Would you turn to 1 Corinthians
7? While we were singing that song
more about Jesus, it made me remember the very opening service
that we had at Grace Chapel in 1982 in a storefront on Limestone
Street. There was a man by the name of
Jack, and I can't remember what his last name is, but he sang
a special that night. And he's saying that special
more about one thing I remember. I remember it was it was just
a blessed thing to think of that. Yeah Jack. Well not any right. Announcement Stephen Susan slide
will be having to get together for the adults at their house
this year on Friday December fifteenth. It will be in the
bulletin next week but I know some of you are making holiday
plans and want to know the date in advance so everyone plan to
come if you can December fifteenth. I've entitled tonight's message. Such cases. And I believe as
we read this passage of scripture that you'll understand why I
entitled it thusly. Let's begin reading in verse
10 and we're going to read down through verse 16. First Corinthians
chapter 7. And unto the married I command. Yet not I but the Lord. Let not
the wife depart from her husband. But and if she depart. Let her remain unmarried or be
reconciled to her husband. And let not the husband put away
his wife. But to the rest speak I. Not the Lord. Now, before someone
thinks, is this part not inspired? Yes, it is. It's as inspired
as any other part of the Bible. What he's saying is, is when
our Lord walked upon this earth, he didn't give instructions regarding
this. And I'm giving them now. It's
just as inspired as any other portion of Scripture. Verse 12,
But to the rest speak I, not the Lord, if any brother hath
a wife that believeth not. and she be pleased to dwell with
him. Let him not put her away. And
the woman. Which have an husband that believeth
not, and if he be pleased. To dwell with her, let her not
leave him. For the unbelieving husband is
sanctified by the wife. And the unbelieving wife is sanctified
by the husband else where your children unclean, but now are
they holy? But. If the unbelieving depart,
let him depart. A brother or a sister is not
under bondage in such cases. That's where I got the title
to this message. Such cases. But God. Had called us. To peace. For what knowest thou, O wife,
whether thou shalt save thy husband? Or how knowest thou, O man, whether
thou shalt save thy wife? Last week, we considered marriage
from the first nine verses, and tonight we're going to consider
such cases. And that's what verses 11 through
16 are all about. Now he's talking about some very
difficult, difficult, difficult times. Look in verse 28 of 1
Corinthians chapter 7. Now you'll remember from last
week that he said the state of not being married actually is
preferred if you have that gift. It's to be preferred. But if
you don't have that gift, obviously that's not going to work. But
look what he says here in verse 28. But if thou marry, you've
not sinned. And if a virgin marry, she hath
not sinned. Nevertheless, such shall have
trouble in the flesh. But I spare you. That word trouble
is also translated in the King James Version, affliction. Such
shall have affliction. in the flesh, such shall have
burden in the flesh, such shall have anguish. It's actually translated
anguish in the flesh, such shall have distress in the flesh, such
shall have persecution in the flesh, such shall have tribulation
in the flesh. That word trouble means literally
a pressing, a pressure, a pressure brought on by circumstances or
antagonism of persons. That's Vine's Greek dictionary
defining of the word trouble. If you're married, you will have
trouble in the flesh. Now, he promises us that. Now, if you're married, Paul
says you're going to have trouble. Now, there may be marriages of
uninterrupted harmony and bliss. There may be marriages like that.
I'm not aware of any at this point. There may be. Is there anybody that's ever
had nothing but uninterrupted harmony and bliss? Well, don't
tell me if you do. Don't tell me if you do. When two human beings get together,
that's good, Matt. When two human beings get together,
even if they know the Lord, they still have something called the
flesh. And such will have trouble in
the flesh. I was listening to a message
by Rolf Barnard once and he said, someone asked me, have you ever
considered divorce? And he said, no, I haven't. He said, now I've considered
murder, but I've never considered divorce. The fact of the matter is two
believers should not get divorced. God says in Malachi chapter two,
as a matter of fact, turn with me there Malachi chapter two,
I want you to see this. Beginning in verse 13. And this have you done again,
covering the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping, with
crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any
more, or receiveth it with goodwill at your hand. Yet you say, How
come? Because the Lord hath been witness
between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou
hast dealt treacherously. Yet is she thy companion, and
the wife of thy covenant. And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the
Spirit, And where for one that he might seek a godly seed, therefore,
take heed to your spirit and let none deal treacherously against
the wife of his youth. For the Lord, the God of Israel,
sayeth that he hateth putting away. He. Hated. Divorce. For one cover of violence
with the garment, said the Lord of hosts, therefore, take heed
to your spirit that you deal not treacherously. Two believers should not get
divorced because of what marriage represents. It represents the Lord God being my husband,
Christ being my husband, and me being his bride. And you know
what? The Lord will never divorce His people. He'll never forsake
his people. He's with them all the way to
the end. You can count on that. You have
a husband that will never leave you and never forsake you for
any reason. He is your husband. A believer
should not get divorced because God says he hates divorce. It's
the breaking of a vow before God. We should not get divorced
because of the reproach it brings upon the gospel. We should not
get divorced because of what it does to the kids. And I could
give many more reasons why we should not get divorced, and
I'm sure everybody in here agrees with this. Whether you've been
divorced or whether you've never been divorced, you agree people
ought not get divorced. Now, it's also true that there
are such cases. He speaks of such cases in verse
15. And when he says a brother or
sister is not under bondage in such cases, he's speaking of
the laws concerning marriage and divorce. There's such cases
where you're not under that law. Now, the bottom line is everything
is not always clear cut, is it? Everything is not always black
and white. For instance, I would never tell
a woman to stay with a man that was physically abusing her. I
wouldn't tell her to do that for a second. I wouldn't expect
her to. There are such cases, individual cases, and I realize
that some will abuse this to excuse themselves or to vindicate
their actions. Mine is such a case. Well, maybe
it is and maybe it's not. But the Word of God does recognize
the existence of such cases. Now, can you see that? There
are, he says, in such cases, exceptions to the rule. Now, that's what he says. It's
just not always black and white. There are such cases. Now, let's see why he made this
statement. Let's begin in verse 10. Now,
unto the married, I command This is talking about two believers.
He's going to get together with, he's going to speak in a moment
about being married to an unbeliever, a believer and an unbeliever,
but he's talking about two believers right now. He says, under the
married, I command, yet not I, but the Lord, let not the wife
depart from her husband. He says this is a commandment. Let not the wife depart from
her husband. Obviously, when someone is getting
ready to depart or they depart, they believe they have a reason
to depart. Not many people just wake up one morning and think,
well, I'm going to leave my spouse. I think I'm just going to start
a different life. It doesn't work that way. There's
fighting. There's a misunderstanding. There's
antagonism. A seeming brick wall, this individual
thinks, well, I'm becoming miserable in my marriage. I'm unhappy.
We don't see eye to eye on anything. We really should have never been
married. I mean, we're just totally incompatible. It could not be
God's will for us to be so unhappy. It's time for me to start thinking
about myself. I need to find out who I am. I notice whenever
somebody's getting ready to leave their spouse, they need to find
out who they are. That happens all the time. I need to find
out who I am. Now, God commands that woman,
do not leave your husband. And God commands that man who
may be thinking that way, do not leave your wife. You made
a vow before God to stay with them until death alone shall
part you. It is a covenant. It is a vow
before God. Honor those vows for the glory
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Divorce is wrong. It's covenant-breaking. God said in the book of Malachi,
I hate divorce. Now, that's strong language.
That's what God says. I hate divorce. So here's the commandment,
unto the married I command, yet not I but the Lord, let not the
wife depart from her husband, but... but... and if she does depart, Let her
remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband and let not the
husband depart from, it's actually the same word as translate depart
in the first verse, let not the husband put away his wife. Don't
let the husband depart from his wife. Now let's say you do depart. I cannot live with this individual
and it may be that you can't. It may be that you can't. It's
impossible to live with that person. And there are people
like that. There are people I thought about this. I want to say this
carefully, but there are people who if I. I mean, if I live with
them, I'd be miserable. I mean, I understand that. I
mean, that is a reality, he says, but if they depart, you can't
live with them and stay sane. It's impossible if that's the
case. And there are such cases. And I deeply feel sorry for the
person who's going through that. Before you get too down on somebody,
remember, you haven't been in their shoes. You don't know what
they're going through. I'm not excusing in any way divorce,
but he says, but, and if they depart, he's not talking about
divorce right now, he's talking about separation. If they do
depart, let them remain unmarried. That's what God's Word says.
If you depart, Let them remain unmarried or be reconciled to
your husband or wife. Either stay in an unmarried state
if you feel you can't stay with this person or be reconciled.
Don't give up. Don't give up. Don't give up
hope. Perhaps you'll be reconciled to that person. You know, with
God, all things are possible. All things. There isn't a hole
too deep that He can't, by His grace, overcome it. So remember
that if you're either to stay, you say, I can't live with this
person. And there are there are situations, I suppose, where
someone can't. They can't. I'm not. But if that's
the case, you stay in this unmarried state, don't get married again
or be reconciled to your husband. Now, let's go on verse 12. But
to the rest, speak I, not the Lord. Now, you know that that's
not saying that this is not inspired. This is just as inspired as any
other passage of Scripture. But the Lord never addressed
this in the Gospels. When you read the Gospels, he
never addressed this particular issue. And that's what Paul means
when he says this now. But he says to the rest, speak
I and not the Lord, if any brother hath a wife that believeth not
and she be pleased to dwell with him. Let him not put her away. Don't leave her. I don't care
if she is an unbeliever, if she's pleased to dwell with you. Do not leave her. And the woman
which hath a husband that believeth not, if he be pleased to dwell
with her, let her not leave him. Now, if a brother has a wife
that does not believe, but she's pleased to dwell with Him. That means it's what she wants
to do. It's her pleasure. She loves
this man. Okay, she's not a believer. She
doesn't believe the Gospel, but she's pleased to dwell with that
individual. If that's the case, do not leave
them. And the same thing goes with
the woman married to an unbelieving man. If he's pleased to dwell
with you, don't leave them. If they're not pleased to dwell
with you. Now, this is very important. You think of this language that
he uses. If they're pleased to dwell with you. If this is what
they want to do. This is their pleasure. They
give consent to this. This is what they want to do.
Will you stay with them all the way to the end? But if they're
not pleased to dwell with you. If that's not their pleasure.
If they're continually antagonistic toward your God and toward your
Gospel, and there's just nothing but wretchedness. That person
is not pleased. There's just always a problem.
There's always a turmoil. There's always a fight. There's
no peace. There's no harmony. It's just always just fist clenched. Well, if that person wants to
depart, let them depart. Let them depart. Now, if they're
pleased to dwell with you, You stay with them. But if they're
not, I've got a real life illustration of something that happened. I
have a friend who the Lord revealed the gospel to him. He was made
to hear the gospel, believe the gospel, started going to church
where the gospel of God's grace was preached. And his wife hated
the gospel. Hated the message of the gospel. And she told him one night before
prayer meeting, it was a Wednesday night, she said, if you go to
church tonight, I'm going to leave you. Now, should he have said, well,
OK, I'm not going to go in order to keep this marriage together?
Should he have done that? Here's what his reasoning was.
He said to this woman, now, I didn't have to go to church tonight.
I didn't have to. But I do now. I do now." And he went, and he
came back home, and his wife was gone. She left him. Now,
if the unbelieving depart, if that's what they want to do,
if that's what their pleasure is, let them depart. Look in verse 14, or verse 13. And the woman which hath a husband
that believeth not, if he be pleased to dwell with her, let
her not leave him, stay with him. For, now look what he says
in verse 14, for the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the
wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband,
else were your children unclean, but now are they holy. Now understand
this, marriage, I love what whoever wrote Hebrews, I don't know who
wrote it, but whoever wrote it, he said this, in Hebrews 13,
verse 4, he said marriage is honorable. If it's a believer
and an unbeliever married, marriage still is honorable in all. And the bed is undefiled. That's what the Bible says. Marriage
is a good thing. It's a God-ordained institution. It was made before the fall of
man. It was not good for man to dwell alone, God said. Marriage
is a good thing. Thank the Lord for that. And
so if you're in a situation where it's well, they're not they're
not believers ought to go ahead and leave them. No, no marriage
is honorable at all. It's honorable and all stay with
them as long as they're pleased to dwell with you. The unbelieving
wife is sanctified, set apart by the husband and the unbelieving
husband sanctified by the wife. And then he says, else your children
were unclean, but now they're holy. If you're not married,
your children will be illegitimate. but now they're holding up it's interesting
up i was reading one uh... commentary on this is that this
proves that there ought to be in the baptism where you get where
you get back to you at uh... a wacky thing that uh... you read wacky things whenever
you read men's attitudes about religion but at any rate marriage
is good for the children a mom and dad is always better for
the children It's always better for the children. I've heard
people say, well, I'm better off if the kids are better off
if the mom and dad depart. No, they're not. No, they're
not. Marriage is honorable in all. Your children are sanctified
by this. Now look what it says in verse
15. But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or
a sister is not under bondage in such cases. Now, if they depart and that
word depart is open for a pretty means a whole lot of different
things. I look the word up. It means to leave. Obviously,
it means to forsake. It means to neglect. There's
a lot of things that that word means. If the unbelieving depart,
let them depart. A brother or sister is not under
bondage in such cases. What that means is, is that brother
or sister is free to be married again. Only in the Lord, but
they are free to be married again. They can enter into a state of
marriage without it being adultery under that case or in such cases. If the unbelieving depart, let
them depart. Brothers, sisters, not under
bondage in such cases, but look what he says next. But God had
called us. To peace. Not wretchedness. Not turmoil. Not agony and just being twisted
up on the inside. God had called us to peace. Don't you love the word peace?
It's a wonderful word. It's a wonderful feeling. To
feel peace as opposed to turmoil, as opposed to agitation. God
had called us to peace. Now Christ Jesus made our peace
with God. I love that. Scripture in Colossians
chapter 1 verse 24 says, having made peace. He made peace through
the blood of His cross. He made my peace with God. God is now at peace with me. God does not have a reason to
be angry with me. God doesn't have a reason to
be mad at me. Christ has taken all that away. He made my peace
with God. I love thinking about that. He
is our peace. Ephesians 2.14 says, He himself is our peace.
I have peace with God because of the Lord Jesus Christ. Peace
with God. He made our peace. Now God has called us to peace. Christ made our peace and by
faith we enter into the joy and peace of believing. Now you think
of the peace we experience in simply relying on the Lord Jesus
Christ. Isn't that wonderful? Therefore
having been justified is the way that actually reads. Being
justified. Therefore being justified by
faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
I really believe that when God looks at me right now while I'm
talking to you He finds no reason for anger because Christ is my
peace. He made peace with God. And I'm at peace with God. And
I'm at peace with His providence. You know, I really am. I'm at
peace with His providence. Whatever happens, He sent it.
Whatever comes my way, He sent it. And I have peace with that.
And I'm not talking about a soul in resignation, whether there's
nothing I can do about it. I might as well go ahead and take it,
you know. I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about really
believing that whatever He does is best. It's best for me whatever
He sends my way is best. So I have some peace about that.
He's at peace with me through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ
and I'm at peace with Him. I'm reconciled to Him. And our
life is to be a life of peace. Turn with me to 1 Timothy chapter
2. 1 Timothy chapter 2. Verse 1, I exhort therefore that first
of all supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of
thanks be made for all men, for kings, and for all that are in
authority that we may lead a quiet, tranquil, and peaceable life
in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable
in the sight of God our Savior. Now, I'm to pray, for instance,
for the leaders of this country that I might live a quiet, a
tranquil, and a peaceable life. God has called us to peace. Not
fighting and bickering, not turmoil, but peace. You know, we're called
peacemakers. We're not at war with this world.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they're the children of God.
Blessed are the peacemakers. I'm at peace with this world
in this sense. I want them to know the Prince of Peace. God
is called the God of Peace. Christ Jesus is called the Prince
of Peace. I want men and women to know something of this peace
of God that passes all understanding. I'm not against the world. I
want men to come to a knowledge of Christ. We're called peacemakers. We want peace in this world in
that sense. We want peace in the church. Oh, I can't even
bear the thought of there being conflict in the church. Bickering
in the church. People just stabbing each other
in the church. Turmoil and lack of unity. I can't even imagine anything
that would trouble me more than that. Peace in the church. I
want peace in my home. All the peace of two people go
in the same direction. If Christ is my first love and
Christ is Lynn's first love, we don't have any troubles. Now,
we have flesh, that kind of thing sometimes, you know that, but
we're still going the same direction. I'll tell you what, if Lynn loves
the Lord Jesus Christ more than she loves me, that makes me mighty
happy. That's what I want. And I know
you want the same thing out of me. You want me to love the Lord
Jesus Christ more than I love you. That's every believer feels
that way. And when we're going in the same
direction like that, there's going to be peace in the home. God has called us to peace, not
a life of wretchedness and turmoil and conflict, but peace. God's
called us to peace. Turn with me to Romans chapter
15. Verse 13, Now the God of hope, what a name for our God, fill
you with all joy and peace in believing. that you may abound
in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost." Isn't it wonderful
to just have the joy and peace of believing that Christ really
is everything in my salvation. I'm at peace. I'm at peace. And God has called us. Now listen
to me. God has called us to peace. Not wretchedness, not turmoil,
but peace. And that's why I was talking
to this brother or sister who's in a position. where they're
married to an unbelieving individual. And that unbelieving individual
is creating, they're not pleased to dwell with them. I mean, that's
not the case at all. They're not at all pleased to
dwell with them. They're creating all kinds of
conflict and turmoil. Paul says, if they leave, let
them leave. Let them leave. A brother or
sister is not under bondage in such cases. Now, back to our
text. He says in verse 7, Sixteen. Now. This is with connection
to staying with your spouse. He says in verse 16, even an
unbelieving spouse, for what knowest thou, O wife, whether
thou shalt save thy husband? Or how knowest thou, O man, whether
thou shalt save thy wife? Would you turn with me for a
moment to First Peter, Chapter three? You just don't know how your
conduct, how you treat somebody is going to affect it. Have you
ever, have you ever heard that saying? I know you have. I'd
rather see a sermon than hear one. You ever heard that? Not me. I'd rather hear a sermon. I mean, you can't be saved. You
can't come to a saving knowledge of God by seeing the example
of somebody. I'd rather hear a sermon, but
that being said, I want to see that sermon too. I want to see
that person live what they believe. I want to live what I believe.
I don't want to have just that theoretical knowledge. I want
to live what I believe. And what he's saying is, how
do you know, old husband or old wife, that your conduct won't
cause that person to seek the Lord? You don't know. You don't
know what the Lord's going to do. You know, isn't it wonderful?
We don't know what the Lord's going to do. So whatever he does
is right. We know that, but we don't know what he's going to
do. Look here in 1 Peter chapter 3, verse 1. Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection
to your own husbands. And that's God's command. And
you're to be in subjection to your own husband for Christ's
sake. Not even because your husband treats you in such a way as to
where it makes it easy for you to do it. You're to do it for
Christ's sake in obedience to him. Likewise, ye wise, be in
subjection to your own husbands, that if any obey not the word,
they don't obey the gospel. They also may without the word
be won by the conversation. by the conduct of their wives
while they behold your chaste conversation, coupled with fear,
whose adorning, let it not be the outward adorning of plaiting
the hair and of wearing of gold or putting on of apparel, but
let it be the hidden man of the heart, and that which is not
corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and a quiet spirit,
which is in the sight of God, of great price." You see, This
man is won, Peter says, by the conversation of his wife. Or this wife may be won by the
conversation, the conduct of her husband. Now, this is a solemn
thing to think about. But by conduct, it may be the means that God
uses to do a mighty work of grace in somebody else. So, don't ever
think my conduct is a thing of indifference or it's not important. It's vitally important. What
do you know, old man, whether you'll save your wife? What do
you know, old wife, whether you save your husband? Now, how can
I conclude this? There are marriage troubles.
There are such cases. Such cases. Everything's not
black and white. Everything's not real clear.
Quite often. Such cases. And if somebody is truly seeking
to serve the Lord, they will be given the wisdom, the grace,
and the knowledge what to do in such cases. You know, the
Lord is a merciful God. He delights in mercy. He's a
gracious God. There are such cases. We just don't have it all down
pat. We know the gospel. We believe the gospel, but there
are such cases. The Lord makes that known in
His Word. And I don't know what else to
say about it other than there are such cases. And our God is
a merciful, gracious God. Now, don't get divorced. God
commands you, don't get divorced. Don't get divorced. There's never,
listen to this, There's never an excuse under any circumstance.
There's never an excuse for two believers to get divorced. You
believe that? There's no doubt about it. There's
never a reason for two believers to get divorced. As a matter
of fact, I've heard it said that if two believers, two professing
believers get divorced, at least one of them is lost. At least
one of them. Now, I've got to say this about
that. That's probably the case, but
you can't say that's always the case. And here's why. There's
only one sin that a believer cannot commit. And that's the
sin against the Holy Spirit. Is that so? God will not allow
that to happen. But a believer can commit any
other sin. So how do I how am I supposed
to leave this particular passage of scripture? I'm to leave this
passage of scripture asking the Lord to give me the grace to
be all that a husband is to be. And I'm to ask the Lord to give
me grace to be all that a wife is to be. And if I'm in a single
state, I'm to ask the Lord to give me the grace to be all that
I'm supposed to be in this single state. Well, that wasn't an easy
passage of scripture for us. I didn't envy myself when I began
this, and I still don't. But I've tried. I've tried. And
I trust the Lord will bless this for his glory. And I do. Let's pray together.