Many people get divorced and  remarry but remain members of our churches. Is this right? Shouldn't they be disciplined?

Last month we focused on divorces among us. Now we give attention to the remarriages that often follow. We noted that in America today more than 40 percent of first marriages, more than 60 percent of second marriages, and more than 70 percent of third marriages end in divorce. Clearly, remarriages seldom solve problems and often compound them.

DON'T ASSUME SIN

When our Lord Jesus addressed the subject of divorce, he included the topic of remarriage. These often went together then as they do now, and the combination of actions often involved sin then as it does now. Often, but not always. A close look at what our Savior said in Matthew 5:32 will be helpful. The verse is often translated something like this: "I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, makes her commit adultery, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery." The italicized words are translations of a passive verb form and a likely second passive verb form. Greek dictionaries point to alternate translations like this: [The wrongly divorced wife and the one who later marries her] "become adultered or outcasts." It's not so much that they are guilty of adultery themselves but are victims of the bad behavior of the one who sinfully terminated the first marriage. They are wrongly stigmatized as sinful or classified as moral or social outcasts. The words our Lord chose to use should lead us to be cautious in assuming all remarriages involve sin.

In 1 Corinthians 7:15 (which should be read in its context), we are introduced to the phenomenon that has become known as "malicious desertion," when an unbelieving spouse abandons the marriage bond. The deserted Christian partner is not "bound" or "enslaved" to the unbeliever or the marriage but is free to remarry. Might some of our remarried members be earlier victims of abandonment even though public knowledge of the circumstances is lacking? Our sorrow over the many divorces and remarriages around us should not lead us to assume guilt or impenitence on the part of all participants.

ASSUME THE BEST