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Your Bible question was:

>>I have question concerning divorce and remarriage in the church. In the pastoral letters that Paul wrote to Timothy, he outlines the requirements for a person (a man) to hold the office of the pastor or the deacon in the church. In them He states: "..that the man be blameless.." and the "..husband of one wife.." what does that exactly mean?<<

"Husband of one wife" literally means "a one woman man." That is, he is to be married. It is assumed that his marriage is scriptural and therefore allowable in the sight of God (cf. Heb. 13:4).

You continue:

>>If a person, (i do not mean me) enters into a relationship, and finds that the relationship has failed in the unsaved condition, and ends that relationship with a divorce, he in effect terminated that marriage. Now that same person gets saved and finds a Godly woman, gets remarried and wants to become a pastor and or deacon in the church and is denied the position,because it is told to him that he is not the husband of one wife, due to the condition of his present state.<<

If his divorce was for the reason Christ gave, namely, fornication on the part of his mate, and his subsequent marriage is to a person who also has a right to marry, then his present marriage is approved in the sight of God (Matt. 19:9; 5:32). If not, then he is an adulterer according to Matthew 19:9, and upon becoming a Christian he must repent of his sin of adultery by ending his adulterous marriage (please see a recent article on this topic at: http://www.bibleanswer.com/mdr_rept.htm

You then say:

>>Now is the one wife rule, a church rule, or is it a Bible one? If it is a church rule, is it a Biblical church rule.<<

I am unable to find in the NT where there is a "church rule" on the one hand, and a "Bible rule" on the other. Every church of Christ is under the rule or authority of Christ as set forth in the NT (Matt. 28:18; Col. 3:17; Eph. 1:22-23; Col. 1:18). No man or group of men have any authority to establish creeds or "rules" to either compliment or supplement the word of God (Gal. 1:8-9; Rev. 22:18-19).

As for 1 Timothy 3:2 and "the husband of one wife," that is Christ's rule for qualifying a man to be a bishop or overseers of a congregation. If men are binding an interpretation of that passage which excludes scripturally married men, then I would assess thm to be binding where God has not bound.

You further state:

>>Was Paul trying to purge the New Testament church of the past belief that multiple relationships, such as the concubines and such are no longer acceptable, and that the pastor cannot be of this group? If so, then where does the rebirth as the Bible teaches come into play? If we are new creatures in Christ and all things are born anew, why is the sin of divorce held to a higher level than lets say the sin of homosexuality, of drunkards for example.<<

I do not believe Paul was addressing polygamy when he stated the "husband of one wife" qualification, since plural marriage is itself adultery (Rom. 7:2-3). All Christians are to abstain from fornication (1 Thess. 4:3-7; 1 Cor. 6:18; Heb. 13:4).

You go on to say:

>>If the pureness of the pastor is needed for the office, what about the rambid divorce and remarriage rate present in the world today? Does a person have to be, lest say, born a christian, to realize the importance of the future, if they are to get involved in the church at that level. How do you explain this to someone who has a heart for God, and wants to serve at that capacity, and is denied the position, and is confused about forgiveness in the Blood of Jesus? <<

Being a new creature in Christ does not mean that sinful conduct is no longer sinful once we are in Christ. Drunkenness is still drunkenness whether one becomes drunk before becoming a Christian or after becoming one. Homosexuality is sin whether committed before or after conversion. And adulterous marriages are sinful whether one is it before or after conversion. All sin, left unrepented, will bring eternal death (Rom. 6:23; Acts 8:22-23).

One needs to remember that one can be forgiven of past sins and still face the present and future consequences of that past sin. For instance, I am fully persuaded that God forgives murderers. But although forgiven, the murderer must accept the consequences of his crime (prison, execution). We do not say that when God forgives the murderer we must let him out of prison! No, there is a consequence to his sin even though forgiven.

In like manner, let us suppose a godly, otherwise qualified man wants to serve as a bishop as per 1 Timothy 3:1ff. But he is single. He does not meet the qualification. He does not qualify to be a bishop and cannot be given that work. Should he get discouraged because he cannot be a bishop? No, he shows his faith by accepting the revelation of God and willingly yielding to it.

I hope this has been of some help to you.

Sincerely yours,

Joe Price

 

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Joe R Price

joe@bibleanswer.com

Bible Answers

http://www.bibleanswer.com

Mt. Baker church of Christ

http://www.bibleanswer.com/mtbaker

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