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The Doctrine Articulated By Connie W. Adams As many of you are well aware, the most recent controversy within the Lord’s church revolves around the notion that certain individuals who have been put away, may somehow “put away” (or sunder a dissolved marriage) for post-divorce fornication and remarry another while their bound mate lives. Regrettably, this teaching is in direct opposition to the unmistakable and indisputable words of Jesus Christ regarding those who are put away in Matthew 5:32b; 19:9b and Luke 16:18b (cf. I Corinthians 7:10-11; Romans 7:2-3). Brother Connie Adams has recently articulated a short but excellent explanation of The Doctrine that is presently being opposed. Please acknowledge and appreciate the simplicity of the Lord’s divine decree regarding those who are put away (cf. II Corinthians 11:3). - Jeff “‘Binding Where Jesus Did Not Bind’ It is just as wrong to loose where the Lord has bound as it is to bind where he has not bound. When it comes to the issue of divorce and remarriage, we must be careful to respect exactly what the Lord has said. There is a good deal of tension now over what is being called ‘mental divorce’ in which a party who was put away for some other cause than fornication may later put away a mate who either marries again or else commits adultery after the fact of the divorce. Jesus said, ‘And whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery’ (Matt. 5:32). The same thing is stated in Matthew 19:9. When we have exhausted all the emotional arguments about fairness, and the intricacies of what constitutes ‘putting away,’ these passages will still say what they have always said. We can minimize the matter all we want to and call this an invention of man, but it still is what the Lord said. We can quibble about ‘who gets to the courthouse first’ and the like, but the Lord still said, ‘Whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.’ It is not binding where Jesus did not bind to say that one who has been divorced is not free to marry for that is precisely what Jesus said. If what is described here does not constitute a mental dismissal, or a second putting away, after the marriage has ended legally and in fact, then I am at a loss as to what to call it. Our own personal experiences in dealing with difficult marital tangles may be interesting, but they do not set aside what the Lord has plainly said.” Connie W. Adams Editorial Left-overs; Truth Magazine, Vol. XLVIII, No. 16; August 19, 2004 May We Have Fellowship With Those Who Advocate/Practice Adultery? • Why The Faithful Cannot Fellowship Those Who Advocate Adultery • STAND |
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