This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, September 23, 2007, and was taken from Mark 10:1-12.
Divorce is a difficult subject to preach on. The bottom line is not what we, or our culture think about divorce, but what God says about divorce. Has He spoken on divorce? What has He said? This issue must be approached in tenderness, yet with honesty. The context of the passage before us is that divorce was common in the culture during the time of Jesus. Divorce was even common among the Jews by this time. We find our model of responding to divorce in the Lord Jesus himself. What did he say and what did he do.
Points from the message:
- Jesus points them to Moses.
- Divorce violates God’s divine plan for marriage.
- The purpose of marriage as a union to provide completeness, wholeness.
- Marriage is to be an exclusive relationship.
- Divorce was allowed because of man’s sinfulness.
- God does not command you to divorce.
- God hates divorce because it is a destroyer of life.
- Marriage is intended to portray a picture of Jesus and his Church (Eph 5).
What about those who have experienced divorce. Divorce is a sin because it misses the mark of God. It is less than God’s best. It is not, however, the unpardonable sin.
We must allow Jesus to teach us how we are to respond to those around us concerning divorce. We see the way Jesus dealt with this issue in John 4:7-30, and John 8:3-11.