Do you believe that Jesus taught that men may never divorce their wives? If you believe this, then you believe that a man who gets married deserves the same penalty as a beast who rapes a virgin!
“If a man find a damsel, a virgin, which is not betrothed, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found; Then the man that lay with her shall give unto the damsel’s father fifty of silver, and she shall be his wife; because he hath humbled her, he may not put her away all his days.” Deuteronomy 22:28,29
Take note, the rapist “may not put her away all his days.” If you truly believe that Jesus’ teaching on marriage was that a man may never divorce his wife, then you must be at least a little curious as to why Jesus would pronounce the same sentence on a nice guy for getting married as penalty the law imposes on a beast who rapes a virgin!
The fact is, Jesus never forbade divorce. The false belief that a man may never divorce his wife evolved from the long standing position of the Roman Catholic church, not from any teachings found in the Bible. Those who claim that the Bible forbids divorce can only do so by invoking the false doctrine of gender parity. Gender parity claims that all verses that apply to women, apply equally to men. Romans 7:3 is the favorite verse of gender parity advocates. Here are Paul’s actual words:
“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.” Romans 7:3
Those who teach the false doctrine of gender parity twist and yes, change, Romans 7:3 by falsely claiming that it can also be understood as follows:
[WARNING! THE PARAGRAPH YOU ARE ABOUT TO READ IS NOT FROM THE BIBLE]
So then if, while [his] wife liveth, he be married to another woman, he shall be called an adulterer: but if his wife be dead, he is free from that law; so that he is no adulterer, though he be married to another woman.
[WARNING! THE PARAGRAPH YOU JUST READ WAS NOT FROM THE BIBLE]
I have placed the [WARNING NOT FROM THE BIBLE] marker before and after the phrases above to make sure that you understand that
only by CHANGING the words in the Bible can the gender parity advocates make verses that apply to women, apply to men as well.
The gender parity advocates cannot prove their point against divorce unless they put the same restrictions that the Bible places on women, upon men, and they can only do this by making up words and or inserting different words.
Just remember! If you are against all divorce.
You are taking refuge in the false doctrine of gender parity!
What they do is a great sin. The word woman simply does not mean man! Not only do gender parity advocates change and insert words, but in so doing they muddle the meaning of the words they are using. The definition of adulterer that is found in the Bible is a man who lays with another man’s wife or who lays with the betrothed of another man.
An advocate of Romans 7:3 might protest, saying, I’m not saying this applies to men but it says the woman will be an adulteress. If divorce were allowed then she would not be an adulteress so this verse must mean that divorce is not allowed. The answer to this is simple. The verse says, “if her husband…” This verse is speaking about a married woman. If her husband divorced her then she would not be the married woman spoken of. Let’s take a look at the verse that precedes Romans 7:3 and that of course is Romans 7:2
“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.”
That statement is true, it’s God’s Word. But what it doesn’t say is that if the husband divorces her, she is not bound by the law because she no longer has a husband.
No words of Jesus nor verse in the Bible can nor should be construed as to eliminate the Bible’s penalty for rape which is marriage without divorce.
“If a man find a damsel, a virgin, which is not betrothed, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found; Then the man that lay with her shall give unto the damsel’s father fifty of silver, and she shall be his wife; because he hath humbled her, he may not put her away all his days.” Deuteronomy 22:28,29
Yet the man guilty of rape of a virgin could still bring charges against her if she lay with any other man. For that adultery, she and her paramour would be put to death by stoning. But in places where capital punishment was not allowed, he could still seek, and be granted, whatever punishment would separate the woman from him for life. One of those options would simply be the divorce that he otherwise would be denied.
But for those against divorce for any and every reason. A claim to a law more just appears. Yes, they claim their law is more just, more pure, more gentle. And it’s this:
Get rid of the law against rape and instead, impose the penalty for rape on all men!
So the poor men in modern churches who hold to this false teaching, remain cowed by anti-divorce zealots, or they even join their persecutors to torment others, while they remain stuck with an adulteress. On top of this, the woman’s pastor is likely telling her that she can dump her husband if he so much as speaks twice to the single Sunday school teacher at the pre-service coffee at the church snack bar.