I met a lady who is not a Christian (or proclaims to be a denominational Christian) and she has been divorced for a while (not by the approved way of Christ). If she became a true Christian and remarried, would she still be guilty of living in sin or does the Bible refer to Christians who marry and get a divorce?<\/p>\n\t
God’s laws apply to everyone. That is why Paul told the Greeks, who were not Christians, “Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead<\/em>” (Acts 17:30). If God’s laws did not apply to non-Christians, then there would be no need for people to repent because they would not be in sin. Sin only exists when a law is broken. “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness<\/em>” (I John 3:4). This is why Paul argued that law existed before Moses brought the Jews God’s law. “For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come<\/em>” (Romans 5:12-13). Paul’s argument is that sin cannot exist (or at least count) if there is no law. Yet sin existed before Moses, as witnessed by the destruction of the world by the Flood. Therefore, there was law even before Moses.<\/p>\n One of the arguments made by Jude is that there is only one law in existence. “Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints<\/em>” (Jude 3). While the law was delivered to Christians, it was delivered “once for all.” That means for all time and for all people. Whether people accept that law, doesn’t matter. Everyone will be judged by the words of Christ. “He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him–the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day<\/em>” (John 12:48).<\/p>\n The reason a person is lost outside of Christ is that they have not been obeying God’s law. When they become a Christian, they are acknowledging that God’s law applies to them. But the terms do not change. Lying is wrong for the Christian and the non-Christian. Stealing is wrong for the Christian and the non-Christian. Adultery is wrong for the Christian and the non-Christian. Jesus stated, “And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery<\/em>” (Matthew 19:9). There is nothing stating this is applicable only to Christians; therefore, it is applicable to Christians and non-Christians alike.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: I met a lady who is not a Christian (or proclaims to be a denominational Christian) and she has been divorced for a while (not by the approved way of Christ). If she became a true Christian and remarried, would she still be guilty of living in sin or does the Bible refer to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[167,273],"class_list":["post-14138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-divorce","tag-new-law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":35843,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/who-is-amenable-to-gods-laws\/","url_meta":{"origin":14138,"position":0},"title":"Who is Amenable to God’s Laws?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 17, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"by Glenn Young The fact that I am a preacher of the gospel has involved me in many discussions about various biblical issues. While working with a particular congregation, I conducted a radio program designed to allow callers to ask Bible questions. On one occasion, a caller questioned us about\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":31571,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-a-husband-divorce-his-wife-ten-years-after-forgiving-her-of-an-affair\/","url_meta":{"origin":14138,"position":1},"title":"Can a husband divorce his wife ten years after forgiving her of an affair?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 2, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I want to help my sister in Christ. Situation:\u00a0 A woman cheats on her husband.\u00a0 Husband says he forgives her and stays with her for 10 years after the adultery.\u00a0 Over the 10 years, the husband never really gets over the infidelity. He eventually files for divorce and divorces\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":31574,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-became-a-christian-just-before-the-divorce-was-final-do-i-need-to-go-back-to-my-ex-husband\/","url_meta":{"origin":14138,"position":2},"title":"I became a Christian just before the divorce was final. Do I need to go back to my ex-husband?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 2, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: My husband cheated on me and I forgave him. I wanted to make our marriage work, but after I forgave him, he continued to sleep around with the same woman. Once I found out from this woman and my close friends, I decided enough was enough. I filed for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":36475,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-the-law-of-marriage-and-divorce-that-jesus-taught-for-the-church-or-universal\/","url_meta":{"origin":14138,"position":3},"title":"Is the law of marriage and divorce that Jesus taught for the church or universal?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 16, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: My wife last husband wanted to divorce her on irreconcilable differences. He changed his mind and said to her he wanted to work things out, she refused and wanted to proceed with the divorce because of the abuse and adultery, he also had another child outside their marriage. They\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2894,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-it-matter-who-files-for-the-divorce\/","url_meta":{"origin":14138,"position":4},"title":"Does it matter who files for the divorce?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 24, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: When you say that someone may divorce their spouse due to fornication, does it matter who actually files the papers? A woman I know moved out of her house, filed divorce papers, and then started dating another man. Her husband didn't know for sure if she was committing adultery\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":68180,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-god-honor-all-marriages\/","url_meta":{"origin":14138,"position":5},"title":"Does God honor all marriages?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 22, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good morning, I would like to know if God honors all marriages. I was recently in a study and they brought up Hebrews 13:4. I was told this verse God applies to Christians who are in the church. God does not honor marriages outside of Christ. 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