In writing this book, I've had a two-fold purpose. The first, determining a biblical theology of marriage, divorce and remarriage, has hopefully been accomplished. To the second goal, I now address myself. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 states that the Bible is profitable for four important functions in life: doctrine (the setting of standards of what is right and wrong), reproof (the showing up of that which is contrary to sound doctrine), correction (a prescription of how to get back on the right track of living), and instruction in righteousness (teaching that keeps the error from happening). Unfortunately, implied in that four-fold function of Scripture is the recognition that man will fail in obeying sound doctrine, and therefore something is needed (correction and instruction in righteousness) to redefine the position and vocation of the sinner. That is the second goal of this book: to redefine the position and vocation of one whose marriage has failed and ended in divorce.

It seems that much of the church is polarized between two extreme positions. At one end of the spectrum is the position that divorce is just an all too common fact of life, at worst, an unfortunate happening, but one without any consequence whatsoever to the one who has experienced it. At the opposite end is the idea that divorce is comparable to the "unpardonable sin". The divorced person is no longer able to serve God in any official capacity and in some cases, has even lost their salvation or the ability to be saved. What then is the disposition and vocation of a divorced person?

In answering this question, we face a new interpretational problem that we have not experienced so far in this study. Our problem in previous chapters has been to reconcile a significant quantity of passages of Scripture, that sometimes seemed contradictory, into a cohesive, singular theology. Our present problem is quite the opposite. To many of the specific issues that now confront us, the Bible is seemingly silent, at least in a direct sense. With few passages speaking directly to the issue at hand, we will need to be guided also by general principles that, by way of application, address the issues and allow us to develop that biblical theology.

The Opportunities Of The Divorced In Regards To Salvation

Let us first examine the disposition of the divorced person in regards to salvation. Six absolutes are given to us in Scripture concerning both the saved and the unsaved. First, the unsaved divorced person still can be saved. The sin of divorce has not put them outside the reach of God's love and grace found in Jesus Christ. Luke 19:10 specifically states that Jesus came to seek and to save those that are lost. The passage does not classify lost people by the sins they have committed into different categories such as saveable or unsaveable. A person is lost because of only one sin- the sin of unbelief in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Divorced people can be saved and enjoy the same salvation that non-divorced saved people enjoy.

Secondly, salvation can never be lost. Divorce does not cause a saved person to forfeit their salvation. John 10:27-28 speaks very clearly to the security of the believer. Of particular interest is the phrase, "...and they shall never perish..." In the original text there is a double negative before the word "perish". While the English language uses a double negative to make a positive statement, the Greek language uses it to make an emphatic negative statement. This phrase could then be translated, "...they shall in no way whatsoever perish..."

Thirdly, forgiveness from sin and restoration of fellowship with Christ is always available. 1 John 1:9 does not qualify what kind of sins can be confessed and forgiven. The verse simply says that if we confess our sins. One thing that is necessary to remember though, is that while the act of divorce is a sin in itself, it is also the culmination of a progression of sins in the marriage relationship. Divorce does not happen because both husband and wife have been living righteously. Undoubtedly there are multitudes of sins that preceded the sin of divorce that need to be addressed in confession by the believer, but all are able to be forgiven.

Fourthly, holiness is always attainable. Divorce does not stunt spiritual growth. The Apostle Paul gives us sound counsel in Phil 3:13-14. We are to forget those things which are behind us and continue to move on to spiritual maturity. It is God's determined purpose to conform every believer to the image of Jesus Christ (1 John 3:2). Every sin, including divorce, slows the experiential aspect of that process of sanctification, but no sin, including divorce, halts it!

Fifth, blessing is always possible to the divorced person. Repentance and confession of sin bring forgiveness and restoration of fellowship with God. Upon confession, the child of God can begin again to be obedient to whatever the will of God has for them. James 1:25 states that whosoever is obedient to God's will as revealed in God's Word, shall be blessed by God in the doing of those deeds.

Finally, the will of God can still be accomplished in the life of a divorced believer. Certainly there are consequences that can not be ignored, but the Bible is a volume of accounts of how God has used those who have failed, to bring glory to Himself. While I believe there may be limitations to the scope of the service of a divorced person, without question, the magnitude or significance of their service is undiminished. 1 Cor. 7:20, 24 is a principle that seems to bear this out. The context is what a person was nationally or ethnically (Jew or Gentile) and vocationally (slave or free) before coming to saving faith in Jesus. The command of Paul is to remain in that calling wherein you were called. It would be in that state that they would accomplish God's will. While the free enjoyed certain advantages over the slaves and the Jews had the advantage of centuries of heritage over the Gentile, all could be used to accomplish God's plan. Certainly the Christian whose marriage succeeds has greater opportunity to do God's will, but the divorced person is still able to glorify God with their life.

The Opportunities Of The Divorced In Regards To Service

In the previous paragraph, I stated that the scope of a divorced person's ministry may be limited, but the magnitude or significance of their ministry remains unlimited. In the following paragraphs we need to investigate the validity of that statement. What is oftentimes difficult to grasp is that while various ministries may appear to have a greater or lesser significance to man, every ministry has an equal significance to God. The public ministries of preaching and teaching receive greater acclaim than the ministry of the janitor of the church, yet if the church was not clean, or the doors unlocked, how many people would benefit from the preacher or teacher? Therefore, whether you are serving the Lord as a pastor or a janitor, or anything else, your ministry has vital significance before God. Should any area of ministry be restricted by divorce, whatever areas of ministry remain open to the believer will still be significant. There is no such thing as upper and lower class servants in the ministry of God.

In determining whatever restrictions there may be on the ministry of a divorced person, two questions need to be answered. First and foremost, what does the Bible legislate concerning the qualifications of the person who exercises any ministry, and, second, what is appropriate and advantageous for the operation of that ministry? Our problem, once again, is that Scripture does not directly address certain ministry positions in the modern church. Choir Director, Sunday School Superintendent, Audio Technician, and Treasurer, for example, are all ministries that are not specifically addressed in the New Testament. In fact, there are only two offices in the church that the New Testament gives qualifications for: elder and deacon. Some have concluded therefore, that apart from these two offices, there are no restrictions on the ministry of a divorced person. But I am convinced that before reaching that conclusion, one should ask if a divorced person ministering in any ministry is appropriate for the whole of the church ministry. This question will be explored later. It is necessary for us to first explore the answers to some other questions that will provide a foundation for the appropriateness question.

Many people believe that the time when a person divorces, determines whether there are any restrictions upon the scope of their ministry. If the person has divorced before they came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, then they are not held accountable for their divorce and all ministries are open to them. If the divorce occurred subsequent to them being saved, then they are disqualified from at least the offices of elder and deacon. I believe there are some very serious flaws to this belief and that the time of the divorce should not in any way determine whether there are restrictions upon the scope of a divorced person's ministry.

By dividing divorces into pre-salvational and post-salvational, the accomplishment of the act of salvation is also divided. What must be concluded is that coming to faith in Jesus Christ erases the consequence of past sin, but does nothing for the present or future sins of the believer. It is argued that the saved person has more light than the unsaved person and therefore the consequences of their sin is greater than the unsaved person's. But here, also, we have some serious problems. First of all, the saved person may not necessarily have more light on the issue than the unsaved person. A person who has been saved for years may be a member of a church where divorce is permitted for any reason and an unsaved person may be in a place where divorce is called sin. Who has more light? In this scenario, the saved person who divorces should not suffer any consequences of their divorce since they actually had less light than the unsaved.

What is really needed is a good understanding of the effects of salvation upon the consequences of sin. Sin has two types of consequence: eternal and temporal. The eternal consequences of sin include being at enmity with God, being spiritually dead, and being worthy of God's eternal wrath in the lake of fire. When a person comes to faith in Christ, they have peace with God (Rom. 5:1), they are born again (John 3:3), and, as a child of God, they become joint heirs with Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:7). All the eternal consequences of sin are removed and replaced with the blessings of a gracious God. The temporal consequences of sin are many, but the foremost is physical death. If coming to faith in Christ included the removal of the temporal consequences of sin, then every Christian should not die. We must conclude that coming to faith in Christ does not cancel the temporal consequences of sin, and if so, then the time of a person's divorce is inconsequential in regards to any restrictions on the scope of their ministry.

While salvation does not effect the temporal consequence of sin, it must also be said that sin does not effect the spiritual possessions of a believer. As noted earlier, the believer does not forfeit their salvation upon the commission of any sin. Neither is any other possession forfeited. One important possession to this study, is the possession of spiritual gifts. When a person comes to faith in Jesus Christ, they are invested with at least one spiritual gift. The New Testament lists 20 spiritual gifts by name. Possibly some of these are the same gift called by different names, such as governments (1 Cor. 12:28) and ruling (Rom. 12:8). Of these 20 gifts, 10 are operative in the church today. These 10 gifts are: Evangelist, Pastor-Teacher (Eph. 4), Ministry, Teaching, Exhortation, Giving, Ruling, Showing Mercy (Rom. 12), Helps, & Governments (1 Cor. 12). Every believer possesses at least one of these gifts. According to Romans 11:29, spiritual gifts are a permanent possession of the believer.

A spiritual gift enables the believer to perform ministry with relative ease and effectiveness compared to the person who does not posses the gift. But that does not mean that success in ministry automatically happens simply because a believer possesses a gift. In order for accomplishment to occur in ministry, the believer must develop and exercise their gifts. In the same way that a person with musical talent will develop their talent with hours of practice, so too will the Christian develop their gifts by hard work. If spiritual gifts are the permanent possession of the believer, then the believer has the continual responsibility to develop and exercise their spiritual gifts.

We must not confuse the exercise of spiritual gifts with the attainment of ecclesiastical office though. The New Testament lists but 2 offices that can be held in the church: elder and deacon. Apart from being saved, there are no qualifications as to the possession of spiritual gifts. However, 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 list several qualifications for both elder and deacon. It is interesting to note, one does not necessarily need to possess the gift of governments or ruling in order to hold the office of elder or deacon, nor does the Christian who possesses those gifts necessarily qualify for these offices. The qualification for these offices do not deal with a person's spiritual abilities, but their spiritual stability.

Before we look at the pertinent qualifications concerning these offices, it is necessary to note that all the qualifications are found in the present tense. The qualifications are to be present, now, in the life of the one seeking the office, not necessarily in time past. For example, in 1 Timothy 3:3, the qualification of, "not given to wine" is given for the office of an elder. When I first trusted Christ as my Savior, I was given to some wine. While I have never even been close to being drunk, I did enjoy a beer from time to time. As I grew in my relationship with the Lord and began to understand His Word, I came to the conclusion that the consumption of alcoholic beverages was out of the will of God for the believer. Since that time, I have not consumed anything of that nature. I meet the qualifications of that verse today, but I would not have in the very early goings of my life in Christ. The failures of yesterday do not necessarily disqualify me from office today.

Having said that, it is now necessary to look at some of the specific qualifications for these offices. There are two qualifications, each given for both elder and deacon, that I believe disqualify the divorced person from ministering in these two offices. The first is one of some controversy. Both the elders and the deacons are to be the husbands of one wife. Various interpretations have been given to this phrase and even more applications given to it. Some believe that a man who has remarried after a wife has died is disqualified for these offices by this verse. I contend that is not the case. We know from earlier portions of this study that according to Romans 7, death ends the marriage relationship. When the wife of a man dies, he is no longer considered married, but widowed. He is free to marry another. If marrying another could somehow be considered being the husband of more than one wife, then he must have committed adultery by marrying the second wife. 1 Corinthians 7:39 states that the wife is free to marry another in the Lord after the death of her husband, and I believe that can also be said for the husband.

Another interpretation of the husband of one wife is that it is only an injunction against polygamy. Certainly, this is true. From our study in the beginning of this book, we concluded that the creational purpose of God in marriage was to bring one man and one woman together for life. While the history of Israel included polygamy in some of its most most notable characters, never do we read that each man took more than one wife according to the will of God. In fact, wherever multiple marriages existed, so did multiple problems. And even if polygamy was socially acceptable, it was not spiritually acceptable to God. But the real questions is, does this phrase limit itself to more that one wife at a time, or does it include what has been termed "serial polygamy"? Serial polygamy is defined as having more than one spouse, but only one spouse at a time. That would necessitate marriage, divorce, remarriage, divorce, remarriage, etc. What needs to be determined is how God views the marital status of a man after a divorce has occurred.

We need, once again, to refer to the Matthew 19 passage. There, the Lord Jesus stated, "And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication (porneia), and shall marry another, committeth adultery (moicheia), and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery (moicheia)." We need not to look at the exception clause since that has already been dealt with. Here, we need to look at the consequence of remarriage. If the man marries another (from context, one who has never married or is widowed), he commits adultery. Likewise, if he marries a divorced woman, he also commits adultery. Notice in both cases he commits adultery, not fornication. Previously, we noted that fornication (porneia) is a broad term, including sins both within and without the marriage relationship, adultery is not. Adultery is a sin that can only be committed by someone who is married. Therefore, if a divorced man commits adultery by remarrying, it is necessary that, in the eyes of God, he be considered as being married, or else it is impossible for him to commit adultery. Only death terminates marriage. Therefore the divorced and remarried man can not be the husband of one wife unless the previous wife or wives has/have died.

But what of the divorced man who does not remarry? He is the husband of only one wife. Is he still qualified for these offices? A second qualification is that both the elders and the deacons are required to be men who rule their own households well (1 Timothy 3:4, 12). The reason for this qualification is given in verse 5 as being that if he is unable to administer and promote godliness in the home of which he is head, how shall he be able to do the same in the church where he assumes a leadership position? The church congregation is in many aspects, the home, amplified. Ephesians 4:1-3 instructs every Christian to be forbearing towards one another in love, endeavoring to preserve the unity of the Spirit in peace. If the man is unable to accomplish this on a small scale in the home, it will be absolutely impossible for him to do so on a larger scale with the church.

One might argue that a man can learn from his mistakes and consequently qualify himself for leadership and actually be better prepared for it. However, there is a serious flaw to this argument. The qualifications for leadership are qualifications of proven abilities or accomplishments of character. Since remarriage is not an option to the believer in the will of God, then he has no opportunity to prove his leadership ability. We must conclude that the divorced man, regardless of whether he remarries or not, disqualifies himself from the offices of elder and deacon.

While Scripture restricts the ministries of elder and deacon from the divorced person, it is silent concerning the other ministries within the church. Since the Bible is silent concerning these ministries, it would be wrong to entirely restrict the divorced person from participating in the without some just cause. Here is where the question of appropriateness must be dealt with.

We must remember that the act of divorce is first of all, a sin. It is a sin for which there is forgiveness and restoration of fellowship, but nonetheless a sin which must be repented of, confessed, and forsaken. Any Christian who is participating in sin that is unrepented of, no matter what that sin may be, has severed the fellowship they have with their Savior and are consequently impotent to serve him in any capacity. Until that sin has been dealt with by repentance and confession, they may be in positions of ministry, but will accomplish nothing of a positive value. It would be better if they were not in those positions, allowing someone in fellowship with God and empowered for service to minister for good, at least until the sin has been dealt with. So, if the divorced person does not recognize their marital failure as sin, and deal with it appropriately, they can not be effective in any ministry.

But what happens when repentance and confession take place? What then, is appropriate? A couple of factors need to be considered at this point. The first is the type of ministry the divorced person will be involved in. For example, I would have some serious reservations seeking counsel for marital problems from a counselor whose marriage has failed. If I am seeking counsel in that area, I want someone who will give me counsel that they know will be effective, not from theory alone, but also from experience. The divorced person can tell you experientially what won't work in marriage, but will find it difficult, if not impossible, to tell you what will work. Therefore it seems appropriate to restrict those areas of ministry where the communication of principles of marriage relationships is involved.

Secondly, in any ministry of a public nature, such as teaching, the testimony of the one who is ministering is as important as the nature of the ministry. As the saying goes, "You not only need to talk the talk, but you need to walk the walk." While restoration of fellowship before God happens immediately upon the confession of sin, the restoration of testimony before people takes time. God knows immediately if the repentance and confession is genuine. With man, only time can possibly prove genuineness. God volitionally chooses not to recall our sins and hold them against us. Unfortunately, man's memory here, works all too well. Therefore in these circumstances, it may be appropriate to allow some time to pass that a person's testimony can be regained before those to whom they will minister and therefore increase their effectiveness in ministry.