You'll have to explain what is italicized to me....I know many Christians who are divorced, including our own Baptist Renegade. I'm sure there are probably others on these forums that are divorced. Being divorced doesn't stop one from being a Christian.
Indeed. And we pay a horrible price. A friend of mine is currently paying the price.
Not to one who called himself a Christian. That would be disobedience.
I can definitely agree. My mother and birth father were married in July of 1961,. I was born in May of 62. My mother filed for divorce in January of 63. My father has been married 5x. His mother was married 9x. My adoptive father had been married and divorced by the time he was 17. The 5 siblings I grew up with and I were raised to hate divorce. Yet my younger brother has been married 3x, and our baby sister has been married and divorced 2x. Both of my wife's sisters have been divorced, the youngest one going on her second divorce. I have one uncle who was married 13x. It's far too common these days, even in Christian homes.
I don't see how churches could stay populated let alone staffed if the perfect standard for divorce was maintained.
I know of many pastors who have been divorced, including my ex BIL. He was a strict IFB pastor holding to all the extra biblical ideologies that they hold to including not allowing divorced people to preach, teach, or work in any way, shape, or form in the church. They couldn't even be ushers, greeters, or choir members. He stopped his children from visiting with my parents as both had been divorced even though at one point in time they lived 30 minutes away. He browbeat my sister when she suffered her first miscarriage shortly after they were married and insisted it was a punishment for her sin and the sins of our parents. But after the divorce he quickly changed his positions on things. He refused to let my sister talk to me any longer than five minutes He had several divorced men in his congregations over the 15 years they were together, and he totally destroyed one man's faith over his positions. My ex BIL is now remarried and pastoring in an SBC church in. S. Georgia. His 5; daughters have little to no contact with him, and since my sister recently went through her second divorce this year after 15 years of marriage, he's been demonizing her to his daughters. He allows divorced people to participate now, but still has that legalistic mindset from before twisting scripture to mean that he let an unbeliever (my sister) depart which justified his decision to re-enter the ministry. I'm going to be honest here... he's the kind of person and pastor that has turned me and my wife off to much of Christianity. Don't get me wrong, we still love Jesus Christ and try to serve him the best that we can, but we're burned out on all the bovine bombs that go with it.
And that is the real point. With no-fault divorce being legal in all 50 states, while it takes two to make a marriage, it only takes one to make a divorce with the other party having no say in the matter.
That's the problem with not specifying justified divorce as you cited as in cases of abandonment and unfaithfulness. That was my bad. When I referred to the "sin of divorce", I meant mutual divorces of convenience... However, drawing a distinct line gets messy. No wonder God hates divorce.
I think marriage can be an absolutely wonderful thing; however, there are people who are emotionally and physically abusive. It was not easy to walk away from my marriage. In fact, it was very, very hard, but I experience God's grace and mercy in ways many people could never understand.
You get it.
As one who has been divorced, I wholeheartedly agree! Fact of the matter is that when one person decides to walk out of a marriage, the other usually has no recourse whatsoever especially since "no fault divorce" is now the law of the land. 1 Cor 7:15 seems quite clear and it really does not matter what they actually "profess." I believe that divorce is a matter for Church discipline and the one initiating the divorce must be confronted per Mt 18 and if they will not receive counsel from the church and try to work things out, they are pretty much to be regarded as a "heathen and a publican" and should be "disfellowshipped" from the congregation so the one who has been "left" will be at peace and have the support of the congregation.
And the 19th Amendment.
And yet, Jesus kept company and ministered to Mary Magdalene, Zaccheus, the tax collector...and many others.
You aren’t wrong but your application misses the mark. Jesus did keep company with sinners (what other options did He have?). Even so that doesn’t change the admonition from Paul (inspired by God) that WE avoid those who have claimed Christ yet act like the lost world around them.
To easy to walk away?