Giving Up Marriage For Full Time Ministry???

[Hark]

Every once in a while, I come across accounts of missionaries that go around to these churches, would divorce their wives to go full time into the ministry.

I reckon that they are referring to these verses for justification;

1 Corinthians 7:31 And they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away. 32 But I would have you without carefulness. He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord: 33 But he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife.

Only problem is that divorcing the wife is not pleasing the Lord. So think again. Do not neglect the woman.

Ephesians 5:21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. 22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. 24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. 25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. 28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. 29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: 30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. 31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. 32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 33 Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.

If the wife is becoming more demanding, then pray about how you can cut back on the ministry.

1 Timothy 3:4 One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; 5 (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)

1 Timothy 5: But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

What you do to the wife is the same thing as what you do to Jesus's sister.

Matthew 25:40And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Ministry starts in the home.

Joshua 24:15.....but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

 

[blessedwife318]

Any man that divorces his wife, to spend more time in the ministry has disqualified himself from the ministry. If you destroy your family you are not doing God's will. True ministry has to start in the family and work out from that point.

 

[Zenas]

You have to ask what happens to Mark 10:9 in these situations: "What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” Do we just disregard the words of our Lord?

I have never seen this happen. Is it common practice in some places?

 

[blessedwife318]

I have never seen this happen. Is it common practice in some places?

I have seen families in ministry fall apart but I have never seen a man say he divorced his wife so he could devote more time to the ministry. In churches I have been in divorce is like the unforgivable sin so I can't see it being very common but who knows how it is in other places.

 

[Hark]

Any man that divorces his wife, to spend more time in the ministry has disqualified himself from the ministry. If you destroy your family you are not doing God's will. True ministry has to start in the family and work out from that point.

I agree. I believe the devil used the schism of the demands of the wife to the imagined demands of the ministry as secondary to the ministry. God never asks more of us than what He has provided us to do in serving Him.

These men should just cancel appointments or outreaches of local churches if the demands of the wife and home is in need.

 

[Hark]

You have to ask what happens to Mark 10:9 in these situations: "What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” Do we just disregard the words of our Lord?

I have never seen this happen. Is it common practice in some places?

A visiting "missionary" to my former local church had said so. The way he said it was like he wanted other people to agree with him as God call is more important than the demands of the wife. I was outside the doors of the main sanctuary when he was in the doorway, standing there looking in when he had said that. I think he was talking to somebody else at the time but when he had said it, he had looked at me as if I would agree with this decision too and then he walked in before I could answer, I think. I don't think I had said anything before he went in. I just remembered that it bothered me.

Course, one of the former senior pastor at my former church had preached from the pulpit that it was not an unforgiveable sin to get a divorce. Somewhen along the way the Presbyterian church had begun accepting social values and that may be the cause for the kind of guest speakers and sermons the church had been getting.

That's the trouble with having a heirarchy over a denomenational church. That is what God hates as it is of the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes and from it the deeds of the Nicolaitanes which is sexual immoralties will come.

The only outside authority over any body of believers is the Word of God as Jesus is the Head of every believer and not just the head of every church.

 

[Jerome]

Shakers?:null:

 

[Hark]

Shakers?:null:

If you are inquiring what denomenation I was formerly attending; Presbyterian.

They had switched over their heirarchy to a more Biblical based one, but again, the church could very well be subject to changes when the heirarchy begins changing their standards.

Nobody can vote for these people in and no one can impeach or excommunicate the overheads when they do steer away from the Bible.

The doctrine of the Nicolaitanes remains.

 

[annsni]

Any man that divorces his wife, to spend more time in the ministry has disqualified himself from the ministry. If you destroy your family you are not doing God's will. True ministry has to start in the family and work out from that point.

This. Totally. Any other stance is ridiculously spitting in God's face.

 

[Jerome]

Shakers?

If you are inquiring what denomenation I was formerly attending; Presbyterian.

No, like others have said, we're flabbergasted by this 'put away one's wife for the sake of the ministry' notion. It's quite bizarre, even for Reformed types.

The closest thing I could think of was the extinct Shaker sect, whose devotion to celibacy at times involved divorcing.

 

[Jerome]

I saw this this morning [Pentecostal]:

Ohio pastor forced vasectomies, abortions because kids divert money away from church

Becky Roadman, who left the church last year and moved to Georgia, told the paper that “none of us have kids because he makes all the men get fixed.”

“You’re not allowed to have babies there,” she insisted.

Angley also pushed women to have abortions, according to multiple former members. One of those who left, Angelia Oborne, said that Angley advised a friend to think of the fetus inside her as “a tumor.”

Greg Mulkey was a prominent member of the church, and featured on Angley’s TV broadcasts as a singer in the Hallelujahs. He said that Angley had a selfish motive for discouraging children.

“He doesn’t want people to have kids because it would take their time and money away from [the church],” Mulkey pointed out.

 

[Yeshua1]

Any man that divorces his wife, to spend more time in the ministry has disqualified himself from the ministry. If you destroy your family you are not doing God's will. True ministry has to start in the family and work out from that point.

Jesus stated that what God has put together is meant until death parts them, so God cannot go against what he already stated!

 

[Hark]

I saw this this morning [Pentecostal]:

Ohio pastor forced vasectomies, abortions because kids divert money away from church

Quote:
Becky Roadman, who left the church last year and moved to Georgia, told the paper that “none of us have kids because he makes all the men get fixed.”

“You’re not allowed to have babies there,” she insisted.

Angley also pushed women to have abortions, according to multiple former members. One of those who left, Angelia Oborne, said that Angley advised a friend to think of the fetus inside her as “a tumor.”

Quote:
Greg Mulkey was a prominent member of the church, and featured on Angley’s TV broadcasts as a singer in the Hallelujahs. He said that Angley had a selfish motive for discouraging children.

“He doesn’t want people to have kids because it would take their time and money away from [the church],” Mulkey pointed out.

I was a victim of spritual warfare in one of Ernest Angeley's healing crusades.

He would call on the Holy Spirit and announce Him falling or coming on believers with a "WHOOOOOOOOOOOOO....!!!!!" to bring about a healing.

After beinge xposed Saturday & Sunday to this, I felt a tingling sensation in my deaf ear but that was it on that Sunday.... BUT...the following day after school, I was unusually tired and so I took a nap.

When I woke up, I could not move; there was an electrical humming in the right ear as it was all I could hear. The constant ringing sound caused by my tinnitus in my only good ear which is the right ear was drowned out by this humming sound.

I started praying to the Lord for help. Then I was able to flick my right wrist. Then the left. Then I was able to lift my right forearm; and then the left. And then I was able to lift my right arm off of the bed and the weight seemed to roll right off, and I was able to move again, but man, was I tired still.

Later on, I saw on TV how people were being pinned down to such a point where they cannot move, and I made the connection then to what had happened to me, but I put it off in my mind until 1994 when I was confronted with the "holy laughter" movement in my aunt's church in Missouri.

It was then that the Lord enabled me to discern what was not of Him as scripture testify that the real indwelling Holy Ghost would always keep the spotlight on the Son in worship whereas the seducing spirits also known as the the spirit of the antichrist.

Antichrist means "instead of Christ" and to be clearer still "instead of the Son" as they would take that spotlight away from the Son in worship for themselves in broadening the way in how believers come to God by chasing after them for signs and wonders as if the Holy Spirit is also another "Go To" Person of the Triune God when scriptures says He is not, but only the Son is in coming to God the Father.

May every believer narrow the way in the worship place by seeking the face of the Bridegroom for He is coming soon for the bride and so by honouring & glorifying the Son is the only way we can honour & glorify God the Father to avoid false spirits as well as false prophets in the world.