LLC

LLC-7 LEADERSHIP IN MARRIAGES

(Answer blanks are keyed for the King James Version)

There seems to be a vast disconnect between what the Bible teaches about marriage and what many of our brethren have stood for regarding the subject. There are so many dysfunctional marriages in our congregations as to make the appointment of elders difficult if not impossible. This deficiency, in what should have been the pool for elders in the Lord's church, has resulted in churches having to be led by the "business meeting" to which all of the men of the church are invited, including babes-in-Christ, people who have never matured in the faith, and even people in unscriptural Marriage-Divorce and Remarriage situations. One of the reasons for the marriage debacle is the influence of the world upon the church. Let us restudy some of the things God has said regarding Marriage and the Home.

1. How does 1 Corinthians 7:2 teach us that we avoid fornication?

2. Therefore shall a ___(a)_____ ___(b)_______ his father and his mother, and shall ____(c)______ unto his wife: and they shall be __(d)____ ___(e)___ (Gen 2:24).

3. What is the meaning of the word used in (c) above?

4. (Choose all answers that apply) The significance of the expressions used in (b) and (c) of question #2 above is:

a. At the first sign of trouble, the wife may return to her mother.

b. If the wife is difficult to live with, the man may return to his mother.

c. The man and wife are to establish a home not governed by either of their parents.

d. The man and his wife are to cling fast to one another and remain together.
e. Both "c" and "d" above.

5. How many ribs did God take from the man in order to provide him with a suitable helper (wife)?

6. How many wives did God give to the man?

7. What is recorded in Genesis 4:19 which indicates a departure from the plan of God for marriage?

8. But I say unto you, That ______________ shall ______ ________ his wife, saving for the cause of _____________, causeth her to ___________ ___________: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced __________ ___________ (Matt 5:32).

9. And he saith unto them, Whosoever ________ ____ ________ _____ ______, and ______ ________, _________ __________ against her. 12 And if a __________ _________ _____ __________ __________, and be married to another, she ___________ ____________ (Mark 10:11-12).

10. (Choose the best answer) The above passage is the Lord's general rule regarding marriage and divorce. It teaches

a. The man may divorce his wife for any reason.

b. The woman may divorce her husband for any reason.

c. When a man or woman divorces they commit adultery.

d. When a man or woman divorces and remarries, they commit adultery.

11. (Choose the best answer) While Mark 10:11, 12 give us the Lord's general rule for divorce and remarriage, Matthew 19:9 gives the Lord's only exception to the general rule.

"And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, __________ ___ _____ ____ ____________, and ________ ________ __________, _____________ __________: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth ___________ ___________" (Matt 19:9).

12. What provides the exception to the general rule stated in Mark 10:11, 12?

13. The wording of Mark 10:11, 12 shows that the teaching applicable to the man also applies to the woman. Let us now also consider 1 Corinthians 7:10, 11.

"And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, ______ _____ ____ ________ _________ _______ _____ __________: 11 But and if she depart, ____ ______ ________ ____________, or be ___________ to her husband: and let not the ____________ ______ ________ ____ ______" (1 Cor 7:10-11).

14. List some of the reasons given by some wives for departing from their husband.

15. List some of the reasons given by some husbands for putting away their wife.

16. If they were motivated to depart and put away by any reason other than the exception given in Matthew 19:9 and they then remarried, they:

a. Are not sinning.

b. They may remain in their situation as long as they pray for forgiveness each night.

c. They are committing adultery.

d. They must repent by severing that arrangement.
e. Both "c" and "d"

f. Both "a" and "b"

Dear ones, in other words, if you head to the courthouse for a divorce without having the exception as the reason and you then remarry, you are committing adultery. I beg of you, do not trifle with the God ordained institution of marriage. Souls are being lost and the church is being devastated by careless teaching regarding this matter.

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