This is a series of lessons taught by Brian Birdow on how not to get a divorce. All sermons are available free for download at www.cmcoc.org and itunes. Divorce is painful and destroys the family and we should be doing everything possible to stay married. In this lesson we cover the permanency of marriage and show how it is of GOD.

1. Divorce Prevention 101
The permanency of marriage
by
Brian Birdow
Sermon text: Matthew 5:17f
www.cmcoc.org

2. False views of marriage
Hollywood!
• The Bachelor show
• The Bachelorette show
• Bride-zilla
• Divorce court

3. Biblical view of marriage
Objective of lesson
1. Permanency of Marriage
2. Understand marriage is ordained of God.
3. Understand what you have or about to enter
into.
4. To know God expects marriage to be for life

4. Permanency of Marriage
• Genesis 2:18 And the LORD God said, It is not
good that the man should be alone; I will make him
a helper suitable for him.
• Genesis 2:23 And Adam said, This is now bone of
my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called
Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
• Genesis 2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father
and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and
they shall be one flesh.

5. It does matter who you marry!
• Genesis 6:2 That the sons of God saw the
daughters of men that they were fair; and they took
them wives of all which they chose.
• Genesis 6:5 And God saw that the wickedness of
man was great in the earth, and that every
imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil
continually.
• Genesis 6:7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man
whom I have created from the face of the earth; both
man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the
fowls of the air; for I am sorry that I have made
them.

6. Marriage is to be Holy
• Leviticus 20:10 And the man that commits adultery
with another man's wife, even he that commits
adultery with his neighbor's wife, the adulterer and
the adulteress shall surely be put to death.
• Deuteronomy 22:22 If a man be found lying with a
woman married to a husband, then they shall both of
them die, both the man that lay with the woman, and
the woman: so shall you put away evil from Israel.
• Proverbs 6:32 Whoever commits adultery with a
woman lacks understanding;
He who does so destroys his own soul.

7. A cause for divorce
• Deuteronomy 24:1-2 When a man has taken
a wife, and married her, and it comes to pass
that she finds no favor in his eyes, because he
has found some uncleanness in her: then let
him write her a bill of divorcement, and put it
in her hand, and send her out of his house.
And when she is departed out of his house,
she may go and be another man's wife.

8. A cause for divorce
• Deuteronomy 24:3 And if the latter husband
hates her, and writes her a bill of divorcement,
and puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his
house; or if the latter husband dies, who took
her to be his wife;
• Deuteronomy 24:4 Her former husband, who
sent her away, may not take her again to be his
wife, after she is defiled; for that is abomination
before the LORD: and you shall not cause the
land to sin, which the LORD your God gives
you for an inheritance.

9. Uncleanness defined
• Hebrew word is “Erva” Strong’s H6172
• nakedness, nudity, shame, pudenda
• pudenda (implying shameful exposure)
• nakedness of a thing, indecency, improper
behaviour exposed, undefended (fig.)

10. Bill of Divorcement
• Jeremiah 3:8 And I saw, when for all the causes for
which backsliding Israel committed adultery I had
put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet
her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went
and played the harlot also.
• Isaiah 50:1 Thus says the LORD, Where is the bill
of your mother's divorcement, whom I have put
away? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have
sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have you sold
yourselves, and for your transgressions is your
mother put away.

11. Overview of Matthew 5
• Jesus began on one level (that of the
scribes and Pharisees) and now He brings
the people to the next level. If they do not
respect all of the commandments and
teach others to do the same, then they are
on the same level as that of the scribes
and Pharisees

12. Matthew 5:19
• Whosoever therefore shall break one of
these least commandments, and shall
teach men so, he shall be called the least
in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever
shall do and teach them, the same shall
be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

13. Break or Annul
• The word annul is translated “relax” or “break.” The
Rabbi’s counted 613 commandments in the Old Law
and made some more important than others. Jesus
is saying that whoever relaxes (regards more lightly
- 16:19; 18:18) will still be in the kingdom, but will be
least in the kingdom.
• This does not mean that, since they did not think
one command as important as another, they
decided not to obey it. They still obeyed it, but they
felt it to be less significant than other laws (see Mt
23:23).

14. Jesus teaches and corrects
1. Angry (murder) …………5:21-26
2. Adultery (lust) ……………5:27-30
3. Divorce (fornication) ………5:31-32
4. Vows (word is your bond)………5:33-37
5. Revenge (Do extra)…………..5:38-42
6. Vengeance (love)………..…….5:43-48

15. Key Verse
• Matthew 5:20 For I say unto you, That
except your righteousness shall exceed
the righteousness of the scribes and
Pharisees, you shall in no case enter into
the kingdom of heaven.

16. Jesus teaches on Divorce
• Matthew 5:31 It has been said, Whosoever
shall put away his wife, let him give her a
writing of divorcement:
• Matthew 5:32 But I say unto you, That
whosoever shall put away his wife, except for
the cause of fornication, causes her to
commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry
her that is divorced commits adultery.

17. Jesus teaches on marriage
• Matthew 5:31 It has been said, Whosoever
shall put away his wife, let him give her a
writing of divorcement:
• Matthew 5:32 But I say unto you, That
whosoever shall put away his wife, except for
the cause of fornication, causes her to
commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry
her that is divorced commits adultery.

18. Objection!
•There are those who
argue that once a
divorce occurs the
marriage bond is broken.

19. Over-ruled!
• This passage will not allow such a conclusion.
Jesus says that whoever marries a divorced
woman commits adultery. How can it be
adultery if she was no longer bound to
another?
• It cannot. Therefore, in the eyes of God, she
is still bound. To marry another would be to
commit adultery.

20. Two direct consequences
1. He might force her into an adulterous situation
- because she would likely remarry without
having a God-approved reason. However, if
he divorced her because of adultery, it would
be her own fault.
• Equally, it would be her sin (of adultery) if she
choose to remarry - even though she did not
have the scriptural right to remarry.

21. Two direct consequences
• 2. He might end up in a marriage himself
that is adulterous, by marrying someone
who has been put away by another

22. Single or reconciliation
• 1 Corinthians 7:10 And unto the married I
command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the
wife depart from her husband:
• 1 Corinthians 7:11 But if she depart, let her
remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her
husband: and let not the husband put away
his wife.

23. Matthew 5:32
• But I say unto you, That whosoever shall
put away his wife, except for the cause of
fornication, causes her to commit
adultery: and whosoever shall marry her
that is divorced commits adultery.
• Read it proleptically: she is called and
adulteress because she may easily
become one.