divorce and remarriage?

[HolyFire]

Originally Posted by Aquila

I also believe in what is known as the Pauline Previledge. Jesus was addressing Jews. However, in the early church there was a question regarding what to do if one became a born again believer but one's spouse remained an unbeliever. Since Jesus never addressed this kind of issue, Paul speaks with Apostolic authority:

1 Corinthians 7:12-15
English Standard Version (ESV)
12 To the rest I say (I, not the Lord) that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. 13 If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. 14 For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. 15 But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace.

The term used by Paul, translated "not enslaved" here, is a legal term used in ancient Rome when a man or woman was divorced and permitted to legally remarry.

Therefore, in my opinion, the only two Scriptural grounds for divorce that allow for both divorce & remarriage are:

- Sexual Immorality
- Abandonment by an unbelieving spouse

I have to agree with your assessment. When adultery is committed, the marriage contract is broken as it's not the ceremony (in my opinion) that makes you married, it's the consummation (which is one reason why purity is so important!!!).

[AreYouReady?]

What do you think about men who physically/emotionally/spiritually abuse their wife to where she is an emotional wreck?

I've known preachers who say a woman must live in these conditions.

[HolyFire]

Were I a pastor I'd pray that according to His will, if this man wouldn't be saved that God would remove the the guy, whatever that would mean to God. And I'd pray, if it be His will, to do it right quick. If she wanted to divorce, get one, but she couldn't automatically get remarried. If he did, she could.

[Aquila]

Originally Posted by AreYouReady?

What do you think about men who physically/emotionally/spiritually abuse their wife to where she is an emotional wreck?

I've known preachers who say a woman must live in these conditions.

My take on it is that some issues aren't specifically addressed in Scripture. A fundamentalist might argue that we're stictly bound by the two accepted grounds for divorce: fornication and abandonment by an unbelieving husband.

However, Paul shows us something. Paul, an Apostle, uses Apostolic authority to address an issue in 1 Corinthians 7:12-15 that wasn't necessarily covered by Christ's teachings leading to what is known as Pauline Previledge.

Now... under what authority did Paul have to make that judgment?

Matthew 16:18-20
King James Version (KJV)
18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
20 Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.

We also read...

John 20:22-23
King James Version (KJV)
22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
23 Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.

In Paul's writings we read:

1 Corinthians 6:1-3 (ESV)
6 When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? 2 Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? 3 Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life!

Is it possible that an elder has Apostolic authority today to make a judgment in a given situation that isn't explicitly described in Scripture, just as Paul did?

If so... an elder in the faith has the authority to hear an abused woman's plight and address it through the authority given him by the Holy Ghost. He would have the power to loose her from having to be bound to an abuser... and bind the abuser's sin upon him until he repent.

[AreYouReady?]

Good answer Aquila.

Abusers do not repent easily. They like the power they think they have over people. Some abusers hide it very well so that nobody sees the abuse but the abused.

[Arphaxad]

Originally Posted by AreYouReady?

What do you think about men who physically/emotionally/spiritually abuse their wife to where she is an emotional wreck?

I've known preachers who say a woman must live in these conditions.

They are abandoning their role as husband(love your wife as Christ loves the church). Would Jesus abuse His bride?
I say it's the same as if he left physically.