Divorce does not dissolve marriage.

By The Standard and Newsday | Mar. 26, 2015

I strongly believe that we need to educate each other on what God really means and feels about marriage and stop justifying our wrongs and failures as if they are the gospel of Christ.

We need to draw the line between the humanistic teaching and the Word of God.

I was glad when I read an article in one of our newspapers about a magistrate who refused to “dissolve” a 38-year-old marriage and sighted his fear of God as a reason.

This is refreshing. If only our courts could emulate this man and send divorce cases to counsellors.

“Therefore, what God has joined together, let no man separate,” Mark 10: 9. These were and still are Jesus’s words on dealing with the subject at hand.

People will stand in front of God and relatives and make vows, but only turn around and demand a divorce. Remember that God is a witness when you make those vows and he joins you together and that is why he says let no man separate what he has joined together.

Magistrates according to the law of God have no right or jurisdiction to dissolve marriages that God has joined together. Yes, they can according to the law of the land, but that is offending the heart of God.

The relationship between husband and wife includes faithfulness, loyalty and permanency. It is a permanent relationship dissolved by death only. This is the reason why the Bible teaches against divorce and remarrying.

Keep Reading

“Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery,” Mark 10:11-12.

I know that this is not a sweet sound to many of us, but this is what God teaches about marriage. Divorce is not part and parcel of marriage.

Divorce does not end or cancel the truth that you are married to that person. You see marriage is first spiritual than being physical.

Physically you are divorced and not staying together and you have moved with your life, but spiritually, which is the realm of God, you are still married.

This is why the Bible says you are committing adultery. The court decision does not absolve you from the spiritual meaning and purpose of marriage and from your responsibility.

Many of us do not just care about the spirituality of marriage and we just think marriage is for fun like that. If you really feared God, you would seek to reconcile with your spouse.

“But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery,” Mathew 5: 32.

I know that reasons given for the high divorce rate these days vary from one context to another. Jesus permits one reason for divorce and that is sexual immorality.

Any other reason is not sound and valued in the court of the kingdom of God. Beloved, God takes marriage seriously.

I have heard people preach and teach against these scriptures arguing that they repent. Good beloved, repentance is good. Repentance means turning away from doing a wrong thing and following the instructions of the Lord.

You cannot repent and continue doing wrong and think you are well with the Lord. I do not think so. Repentance will cause you to go back and reconcile with your spouse and walk out of an adulterous affair.

We cannot do marriage at our own terms. Marriage is a holy institution which God loves and he is a witness to it. It serves a spiritual purpose bigger than we can imagine. All we need is to do marriage God’s way so we can enjoy its fullness and life-giving mandate. What must I do now?

Forgive your spouse. No human being is perfect and so stop expecting perfection from imperfect beings. You cannot do marriage without exercising a high degree of forgiveness. This is foundational in any marriage set up. Forgive that you may be forgiven.

Remember it’s all about your heart condition that your marriage is not working well. Search your heart.

Reconcile with your spouse. The ministry of reconciliation has been given us by the Holy Spirit himself. We are able to if we choose to.

Selfishness and hardness of our hearts block us from coming together and continue the journey of love. Beloved, love is beautiful and forgives and reconciles with those it loves. True men forgive. True men reconcile and build others up.

Make peace with your spouse. We have few peace makers in many homes these days. All we have are people who are too full of themselves, proud and care less about others. I think the teaching on individual rights spoils this generation.

I could go on and on, but beloved, we have a work to do if we are going to serve God fully in this generation. It starts with you and me. Think about these things.

Kilton Moyo is a pastor, guidance and counselling consultant and author of The Sex Trap. Call and WhatsApp on +263 775 337 207 or +263 712 384 841.