by Doy Moyer<\/p>\n
There is a difference between what God permitted to happen subsequent to sin entering the world and what God desired from the beginning and ultimately makes right in Christ.<\/p>\n
Jesus illustrates this point:<\/p>\n
“Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way<\/em>” (Matthew 19:8).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
There is a difference between the ideal that God made “from the beginning” and what He allowed and regulated after sin entered the picture.<\/p>\n
From the beginning, God’s desire for marriage was for there to be one man and one woman joined by Him. Sin came into the picture and corrupted this arrangement. Because of the hardness of men’s hearts, God permitted and regulated divorce and polygamy. This is reversed in Christ. “Have you not read?”<\/p>\n
I would argue that the same is true of slavery. God’s intention from the beginning was not that people would own other people. Because of the curse of sin, slavery came into the picture and God regulated it (the first mention of slavery is in the context of a curse due to sin, Genesis 9:25).<\/p>\n
The fact that God allowed and regulated these matters does not equate to God desiring them or intending for them to remain indefinitely. In fact, what we see in Christ is a reversal and renewal process. Jesus’ argument in Matthew 19 gets back to the beginning for marriage (one man, one woman, no divorce), and the entire gist of the New Covenant is built around the idea that freedom (primarily from sin, but includes being owned by others) is what God ultimately wants (John 8:32; cf. I Corinthians 7:21; Philemon). To see this clearly, though, one needs to study through the contexts and the bigger picture of Scripture from the beginning to the end.<\/p>\n
When people point to matters like slavery or polygamy as proof that the Bible teaches error, they are missing the point of why these things existed and what God’s intentions were through Christ. Sin brought many consequences and God permitted certain situations to exist due to corruption, but His plan all along was to bring back His desire “from the beginning” through Christ.<\/p>\n
To see what God wanted all along, go back to the beginning. When sin came along, see how the curse of sin changed everything. Then see how God brings reversal and renewal through Christ. What God desires is what is found “from the beginning” and made anew in Christ. What God permitted and regulated for the hardness of hearts, while now commanding all to repent (Acts 17:30-31), is not a fair representation of what God desires and sets straight through Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Doy Moyer There is a difference between what God permitted to happen subsequent to sin entering the world and what God desired from the beginning and ultimately makes right in Christ. Jesus illustrates this point: “Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has…<\/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":[27],"tags":[167,1515],"class_list":["post-45402","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-divorce","tag-slavery"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4063,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-divorce-is-allowed-then-shouldnt-polygamy-be-allowed\/","url_meta":{"origin":45402,"position":0},"title":"If divorce is allowed, then shouldn’t polygamy be allowed?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 13, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I'm replying to a question I asked earlier, to which you posted your answer as \"If a country permits polygamy, is there a biblical reason not to have multiple wives?\" You said this: \"Mankind often practices things of which God disapproves. God regulates the practices, but it would be\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":57736,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-everything-that-happens-gods-will\/","url_meta":{"origin":45402,"position":1},"title":"Is Everything That Happens God’s Will?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 8, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Gardner Hall via Mount Bethel Publishing, 25 November 2014 After the death of a child, a horrible mishap, or any other tragedy there are always some who say, \"It was the will of God.\" Is that statement always true? It Depends! Yes\u2026 It is the will of God to\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":15688,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-did-god-require-the-israelites-to-leave-their-non-jewish-spouses\/","url_meta":{"origin":45402,"position":2},"title":"Why did God require the Israelites to leave their non-Jewish spouses?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 8, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Could you explain why Moses gave the certificate of divorce? What I mean to say is when was it that God's people were required to leave their non-Jewish spouses? What were the reasons for this? I am looking to use it for an example of commitment and covenants, such\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":7088,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-i-committed-adultery-in-my-mind-does-that-mean-i-cant-divorce-and-remarry\/","url_meta":{"origin":45402,"position":3},"title":"If I committed adultery in my mind, does that mean I can’t divorce and remarry?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 19, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: My wife is having an affair and tells me she is in love with the other person. I have never committed adultery physically; however, a few years back I committed adultery in my mind (not physically). I have quit that practice and asked for forgiveness. Does that incident prohibit\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":1810,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-i-divorce-my-unfaithful-wife\/","url_meta":{"origin":45402,"position":4},"title":"Should I divorce my unfaithful wife?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 21, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: My wife had three children out of wedlock before we got married and has just informed me that she had sex with someone else during our marriage. I think I have the right to divorce, but my question is: what should I do? It appears to me that she\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":56990,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-adultery-dissolves-a-marriage-why-cant-the-guilty-party-remarry\/","url_meta":{"origin":45402,"position":5},"title":"If adultery dissolves a marriage, why can’t the guilty party remarry?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 17, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good afternoon, I have a question that has been on my mind for some time. I'm hoping that you can shed some light, with scripture, to help me better understand. I know where I used to stand on this subject, but then I changed my mind. 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