Important Announcement
Bishop Andrew Phang
Ex Vicar of Church of the Redeemer (Anglican), Butterworth,
Penang, Malaysia
wrote the following:
“Dear Rev George Ong,
thank you for conducting the seminar
and preaching twice in my church.
Regarding the ‘Rapture and Great Tribulation’ Seminar,
I have been personally convinced
of the truth of the Post-tribulation belief,
based on the many explicit biblical references,
given by you,
especially the very words of our Lord Jesus Christ,
recorded in Matthew 24:29-31.
I must confess that I thought
it was up to one’s personal preference
if one holds on to the Pre-tribulation view.
Now I am aware from your seminar
that there is not a single explicit biblical reference
that clearly supports the Pre-tribulation stance.
Using wildly or conveniently selected inferences
to support a doctrine,
could lead to a wrong biblical interpretation
with great negative consequences
and adversely impact one’s own life
and even the lives of others.
Your teaching has also enhanced
and sharpened my understanding
about how the Pre-tribulation doctrine
uses the many inference texts (no explicit texts at all)
to support their doctrine.
John 14:1-3 is one such example.
After your seminar, I am committed
to uphold the teaching of Post-tribulation
to prepare my church members
to be spiritually strong with the power of the Holy Spirit
to face the Great Tribulation.
Thank you for your clear and bold teaching.
May the gracious Lord constantly bless and protect you
and Kwee Siew.”
Seminar: Rapture Before Or After Tribulation
Dates: 4 & 11 July, 9 am to 6 pm (choose one Saturday)
Cost: $35 (1 lunch, 2 tea-breaks & rental of venue)
Venue: Near Tai Seng MRT Station
For Registration, Please fill up the form:
https://forms.gle/JtaJpJedsvj87zibA
Part 1: Faith is Not Divorced From Obedience to God’s Word – By Joseph & Sharon Kingsley
Part 2: A Former New Creation Church Pastoral Staff, after a divorce with his ex-wife, an ex-National Swimmer of Singapore a few years ago, remarries a Cell Leader of Joseph Prince’s Church recently in early May 2026
(I am aware of all their names and how they look, as I have videos to prove them, but have chosen not to identify them),
and the remarriage was sanctioned by Joseph Prince because it was officiated by K E Mathews, a current Pastoral Staff of the Church – By George Ong
Part 1: Faith is Not Divorced From Obedience to God’s Word – By Joseph & Sharon Kingsley
Please click here to view the video:
Part 2: A Former New Creation Church Pastoral Staff, after a divorce with his ex-wife, an ex-National Swimmer of Singapore a few years ago, remarries a Cell Leader of Joseph Prince’s Church recently in early May 2026
(I am aware of all their names and how they look, as I have videos to prove them, but have chosen not to identify them),
and the remarriage was sanctioned by Joseph Prince because it was officiated by K E Mathews, a current Pastoral Staff of the Church – By George Ong
In a sermon on 17 May 2026, 2 Sundays ago,
Joseph Prince said:
Please click here to view the video:
“Because the blood keeps on,
keeping on, keeping on, keeping on,
keeps on cleansing us.
That’s in the Greek.
It never stops cleansing us.
The moment you have a bad thought,
it cleanses it away.
You know you can have like,
a lot of like oppressive thoughts.
Just know at that moment,
the blood is cleansing it away.
And I tell you, you’ll come to a place where, sometimes,
you even forget what you thought.
You ever had that
this stupid thought popping, you know?
You had a sinful thought, right?
Then you try to say,
“Oh no God, forgive me for that thought.”
Then another thought appears.
Or that previous thought becomes life and in colour.
Then, you don’t want it.
You know, and you’re driving,
and you’re closing your eyes and all that,
not good for driving.
Alright, you try to resist it.
I have been through the mind thing
since I was a teenager.
So I’m talking from experience here, with this verse.
But the moment I rest and say, the blood is cleansing it.
The moment I think it, it’s gone.
So people say,
“Well, that will give people licence to sin.
No, it will give you licence to live holy.”
George Ong’s Comments:
Joseph Prince said:
“So people say,
“Well, that will give people licence to sin.”
No, it will give you licence to live holy.”
Joseph Prince’s corrupted and false teachings
have not made people holy,
but have indeed given his people a licence to sin.
Here is my latest evidence:
I remembered an ex-Pastoral Staff
was a regular MC in the worship services
prior to about 2023/2024.
He appeared in the worship services
of New Creation Church regularly on Sundays.
But, one Sunday from about 2023/2024,
he suddenly “disappeared”
from the radar in New Creation Church’s worship services.
I knew then that something was wrong.
Not long afterwards,
I found out he and his ex-wife,
an ex-National Swimmer of Singapore
were divorced.
Then, recently, word got to me
that on 8 May 2026, he was remarried
to a Cell Leader of New Creation Church,
and there was joyous celebration of this occasion
by fellow cell leaders and friends,
who were invited to this event.
K E Mathews, a current Pastoral staff
of New Creation Church,
officiated the marriage.
I have the videos of the wedding to prove them.
I wonder whether Joseph Prince reads the same Bible
as ours.
The Bible clearly teaches
that if a believer marries
while the former wife is still living,
that constitutes an adulterous marriage.
That means that
K E Mathews, a pastoral staff of New Creation Church,
and representing the church,
who officiated the marriage,
affirms the adulterous marriage.
This also certainly means Joseph Prince,
the Senior Pastor of New Creation Church,
who approves of the marriage,
by sending K E Mathews to officiate the marriage,
affirms this adulterous marriage.
Mind you, if this adulterous marriage
can happen to the leadership
of New Creation Church,
involving a former Pastoral staff and a cell leader,
what goes down the line
is up to one’s imagination.
Joseph Prince said:
Please click here to view the video:
“So people say,
“Well, that will give people licence to sin.”
No, it will give you licence to live holy.”
Contrary to what Joseph Prince said,
his grace teachings have not made them holy,
but have given them the license to sin
– the sins of adultery.
Why?
Because every single future sin has all been forgiven
– including the sins of adultery
– and without any hassle
– without the need for confession and repentance.
The Bible sees marriage as a lifelong, sacred covenant.
As such, remarriage after an unbiblical divorce,
except for sexual immorality, constitutes adultery
(Matthew 5:32 & 19:9).
Jesus also sees
that divorcing a spouse and marrying another
is adultery against the first spouse, who is still living
(Mark 10:11-12 & Luke 16:18).
Paul emphasizes that a wife
is bound to her husband (or vice versa) until death,
and separation should lead to reconciliation,
or remaining unmarried
(Romans 7:2-3 & 1 Corinthians 7:10-11).
This is not the first time this sort of adulterous marriage
has taken place in the church,
and affirmed by Joseph Prince and New Creation Church;
to view, please click on the link below:
In a sermon, David Pawson said:
Please click here to view the video:
“These are deeds of repentance;
deeds of faith, which don’t earn salvation,
but they are necessary part of receiving salvation.
Do you follow me?
Now the preachers of free grace are saying,
‘The only thing you need do is believe.’
And that’s something you do inside you;
it has nothing to do with any actions.
And there’s no need for repentance to be saved.
And this teaching is now spreading around the world
from Singapore
and from here in America.
No repentance.
You can be saved without repentance.
You can even be saved without any deeds of faith.
You only need to believe inside.
And that’s it.
Furthermore, they go on to teach
that not only are your past sins forgiven,
but all your future ones
are also forgiven at the same time.
In other words, there’s nothing you need to do
to be saved.
Can you imagine the result that that’s having?
Well, I can tell you, this teaching of so-called Free Grace
has really captured the churches in South Africa.
And when I asked the Pastors,
what effect that was having on Christian living,
they all said the same thing.
They said,
‘We’re getting a vast increase in divorce and remarriage.’
Isn’t that interesting?
Because even if it’s wrong to divorce and remarriage
– that’s okay – you’ve been forgiven in advance.
Doesn’t matter how you live now.
And that’s the fruit of that wrong teaching of grace.”
David Pawson said,
“And this teaching is now spreading around the world
from Singapore
and from here in America.”
NCCS, APCCS, and every Bishop, Pastor, Elder and Leader
in the Singapore Church (including myself)
had better wake up (if they are still in slumber)
and take responsibility for what they didn’t do
(or didn’t do enough)
to contend against Joseph Prince
from spreading his ‘no-repentance’ false gospel
and his ‘every-future-sin-has-been-forgiven’ heretical virus
that has now infected the world.
David Pawson said,
“Can you imagine the result that that’s having?
Well, I can tell you,
this teaching of so-called Free Grace
has really captured the churches in South Africa.
And when I asked the Pastors,
what effect that was having on Christian living,
they all said the same thing.
They said,
‘We’re getting a vast increase in divorce and remarriage.’
Isn’t that interesting?
Because even if it’s wrong to divorce and remarriage
– that’s okay – you’ve been forgiven in advance.
Doesn’t matter how you live now.
And that’s the fruit of that wrong teaching of grace.”
Has Joseph Prince ever told you
what David Pawson and the South African Pastors have stated
about the damaging impact of his grace teaching
– regarding the increase in divorce and remarriage
in South Africa?
Of course, he won’t.
Joseph Prince will make sure he hides
all these horrendous effects of his teachings from you.
If not for David Pawson,
many of you would still be in the dark.
Joseph Prince frequently boasts
about the many testimonies that his grace theology
has set people free from their bondage.
However, if there are tragic testimonies
that people’s lives have been wrecked
because they practise his teachings,
he is never going to tell you,
and he would immediately disclaim responsibility
if they were to come out into the open.
As for myself, I have many people who have come to tell me
about how the lives of their relatives and friends were wrecked
because they came under the influence
of Joseph Prince’s teachings.
One Christian lady personally told me
that her son-in-law, who is a believer,
committed adultery and is still with the woman
because he was convinced by Joseph Prince’s theology
that all our sins have been forgiven: past, present and future,
and that our salvation can never be lost, no matter what.
Another sister who is a believer,
shared with me that her husband had committed adultery
for several years.
And during the period of his adultery,
guess where he was worshipping
– at Joseph Prince’s New Creation Church.
Why?
Because Joseph Prince teaches God does not see the sins in us
– including his adulterous sins.
A Christian brother told me
that when his wife committed adultery,
where were she and her lover worshipping?
They were raising their hands worshipping God
at Joseph Prince’s New Creation Church.
Why?
Because all their sins – including their adulterous sins
are all forgiven without confession.
These occurrences are not at all surprising
because of Joseph Prince’s teachings
that all their future sins have been forgiven automatically,
including adulterous sins.
Mind you, these 3 cases are just a few
of the many first-hand accounts of similar stories
that I have personally heard.
Have you finally found the answer
why Joseph Prince never teaches on divorce and remarriage
that Jesus and Paul have laid down in the Bible
on New Creation Church’s pulpit?
In my many years of viewing his sermons every Sunday,
I have never ever heard
Joseph Prince preached on that topic
of divorce and remarriage
as laid down by Jesus and Paul,
a single time before.
I have also checked with 7 Ex New Creation Church members:
Sharon Kingsley, Andrew Tan, Linda Tan, Peter Ho,
Ng Thin Hoong, David Ching & Olive Mok
(attending New Creation Church from 6 years to 25 years),
and none of them have ever heard
Joseph Prince preached on divorce and remarriage
as taught by Jesus and Paul even once before.
Why?
So, Joseph Prince can keep allowing his people
to commit these adulterous sins
to remarry while their ex-spouses are still alive.
Joseph Prince is so deceptive that his teachings
are actually giving the people the license to sin,
while at the same time,
he can craftily claim that he isn’t overtly teaching it.
That’s the kind of crafty wolf that you are dealing with.
One of Joseph Prince’s final defences has always been
to use the excuse that since every church has her fair share
of such people who continue to sin,
no matter what the church teaches
– so why pick on his church?
But one mustn’t be fooled by Joseph Prince
as no true evangelical church
will ever teach what Prince teaches
– for example,
that all future sins are already forgiven without confession,
and when one sins, he is not to confess his sins
but he is to declare how righteous he is in Christ.
And it is these very heretical teachings Joseph Prince teaches
which no true evangelical church will ever teach
that are responsible for deceiving people
that they are once saved, always saved,
even though they are living a lifestyle of sin
– and leading them to their final destruction.
In the sermon 2 days ago, 24 May 2026,
Joseph Prince said:
Please click here to view the video:
“And by the way, if you read carefully,
it says in Corinthians that know ye not that your bodies
are the temple of God.
Sometimes, we have this idea that God, you know,
the temple is actually inside us,
the spirit that’s born again.
No, God says your body is the temple of God.
Can I have a good amen?
And I must not abuse my temple.
I must not abuse my temple, Amen?
And the one thing that Paul mentioned in Corinthians
that really, every other sin that man commits
is not sinning against your own body, right?
But the sin of sexual immorality
is a sin against your own body.
That means it will have repercussions.
And I think, I must say this also,
I don’t believe that everyone that’s sick,
and all that is because of sexual immorality.
Of course, alright?
Because of Adam’s fall, defects and hereditary diseases
and sickness, it’s all passed on.
Generation after generation, okay?
But the Bible does say that sexual immorality
can cost for the believer.
A sin against your own body,
which I can’t think of anything
but sin against your own body
is causing sickness in your body.
Are you with me so far?
That is from the Apostle’s mouth.
He says every sin that a man commits
is outside the body.
But you sin against your body, alright?
The repercussions is there.
Because your body is a temple of God. Amen.
Preach it, Pastor Prince. Hallelujah.”
Joseph Prince said:
Please click here to view the video:
“But the sin of sexual immorality
is a sin against your own body.
That means it will have repercussions.
… But the Bible does say that sexual immorality
can cost for the believer.
A sin against your own body,
which I can’t think of anything
but sin against your own body
is causing sickness in your body.
Are you with me so far?
That is from the Apostle’s mouth.
He says every sin that a man commits
is outside the body.
But you sin against your body, alright?
The repercussions is there.
Because your body is a temple of God. Amen.
Preach it, Pastor Prince. Hallelujah.”
George Ong’s Comments:
I can say this much
– that Joseph Prince isn’t serious at all
in what he preached about the repercussions
of the sins of sexual immorality.
Frankly, it is only for show
as you should be aware by now
that Joseph Prince is very much a showman,
who thrives on showmanship.
If Joseph Prince were really serious
about the repercussions
of the sins of sexual immorality,
why did he continue to allow and even sanction
adulterous marriages,
the latest, being the adulterous marriage
between a former Pastor and a Cell Leader,
both from New Creation Church
to prevail in New Creation Church.
And I begin to wonder,
going by his own words in his sermon 2 days ago,
that perhaps the reason why Joseph Prince
needs to do so many healings from sicknesses
in his worship services
is that New Creation Church has largely failed
in this sexual area.
And to drive home the point,
let me repeat what I mentioned earlier
– mind you, if this adulterous marriage
can happen to the leadership
of New Creation Church,
involving a former Pastoral staff and a cell leader,
what goes down the line
is up to one’s imagination.
In another teaching session, David Pawson said:
Please click here to view the video:
“But first what Jesus said.
His explanation.
Jesus took a stricter view of divorce and remarriage
than Moses, certainly.
And He went right back to Genesis 2
for the basis of His view.
But the explanation for His strict view,
extremely strict view,
a view that no other moral teacher has ever risen to.
The highest standard of all.
And you’ll find this in Luke and Mark.
In Luke chapter 16, verse 18, and in Mark chapter 10.
Now, this is very significant
because both Mark and Luke
were written for unbelievers,
and written for Gentiles,
And to the Gentile world,
Jesus makes an absolute statement,
an absolute prohibition
with no exceptions,
with no qualifications.
The only qualifications He makes are in Matthew.
That’s very significant.
So, Mark and Luke gave us Jesus’ rule,
which is the heart of His teaching.
And that’s the very basis.
There’s no point in discussing exceptions
until you believe His rule.
And His rule is in Mark and Luke.
Mark 10, Luke 16.
And that rule is very simple and very clear.
And the rule is whoever divorces his wife
and marries another woman
is committing adultery.
And whoever marries a divorcee
is also committing adultery.
Now that simple rule needs to be unpacked a little.
Adultery is the sin of a married person.
Fornication is the sin of an unmarried (person).
But adultery for which the Greek word is ‘moichia’,
that is always the sin of a married person.
And, therefore, what Jesus is saying
is God doesn’t recognize divorce.
A divorce may be perfectly legal
and man may accept the marriage is over,
but God doesn’t.
And, therefore, if he marries again, after a divorce,
that’s adultery against his first partner,
to whom in God’s sight, he is still married.
Now, hope you follow that.
I’m just unpacking what He (Jesus) said.
Adultery, since it can only be the sin of a married person
means that after the divorce,
the person is still married in God’s sight, not in men’s.
In men’s the marriage is dissolved,
but in God’s sight, it’s still there.
And therefore, if he has sex with someone else,
even though it’s legal and it’s within marriage,
it’s actually adultery.
And whoever marries a divorcee
is doing the same thing.
They are committing adultery
against the woman’s first husband
because they are still married.
That’s the explanation of the very strict line
that Jesus took against divorce and remarriage.
Neither counts with God because they are all still married
to their original partners in His sight.
And therefore, are committing adultery.
They are living a life in an adulterous relationship
which God does not recognise.
That’s the heart of Jesus’ teaching.”
Appendix 1 and 2 contain David Pawson’s view
on Divorce and Remarriage.
Please do your own study on these 2 topics
and come to your own conclusion.
Appendix 1
In ‘Completing Luther’s Reformation,’
David Pawson wrote:
“I was on a special commission by the Evangelical Alliance in Britain, chaired by John Stott, to debate the new legislation that was coming in, whereby divorce could be on the ground of marriage breakdown, not any other, and that Britain would recognise that a marriage had broken, and therefore could be dissolved.
Christians were then faced with whether they stood by Jesus’ teaching or went along with new legislation. It was that particular issue that I believe began to destroy the discipline of the Christian Church in Britain.
So, we had varying responses.
For the most part, the free churches were prepared to marry the innocent party in a divorce.
The Anglican Church was not prepared to remarry, but has blessed remarriages.
I for one cannot understand how we can ask God to bless a remarriage and yet be unwilling to conduct it.
That seems to me hypocrisy.
But there we are.
It is totally inconsistent.
The Roman Catholic Church has greatly increased what it calls “annulment of marriage” and finds some reason for declaring that a marriage was not a marriage at all in the first place.
So, they have taken their own line to this.
But right across the board we have the fact
that the majority of Christian churches in my country,
in one way or another,
are now blessing remarriage after divorce.
Leading Christian evangelists, pastors, and Bible teachers are now openly changing wives and justifying it by saying,
“My new wife is a much better partner in my ministry than the old one was.”
It is quite incredible. I could name names that you know and would recognise, of foremost Christian evangelists and leaders in my country who have simply divorced their wife and married someone else, usually an associate in the work, or a secretary, or somebody working closely with them.
I am openly speaking to that situation and making myself terribly unpopular for doing so, but I simply preach what Christ taught.
But having opened that door, I give you some figures from America. At first it was liberals who began to lower the standards of the sanctity of marriage.
Then it became evangelicals. The situation now in America is that the “Bible Belt”, as it is known, in the southern USA where the Southern Baptists (who are known as Bible believers), are the major denomination, now has a higher divorce rate – fifty percent higher than the rest of America.
And that is where the Bible is widely respected. Not only that, but eighty percent of all juvenile delinquency or child crime comes from broken homes and ended marriages. That is true of my country. We now have the highest divorce and remarriage rate in Europe.
It is right among the evangelical and Bible believers. They are changing partners like that. Well once the Church, as it were, reduced the sanctity of marriage in the sixties by going along with the idea that marriage could be dissolved and replaced, then all the other gender issues began streaming in behind that.
We now face the biggest gender issue of all: will the Church marry homosexuals? I turned on the television (the BBC) for a service of worship from a church in Somerset. Here was a minister “marrying” or pronouncing a “blessing” on two men in the name of Jesus. I honestly felt sick in my stomach.
Then there was another church in the same county where in one service the minister “dissolved” a marriage of a couple in his church and in the name of Jesus said, “You are now free and separate.”
In the same service he married the man to another woman in his congregation (or performed a “blessing”) and “married” the woman to another woman in the congregation—a former nun (or, again, gave a “blessing”).
All this in the name of Jesus in a Christian church, but I am sorry, that is where we are. This is going to be a great pressure on us:
whether we are going to be pressured by the State into a complete denial of the sanctity of marriage.
In Jesus’ teaching, nothing dissolves a marriage except death. That should be, I believe, our stand.
The exceptions that he made are both in Matthew for a reason, because Matthew is a Jewish Gospel written for Jews—for the early Jewish believers.
The exception is due to Jewish culture. The word he used was not “adultery” but “fornication”. When the word “fornication” (porneia) is used in the same context as “adultery” (moicheia), they are clearly two different things.
Jesus does that, and so does Paul in many of his references. Fornication is sex before marriage. Adultery is sex after marriage with someone else.
The only exception Jesus made was fornication, not adultery. But even the New International Version has changed that word to “marital unfaithfulness”, which is unwarranted mistranslation.
In Jewish culture, betrothal or engagement is far more serious than in our culture. Engagement can be broken in our culture. But in Jewish culture, that is as good as the promises made in a wedding.
Therefore, if the bridegroom discovers that his bride has already had sex before they are married, he is totally at liberty to divorce her.
The word “divorce” there is in an engagement context, not a marriage context.
Of course, Matthew also gives us a classic example of that with Mary and Joseph, where Joseph had not consummated marriage with Mary, but believed that she had already fornicated with someone else, so resolved to divorce her. That would have been the right thing to do.
He was a just and a righteous man. But an angel told him the whole truth and said, “You don’t need to be afraid of taking her as your wife; she has not been unfaithful to you. The child is by the Holy Spirit.”
That example, in the same Gospel as the two exceptions, tells you the context.
In a Jewish culture, a man was almost bound to put away his intended wife if she was found to be fornicating beforehand.
In Matthew 5, Jesus simply said that a man who gets rid of his wife is forcing her into adultery and is responsible for that, except if he divorces her for being unfaithful before the marriage—for fornication.
Therefore, I am convinced that based on a careful reading of Jesus’ words, his teaching made no exceptions.
In Mark and Luke, written for Gentile unbelievers, there is no mention of any exception whatsoever, because there isn’t the same Jewish culture of the binding betrothal from which there should and could be divorce before the marriage.
The Church went soft on divorce and remarriage, and it is now happening not just among members but also among
ministers.
All over, wherever I go, I find this. In Jesus’ eyes it is legalised adultery. As soon as the Church gave way on the sanctity of marriage the other things swept in.
In the same way, in the sixties the Church gave way on the sanctity of life by supporting the abolition of capital punishment, which the Lord laid on us in the Noahic Covenant, which was made with all mankind, and which God has kept, but we haven’t—that a murderer deserves to die and his life must be taken.
When we abolished that in the sixties I predicted then, “This is the end of the sanctity of life,” and therefore murder is no longer sacrilege, the destruction of God’s image.
I said, “The new thing will be abortion, and the thing after that will be euthanasia.” Once you have taken one step to reduce the sanctity of life, all these other things follow. So, we are now battling with abortion and we are battling with potential euthanasia.
In the sixties, two sacred things were reduced: the sanctity of life and the sanctity of marriage.
The result is what we are now grappling with and being crippled by today. But I just want to show you that it all began then. We are now reaping the harvest and being put in such pressurised situations.
The Church – if it doesn’t marry homosexuals – will be under persecution from the authorities. That will be regarded as treason, as anti-citizenship. I tell you that now. We as Christian leaders will have to decide whether we are going to compromise or not on these crucial issues.
It is going to be very costly to stand firm by the commandments of Jesus. He said, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them and teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”
Among those commandments is his clear teaching on the sanctity of life and the sanctity of marriage, that in God’s sight must never be broken.
The discipline of the Church is now suffering because we compromised back in the sixties without realising what…
Finally, I was asked this question: would I tell remarried people who discovered this to divorce? I believe that anybody living in sin must repent. “Repent” means turning away from that.
If they are in an adulterous relationship of any kind, repentance means leaving that relationship. I take my hat off to couples I know who separated when they realised that they were living in adultery in the sight of the Lord. We can only tell them to repent and warn them that the cost of not repenting could be eternal.”
Appendix 2
David Pawson
REMARRIAGE AFTER DIVORCE?
DG01-03
Biblical Principles
(a) What God Says
Genesis 2:22-24 gives God’s intention for marriage for all humans.
“For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.”
Or as the King James version states, there is a “leaving” and a “cleaving”.
So God’s intention from the beginning was monogamy – marriage with one person for life.
To be a marriage three things are necessary: consent, commitment and consummation.
The seventh commandment given to Moses by God shows the sanctity of marriage –
“You shall not commit adultery.” (Exodus 20:14)
And the penalty was death.
(b) What Moses Said
The only statement in the law of Moses on marriage and divorce is Deuteronomy 24:1-4: “If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, and if after she leaves his house she becomes the wife of another man, and her second husband dislikes her and writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, or if he dies, then her first husband, who divorced her, is not allowed to marry her again after she has been defiled. “
This legislation was given by Moses to control a particular situation that could arise after divorce and remarriage.
That is, a divorced wife who remarried could not go back to her first husband.
(c) What the Prophets Said
The prophets adopted a metaphorical approach. (eg Jer 3, Eze 16, Hos 1-3).
The covenant of marriage is shown to be a reflection of God’s covenants with His people.
Malachi 2:10-16
God hates divorce.
God is offended by mixed marriages, broken marriage covenants, and divorcing for a younger woman.
(d) What the Scribes Were Saying in Jesus’ Time
Divorce and remarriage were common in Jewish and Roman society.
Debate among the scribes centered on defining the “something indecent” which preceded the first divorce in Deuteronomy 24:1.
There were three Rabbinic views on the divorce and remarriage question:
Shammai – Strict view. Only on the grounds of adultery. (Ignored Mosaic law which said the penalty for adultery was death!)
Hillel – For any offensive behaviour.
Akiva – Because you met someone you liked better.
(e) What Jesus Said
THE RULE
The rule stated by Jesus is: Only death dissolves a marriage.
Therefore remarriage while a partner is alive is adultery in God’s sight.
This is the first time in history that anyone ever said remarriage after divorce is adultery.
This rule is recorded in Mark and Luke – the gospels for unbelievers – with no hint of any exceptions.
Luke 16:18 “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”
Applies to “anyone”.
Does not say divorce is a sin. It is the remarrying that is a sin (adultery).
Mark 10:2-12 “Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”
“What did Moses command you?” he replied.
They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.”
“It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,”
Jesus replied. “But at the beginning of creation God `made them male and female.’ For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”
When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this.
He answered, “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.”
Every marriage is joined by God, so humans shouldn’t break up what God has put together.
Moses permitted divorce to control something that was already happening.
Again, it is the remarriage that constitutes adultery. (Principle applied to both husband and wife.)
POSSIBLE EXCEPTIONS
Only possible exceptions are recorded in Matthew, the gospel for believers.
Matthew 5:31-32 “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.”
In context, Jesus is discussing adultery, not divorce and remarriage.
Jesus is saying: If you divorce your wife you are forcing her into adultery, except in the case where she has already committed “adultery” (ie fornication or any sexual activity outside marriage).
Matthew 19:3-10 “Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”
“Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator made them male and female, and said, `For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”
“Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”
Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery.”
The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.”
Verse 9, without the except clause, restates Jesus’ rule: “Anyone who divorces his wife ……… and marries another woman commits adultery.”
But verse 9 has been considered as ambiguous because of the position of the except clause.
Normally an except clause qualifies what precedes it.
So the exception applies only to divorce.
That is, adultery is a ground for divorce but not remarriage.
Alternatively, the except clause could be applied to both divorce and remarriage.
This has led to the popular view:
If you divorce for physical infidelity and marry another, you are not committing adultery.
That is, the innocent party can remarry.
Where there is an ambiguity look for clarification in scripture and outside it.
Immediate context – Disciples were astonished at Jesus’ teaching, as it was not in line with any of the current Rabbinical teaching.
Other scripture – Every other record of Jesus’ teaching is clear.
No remarriage after divorce.
– Paul was clear: be reconciled to your marriage partner or remain single. (1 Corinthians 7:10).
Outside scripture – All the church fathers (except one) for 500 years permitted divorce for adultery but prohibited remarriage altogether.
In practice the majority of divorces today, don’t come under this one possible exception allowing remarriage.
(f) What Paul Said
THE RULE
Only death dissolves a marriage, (as Jesus said).
Romans 7:1-3 “Do you not know, brothers–for I am speaking to men who know the law–that the law has authority over a man only as long as he lives?
For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage. So then, if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress, even though she marries another man.”
1 Corinthians 7:39 “A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord.”
1 Corinthians 7:10-11 “To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.”
POSSIBLE EXCEPTIONS
1 Corinthians 7:12-16 “To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise, your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. But if the unbeliever leaves, let him do so. A believing man or woman is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace. How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or, how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?”
Paul says nothing here about remarriage. He is saying if a non believer wants to leave a marriage let them go.
1 Corinthians 7:27-28 “Are you married? Do not seek a divorce. Are you unmarried? Do not look for a wife. But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this.”
If “if you do marry” is taken as a blank cheque for all divorce and remarriage it contradicts all other biblical teaching.
More likely Paul is talking about those whose partners have died and so are free to remarry.
Summary of Biblical Principles
Three biblical positions regarding the question of remarriage after divorce:
(a) Two exceptions (improbable)
– for adultery (the innocent party can remarry).
– for desertion by an unbeliever (the believer can remarry).
(b) One exception (possible)
– for adultery (the innocent party can remarry).
(c) No exceptions (probable)
– May divorce due to adultery but no remarriage.
However the majority of pastoral situations today don’t come within either of the possible exceptions.
Update
This series of messages was given by David Pawson in 2002.
Since then, David has had further insight
into “Matthew’s possible exception” (Matt 19:3-10).
In summary: Matthew’s gospel was written primarily for Jewish believers.
In their culture, engagement or betrothal was as binding as marriage.
The word used in Matthew for sexual relations is “fornication” (sex before marriage), not “marital unfaithfulness” as often translated.
Jesus is therefore saying that, for Jews, if a man discovers during the betrothal period that his “wife to be “had fornicated, he may divorce her. (Note Joseph’s intention to divorce Mary during their betrothal period.)
This passage therefore does not provide us with an exception to Jesus’ rule in Mark and Luke. That rule is, only death dissolves a marriage.
For a more detailed explanation of David’s current teaching on this, refer to messages given in 2007
(DM14 tracks 5 & 6) and 2008 (DN03 track 2).
Historical Practice
Four Periods in Church History
1. Early (0-500)
All (but one) of 25 church fathers and two church councils confirmed that Jesus permitted divorce for adultery but prohibited all remarriage.
2. Medieval (500-1500)
Church split in 1054 into western (catholic) and eastern (orthodox).
Western – Marriage became a sacrament and so could not be dissolved under any circumstances. So a system to annul marriages was developed.
Eastern – State rules applied to the church. So divorce and remarriage were allowed within limits even though it contradicted scripture.
3. Reformed (1500-1800)
The reformers, including Luther, started the “two exceptions” position, which led to the “compassionate Christ” argument.
Tindale introduced Luther’s ideas to England.
In 1603 separation or annulment were accepted (not divorce).
4. Contemporary (1800-2000)
In England up until 1857 there was no legal divorce (and so no remarriage) except by an act of Parliament.
In 1857, adultery was introduced as a ground for divorce.
Throughout the 20th century additional grounds were added – desertion, cruelty, incurable insanity and irretrievable breakdown.
Modern Trends:
The Bible gives the “ideal”.
No absolutes. Wouldn’t God prefer a loving second marriage to a hating first one?
Doesn’t God want us to be happy?
No consistent preaching or practice in the church.
Summary
The trend over 2000 years has been to become more liberal.
Discipline has disappeared from church life and no standards are set.
The church tends to follow state legislation.
Should the church be leading the world, rather than the world leading the church?
The 11 different views on divorce and remarriage are the church’s biggest handicap.
It is very difficult to draw the line when exceptions start to be made.
Pastoral Problems
Two requirements for the church before pastoral problems are addressed:
clear convictions and regular instructions.
Three ways to approach pastoral problems:
1. Bypass Scripture
This approach is used if you consider scripture is culturally conditioned, scripture is an ideal, love is the only command of Jesus, or applying scripture is just too hard.
If scripture is bypassed then you rely on either:
Situations – What is the best we can do in the circumstances?
No standards, rely on feelings.
or Precedents – What have other people done.
Remember that God’s blessing is evidence of His grace and not of His approval.
2. Limit Scripture
This approach limits the application of scripture in some way.
Limit the teachings of Jesus to believers.
This approach says: What you did before you became a believer no longer matters.
God does forgive and forget the past, but there are still ongoing human consequences to our actions.
Only the act of remarriage is adultery.
What other sin is only sin the first time you do it?
Leads to the practice of not getting married in church but having a blessing in church.
There is no such thing as Christian marriage. Every marriage is a marriage in God’s sight.
3. Apply Scripture
Jesus never lowered His standards to meet the people, but persisted in lifting the people to meet His standards.
Apply the following scriptural principles to each situation:
(a) SIN Remarriage is sin (adultery) – note any exceptions.
Get them to read Jesus’ words aloud.
Sin will be judged.
Ignorance is not innocence.
(b) FORGIVENESS
Adultery is not an unforgiveable sin.
Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sins.
You must forgive the wronged partner or God can’t forgive you.
(c) REPENTANCE
God can’t forgive a sin until it is repented of.
Repentance is not regret, remorse or being sorry.
It has three dimensions:
Thought – See sin from God’s angle (breaking His law, provoking His anger).
Word – Confess sins (be specific). “I was wrong.”
Deed – Involves restitution, renunciation, being sorry enough to stop.
For every other sin you would say – Stop It.
The question: Are you willing to do whatever God tells you to do to put the situation right in His eyes?
The action: Whatever God tells you to do, you must do.
© Copyright David Pawson 2013
Compiled on 10/4/09 by DJ and JM Suthers (Ph 07 5482 3074)
from a message by David Pawson.
For a full copy of this message quote (DG01-03) and contact:
David Pawson Ministries
PO Box 38 Moffat Beach Qld 4551
Tel: 07 5491 3899
Email: admin@davidpawson.com.au
This article was also sent to Bishop Philip Lim, President of the National Council of Churches of Singapore (NCCS) and Rev Dr Ngoei Foong Nghian, General Secretary and for the attention of the Executive Committee Members.
This article was also sent to the Alliance of Pentecostal & Charismatic Churches of Singapore (APCCS), for the attention of the Chairman, Rev Yang Tuck Yoong & Co Chairman, Rev Dominic Yeo (General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God of Singapore) and Council Members.