their children to pay off money borrowed for taxes ( Nehemiah 5:4,5). Foreigners could become slaves: either they were prisoners of war or purchased from their owners ( Leviticus 25:44,45).
2. Slavery was fine because God had permitted it to happen ( Exodus 21:1-11), but under strict conditions (as shown in Leviticus chap 25). To note, that Hebrew slaves were to be treated kindly as one would a hired servant & not a slave ( Leviticus 25:39-43). What we know as slavery today (whether from the past or even happening now in some parts of the world), is both wrong & cruel, when they are treated like animals. So slavery then amongst the Hebrews, could be better understood as bondservants, as 'slavery' gives us a wrong connotation.
3. The Hebrew word for slave or bondservant is 'ebed'. So, the meaning is the same, but how they were treated was important. In the NT, we can take 1 Corinthians 7:21,22 as an example. The word 'servant' is used thrice in these verses: as a servant to man & as a servant to the Lord. In both instances, the Greek word is 'doulos', where both slave, servant, bondservant can be used. This denotes the dedicated duty to service rather than bonded into agonizing slavery.
4. As mentioned, 'slavery' has an evil connotation today & could never be a good thing when practised by ungodly men. But it can be a state of happy servitude where kindness & freedom is given.
I can share what I've learned about 1 Corinthians 7:14. Some believe that the word sanctified means salvation, but it doesn't. It does have to do with salvation in that the act of the Holy Spirit and being set apart, and that's what he is saying here, is that if a non-believer is pleased to dwell with the believer, that person is living under the influence of the Holy Spirit in the believer's life.
Also, at the end, and I'll share the literal translation about children. It says else "were" your children, but it is literally else "are" your children unclean; but now they are holy. It doesn't say that they are clean. They're still unclean. The word holy (HAGIOS) is the same word for sanctification. They're unclean but they are set apart to be under the Lord's influence through the believer.
An example can be found in 1 Peter 3:1-7 about the woman who had a non-believing husband. He says live your life from out of your heart in front of him. Don't try to impress him with outward dress and appearance, but let him see the hidden person of the heart so that there's a possibility that he might be saved. There's no guarantee. So the non-believer is still not forgiven, he's not saved. The children are still unclean, but they are set apart to be under the influence of God's Spirit in the believer.
Another scripture that is similar is found in Acts 16:31, "Believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." I've actually heard people say that this is a promise you can claim, that if you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for yourself, and if you believe for your whole house, everybody in your household is going to get saved, guaranteed!
That's not true because if we look at Verse 32, it says that not only did they speak it to him (The jailor), but they also preached to everyone in his house. What they are saying is that this is not only for you, but also for every member in your house. Everybody must believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ.
That is a good way to connect accountability for sinful behavior in children with the authority of civil law to exact penalty for breaking the law.
As far as age of accountability goes, I know that children as young as toddler age are aware when they are doing something wrong. They will hide, deny, hang their head, run away, etc from a parent because they feel guilty. I have even seen a toddler repeat "No, no, no, no" as they do something they have been told not to do. Are these sins? I would say yes. Are these toddlers and very young children accountable for their sin? I would say yes, since they knew they were doing something wrong. Will their sin be held against them by God? I would say yes, too. However, I would say I believe that the sacrifice of Jesus does cover these sins in the very young. He took these sins upon Himself on the cross just like the sins of everyone else. The difference is that God shows mercy towards these very young children in forgiving them through. Jesus because they are not of an age yet to understand that they are sinning against God. They know that they are disobeying their parents, but not that they are disobeying God. Also, at this age, the concept of the existence of God, Whom cannot be seen or cannot be heard speaking is an abstract idea that young children are not very capable of considering or understanding. They think very concretely and according to what they can physically sense.
As Christian parents, we teach our children from infancy about God. We pray with them. We bring them to church to fellowship with other young children whose parents are believers. In such an environment, our children may come to an age of accountability at a younger age than a child raised by non-Christian parents.
I remember reading where children of believers are sanctified because of the faith of a parent ( 1 Corinthians 7:14). I am not sure what this means.
Galatians 5:22
1 Corinthians 7:4
1 Peter 5:7 says that we should cast all our cares on Him because He cares for us. Several passages in Psalms discuss God's compassion and or mercy. Romans 9:15 states that He will have mercy on whom He will have mercy; and compassion on whom He will have compassion. Ultimately; of course that involves those who come to saving faith in Christ; but of course for now it rains on the just and the unjust. ( Matthew 5:45). Luke 18:38 shows how Bartimaeus asked for mercy and Christ healed his blindness.
According to Lamentations 3:22 his compassions they fail not; and that is due to His mercy that we are not consumed. The theme there is the destruction of the Babylonians with the horrible famine in particular focus. This verse could be taken as physical survival of the ordeal but also spiritual preservation of the soul. God always preserves a remnant; and God honors His covenants and that is through the remnant that is purged in various trials.
God's Attributes: Covenants
I have discussed covenants in particular focus on the marriage covenant in previous posts. I have given at least an outline of the (imlied) covenant with Adam and the first one in scripture regarding the rainbow and God preserving the world from another global flood; the Abrahamic Covenant; the Mosaic Covenant; and finally the new covenant that Christ has given His people under the blood and how it is even more stringent with thoughts and intentions than the previous one (see Matthew 5:20 on exceeding the righteousness of the Pharisees). I will reinforce the fact that except for the abrogation of the Old Covenant in terms of the law and righeousness for the New under Christ; covenants in God's eyes are eternal; or at least as far as the terms made between men and God or even between men as to the length (in marriage it is until "death do us part" which fits in with 1 Corinthians 7:39.) We are not to take a vow flippantly ( Ecc. 5:4-6).
Hello Rad
My belief (and I do believe that I rely on the written Word of God) is:
One may divorce his/her wife/husband because of adultery as seen in Matthew 5:31-32. God does not demand people to stay with someone who is not faithful to them.
BUT
They can not remarry again as seen in 1 Corinthians 7:10-11:
"10 And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband:
11 But and if she depart(AND THAT IS ONLY ALLOWED BECAUSE OF ADULTERY), let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife."
Also see 1 Cor 7:39, "39 "The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord.
So as a conclusion a man can divorce his wife ONLY if she has committed adultery, BUT afterwards he must accept that he must stay unmarried for his whole lifetime OR until his wife dies. Then he is free to remarry any woman he wishes. The alternative way is to forgive his wife and stay with her. The same is valid for a woman. So your girl friend if she marries that man, then they will both find themselves in a sinful situation.
I was not looking for a response but thank you. You said that "a verse has to be interpreted in accordance to the text of which it is a part of."
I fully agree with that and that is why I said what I did about Verse 39. I used it in context with the four verses you shared.
Now as far as this word patience in Hebrews 10:36, I'm guessing that you already know that the word patience doesn't do that verse any justice.
The proper word is endurance, not patience. There is a difference if we take it from an English standpoint.
But why endurance? And why after we have done the will of God? And why would we need to endure after receiving the promise.
Endurance comes first. So how do we do the will of God? By remaining under our circumstances. Giannis, I believe you already know that the word used in Verse 36 is the word HUPOMENO and it doesn't mean patience. It means to endure or remain under. That's how we do the will of God, by remaining under our circumstances and trusting Him. That's endurance.
As far as Hebrews 10:26 is concerned, that verse has nothing to do with a saved person walking away from or losing salvation.
Now in Hebrews 10:29, where it says "wherewith he was sanctified," that word sanctified does not necessarily mean salvation. Yes, the word sanctified (HAGIOS) means to be set apart, and when we receive Christ, we are sanctified, or set apart for His purposes.
But if you are saying that sanctified means salvation, what do we do with 1 Corinthians 7:14, "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."
Please let me ask you this. Do you know what would happen to a Jewish person back in Jesus' day if they would receive Jesus as their Messiah?
Leadership
The bible makes it very clear that the responsibility of leadership in marriage falls squarely on the husband's shoulders. 1 Corinthians 11:3 says that "Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ."
The scripture states that the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church. A good husband loves his wife unconditionally and is a servant leader just like Christ.
Unconditional Love
In Ephesians 5:25 the bible commands husbands to love their wives just as Christ loved the church, and gave Himself up for her." A husband's love for his wife should not be based on her actions. He should respect, affirm and love her at all times.
Sacrifice
Sacrificial action is an integral part of the husband's role as the head of the home. Again, Christ is a wonderful example of this. He demonstrated servant leadership by washing his disciple's feet. In marriage, being a servant leader means ensuring that the wife's material, emotional and spiritual needs are met.
Hopefully these are helpful
You have done the right thing dear sister and God has blessed you for obeying Him in your life. The church I am serving doesn't remarry divorced people and also doesn't give divorces for any other reason than adultery. We are very firm about it. But this is very rare to find nowadays in christianity, most churches have given up to their members' demand for remaryring, but that leads to adultery since in God's eyes remarriage is not valid. So what is our (born again christians) difference with the worldly churches, non really (even worse since we actually know the truth but don't follow it).
GBU
Romans 7:2-3
"For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man". The same goes for the husband, if his wife dies he is free to marry another woman. GBU
How about a husband, if he loses his wife, is free to remarry?
Also?
It's important to understand the Biblical laws of marriage were given to Moses for Israel & "the Children of GOD" John 1:12, also Romans 8, relevant.
These laws are for GOD fearing, believers, a guideline for what's best.
Mark 10:2-12, Matthew 19:3-12, Matthew 5:31-37, notice it was to test, Jesus. Deuteronomy 24:1-4
1Corinthians 7,
Malachi 2:10-15, John 3:16, Matthew 25:31-46, Jude 1,
Hopefully these are helpful
A eunuch is somebody who is unable to produce children. That is just a general definition without getting into it.
It says in Matthew 19:12, But there are some eunuchs, first of all, which were so born from their mother's womb. They were born with a physical defect and are not able to produce children.
And there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: That is, people take them and they castrate them, which is what they did for the guards that had to guard the harems for the various royalty and kings. They were castrated so that they would not have a desire for a woman.
And there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. That's personal. It's a calling, and it is self-discipline!
In first Corinthians Chapter 7, Paul answered the question, and this is the area of marriage and divorce, and remarriage for the Gentiles. But Paul says it is best if everybody is just a like I am.
Paul says that he is single, and it is best if you stay like I am. And if you have the grace to do it, stay single. That is 1 Corinthians 7:8.
But, he says in 1 Corinthians 7:9 that if you cannot contain yourself, and you are burning with passion, then it is better to get married.
Those are the three kinds of people. People born with the physical defect, people who have been castrated, or a personal calling that God is giving you the grace to be single, or God hasn't given you the grace to be single, and you are burning with passion. Then he says it is best to get married.
"The wife(husband) is bound by the law as long as her(his) husband(wife) liveth; but if her(his) husband be dead, she(he) is at liberty to be married to whom she(he) will; only in the Lord.
But she(he) is happier if she(he) so abide, after my judgment: and I think also that I have the Spirit of God."
Mark 10:1-31, Luke 16:13-31, John 4:1-43, Ephesians 5:33, Romans 7:2, John 8:1-11
Hopefully these are helpful
I guess you mean something else when you say that God is a divorcee.
Before going to our topic of discussion let's see if divorce is allowed according to the Gospel, and if yes in which cases.
Matthew 5:31-32.
Here it says that the only reason divorce is allowed is due adultery, not for any other reason. If the pair separates for any other reason and gets married again to smb else then in God's eyes this is adultery. God does not accept the separation, for Him the pair are still married together nomatter what churches do.
Next question. I was divorced because my wife went with another guy, can I marry now to another woman?
Answer. 1 Corinthians 7:10-11. Verse 11 says that if a woman is divorced (permitted only due to adultery) then she must stay unmarried or go back to her husband. Same with men. No remarriage is allowed by the Lord even if the separation was legal by the Gospel.
There is only one case that remarriage can be accepted. Romans 7:1-3. Here it says only in the case that one of the pair dies the other person if free to marry again.
So lets go back to what we were discussing.
1. About children
The verses in Titus are clear. A believer can only be elder if his children are in faith. Do you believe that this can change after he has become an elder for sometime and now can remain an elder even if his children are gone away? So different things are required when one is to become an elder and when he has already became one? It doesn't seem right to me.
Deacons. Elders are selected from the body of deacons, that is why the requirements for both elders and deacons are precisely the same. 1 Timothy 3:1-13
Pastors. They are selected from the body of elders. Same requirements.
2. Wifes. The text says " husband of one wife". So it must be "one" and "a wife".
Definitely he must have (not had) a wife, not divorced, not a widower.
One wife means that he cannot keep his ministry if his wife has died or gone away from the house (or has left the faith).
GBU
1. Slavery was normal amongst the Hebrews because some people needed to survive because of their circumstances. Slaves could be taken from their own people or from outsiders. Hebrews could become slaves because of committing crime ( Exodus 22:3); having a debt they couldn't pay ( Leviticus 25:39,40), but treated as a hired servant; or a father's right to sell their children to pay off money borrowed for taxes ( Nehemiah 5:4,5). Foreigners could become slaves: either they were prisoners of war or purchased from their owners ( Leviticus 25:44,45).
2. Slavery was fine because God had permitted it to happen ( Exodus 21:1-11), but under strict conditions (as shown in Leviticus chap 25). To note, that Hebrew slaves were to be treated kindly as one would a hired servant & not a slave ( Leviticus 25:39-43). What we know as slavery today (whether from the past or even happening now in some parts of the world), is both wrong & cruel, when they are treated like animals. So slavery then amongst the Hebrews, could be better understood as bondservants, as 'slavery' gives us a wrong connotation.
3. The Hebrew word for slave or bondservant is 'ebed'. So, the meaning is the same, but how they were treated was important. In the NT, we can take 1 Corinthians 7:21,22 as an example. The word 'servant' is used thrice in these verses: as a servant to man & as a servant to the Lord. In both instances, the Greek word is 'doulos', where both slave, servant, bondservant can be used. This denotes the dedicated duty to service rather than bonded into agonizing slavery.
4. As mentioned, 'slavery' has an evil connotation today & could never be a good thing when practised by ungodly men. But it can be a state of happy servitude where kindness & freedom is given.
Hopefully helpful
I can share what I've learned about 1 Corinthians 7:14. Some believe that the word sanctified means salvation, but it doesn't. It does have to do with salvation in that the act of the Holy Spirit and being set apart, and that's what he is saying here, is that if a non-believer is pleased to dwell with the believer, that person is living under the influence of the Holy Spirit in the believer's life.
Also, at the end, and I'll share the literal translation about children. It says else "were" your children, but it is literally else "are" your children unclean; but now they are holy. It doesn't say that they are clean. They're still unclean. The word holy (HAGIOS) is the same word for sanctification. They're unclean but they are set apart to be under the Lord's influence through the believer.
An example can be found in 1 Peter 3:1-7 about the woman who had a non-believing husband. He says live your life from out of your heart in front of him. Don't try to impress him with outward dress and appearance, but let him see the hidden person of the heart so that there's a possibility that he might be saved. There's no guarantee. So the non-believer is still not forgiven, he's not saved. The children are still unclean, but they are set apart to be under the influence of God's Spirit in the believer.
Another scripture that is similar is found in Acts 16:31, "Believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." I've actually heard people say that this is a promise you can claim, that if you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for yourself, and if you believe for your whole house, everybody in your household is going to get saved, guaranteed!
That's not true because if we look at Verse 32, it says that not only did they speak it to him (The jailor), but they also preached to everyone in his house. What they are saying is that this is not only for you, but also for every member in your house. Everybody must believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ.
That is a good way to connect accountability for sinful behavior in children with the authority of civil law to exact penalty for breaking the law.
As far as age of accountability goes, I know that children as young as toddler age are aware when they are doing something wrong. They will hide, deny, hang their head, run away, etc from a parent because they feel guilty. I have even seen a toddler repeat "No, no, no, no" as they do something they have been told not to do. Are these sins? I would say yes. Are these toddlers and very young children accountable for their sin? I would say yes, since they knew they were doing something wrong. Will their sin be held against them by God? I would say yes, too. However, I would say I believe that the sacrifice of Jesus does cover these sins in the very young. He took these sins upon Himself on the cross just like the sins of everyone else. The difference is that God shows mercy towards these very young children in forgiving them through. Jesus because they are not of an age yet to understand that they are sinning against God. They know that they are disobeying their parents, but not that they are disobeying God. Also, at this age, the concept of the existence of God, Whom cannot be seen or cannot be heard speaking is an abstract idea that young children are not very capable of considering or understanding. They think very concretely and according to what they can physically sense.
As Christian parents, we teach our children from infancy about God. We pray with them. We bring them to church to fellowship with other young children whose parents are believers. In such an environment, our children may come to an age of accountability at a younger age than a child raised by non-Christian parents.
I remember reading where children of believers are sanctified because of the faith of a parent ( 1 Corinthians 7:14). I am not sure what this means.