THE Scriptures allow for remarriage after a divorce if, and only if, this divorce was necessitated by adultery. This is clear from the words of Jesus in Matt. 5:32 _"Whoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causes her to commit adultery: and whoever shall marry her that is divorced commits adultery."
The sin is explicitly identified as remarrying following a divorce. This is because, in God's eyes, the original couple are still married and, hence, any new partner is effectively an adulterer. So we do not seek to condemn or embarrass divorced people -- there are those who have this unhappy scenario befall them and subsequently do their best to live Godly lives. Furthermore, there are many who become Christians having already gone through a divorce whilst being unregenerate. We do not wish to label such as being adulterers. Our concern is with the "Christian" who divorces and remarries with no cause of fornication, and those who, despite knowing better, allow such a divorced person to remarry. Once again, let us be clear what we mean here. Remarriage is permitted if the other partner was an adulterer. But if the couple have separated without this reason, then remarriage is certainly out of the question. Regarding the fornicator, or the adulterer, Paul states that we are to put them out from our fellowship _ we are to have nothing to do with them save that effort which is made to restore them to Christ.
For example, 1 Cor. 5:7-11 states: "Purge out therefore the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, as you are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. I wrote to you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then you need to go out of the world. But now I have written to you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such a one no not even to eat."
In view of this, we are rather perturbed to learn that John Glass (General Superintendent of Elim, UK) and Paul Weaver (General Superintendent of Assemblies of God, UK) were scheduled to appear with Ray Bevan at the "Equipping for Evangelism" conference (22nd-27th October, 2001 _ source: Elim's DIRECTION magazine). For those of you who don't know, Ray Bevan is the pastor of the King's Church, Newport (South Wales). He has caused no end of controversy with his decision to divorce his wife and marry a younger Norwegian woman. [Please note that we do not have anything against young Norwegian women!] In view of the above scriptures, we consider it a scandal that rather than rebuke Bevan for his very public misconduct, both Glass and Weaver appear to be perfectly happy to share a platform with him and, hence, affirm him in his ministry.
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John Glass,General Superintendent of Elim, UK: Is he happy to fellowship with an adulterer? |
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This hardly sends out the right sort of message to the church at large, and is just another example of the Pentecostal movement in this country losing its morality. Jacob Prasch, a Pentecostal minister who has taken a very public and uncompromising stand against Bevan on this matter, comments as follows: "Elim's John Glass and the UK Assemblies of God's Paul Weaver plainly could not care less what God says, what Jesus says, or what Paul says. They have obviously invented their own religion with their own moral standards ... Compromise and accommodation with what Christ calls adultery proves the morally abject state of modern popular Pentecostalism. In God's Word, adultery is a characteristic of the false church (Revelation 17:1-2). This adultery is a mere reflection of the spiritual whoredom of the institution. As the Bible says about those in harlot churches: `Come out of her my people lest you participate in her sins and share in her plagues' (Revelation 18:4)." Regarding other ministers who are in fellowship with Glass and Weaver, Prasch writes: "That men like Glass and Weaver do not care is to be expected. What is also to be expected is that the hireling ministers of Elim and AoG, who know it is wrong, don't care either. Pastors are shepherds who protect Christ's sheep from the wolves. Hirelings run away (John 10:13). As usual, the so-called ministers go along with the open sin and remain silent, even allowing it to be propagated among the sheep. But what is to be expected from morally bankrupt and hopelessly backslidden movements with worthless hirelings as their pastors? A day is coming, however, when these cowardly and hypocritical hirelings will give account; the Elim & AoG will not be among the true shepherds awarded a crown of glory (1 Peter 5:2-4) ... Whom will they follow in these last days, Bevan, Weaver and Glass or Jesus Christ? Those remaining in these backslidden movements under these backslidden leaders of course choose Bevan, Weaver, and Glass. The early Pentecostals denounced the harlot church as Rome, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Liberal Protestantism. Now the harlot church is as much them as it is any other. We are indeed in The Last Days. There is a Great Falling Away, and once His own words no longer mean anything, we can be sure that Jesus is coming soon.
The Lord said: `No adulterer shall enter the Kingdom of Heaven'. The Lord also said: `neither shall those who give approval to wickedness'. (Romans 1:32) In Revelation 18:4, the Lord Himself has already spoken to any who love Him who still may be in such wicked movements where sin is accepted - Jesus commanded you: `GET OUT NOW'!"
Prasch's comments are certainly thought provoking. One thing that is clear is that the glory of God has departed from these once godly movements. AoG and Elim are without doubt worthy of the title ICHABOD.
(Lit. no glory; used to refer to the son of Phinehas, to declare that the glory of Israel had departed _ 1 Sam. 4:21 & 14:3).
(SB)
