Previous Questions and Answers
Can I co-pastor a church if I was divorced and remarried before I was saved?
Holy Greetings. I came across
your web site and thought I would comment. In reference to your should divorced people
preach? I am divorced and do preach. I was not saved when I got my
divorce and am now repented and remarried and will be getting Ordained and Co-Pastoring a
Church. Jesus Christ himself said that all manner of sin shall be forgiven except
blasphemy of the Holy Ghost. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
even Pastors and Bishops and many people will sin or fall short before they reach heaven,
that is why we have the Blood of Jesus Christ to help us in a time of need. I am
not for sinning but rather unto a Holiness life consecrated unto Jesus, but I do feel that
it is ok to Preach the Gospel if you are repented and are running for Jesus. Nathan
did tell David that God was going to set a sword upon the house of David and Jesus came
out of the line of David and REDEFINED the sword in Ephesians. God Bless and thanks
for your web ministry.
As
born-again Christians washed in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, and trusting in His
righteousness alone to save us and keep us saved, we are but unworthy sinners of such
grace shown to us. Psalm 39:5 says, "Behold, thou hast made my days as
an
handbreadth; and mine age is
as
nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is
altogether
vanity. Selah."
God
gives man a chance to do right, and if man will not, then God acts accordingly, and hands
down judgments and laws for future incidents. In the case with Cain, God let him live, but
with certain consequences. Genesis 4:8-15 says, "And Cain talked with Abel his
brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel
his brother, and slew him. And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is
Abel
thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am
I
my brother's keeper? And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood
crieth unto me from the ground. And now art
thou
cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy
hand; When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength;
a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. And Cain said unto the LORD, My
punishment is
greater
than I can bear. Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and
from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and
it shall come to pass, that
every
one that findeth me shall slay me. And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth
Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest
any finding him should kill him." But after that incident, and others, God set down a
law in regard to it. Genesis 9:6 says, "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his
blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man."
It
is the same way in regard to marriage and more than one wife. In the Old Testament, many
men had more than one wife, but that was never God's will, and Jesus made that plain in
Matthew 19:3-6 says, "The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto
him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? And he answered and said
unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them
at
the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father
and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore
they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not
man put asunder." Notice that Jesus went back to creation for the answer to their
question. God created one woman for the one man -- that was God's perfect will and plan
for man.
But
the Pharisees were not happy with Jesus' answer, so they questioned Him further. Matthew
19:7-12 says, "They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of
divorcement, and to put her away? He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of
your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. And
I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it
be for
fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is
put away doth commit adultery. His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so
with his
wife,
it
is not good to marry. But he said unto them, All men
cannot
receive this saying, save they
to
whom it is given. For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their
mother's
womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs,
which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to
receive it,
let
him receive it."
Jesus
made it plain that it was only because of the hardness of men's hearts that Moses allowed
divorce at all, but even that was misused by men, so Jesus was calling them back to God's
perfect will and plan.
Because
of the leadership in the Old Testament being led away into sin by more than one wife, and
the turmoil that was brought into homes and nations because of man having more than one
wife (consider the turmoil in Abraham's home, and the world today, because he listened to
Sarah and also took Hagar to wife --
Consider
the turmoil in Jacob's life because of his multiple wives --
Consider
the turmoil in Solomon's life because of his multiple wives --
So
because of this constant failure and turmoil in the homes of Old Testament leaders, God
has given specific instruction to the New Testament church and its leaders (both pastors
and deacons). For the bishop or pastor, the instruction is in I Timothy 3:1-7, "This is
a
true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. A bishop
then must be blameless, the
husband of one wife,
vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; Not given to wine,
no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; One that
ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a
man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) Not
a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.
Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach
and the snare of the devil."
For
the deacons, the instruction is given in I Timothy 3:8-14, "Likewise must
the
deacons be
grave,
not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre; Holding the mystery
of the faith in a pure conscience. And let these also first be proved; then let them use
the office of a deacon, being found
blameless.
Even so must
their wives
be
grave,
not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. Let the deacons be the
husbands of one wife,
ruling their children and their own houses well. For they that have used the office of a
deacon well purchase to themselves a good degree, and great boldness in the faith
That
is God's instruction for the church today, and it was always His perfect will for man. You
will notice that it does not say, "If a man was divorced and remarried before he was
saved, then none of the above applies." The reason is that divorce, and then
remarriage while a person's husband or wife is still alive is committing adultery. Romans
7:2,3 says, "For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her
husband
so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her
husband.
So then if, while her
husband
liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her
husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be
married to another man."
When
a person commits adultery, it is a reproach that, in man's eyes, will never be taken away,
even though God obviously forgives the repentant sinner of such. Proverbs 6:32,33 says,
"But
whoso
committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that
doeth
it destroyeth his own soul. A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his
reproach shall not be wiped away."
With
other sins, you can make restitution, and regain respect with your fellow man. If you
steal from him, you can repay him double, or four/five times the amount of which you
stole. Exodus 22:1-7 says, "If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or
sell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep. If a thief be
found breaking up, and be smitten that he die, there
shall no
blood be
shed for
him. If the sun be risen upon him, there
shall be blood
shed
for
him; for
he
should make full restitution; if he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft. If
the theft be certainly found in his hand alive, whether it be ox, or ass, or sheep; he
shall restore double. If a man shall cause a field or vineyard to be eaten, and shall put
in his beast, and shall feed in another man's field; of the best of his own field, and of
the best of his own vineyard, shall he make restitution. If fire break out, and catch in
thorns, so that the stacks of corn, or the standing corn, or the field, be consumed therewith;
he
that kindled the fire shall surely make restitution. If a man shall deliver unto his
neighbour money or stuff to keep, and it be stolen out of the man's house; if the thief be
found, let him pay double." For these crimes, you can repay the one that you have
wronged, and repay him more than he lost. He thus sees that you have indeed a changed life
by the grace of God.
But
in the case of committing adultery with his wife, there is nothing that you can ever repay
him to correct the wrong that you have done. Proverbs 6:29-35 says, "So he that goeth
in to his neighbour's wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent. Men
do
not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry; But if
he
be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house. But
whoso
committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that
doeth
it destroyeth his own soul. A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not
be wiped away. For jealousy is
the
rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance. He will not regard any
ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts."
On
top of committing adultery with his wife, if she divorces him and marries you, then there
is no way that he can ever get his wife back, either. Deuteronomy 24:3,4 says, "And if
the
latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and giveth it
in
her hand, and sendeth her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, which took her to
be his
wife; Her former husband, which sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife,
after that she is defiled."
The
Bible is clear in regard to what God expects of New Testament church leaders. "A
bishop then must be blameless, the
husband of one wife,
vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; Not given to wine,
no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; One that
ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a
man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) Not
a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover
he must have a good report of them which are without..."
In
regard to David, he had a good desire -- that of building a house (a temple) for the Lord,
but God would not let him do that. Because David was so blessed, Nathan did not even pray
about it, he just told David to go ahead and build it. II Samuel 7:1-5 says, "And it
came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and the LORD had given him rest round about
from all his enemies; That the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in an
house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains. And Nathan said to the king,
Go, do all that is
in
thine heart; for the LORD is
with
thee. And it came to pass that night, that the word of the LORD came unto Nathan, saying,
Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the LORD, Shalt thou build me an house for me to
dwell in?"
In
the same way, many men who are serving God faithfully in their present place in life,
begin to have a good desire -- that of pastoring a church. I Timothy 3:1, "This is
a
true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work."
Sometimes it is God's will, and sometimes, like David, God has to say, "It is a good
desire, but it is not for you to do." I Chronicles 22:7-10 says, "And David said
to Solomon, My son, as for me, it was in my mind to build an house unto the name of the
LORD my God: But the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly,
and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build an house unto my name, because thou hast
shed much blood upon the earth in my sight. Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall
be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about: for his name
shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days. He shall
build an house for my name; and he shall be my son, and I will
be his
father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever."
We
must learn from the example of Nathan, that just because people are being blessed of God,
does not mean that God wants them to take leadership positions or take upon themselves
leadership of special projects for God. These people are blessed doing what they are
presently doing, and should remain humble and continue on in those types of ministries.
Notice how David takes the news humbly, and does not get angry with the prophet for
telling him what God's perfect will is. II Samuel 7:17-26 says, "According to all
these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David. Then went
king David in, and sat before the LORD, and he said, Who am
I,
O Lord GOD? and what is
my
house, that thou hast brought me hitherto? And this was yet a small thing in thy sight, O
Lord GOD; but thou hast spoken also of thy servant's house for a great while to come. And is
this
the manner of man, O Lord GOD? And what can David say more unto thee? for thou, Lord GOD,
knowest thy servant. For thy word's sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done
all these great things, to make thy servant know them.
Wherefore
thou art great, O LORD God: for there
is none
like thee, neither is
there any God
beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears. And what one nation in the
earth is
like
thy people, even
like
Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to himself, and to make him a name, and to do
for you great things and terrible, for thy land, before thy people, which thou redeemedst
to thee from Egypt, from
the
nations and their gods? For thou hast confirmed to thyself thy people Israel to
be a
people unto thee for ever: and thou, LORD, art become their God. And now, O LORD God, the
word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant, and concerning his house, establish it
for
ever, and do as thou hast said. And let thy name be magnified for ever, saying, The LORD
of hosts is
the
God over Israel: and let the house of thy servant David be established before thee."
You have a good desire, that of pastoring a church;
but I pray that you will humbly see that you do not meet God's qualifications for it, and
will gladly serve Him in positions which He does allow for your life.
