Please join me in taking your copy of God's Word and turning to Ephesians chapter 5.
! This morning is going to be abnormal for us.
! If you're a guest this morning, I'm sorry.
On the one hand, I really would love for you to be here with us for our normal verse-by-verse
exposition, the general habit of our church. On the other, maybe it's good for you to see
that as a church we take the Scripture seriously and what it teaches seriously, even when it
comes to topics of Christian living. We, as a church, endeavor to walk in all things
in the truth. Over the past, I don't want to admit how many years, the issue of marriage,
divorce, and remarriage has come up in our verse-by-verse expedition, that as well, exposition,
as we work through the Gospel of Mark, and then more recently through the Sermon on the
Mount in Matthew. And each of those times, I have said to you, you'll recall if you were
here, that this is not an easy matter to sort through. In fact, it has been a centuries-old
debate on exactly what is the teaching of the Bible concerning particularly divorce and remarriage.
If you find yourself in a place this morning, believing that you have it already sorted out,
let me just invite you into a place of humility. It's most likely that you have not yet read enough
concerning these matters, that you've not really studied it fully, if you have a
abounding confidence in the position that you may hold. I know that many of you don't really know
exactly what to think, and this is where I found myself in some past years. Recently, comforted by
all of the position papers that I managed to find and pull and read, that the shortest amount of time
any church took in forming a position was a year, and many of them took much longer in careful study
over the matter. No matter the position we take concerning divorce and remarriage, we have to
extrapolate, we have to draw out some meaning, because the Bible is an ancient book. It wasn't
written in our language, and it wasn't written to our cultural context. So there's some challenges
sometimes fully grasping the meaning of a text, right? Ringing it out, and then having it harmonized
with the rest of what the Bible has to say. And this has been my labor over the past months.
I've picked it up. I've gotten so exasperated that I've put it back down. I've picked it up again,
because I knew that I had to. I have never in the past 10 years of being a pastor prayed for snow.
I must admit that I did this week, and yet we find ourselves here.
I have read and read and read. I have taken all of the pertinent texts and put them up on a large
board so I could look at it all together and scribbled and erased and tore down and put back up again.
I've labored in writing. Students, you may
connect with me on this and then highlighted whole pages and hit delete.
Rewrote and deleted and rewrote again.
I have sitting on my computer now as a draft a 10-page paper and growing that I had intended to
give to you this morning.
But as I personally have arrived at a position and
looked to articulate that position,
I set out first to say,
I'm just going to write a paper that states the position.
And then on the Sunday that we talk about it,
I'll try to do my best to articulate the opposing positions and work out the complexities of the text.
But beloved, it is complex.
It's not a single Sunday morning working out.
And I don't think it'd be great for our church to spend weeks and weeks and weeks
Sunday morning gatherings on this.
So we're going to do it this morning.
We're going to take some time.
But as I began to try to articulate the position well,
it seems so often necessary to talk about other positions held.
And so the paper kept growing and growing and growing.
And as I would reread it, I'd go,
I can't just say that.
That's a jump in logic.
As people read this paper,
I've got to explain that more.
So another paragraph and another paragraph
and another paragraph would be added.
So at this point, I've discarded it.
I mean, it exists, but I don't intend to hand you the document that I've been writing thus far.
But decided instead to distribute to you,
sort of as a rough draft of a position for our church,
a document that I had nothing to do with,
but yet I agree with it to this date.
That's a position paper that was presented to and adopted
at the Presbyterian Church of America 20th General Assembly in 1992.
And it's a part of a much greater work.
There's some application chapters.
There's some historical survey chapters
as the PCA Church has a rich Reformed tradition.
And what I've done is I've just pulled out chapter 2.
and made a ton of copies of it
and stapled this hand sore
to be able to put those copies in your hand this morning
so that we can talk further about this.
So I have some guys, I think they're the same guys
that took care of the offering for us.
They've got some stacks.
I'm going to ask them now just to go ahead
and work on distributing copies of this particular paper
for your further study.
We're going to reference it a little bit here in just a moment,
but I want you to take this home.
If you're a guest this morning, you don't have to.
I don't feel like you're obligated to take a copy of this and study it.
If you're a member, you certainly need to.
If you're a guest, you're welcome to,
if you'd like to put this in your hand.
I think we have enough for everybody this morning.
To be clear, presently, we believe in a plurality leadership.
Presently, we have one other elder, including myself.
There's two of us, Doug Hitchcock.
And I'm not presenting this as our position this morning
because I have not given Doug Hitchcock enough time to...
He didn't even know I was doing this.
Now he does.
Hey, Doug.
Him and I have done a lot of work on this topic.
I think very generally we agree.
We've spent a bunch of time talking through various implications and applications.
But I just want you to be aware that I'm springing this on him at this moment.
So don't, if you're upset, grill him.
Come to me.
While you're getting this, I want to express to you just some pastoral concern.
The way we approach this topic matters deeply
because marriage is an extremely important institution.
We'll talk more about that from Ephesians chapter 5 momentarily.
Extremely important institution.
We don't want to minimize, in talking about this, the importance of marriage.
But at the same time, we live in a fallen world
and people have been affected by divorce and remarriage,
the challenges and the messiness of marriage.
And so we don't want to minimize our love and care and concern for people as well.
And so there's a very careful tightrope to walk here
in talking about these things that I hope you'll join me in in some coming weeks.
I want to read from a pastor named Sam Storms who wrote a position paper on this.
I just felt like he summarized this pastoral challenge well.
So please hear my heart as we spend some time this morning around this topic this morning.
He wrote,
How do I stress the permanence of marriage without condemning,
how do I feel judged and rejected and unfit for ministry and service in the church?
But if I express compassion and love for divorced people
and remind them how much God really does love them,
others may think I'm glossing over their failures
and that I'm contributing to the very devaluation of marriage that I earlier denounced.
How do I stress the permanence of marriage without condemning the divorced?
And how do I love and affirm the divorced person without condoning sin and failure?
Our challenge is to mingle the call to obedience with the tears of compassion.
To be both tender to those who have failed without compromising the high standards of Scripture.
Here then is my two-fold appeal.
Number one, to the divorce I say that my emphasis on the importance of marriage
and honoring one's vows and fighting to stay together
does not mean I don't love you and care about you
or that you aren't wanted or can't fit in or can never be active in ministry.
Second, to the married I say that my emphasis on the dignity of the divorced person
and their value to God and the forgiveness and restoration that is available to them
through the cross does not mean that we can take a flippant, casual attitude toward marriage
or that marriage isn't worth preserving
or that we are adopting a loose view toward sin.
End quote.
So why have I labored so long in coming to a position concerning marriage, divorce, and remarriage?
Why does it matter so much that we work together on getting this as right as people, this side of glory, can get it?
First, marriage pictures, although so often imperfectly, the gospel of Jesus Christ.
It's a shadow of a greater thing.
It's meant to point us to the good that God has given to us in Jesus.
Let's look at our text briefly.
Again, this is an odd Sunday for us.
Ephesians chapter 5 is going to serve this single point of why this matters so very, very much,
and then I'll make some further comments.
Ephesians chapter 5, verse 22 and following.
Beloved, this is God's word to us written for his glory and for our good.
We would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises and obey its commands.
Wives, submit to your own husbands as to the Lord.
For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church,
his body and is himself its Savior.
Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.
Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,
that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,
so that he might resent the church to himself in splendor without spot or wrinkle or any such thing,
that she might be holy and without blemish.
In the same way, husbands should love their wives as their own bodies.
He who loves his wife loves himself.
For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it just as Christ does the church,
because we are members of his body.
Therefore, a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife,
and the two shall become one flesh.
This mystery is profound, and I'm saying that it refers to Christ and the church.
However, let each one of you love his wife as himself,
and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
So we can see in this text that Paul says this profound mystery of the way that marriage is supposed to work
points us to a greater, a grander thing.
That Jesus Christ is the groom of the church,
and he has saved her by giving of his very self for her.
He laid down his life for the sake of ours.
That he would save us and that he would sanctify us.
Giving of himself for our good in him.
This is what marriage is meant to be like,
and it's what is meant to point to men sacrificially loving their wives.
For their wife's good, that she would be found in Christ.
That she would be found holy in him.
And wives lovingly submitting to that leadership in the home.
This was the design.
Paul even cites for us here,
Genesis chapter 2, when he says,
Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife,
and the two shall become one flesh.
This was the design from the beginning.
A man and a woman in lifelong commitment to one another.
Pressing each other in holiness.
That's why this matters.
As sin enters into the world,
just a few verses later in Genesis chapter 3,
as sin corrupts everything,
The church should be set apart.
The church should say something very clearly to the culture around us
about what marriage is,
how it's to function,
and what it's meant to picture.
So the way we pick up this topic is of importance,
and why I've labored so long in it.
Because first, marriage pictures,
although so often and perfectly,
the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Secondly,
marriage is a good gift.
Many of us in this room have experienced the goodness of marriage.
Being granted a spouse that loves us and presses us on,
even in their failures,
press us towards holiness in Christ.
And divorce,
invariably,
is difficult for all parties involved.
Invariably.
This is without exception.
The rending of a union
is a hurtful thing.
It's a hard thing.
We want to promote
lifelong marriages
for the good of people
to the glory of God.
We don't want to promote
divorce
because it's a harmful thing.
It's a damaging thing.
Third,
we have had to,
and will continue to have to,
counsel those
within our church
and without,
outside the doors of our church,
what the Bible teaches
on matters
concerning
marriage,
divorce,
and remarriage.
It's a very present reality
before us.
We need to be clear-minded
on these things.
What does the Scripture
teach
concerning these
matters?
Fourth,
our culture
is very confused
about marriage,
divorce,
and remarriage.
All three.
We have a fairly
anything-goes
mentality
as a culture
at large.
Having redefined marriage
altogether,
accepting divorce
for any reason
whatsoever,
those who fall in love
get married,
those who fall out of love
get divorced.
A large billboard
on your way to Atlanta
right now
on 400
that says,
undo,
quote-unquote,
I do.
And it's tragic
that such a thing
would be the display
for this particular
law firm.
Many people
these days
go through
multiple
divorces
and remarriages.
marriages
picked up
as a flippant thing,
a thing to not be
taken seriously.
Vows are meaningless
in our culture
these days.
Fifth,
the church
is confused
about marriage,
divorce,
and remarriage.
The church
at large
is confused.
We see
equally high
divorce rates
amongst those
who profess
to be followers
of Jesus Christ
as those
who don't.
So there must
be clarity.
But not only
in what we would
call more
conservative views,
more biblical
views on
marriage,
divorce,
and remarriage,
but there are
many
within orthodoxy
opposing views.
This is a
centuries-old
question
and debate.
I want to
maybe even
caution you
to not go
down the
wormhole
too deep
on this
debate.
This is why
I've charted
and graphed
and drawn
out.
I would
annoy you
to death
sharing with
you all
of the
things that
I've done
to try to
wrap my
mind around
all the
varying
views
and
positions.
Even within
the prominent
views,
there are
nuances of
them that
are hard
to represent.
It's difficult
to say,
let me tell
you what
this view
says because
I can speak
to it in
generalities,
but the
particulars
can differ
all the
same.
And so
there are
three positions
worth
considering
broadly,
and I want
to point
your attention
to the
second page
of this
document that
was handed
out.
Which
outlines
those for
you?
So it
would be
marked as
page 203.
About two
thirds down
the page,
it says
number one,
no divorce,
no remarriage.
That's where I'm
drawing your
attention to.
Those are
three positions
worth considering.
There's
another,
although there's
variances in it
enough that
some might
call it
more,
but I'll
call it a
fourth view,
which is
basically an
anything-goes
type of view,
which we
won't even
consider.
The Bible
does have
things to
say about
marriage,
divorce,
and remarriage.
We can't
just define it
for ourselves
and treat it
however we
would like.
So call that
the fourth
view and
look with me
for just a
bit at
three positions
worth
considering.
So the
first one is
the no
divorce,
no remarriage
view.
This is
very commonly
called the
permanence
view.
It's the
only view
that has
an agreed
upon name.
So if you
hear permanence,
this is what's
being talked
about.
Again,
there are
nuances
within it,
but permanence
folks would
say that
there is
no reason
for,
biblically
allowable
reason for
divorce and
no biblically
allowable
reason for
remarriage
if somebody
has been
sinfully
divorced.
And there
are many
orthodox
people that
hold this
view.
Some examples
in our day
are Votie
Bauckham
and John
Piper.
There's not
a lot of
writing,
but I have
some writing
on this
particular
view.
It's a
lesser held
view in
what we
would consider
orthodox
Christian
belief.
I think
there are
some people
in our
fellowship
that hold
this view
and there
are some
great arguments
to be
made for
it.
Second,
and this
paper develops
some of
those
arguments.
The second
view,
and this
is the
view put
forth in
this paper
and that
I would
put forth
to you
this morning,
which we'll
talk about
generally,
strictly
limited
grounds
for divorce
and for
remarriage.
I have
deemed
this,
me by
myself,
nobody
else has,
but by
myself I
call this
the less
permissive
view.
So permissive
would say
that there
are some
allowable
times and
purposes,
reasons,
but it's
not a
broad
sense.
It's a
lesser
sense of
permissive.
See the
first
couple
sentences
there.
a general
consensus
among
reformed
believers
is the
view that
the Bible
neither
condones
nor
commands
divorce,
but rather
permits and
regulates
divorce due
to sin.
So it's
not the
high ideal,
it's not
the thing
that we're
counseling
toward ever,
it's not
the thing
we want
to see
happen,
so the
scripture
doesn't
command it,
the scripture
does not
condone it,
but rather
permits and
regulates it.
However,
a person
can divorce
only for
adultery and
separation of
an unbelieving
spouse.
There's some
specific
circumstances
in which
someone can
be divorced
and the
question of
remarriage
arises later
as a result.
Prominent
people who
interestingly
all their
names start
with a J,
John
MacArthur,
J Adams,
the late
John
Murray,
Jim
Neuheiser,
these are
all people
you may be
familiar with
that hold
to this
view.
Once again,
with variance
and nuance
in their
particular
holding of
it,
the place
where my
brain came
to a
constant
screeching
halt,
got all
knotted
up,
was particularly
around the
conversation
of remarriage
and there's
not a
massive amount
of consensus
concerning that
matter.
The last
one is a
broader
grounds for
divorce and
remarriage.
I've deemed
this the
more permissive.
It's not
outside that
realm of
anything goes
kind of a
mentality,
but they would
suggest that
those two
reasons given,
adultery and
separation of an
unbelieving
spouse,
should be
interpreted with
more latitude.
So they're
more quick
to include
things like
abuse in
that category
or not
providing for
and meeting
the marital
agreement.
They would
tend to
work into
some of
that
understanding.
the labor
in this is
that we
don't want
to condone
that which
is sin.
We don't
want to give
permission for
sin.
We also do
not want to
forbid that
which is not
sin.
There's an
error on both
sides here.
There's always
a fine line
to walk
between
licentiousness
and
legalism.
We don't
want to find
ourselves in
either
place.
So the
position that's
put forth in
this paper,
the position
that I'm
putting before
you today,
I believe
is the most
exegetically
defensible,
theologically
sustainable,
and
pastorally
sensible.
For us as
a church,
it's going to
be important
that we
say,
this far,
but no
further.
We have to
say,
what can we
be confident
the Scripture
does in
fact teach?
I do think
that allows
for some
narrower views.
I don't mean
narrow-minded,
I mean just
more restrictive
views within
that view.
But we're
going to have
to consider
what will
our church
call sin
and what
will we
not?
This is a
challenging
thing to do
in this
matter.
Consider
particularly
the faithful
churches
that hold
varied views
and that
people may
come to
us from
those
places
and we
will be
asking them
to recognize
something as
sin that
they did
not previously
recognize as
sin and may
not be.
Some of my
insanity coming
out,
are you starting
to go,
gosh,
I have been
losing my
mind over
all of this.
So here's
the position
summary.
I know
we're not
opening the
text.
This is a
weird Sunday
for us.
Please know
that if you're
a guest.
The position
put forth in
this paper,
this is my
summary of
that position
and it's
what I want
you to pick
up and I
want you
to wrestle
with.
Number one,
marriage is
the lifelong
uniting of
one man and
one woman in
covenant
commitment.
This is from
our statement
of faith.
Marriage is.
This is what
it was intended
to be.
This is the
point.
We do
premarital
counseling in
this way.
The vows
that we do
when I
officiate a
wedding ceremony
are permanence
vows.
We don't say
do you,
unless of
course if.
We don't
include that.
This is the
point.
This is the
goal.
This is what
we're striving
for.
Lifelong
uniting of
one man and
one woman in
covenant
commitment.
That's number
one.
Number two,
a believer
should not
marry an
unbeliever.
This comes
into play
later as we
talk about
remarriage.
Believers
should not
marry an
unbeliever.
They should
not be
unequally
yoked.
Third,
a believer
should remain
married to
an unbeliever
if the
unbeliever is
willing to
remain married.
Somebody
converted to
faith in
Christ should
not divorce
their
unbelieving
spouse if the
spouse is
willing to
remain in
the marriage.
Fourth,
divorce always
stems from
sin,
but in
some cases
is not
sinful for
one of the
parties of
the divorce.
Divorce always
stems from
sin, but in
some cases
is not
sinful.
The Bible
never commands
divorce.
It doesn't
condone it,
but it does
not condemn
divorce in
two cases.
when a
spouse is
sexually
unfaithful.
Secondly,
when an
unbelieving
spouse
abandons
a believing
spouse.
And there
are particulars
and there
are intricacies
even in
those two
exceptions.
Fifth,
because death
breaks the
marriage bond,
remarriage is
allowed for
the surviving
spouse.
And sixth,
and you're
going to hate
this one because
it's the
broadest one I'm
going to give
you this
morning.
The paper
speaks more
to this.
In some
cases,
remarriage is
allowed for
divorced people
with surviving
ex-spouses.
In some
cases,
remarriage is
allowed for
divorced people
with surviving
ex-spouses.
I want you to
read carefully
through that
section.
It's the very
end of this
paper.
And give
it prayerful
thought and
consideration.
So, I
know that's
probably really
unsatisfying for
you.
Know that
everything I'm
saying is
accompanied by
a 28-page
document that I
want you to
read and dig
into and give
lots of
thought.
Prayerfully
consider it.
Roll around.
Have lots of
conversations about
this.
I'm available
most of the
time to talk
about it.
My only rule
is not today.
I don't want
to talk about
divorce and
remarriage today.
So, I
promise I will
shut you down
if you come up
to me after the
service and want
to talk about
it.
But other
times, after
today, I'm
here with you
and I want to
walk through it
and I want to
pursue the
truth together.
And so, let me
just say some
things to you about
how we should
continue in this
process and then
we're going to
talk about the
gospel again a
little bit and
then we're going
to sing some
great songs
together and
press on with
our day.
So, as we,
it's been my
labor, I'm
inviting you into
that now as
well.
Number one, let's
be congregational.
We are a
congregational
church.
That means that
people who are
members of this
fellowship are
responsible for
the doctrine of
this church.
That means you
play a part in
that.
And the elders
of your church
should and we
want to give you
leadership in
that.
We want to get
out ahead of
you and do
hard work and
present things
and teach you
what the
scripture says,
but you are
responsible for
what our church
decides, where
we decide to
stand on this
particular issue.
And you should
not do that
when you show up
to a meeting
and suddenly you
have questions
and suddenly you
have an opinion
and a thought.
Do the work.
Get in there
and work it
through if you
want a voice
and you want to
speak and be
part of the
process.
Be congregational.
That doesn't
just mean show
up to a
meeting and
vote.
That means
pick up the
challenge.
Take up the
work of working
it through.
I have got
endless resources
I could give
you.
There are many
of them cited
in this particular
paper as well.
You may need
to pick up a
read and work
it through and
read it.
So be
congregational in
the broad
sense all the
time as we're
working this out
together.
Secondly, let's
give the Bible
the final say.
And what I
mean by that
is try to
set aside your
prejudices as
you come to
the text,
which we all
have around
so many
issues.
But almost
all of us
have been
affected by
divorce in
some way in
our life.
We have
emotion that
we bring to
the text.
We want to
see a certain
outcome.
We would
prefer it to
say a
particular thing
to justify a
particular action
that's happened
in the past
or to condemn
a particular
action that's
happened in
the past.
So prayerfully
labor to set
aside those
things.
Come to the
text honestly.
What does the
scripture teach
on this?
Be prepared
that it is
not abundantly
clear.
the most
pertinent
texts are on
the back of
your bulletin.
You may or
may not have
noticed that.
I think it's
helpful to see
them next to
each other.
To not have
to flip,
flip,
or scroll,
scroll.
I think it's
helpful to
actually be
able to look
at them
together,
compare.
These are
all from
the ESV
translations.
So I hope
that will be
a help to
you in being
able to look
at them in
this way.
But be
cautioned.
Be sure to
place your
study of
this particular
topic in
the larger
context of
God's
redemptive
story.
You have a
printed copy of
that, I hope.
If you don't,
I'll get you
one.
I didn't need
to put that
on the back
of your
bulletin,
I hope.
Try to put
this in the
larger context
of God's
redemptive
story.
Third,
let's
pursue the
truth in
love.
Let's
pursue the
truth in
love.
Let's
work together
on this.
Please know
that my
intent is
not for
our church
to hold
my view.
I don't
care if
I am
shown right.
I care that
God's shown
glorious,
that He's
given instructions
to His
people,
and that we
would follow
those
instructions
for our
good and
His fame,
His acclaim
in the
world.
So let's
work together
on that.
I am glad
to be
challenged,
but do so
in love.
Do so in
care and
concern.
We want to
come together
and do
this together.
Land our
finger on the
position our
church will
hold on
this.
The German
theologian,
this has been
accredited to a
lot of
people,
but it was
the German
theologian,
Rupertus
Melvinius,
probably why
people try to
accredit it to
somebody else,
said,
in essentials
unity,
in non-essentials
liberty,
in all things
charity,
and that was
the word used
for love.
In all
things
charity.
So let's
pursue the
truth in
love.
Fourth,
let's be
humble.
Let's be
humble.
God has a
way,
if we are
not already
humble,
humble
ourselves to
humble us,
and I
will be an
agent in
that process
if need
be.
I'm not
saying that I've
studied this
more,
therefore I'm
right.
I'm saying I
have studied
it,
and studied
it,
and studied
it,
therefore I'm
humble.
You will
not approach
me with an
argument I
have not
already argued
with myself.
So be
careful in
your approach.
Be humble.
Don't think
you have the
corner on the
truth.
I don't think
I do.
I'm doing
my very best
with a great
deal of
fear and
trembling to
work out what
the scripture
has to say
on these
matters.
Please approach
it the same
way.
It will
serve us all
well to do
that very
thing.
I'm not
trying to be
true.
The scripture
is true.
God be
proven true
in these
matters.
So let's
be humble.
Fifth,
let's
remember the
gospel.
And last,
let's
remember the
gospel.
We as a
people who
take the
Bible very
seriously,
praise the
Lord,
the grace
that he has
worked in
us that we
take the
Bible very
seriously,
we also
tend to
take its
commands and
find our
worth in the
keeping of
them.
To say we
are most
obedient,
therefore we
are accepted
by God.
But we
are not
accepted by
God because
of our
works.
We are
accepted by
God because
of the
completed work
of Jesus
Christ.
We would
be fools to
think that we
will always
have our
doctrine and
our practice
all lined
up.
Be a
student of
church history
and you will
find that no
generation has
done this.
They've all
had their
failings,
they've all
had their
faults.
And while
we want to
endeavor to
do it right,
we should,
oh, let us
be the first
perfect generation
that's gotten
it all right,
it's doubtful
that we will.
We will have
missed it at
some point.
So even as
we are zealous
to be obedient
to every
command of
the Bible,
let's not
forget that
the gospel of
Jesus Christ
says to us
that we're
not accepted
because we
get it all
right.
We're accepted
because Jesus
got it all
right.
He threaded
it perfectly.
He is our
righteousness.
And he
has the very
motivation for
us to want
to get it
right, to
want to be
obedient in
all things,
to strive to
honor God
with our
very living.
And so let's
not forget
that.
Let's remember
the gospel
as we work
together.
I'm going to
close in reading
to you as a
way of
reminder,
Romans chapter
8 and
verse 1
where Paul
said,
there is
therefore now
no condemnation
for those
who are in
Christ Jesus.
May we as a
people pick up
that promise
as we endeavor
to be obedient
to every
command of
the Bible,
particularly
in the coming
weeks as it
pertains to
marriage,
divorce,
and remarriage.
church.
Let's pray
together to
that end.