by Whymse 9 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
If a new member was married and divorced for reasons other then adultery, then they got remarried
and later on during their second marriage they became a Witness, how would the Watchtower think
about their marital status? Would they be an adulterer in everyone's eyes since they did not obtain a divorce
from their first marriage on scripturally accepted grounds?
Welcome Whymse - whatever you do/did before becoming a JW is irrelevant. So a second marriage should not be questioned.
There are Jews in the world.
There are Buddhists.
There are Hindus and Mormons, and then
There are those that follow Mohammed, but
I've never been one of them.
I'm a Jehovah's Witness,
And have been since before I was born,
And the one thing they say about Witnesses is:
They'll take you as soon as you're warm.
You don't have to be a six-footer.
You don't have to have a great brain.
You don't have to have any clothes on.
You're a Witness the moment Dad came!
Because
Every sperm is sacred.
Every sperm is great.
If a sperm is wasted,
God gets quite irate.
CHILDREN:
Every sperm is sacred.
Every sperm is great.
If a sperm is wasted,
God gets quite irate.
GIRL:
Let the heathen spill theirs
On the dusty ground.
God shall make them pay for
Each sperm that can't be found.
CHILDREN:
Every sperm is wanted.
Every sperm is good.
Every sperm is needed
In your neighbourhood.
MUM:
Hindu, Taoist, Mormon,
Spill theirs just anywhere,
But God loves those who treat their
Semen with more care.
MEN:
Every sperm is sacred.
Every sperm is great.
WOMEN:
If a sperm is wasted,...
CHILDREN:
...God get quite irate.
ELDERS:
Every sperm is sacred.
ELDERS WIVES:
Every sperm is good.
MINISTERIAL SERVANT:
Every sperm is needed...
CIRCUIT OVERSEER:
...In your neighbourhood!
CHILDREN:
Every sperm is useful.
Every sperm is fine.
FUNERAL CORTEGE:
God needs everybody's.
MOURNER #1:
Mine!
MOURNER #2:
And mine!
CORPSE:
And mine!
GOVERNING BODY:
Let the Pagan spill theirs
O'er mountain, hill, and plain.
KINGDOM HALL CONGREGATION:
God shall strike them down for
Each sperm that's spilt in vain.
EVERYONE:
Every sperm is sacred.
Every sperm is good.
Every sperm is needed
In your neighbourhood.
Every sperm is sacred.
Every sperm is great.
If a sperm is wasted,
God gets quite iraaaaaate!
Very true Sacolton!
Yep, things done before 'studying the bible' are often done because one did not have association with the Christian Congregation.
Military service, tatoos, sex outside of marriage, non-scriptural divorce....all looked beyond if one wants to become a JW....but better not hold hands or embrace someone one does not plan on marrying (young people ask) once you become a JW......the rules all change.
*** w80 1/15 pp. 30-31 Questions From Readers ***
Previous to my studying the Bible, my wife and I were divorced, not due to immorality but because we just did not get along. Now I have become a Christian. Biblically, am I free to remarry?
Whether a person in the situation you describe would be Scripturally free to remarry depends on whether the marriage came to an end in the sight of God.
Your marriage was legally terminated before you became a Christian, perhaps on a legal ground such as incompatibility. That ended the marriage from the government’s standpoint. But you properly are concerned with whether the Universal Lawgiver still views you and your former wife as "one flesh."—Gen. 2:22-24.
Jesus said something that helps us here. After acknowledging that divorces had been obtained on various grounds, he added: "Whoever divorces his wife, except on the ground of fornication [Greek, porneía], and marries another commits adultery." (Matt. 19:9; 5:32) Thus, the only Biblical basis for a divorce that would free one to remarry is "fornication" or porneía, which includes adultery and other gross sexual immorality.
Thus, had your wife been guilty of adultery, you would have had a Scriptural basis for getting a divorce. If you did so, whether on the ground of adultery or some other truthful legal ground, you would no longer have been "one flesh." Conversely, had you been adulterous and had your wife chosen not to forgive you and had she obtained a divorce, you both would be Scripturally free.
You say, however, that immorality had not occurred before the divorce. Hence, in view of what Jesus said, what reason would there be to believe that the divorce automatically dissolved the marriage in the sight of God? Though, when becoming a Christian, a person can ask God’s forgiveness for past sins, that does not mean that all past obligations and commitments are canceled. (1 John 1:7; 1 Cor. 6:9-11) To illustrate: You may have borrowed money from a friend, agreeing to make regular payments on that debt. Then you became a Christian. Would that cancel your debt? Hardly. On learning God’s view about paying debts, you probably would feel your obligation more keenly. (Ps. 37:21; 15:4; 112:5) It can be similar in regard to a marriage. When you got married, God began to view the two of you as "one flesh." So ask yourself: Is there any basis for God to have stopped viewing you as that?
There might be. Something may have occurred since the divorce that could have ended the marriage in God’s sight. We can appreciate why this is so by considering the matter in the light of what Jesus said, as recorded at Matthew 19:9. Though you had not committed immorality, if your wife divorced you and later you did commit "fornication," the marriage could be considered ended. She rejected you, and there was the later Biblical basis for your no longer being "one flesh." On the other hand, perhaps it was she who was guilty of post-divorce "fornication." As Jesus allowed, under those circumstances the marriage could be viewed as ended in the sight of God, for there is a divorce and now you, the innocent mate, have established that she has been immoral.
Consequently, in a case such as you present, what has or has not occurred since the divorce may be the determining factor in ascertaining whether in the eyes of God the two of you are still "one flesh."
If you determine that from God’s viewpoint you are not Scripturally free to remarry, what can you do? One possibility would be to try sharing the Bible truth you know with your now-divorced mate. You might be able to help her to see that the Bible can transform personalities and bring happiness to individuals whose lives were formerly troubled. But if you two chose to come together again, it would be fitting to get legally married so that your union is honorable in the sight of all.—Heb. 13:4.
If she presently is not open to reconciliation, continue to live a morally chaste life, as you evidently have been doing. (Jas. 3:17; 1 Thess. 4:3-5) The apostle Paul explained that those living without a mate are in position to use their time and freedom in a fine way by pursuing true worship. (1 Cor. 7:29-35) Continued association with the Christian congregation and keeping busy in the preaching and teaching of God’s Word will bring much satisfaction and many blessings.
*** w68 9/15 pp. 575-576 Questions From Readers ***
I would like to become one of Jehovah’s witnesses, but some years ago I got divorced and remarried. What steps must I take to be acceptable for baptism?—D. C., U.S.A.
We regularly receive inquiries of this type. It is fine to see that the truth recorded in the Bible has touched the hearts of the ones inquiring and has moved them to want to live in harmony with God’s righteous requirements so as to be able to serve him acceptably. Such individuals are to be commended.
The past circumstances of those coming to an accurate knowledge of God vary greatly. Some have been married, divorced and remarried (even a number of times) before learning of God’s will and moral requirements as to marriage. Not attempting to deal with each particular situation here, we will set out some general comments that probably will cover most cases.
In regard to marriage, Christians are responsible to live in accord with two sets of law. The first, and most important, is the law of God. Obviously, Jehovah as the Creator and Lawgiver has the right to direct how his creatures should conduct themselves. (Isa. 33:22) The other is the law of the land where one lives. By direct statement and by example the Bible indicates that the legal requirements for registration of marriage are to be complied with by those desiring God’s favor. (Matt. 22:21; Titus 3:1; Luke 2:1-5) Neither law can be ignored by Christians.
Thus, a person who gets married must do more than acknowledge that he is taking on responsibility before God; he must also conform to the legal requirements of the land where he lives. In a Christian sense he is not really married and entitled to the privileges of marriage until he has done so.
Now let us turn this matter around and consider divorce. In view of the above, it should be clear that the requirements of both God and the state must be met as to divorce. The law of the land may permit divorce on many grounds, but God’s law allows for divorce only on the ground of adultery. (Matt. 19:9) If a person obtains a divorce on any ground other than adultery (because no adultery has been committed), he is not free, according to God’s law, to marry again. Carrying this further, if a person with such a legal, but unscriptural, divorce then marries another person, this would be a serious violation of God’s law; it would be adultery. (On the other hand, if adultery has been committed, the innocent mate is not free to seek another mate until a legal divorce has been completed. The requirements of both God and the state must be met.)
So if a person in ignorance as to God’s law got a legal divorce on some unscriptural ground and then remarried, the requirements of the law of the land would have been met, but by remarrying the person would have committed adultery according to divine law. This adultery terminates the former marriage according to God’s law, but it does so by a serious violation of Jehovah’s own law. What is to be done in such a case?
Many persons committed sins prior to learning of God’s requirements. Before becoming Christians, some in the Christian congregation in ancient Corinth had been adulterers, fornicators, homosexuals and drunkards. But they changed! By the time they dedicated their lives to God and got baptized they were living in a clean moral condition. What about their past sins? Those sins were forgiven; the individuals were "washed clean" by faith in the ransom sacrifice of Jesus Christ.—1 Cor. 6:9-11.
Consequently, if a person today learns God’s law and realizes that in the past he committed the serious sin of adultery, he ought to go to God in prayer and seek forgiveness on the basis of the ransom sacrifice of Jesus Christ. As the apostle Peter declared: "Everyone putting faith in him [Jesus] gets forgiveness of sins through his name." (Acts 10:43; Eph. 1:7) Then he ought to prove the sincerity of his repentance. But how? He cannot go back to his former mate. He no longer has any claim legally or Scripturally on that person. Nor can he go back and live his life over again. But he can live in harmony with Bible laws and principles from this time onward. He can show that he now appreciates the sacredness of marriage by living up to the responsibilities that he now has as a married person, and he can move forward in learning God’s will and doing it.—Col. 1:9, 10.
[Footnotes]
For details, see chapter 8 of LifeEverlasting—inFreedomoftheSonsofGod, published by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society.
OK, let me see if I understand that, if you get divorced non-scriptually (no adultery involved), you are not free to remarry...but if you committed adultery and repent, you may be able to remarry?
OMG...goes to show you that my brain hadn't fully deveoped when I made the decision to become a JW. Articles like those are not available to people who are studying, and most people who are studying wouldn't know to ask if there are articles on the subject. It seems to me that a marriage that was performed outside of JWs would be recognized by Jehovah, so why would someone who wasn't a JW at the time of getting married be accountable to Jehovah now?
So after those 2 mind bending blather sessions, does a person have to commit adultery to be recognized by God as ready for scriptural divorce??
Let me see if I understand this, two folks are married, get divorced (legal) for a reason other than adultery, if one would want to become a baptized witness, and then get married, the quickest path would be to get their spouse to commit adultery, and if that is not possible, commit adultery themselves and then confess it, because without someone committing adultery, the JWs would not allow a marriage of either partner due to no scriptural divorce being granted.
Thanks for the information Blondie. I never knew this.
