Second marriages

>> Do you think, under God, that you can make it a vow of fidelity again to a second, third, fourth, etc while any of the objects of a previous vow is still physically alive? <<

That is, the covenant sealed by the marital pledge of fidelity is validated from then on and according to the conditional boundary stated: (a) on the one hand, as long as they both shall live (be physically alive); and, on the other hand, until death do them part (one or both shall become physically dead).

I don't know that any marriage vow has a 'seal' connected with it...I have vowed things to God in the past that I have broken...Yet, it seems to me I am still saved...

I have concerns with the 'marriage vow' ('do you swear')...Is it a legitimate vow for atheists or non Christians, or are they free to ignore it??? While it appears to be common in the Old Testament for people to swear, give oaths or vows, the New Testament seems to warn us about that practice, maybe because of the severity of the consequence of it???

Jas 5:12 But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.

Can a Christian come under condemnation for breaking a vow to God???

Joh 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

Mat 5:33 Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:
Mat 5:34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne:
Mat 5:35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.
Mat 5:36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.
Mat 5:37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

Seems like this is telling us not to make a marriage vow but just say yes or no...

And what about Grace???

>> Do you think, under God, that you can make it a vow of fidelity again to a second, third, fourth, etc while any of the objects of a previous vow is still physically alive? << Revised.

Yes. According to Christ’s exact word in Greek, there is a legitimate cause of divorce that ended a marriage.

You kept your word until the other ended the marriage. The marriage no longer exists. You are not bound, and free to marry or not.

“In God's Heaven, of course, the only marriage is that of Christ and His Bride. I leave up to you now whether or not one's spiritual body will be fully furnished with genital equipment as in earthly life.”

😳

1Co 7:27 Art thou bound unto a wife?

By your honorable promise to her, whether or not you were saved at the time. As long as you both shall live, until death parts y'all.

seek not to be loosed.

By seeking man's court decree, which is not valid with God; nor by acting so badly that you force her to separate from you and seek a court decree of divorce, a;so not valid to God. Whatsoever God hath joined together, do not permit mankind to part asunder.

Art thou loosed from a wife?

By the only dissolution of the God-joined oneness of flesh, departming of the soul ans spirit of one of the partners by physical death.

seek not a wife.

Merely a word of counsel, not a command: conjugal relationships will have to be maintained, and attention to one's partner will diminish the totality of dedication of one's attention to serving God without interference.

But

Being separated by death, not by divorce, in becoming thus loosed there was no sin involved

Then, going forward, in case you have been loosed from a wife in a legitimate way acceptable to God/Christ,

and if

(Greek conditional case 3 - it may be) you choose to select the lesser preferred path of a widower or widow (not a "grass widow") to be married again:

thou marry, thou hast not sinned

Clearly, less favorable to your own interests and a less peaceful life of negotiating opposing prefeences, still it is not a sinful choice between alternate God-permitted options for his servants. But it does not involve the damnable sin of remarriage adultery.

I don't understand wht your problem is with this interpretation that is consistent with the context, with Jesus' teachings on it, and with the whole context of the Bible of which the marital relationship is a thread from beginning to end:

Rev 19:7-9 (KJV):
⁷ Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
⁸ And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
⁹ And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

"Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blessed; finding as He promised perfect peace and rest" (Frances R. Havergill)

So what's that mean??? Does it mean that since we quit sinning we were allowed to be washed or does it mean that we are washed clean because the blood of Jesus washed all that sin off of us??? I think Jesus cleanses us after we are washed in the blood...I don't believe we do or can cleanse ourselves...

Confession without the faith in Christ and the desire to repent is not being figuratively "washed in the blood." Remarriage adultery is adultery still, which can be resolved by not cohabiting conjugally with the person you have remarried; though not seeking yet another divorce or "annulment."

When advised of this difficult choice, the failure to come into alignment with the Will of The God when admonished by The Word brings the status of the remarried couple regarding salvation, particularly if they are not being chastened for it by The Father.

I have been in exactly the same position, have made the right choice, and have been greatly blessed for it thereby. An excerpt from the paper by the old retired Baptist missionary who has discipled me for about 25 years:

What advice can be given to those in such a predicament? It is very difficult. Some went ahead to remarry aware that it is wrong. Others were not aware of the consequences and were not warned by a regenerated disciple of The Lord Jesus Christ. Some have come to a knowledge of and desired a relationship with The Lord Jesus Christ after they were remarried. Certainly another divorce is not the answer. It has already been recognized that The God hates divorce. Yet He requires separation from Sin and sins.

In the 1930’s to the 1960’s Missionaries to Third World countries and Tribal Peoples whose culture included multiple wives had to face this problem. There were children involved who needed a father and a mother. Yet The Word of God is clear. What provision could be made to allow them into the local church or assembly? The conclusion to which they came was for the husbands to separate from all wives except the first one which God recognized. Separate quarters were provided close by for each of the other wives and their respective children in close proximity so that the father was able to relate to the children daily, but he was not to enter beyond the greeting room or the kitchen. All bedrooms were off limits. In this way there was no further cohabitation so no more adultery committed and no more defilement taking place.

There are some in America who have followed a similar pattern to abstain from cohabitation adultery so as to please the Lord and abstain from uncleanness and defilement. Certainly those who truly love The Father and one another would prefer such an arrangement to that of being excluded from inheriting Eternal Life and the Kingdom of The God.

It is not good for lust and desire for a bedmate to overwhelm righteous decision-making, particularly when your concern is truly about the effect on someone else than yourself. Eh?

This epidemic of serial marriages in the Christian culture is due to the failure of church assemblies to grasp the clear doctrine, to conduct Scriptural premarital counseling, to admonish instances where church members are engaging in remarriage adultery, or to gracefully but firmly administer church discipline when the couple fails to take heed. The fault must be laid partially to the lack of backbone in the institutes awarding ministerial or counseling credentials, where lax standards in marriage matters prevails, and many church leaders enter into service with their consciences already defiled, IMHO.

You kept your word until the other ended the marriage.

Your own integrity does not depend on that of the honor of anyone else.

In God's eyes, when He jins them toget hhethe marriage is not ended until you or she dies. It's that simple.

Until the union is consummated by sexual congress, marriage exists only as a mutual promise of exclusive ownership by one of the other by virtue of shared flesh (1 Cor. 7:4)--the two have not joined flesh to flesh, gamete to gamete, with the tokens of the bride's virginity demonstrated (or NOT) to prove (disprove) her continence. Whatever or however the Jewish rabbis or Gentile customs, Jesus supersedes them by going back to Genesis 2 and the age of innocence to point out what the circumstances are to which repudiation applies in His eyes. But after congress, no further wiggle room for divorce, no further man putting asunder what The Godhead hath joined together. Separation to prevent physical or verbal abuse of one by the other is OK (per Paul's NT-explained OT-contained doctrine), but breaking the covenant after it has transitioned from thought to reality, no.

It is not whether either ofthe participants kept their word and mutual fidelit; it iw about God keeping His.

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