Theological term
Lawful Divorce
3 sermons · All terms
2LCF Chapter 25 - Of Marriage
The 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith chapter 25 offers a concise yet comprehensive definition of marriage as a lifelong covenant between one man and one woman, established by God in creation for companionship, procreation, and the lawful expression of sexual relations. This study works through each paragraph of the confession's chapter on marriage, examining the monogamous nature of marriage, the major purposes for which it was ordained, and the lawful parties who may enter it. The session also draws on Westminster Confession chapters 24, paragraphs 5 and 6, together with Deuteronomy 24, Matthew 5 and 19, and 1 Corinthians 7, to argue that Scripture authorizes divorce on the grounds of porneia and desertion, and that a lawfully divorced innocent party is free to remarry. The Protestant 'permanence view' of marriage is examined and found to be both exegetically deficient and pastorally harmful to innocent parties whom God's own law was designed to protect.
The Instruction on Celibacy and Children
Matthew 19:10–15 presents two closely linked teachings: Christ's instruction on celibacy and His reception of little children. Against Rome's doctrine of clerical celibacy and any Protestant tendency to exalt singleness above marriage, the sermon argues that celibacy is a sovereign gift of God given to some, not a spiritual superior state to be mandated or celebrated above the married estate. The blessing of the children exposes the disciples' failure to understand that Christ receives the weak and dependent, and the passage calls fathers to the concrete duty of bringing their children to Christ through prayer, Scripture, and faithful church attendance.
The Instruction on Divorce, Part 2
Sexual immorality and willful desertion are the two lawful grounds for divorce recognized in Scripture, and this exposition of 1 Corinthians 7:10–16 establishes both the prohibition against divorce and the Pauline exception. Paul's instruction divides into two sections: the command to believing spouses not to separate, and the rule governing mixed marriages in which one partner is converted after the wedding. The sermon argues that when an unbeliever departs and dissolves the marriage, the believing spouse is released from bondage and may remarry, grounding that conclusion in the absence of a prohibition in verse 15, the consistent biblical assumption that lawful divorce permits remarriage, and the analogy with Matthew 19:9. Throughout, the original intent of marriage as a lifelong, one-flesh covenant is upheld as the governing norm, with the exceptions confirming rather than undermining that norm.