Introduction
Someone has said, "Building fences at the top of the cliff
is better than building hospitals at the bottom." Many pastors
and churches however are not building fences around the institution
of marriage and the home by teaching what the Word of God has
to say about the home, about marriage, and about divorce. Christians
have not been taught what the Scriptures say about these things.
Perhaps there would be less need for the "hospitals"
if people would be taught to love Christ supremely and to obey
His precious Word. Pastors and churches must teach and maintain
allegiance to the Scriptures in spite of what may be unpopular
regarding the implications of Biblical teaching. One must not
dilute the authority of God's holy Word by submitting it to the
dictates of either personal experience or culture.
God has spoken on the subject of divorce. He has spoken with sufficient
perspicuity that anyone can understand Him if guided by the Holy
Spirit through the Word of God. The Lord has not left us in obscurity
in these matters. Unless Christians declare what He has said,
they will be guilty of offending a holy God. Regardless of the
cost or consequences, God's position on the matter of divorce
must be declared, explained, and applied. Hence, this thesis proposes
to show that when believers follow the unscriptural regulations
and practices of the world, instead of setting an example of Scriptural
obedience, it is a sad day for the people of God in general and
for the local church in particular. The author seeks to remedy
this problem through a Scriptural approach to the matter of divorce,
especially in answer to those who would use the exception clauses
of Matthew 5 and Matthew 19 to promote the acceptability of divorce
for one reason or the other. It is the studied opinion of the
author that the rising problem of divorce among evangelical Christians
today is largely the result of misinformed counsel and preaching
that arises out of an inadequate exegesis and incorrect hermeneutic
in dealing with the Biblical data. If the author is correct in
his contentions, then those who dare to call themselves evangelicals
and fundamentalists (and who do not see these exception clauses
correctly) are guilty of the same kind of mistake for which Christ
castigated the Pharisees, namely "making the commandment
of God of none effect by ... tradition," (Matthew 15:6b;
cf. Matthew 22:29b).
Though not desiring to "beg the question" regarding
what constitutes the nature of a marriage, the author nevertheless
believes that the subject of marriage, per se, is beyond the allotted
scope of this thesis. His position on the matter will become clear
as a result of examining the material presented herein. However,
the validity of the author's position on the matter of divorce,
and especially with regards to the exception clauses, is not necessarily
related to his position on marriage. A deliberate attempt has
been made to
avoid coloring interpretations of divorce passages, and specifically
Matthew 5 and Matthew 19, with supposed presuppositions regarding
marriage. "What saith the Scriptures," is the author's
only concern. It is his firm conviction, based on the holy Scriptures,
that for any person to seek, or to initiate, or to obtain a divorce
for any reason is sin. This sin, like every other sin, should
be avoided by everyone who names the name of Christ.
