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Original Message
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When a man makes a covenant before God to love his wife until death, it means exactly that. Only the death of his spouse can dissolve his marriage covenant. The covenant the man made before God is inscribed on his very soul. If this man then divorces his wife, because she commits adultery, to marry someone else, the covenant he made before God will still continue to testify against him, because he's now committing the sin of treachery against his own wife. Even though she's the one who committed adultery against him!
The man didn't make a covenant before God to love his wife, unless she commits adultery. He made a covenant before God to love his wife until death. Christian men [and women] are not paying attention to the vows they're making before God on their wedding Day. Christian men need to man up and take full responsibility for the covenant they're making before the Lord Jesus Christ. The sin of adultery cannot break the covenant of marriage, it can only defile it.
This is why the Lord told the married woman, who was caught in the very act of adultery to: "...go and sin no more.” [John 8:11] In other words, the Lord told her to stop committing adultery and be faithful to the marriage covenant she had made before God.
The "fornication clause" many are using to remarry and excuse their unlawful marriages, which are adulterous, only applied to betrothed couples in Jewish times! A betrothed husband and wife waited for about a Year before they consummated their marriage. If within that Year the betrothed wife commits fornication, the betrothed husband could "divorce" her to marry someone else. This is what Joseph wanted to do when he thought Mary had committed fornication.
After a marriage has been consummated, if a spouse commits adultery, a separation, not divorce, is permitted. If the spouse repents, however, a reconciliation must be sought. If he or she doesn't repent and goes off to marry someone else, the innocent spouse must remain unmarried and continue to pray for a reconciliation. This may or may not happen. "Now to the married I command, yet not I but the Lord: A wife is not to depart from her husband. But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband is not to divorce his wife." [1 Cor.7:10,11]
Whatever the case, the innocent spouse cannot remarry lawfully without committing adultery. We must practice doing good, in order to experience the resurrection or translation of our bodies when the Lord comes. This includes being in a lawful marriage as suppose to being in an unlawful one!
"To those who seek glory, honor and immortality by perseverance in doing good, He will pay back eternal life. But to those who are self-seeking, who disobey the truth and obey evil [including the evil of adultery], he will pay back wrath and anger." [Rom.2:7,8][words in bracket are mine] Hence the Lord taught: "...from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man.”" [Mark 7:21-23]
All Christians who are in unlawful marriages are disobeying the truth. They're obeying evil and are not doing the works of God. Eternal life continuously flows into our souls, from the Lord Jesus Christ, when we're doing His works. This can only happen, however, if we're refraining from doing the evil works mentioned in the commandments. One of which is to not commit adultery. This is why when a certain ruler asked the Lord:
“Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” [Luke 18:18]
The Lord said:
"...You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ ” [Luke 18:20]
When we abstain from adultery the work of keeping the marriage covenant flows into our souls from the Lord. When we abstain from murder, the work of preserving life flows into our souls from the Lord. When we abstain from stealing, working to provide for ourselves and our families flows into our souls from the Lord. When we abstain from being a false witness, the work of being a true witness flows into our souls from the Lord. When we abstain from disrespecting our parents, the work of honoring our parents flows into our souls from the Lord.
Contrary to what many Christians believe doing works is the medium the Lord uses to transfer eternal life from Himself into our souls. And on the Last Day of this Church Age, the Lord will also extend eternal life from Himself into our flesh and bones!
"To those who seek...immortality by perseverance in doing good [works], he will pay back eternal life." [Rom.2:7]
"For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works" [Matt.16:27]
"I am He [Jesus] who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works." [Rev.2:23]
“And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his works." [Rev.22:12]
The Word is clear, unfortunately, many Church leaders and their congregations are choosing to ignore it. Unless they repent they are at risk of being left behind when the Lord comes for His saints.
“...I have seen a horrible thing in the prophets of Jerusalem:They commit adultery and walk in lies; They also strengthen the hands of evildoers, So that no one turns back from his wickedness. All of them are like Sodom to Me, And her inhabitants like Gomorrah.” [Jer.23:14]
“Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.” [Mark 10:11,12]
"For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man." [Rom.7:3,4]
"Don’t you know that unrighteous people will have no share in the Kingdom of God? Don’t delude yourselves — people who engage in sex before marriage, who worship idols, who engage in sex after marriage with someone other than their [covenant] spouse, who engage in active or passive homosexuality, who steal, who are greedy, who get drunk, who assail people with contemptuous language, who rob — none of them will share in the Kingdom of God." [1 Cor.6:9,10]
"Marriage is honorable in every respect; and, in particular, sex within marriage is pure. But God will indeed punish fornicators and adulterers." [Heb. 13:4]
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