NICKEL AND DIME CONVICTIONS - OR - SMALL CHANGE OF LIFE




     It was one of those documentaries on the family history of Queen Elizabeth II of England.  Her uncle, Edward VIII, was king for less than 11 months in 1936 when he abdicated and his brother George VI took the throne.  Why did he abdicate?  So he could marry a divorced American woman.   You say "what!!!???"  You heard me correctly.  The Church of England, the official state church, forbid the marriage of or to divorced persons.  There was a major constitutional crisis in England over this, so Edward abdicated and turned the throne over to his brother so that he could "marry the woman I love".   The royal family has been an endless soap opera.
     Fast forward to the 1950's.  George VI died in 1952, after a lifetime of chain smoking, and his oldest daughter took the throne as Elizabeth II.  A few years later Elizabeth's sister, Margaret, wanted to marry a divorced man.  Another crisis.  Margaret changed her mind.  Crisis averted.  As I watched this program it was at this point that I heard a statement by a commentator that is one of the most revealing we will ever hear.  In regard to the whole matter of divorce and remarriage he said, "Well, now of course, THAT IS THE SMALL CHANGE OF LIFE". 
     "That's it!"  I said to myself.  That is precisely the view of divorce and remarriage both inside and outside the Church today -- with some exceptions.  Let's stop right here and clarify something.   It is not easy for me to write this, having as I do several very dear friends in this situation.  But they know my heart and know that I have no desire to make life more painful for them.  But, the "small change of life" view of this issue is calling into question how many professed believers in Jesus Christ have any real intention of obeying Him as Lord.
     The Church of England  today not only has no trouble with divorce and remarriage but will gleefully ordain those engaged in sexual practices explicitly forbidden in Scripture.  Ditto for U.S. 'mainline' denominations.  Evangelicals (a word that is supposed to mean 'those who take Scripture seriously')  do not have much of a problem with divorce and remarriage either.  I know firsthand the situation of a smaller U.S. denomination where a minority made a huge issue over a certain mode of baptism as a requirement for church membership.  That minority finally split off and formed their own denomination.  That same denomination once, many years ago, had an absolute prohibition of the remarriage of divorced persons.  What a huge irony!  The minority group will fight to the death for their view of baptism (a SYMBOLIC issue) and accept without question the change regarding divorce and remarriage (a SUBSTANTIVE issue).
     Taking together all the statements that Jesus made on this issue and the statements in Paul's letters it is clear that a believer can separate from a spouse because of unfaithfulness and, by implication, for their own and their children's safety.  The matter of remarriage is somewhat less clear however, especially in I Cor. 7.  That is why throughout most of the last 2000 years it was generally (but not always universally) forbidden in Christianity.   I once took an absolute stand against remarriage.  The Holy Spirit helped me be less dogmatic but still very cautious about it.  If a fellow believer tells me that, before God, they were absolutely faithful to their spouse and did all within their power to keep their marriage vows, but their spouse still left them, I will take them at their word unless I have clear evidence otherwise.  If they then choose to remarry I will accept them in that decision but I will probably ask to be excused from performing the ceremony.
     I will be completely candid.  The very casual practice of divorce and remarriage among so many professed believers, treating it as the small change of life, makes me FEAR FOR THEIR SOULS AND THEIR ETERNAL DESTINY.   I have entered into what I consider to be a personal covenant with God, that He will deliver from the scourge of divorce all of the children, grandchildren and descendants that Susan I will ever have until His Kingdom comes and His will is done on earth as it is done in Heaven.