This article is not a justification to take divorce lightly, nor is it an endorsement for divorce. The reality is that God hates divorce (Malachi 2:16). The reality is that divorce is a failure. The reality is that divorce has devastating consequences, and the reality is that divorce is a sin; it is the breaking of a covenant. As I start developing my case against treating divorcees as second-rate citizens in the church, let me start by stating that misrepresenting God’s character and judgment is also a sin.  In Job 38, after many agonizing chapters of Job’s friends misjudging what Job was going through and why and, after using God to back up their theories, God himself start his response by asking, “…Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?” Job 38:1-2 (NASB)

God’s counsel is darkened when his Word is not properly interpreted. In Acts 17:11 Paul speaks about a very special group of Jews, he said of them, “Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” (NASB). I am afraid that those who are treating the divorcees in the church as second-rate citizens are sinning because they are darkening God’s judgment by not properly searching the Scriptures.

I am directly opposing the portion of the church that teaches that divorcees are disqualified from being recognize as ordain ministers. Some have modified their position by allowing those who had biblical divorces to still be ordained. By biblical divorce meaning those who divorced because of adultery. Even as I appreciate such modification, they are still rejecting the rest of the divorcees; they are still biblically in error. They are doing the same thing many cults do when they take one portion of Scripture out of the context of the entire Scripture and make doctrines out of it.

God himself established from the beginning that it is not good for the man to be alone (Genesis 2:18). Let me ask you this; after divorce, is it now good for the man to be alone? In First Corinthians 7:9 Paul tells us, “But if they do not have self-control, let them marry; for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.” (NASB). After divorce, does the man loses his sexual desires? Do we not burn in passion still after divorce? We all know that sexual desires do not go away just because we are divorce, so for those who continue to treat divorces as second-rate citizens, what you are saying is that it is now ok to burn in passion, right? Let me go a little deeper than this, if divorce is a sin, and we know it is, is there no forgiveness for such sin? Is the blood of Jesus not powerful enough when it comes down to divorce?

The Christian faith teaches us how messed up we are, how much we need God and how powerless we are without Jesus. The Christian faith teaches us that Jesus paid the price for our sins and that the reason he did so, is because we are unable to properly deal with our own sin; nobody is good, and nobody can perfectly follow the law. Of course, there is no forgiveness of sin without recognizing that we have indeed sinned. About that the Apostle John told us, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (NASB) However, what these denominations that are disqualifying the divorcees as ordained minister are teaching us is that, God is able to cleanse us from all unrighteousness except divorce.

Please tell us what you think about this article. For speaking engagement call me at 907-888-0117. For more on this topic please read my book Hope for the Divorcee: Forgiven and Moving Forwardor visit us at https://www.facebook.com/hopeforthedivorcee/?ref=bookmarks