Destined to Sin?

Luke 16:18 “...Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery...”

Who made this statement about divorce and remarriage?

• Jesus.

Does someone commit adultery if they divorce their wife and marry another?

• That’s what Jesus just said.

Does someone commit adultery if they marry a divorced woman?

• That’s what Jesus just said .

Why did Jesus say this?

• Back up one verse to get some context.
• Luke 16:16-17 “...The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone forces his way into it. But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void...”
• You can’t use a personal interpretation of the law and the prophets to work your way into the kingdom of God.
• The Pharisees acknowledged that a person shouldn’t commit adultery, but often permitted divorce for almost any reason.
• Jesus used the example of divorce to reveal how the Pharisees, who proudly paraded their law abiding righteousness, were not following the law.

Was Jesus trying to teach the Pharisees how to better follow the law?

• Jesus was offering the Pharisees a chance to admit their sin.
• Jesus was offering the Pharisees a chance to realize that the kingdom of God could not be entered by way of man’s best efforts.
• A person who doesn’t understand their inability to follow the law will not understand their need for Jesus.

Was Jesus, in Luke 16:18, creating a verse to be used to condemn people who have divorced and remarried?

  This is a conviction verse:

• Romans 3:23 “...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God...”
• Only Jesus has followed the letter of the law without sinning.
• Ezekiel 18:4 “...Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins shall die...”

  This is not a condemnation verse:

• John 3:17 “...For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him...”
• Only Jesus provides payment for the penalty of sin.

Does Jesus have a different understanding of the marriage bond than what is held by our culture?

Does Jesus have a different understanding of sin than what is held by our culture?

Does Jesus offer a better solution for sin than what is held by our culture?

Since Jesus offers a solution, is sin irrelevant?

• Romans 6:1-2 “...What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?...”
• John 8:11 “...And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more...”