by Bobby Duncan<\/p>\n
For some time the late brother G. C. Brewer wrote a series of articles in the Gospel Advocate in answer to questions received from readers of that journal. A number of these articles were published in 1941 in a book entitled Contending for the Faith. As would be expected, some of those questions Brother Brewer discussed concerned marriage, divorce, and remarriage. In one of those articles, the author was dealing with the idea someone had advanced that sometimes people should divorce for the simple reason they are not compatible. Brother Brewer wrote:<\/p>\n
Let us suppose a case. A man is cast upon a lonely island after a shipwreck. At first he seems to be the only living human heing on the island. a true Robinson Crusoe. But later he finds that a woman from the same ship was also cast upon the island….They are strangers; they never saw each other before they met upon the island. They soon find that they are the only human inhabitants of the island. After a time, hope of ever being rescued dies and they become resigned to the idea of spending their lives together and alone, so tar as other human beings are concerned. Can anyone believe that a normal man and a normal woman would not under such circumstances become real companions and find consolation and comfort and strength in such a companionship? They might he very different at first. They might have come from different stations in life and might have entirely different ideas and views, but they would become adjusted to each other and each would help the other.<\/p>\n
O, but someone suggests that necessity would be upon that pair and they would, of course, make the best of their situation. That is the point. Then, if we can make husbands and wives see that they must, by the necessity of God’s requirements and the necessity of their family’s needs and by the necessity of their soul’s salvation, dwell together in mutual helpfulness and companionship, they will make the best of their situation also.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Can we miss the point of Brother Brewer’s illustration? Husbands and wives can make their marriages work if both are determined so to do. The reason one or the other is not so determined is not because that one no longer needs or desires marriage companionship, but because he (or she) desires someone else other than his present spouse. He has already become infatuated with someone else, or he is in love with some imaginary perfect person he expects to meet who will not have all the faults and flaws characteristic of that one’s present spouse.<\/p>\n
Marriages can work if we are determined to make them work. The necessity Brother Brewer mentioned in his article will make marriages work. Unfortunately, too many married people feel no necessity for making their marriages work. Those who know and believe what the Bible teaches know there is a necessity to make their marriages work. Jesus said, “And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery<\/em>” (Matthew 19:9).<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Bobby Duncan For some time the late brother G. C. Brewer wrote a series of articles in the Gospel Advocate in answer to questions received from readers of that journal. A number of these articles were published in 1941 in a book entitled Contending for the Faith. As would be expected, some of those…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","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":[64],"class_list":["post-61210","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-marriage"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":22953,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-we-had-committed-fornication-would-god-judge-us-and-force-us-to-divorce\/","url_meta":{"origin":61210,"position":0},"title":"If we had committed fornication, would God judge us and force us to divorce?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 12, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Of late, I have been pouring over the articles on the La Vista church website. I came across a number of articles that have left me a bit confused. I wonder if my girlfriend and I can still get married even though we committed fornication. According to \"Why Sex\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":16183,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-meant-by-not-being-enslaved-to-a-non-christian\/","url_meta":{"origin":61210,"position":1},"title":"What is meant by not being enslaved to a non-Christian?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 28, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I'm confused about this verse about being enslaved to a non-Christian. Does not being enslaved mean you are no longer bond by the covenant of marriage or what? I've never study this verse and we'll be going to be hitting the topic of marriage again soon, so do you\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":13273,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/dating-the-book-of-revelation\/","url_meta":{"origin":61210,"position":2},"title":"Dating the Book of Revelation","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 16, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"by Steve A. Hamilton The date when the book of Revelation was written has been a controversial subject for centuries. The insight I have gained and relate in this article is not likely to change the debate in favor of any certain date. However, after reading many different sources on\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":43343,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/my-wife-lied-about-her-virginity-can-i-divorce-her\/","url_meta":{"origin":61210,"position":3},"title":"My wife lied about her virginity. Can I divorce her?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 19, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I have gone through many of your articles and answers, but still, I am doubtful on the exception clause of Matthew 5:31-32. I have a few questions to ask you. It would be better to quote Bible verses so I can go by the word of God. The\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":79677,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-a-problem-that-the-divorce-papers-dont-mention-adultery\/","url_meta":{"origin":61210,"position":4},"title":"Is it a problem that the divorce papers don’t mention adultery?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 22, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello sir, I have a question for you regarding my brother. Right out of high school, my brother was married at a young age, with no children for 2 years. His wife allegedly began having an affair. At the time, there were many signs of cheating but no admission\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":45605,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/shouldnt-the-divorce-decree-mention-sexual-unfaithfulness\/","url_meta":{"origin":61210,"position":5},"title":"Shouldn’t the divorce decree mention sexual unfaithfulness?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 24, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I wrote to you years ago concerning my ex-wife, who divorced me for desertion while I was stationed in another country while in the military. She has since passed away. I've been a widower for years now and I've met a lady in the church. She has had two\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":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61210","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61210"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61210\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}