"David sinned and his family paid"
This to me illustrates a point that is often missed about sin and the consequences of it. David was forgiven by God for his sin, however the consquences of that sin still played out in this world. We are saved from condemnation for sin, but not necessarily the temporal consequences of our actions.
To relate to the topic, if we apply this to divorce, we would say that the sin of divorce is forgiven in Christ. However, the consequences of divorce are what are experienced throughout life. There are consequences to children, to former spouses, to finances and to the jobs that we can hold.
I think some good points have been raised here about the meaning of the passage in Paul's letter to Timothy, maybe too much is read into this specific text, but God clearly indicates in other places that He hates divorce and that the law only allowed it for the hardness of men's hearts. It is not inconceivable to me that the text could infer divorce on this basis.
As a practical matter, I have always wondered how a pastor who is divorced could possibly be effective in counseling people who's marriages are in trouble. This is something that I would expect a pastor to be able to do, but I see that his ability to effectively do so would be compromised by being divorced. This to me, is a consequence of the sin. Nothing to do with forgiveness.
This to me illustrates a point that is often missed about sin and the consequences of it. David was forgiven by God for his sin, however the consquences of that sin still played out in this world. We are saved from condemnation for sin, but not necessarily the temporal consequences of our actions.
To relate to the topic, if we apply this to divorce, we would say that the sin of divorce is forgiven in Christ. However, the consequences of divorce are what are experienced throughout life. There are consequences to children, to former spouses, to finances and to the jobs that we can hold.
I think some good points have been raised here about the meaning of the passage in Paul's letter to Timothy, maybe too much is read into this specific text, but God clearly indicates in other places that He hates divorce and that the law only allowed it for the hardness of men's hearts. It is not inconceivable to me that the text could infer divorce on this basis.
As a practical matter, I have always wondered how a pastor who is divorced could possibly be effective in counseling people who's marriages are in trouble. This is something that I would expect a pastor to be able to do, but I see that his ability to effectively do so would be compromised by being divorced. This to me, is a consequence of the sin. Nothing to do with forgiveness.