The Christian and Divorce part III for post to the blog

1.   The Churches Response to Conflict in Marriage:

a.    This starts by understanding Paul’s teaching on the body of Christ: “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many. But now there are many members… but one body…so that there may be no division in the body, but {that} the members may have the same care for one another…And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if {one} member is honored, all the members rejoice with it…Now you are Christ's body, and individually members of it.” 1 Cor. 12: 13-14; 20; 25-27.

b.    This means we all need one another. We are all going somewhere together. We are all going on our journey to maturity in Christ. And we don’t get to go there alone. God ordained that Christians should grow together in the body of Christ. We are glued together in the life of Christ. In terms of marriages in the body of Christ, if one member is suffering in their marriage it affects not just each partner, but the whole church. If a marriage is in trouble the church must:

i. Understand that everything a believer does affects all the believers in the congregation. We cannot say “How you treat your wife/husband/children is your business, not mine.” Everything you do is my business. Everything I do is your business. Because we are glued together in the life of Christ and are members of one another in the body of Christ.

ii. Be willing step in and help the couple. The church should make a commitment at the beginning of each marriage contracted in that church that the church will support the couple both in prosperity and conflict. When a marriage fails, often times it is because the church has failed to support the couple and that usually by neglect of its duty to intervene in a difficult situation.

iii. Be willing to help hurting families by providing financial and practical help.

iv. It means we need to be brave as Christians and not simply ignore marital problems when they know they are happening.

v. Care enough to confront in the face of sin.

c.    The church must exercise the discipline process for those who sin in the context of marriage.

i. The church must confront men and women who are abusive, both physically and emotionally in marriage (Matt 18:15-17)

ii. The church must confront infidelity (adultery) in marriage with the discipline process. (Matt 18:15-17).

iii. The church must be willing the suffer the legal consequences for exercising the discipline process for the sake of the truth of Christ!

d.    Whenever possible, every effort should be made to preserve the marriage bond no matter what the situation.

i. This means even if there is emotional abuse.

ii. This means even if there is physical abuse.