137- MaryAnne – “Can I divorce my husband who won’t change?”
“I don’t have MaryAnne’s original email, but it was a severe case of her husband and the church using the “God hates divorce” guilt trip to keep a true child of God in terrible bondage to a child of the devil. He had been unfaithful to her in many ways, just not sexually. She had married him three separate times, and he never changed. The Holy Spirit needed her to see that God does not only consider unfaithfulness to be when there have been sexual relations with someone outside of the marriage. Because God demands that we treat each other in love, not doing harm to them, and because He demands that husbands and wives live in peace, there are several ways a person may be unfaithful to their spouse, i.e. emotional, spiritual, or physical abuse, neglect, abandonment, endangerment, persecution, etc. With legitimate issues like those, God would say of the other “spouse”, they are unloving and unwilling to live with the believing spouse in “peace”, just as Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 7.
MaryAnne’s email reply after my recording
Michael, I just wanted to say thank you for your recording. God answered my prayer, and now my two little children plus myself are safe at my mother’s house. We left immediately from that situation. The battle between the abused doctrine and what I know is true of God, is finally over! Have a blessed day, and thank you again!
MaryAnne”
When "God Hates Divorce" Becomes a Chain to Spiritual Death
Are you trapped in a marriage relationship that is bearing the fruit of spiritual death, rather than life, like MaryAnne?
MaryAnne was in a marriage of spiritual death and the Holy Spirit needed her to see that God does not consider unfaithfulness only to be sexual relations with someone outside of the marriage. Because God demands that we treat each other in love, not doing harm to them, and because He demands that husbands and wives live in peace, there are several ways a spouse may be unfaithful in the marriage, i.e. emotional, spiritual, or physical abuse, neglect, abandonment, endangerment, persecution, etc. With legitimate issues like those, where there is no repentance, God would say, “they are unwilling to live with the believing spouse in peace.” (1 Corinthians 7:15)
2 Corinthians 6:14 warns us, of the incompatibility of light and darkness, of believers with unbelievers. Yet, many Christians find themselves bound to unbelieving, unfaithful spouses, feeling trapped by a misinterpretation of the “God hate’s divorce” teaching.
While God does hate divorce, He hates even more the spiritual death that can result from remaining yoked to an unrepentant child of the devil (1 John 3:6-10). A spouse who consistently exhibits the fruit of darkness – lies, sin, abuse, and rebellion against God – is not walking in the light. Remaining in such a relationship can lead to your own spiritual demise. Are you yoked to the light or darkness, to life or death?
Every effort should be made to find peace in marriage, and you should not add sin to sin, by divorcing your spouse for illegitimate reasons. Difficult marriages can foster extraordinary spiritual maturity in the life of a true believer, as God uses those afflictions to shape you more into the image of Christ. But, there are legitimate times to get out. Don't be misled by legalistic interpretations of Scripture. God's Word is clear: a tree is recognized by its fruit (Matthew 12:33). If your spouse's actions consistently deny God, resulting in your being abused, neglected, or your peace in Christ threatened, you may have permission to leave, to break free from the darkness and embrace the light of life in Christ. It takes courage, but God will be with you, providing peace, strength, and ultimately, life. Trust Him and step out in faith.
