I’m sure Michael will address the fact that Jesus seemed to recognize all five of her marriages as marriages, but more to the point, she was apparently having sex with a man who was not considered her husband as a result.

To recap: she’d had sex with at least six men, but married five. Therefore, sex != marriage.

Whenever we feel a duality coming on, it’s almost always because we haven’t searched the whole of Scripture for the higher unifying principle–the balancing truth. Scripture is wonderfully coherent and consistent.

So, I agree, the question might be how do we learn from the law? Jesus fullfilled it to take us from “don’t murder,” to “don’t hate,” to “love one another!”

But now we are sounding like the saved/baptism territory (exactly what moment do you become “married”).

None of this matters for the matter at hand. Scripture clearly indicates that God sanctifies marriages in some special way and so finds offense when they are violated.

I find it distasteful to setup a false duality, but I feel one coming on. It seem we either do as Piper does and write down all the verses and use them as a rule book, or we abandon the notion that the scriptures are the final word on this subject and call on the Holy Spirit to lead us.

We must eat meat, as Paul might say. Take what the scriptures teach us about marriage and try our best to apply it to our lives and ask God to cover our mistakes. Learn from the law so that we do not simply “not murder” but also “not hate our brother”.

I look back on my past, and those who were hurt by my actions, and who desire that relationship be completed, and wonder what I’m supposed to do. Say “sorry, I know I treated you wrong, but it’s just not something I’m interested in?”

Sorry for the somewhat personal hijacking of this thread…

Sexual intercourse is a sin outside of marriage. That’s repeated dozens of times. Never are those occasions treated AS marriage. Certainly intercourse is so identified with marriage that it is the physical expression of oneness, but it doesn’t create marriage. The “oneness” with the prostitute is sin, not marriage.

I think a survey of OT laws involving unlawful sexual intercourse of all kinds would never lead us to conclude those who were intimate were considered married.

That’s going too far trying to build a fence. The fence is God’s commandment. Period.

In other words, is one married when they stand in a church (or beach, or city hall, etc) and exchange vows? Or, as some teach (Alistair Begg, for example), does sexual intercourse create a defacto marriage? I’ve recently discovered the teaching that the act of intercourse actually unites two people in marriage. I’ve seen Exodus 22:16, 17 and 1 Corinthians 6:15, 16 used to present this position.

To be very honest, it’s caused me a lot of worry and anxiety, looking back on my past activities, and those whom it’s hurt. As a young single man, what should my outlook be when considering those past acts of mine, and the individuals who are still in my life, and still hurting from those relationships?

I find Piper inconsistant in his final conclusions. With the Bible’s lack of prescription in the case of second marriage, I can only assume that on principle I should stop sinning and get divorced. It’s ludicrous to say, “I promised to steal that car, so I have to go through with it to honor my promise.” There is no honor in keeping a promise to sin.

So how can one keep such a Law? The Bible makes no explicit remedy for spousal abuse, for criminal activity, for the violation of other portions of the marriage vow, or for the devistating and often dangerous effects of addiction to drugs and alcohol.

Is it in the character of Christ to grant relief for these things and others unmentioned? I repeat, the Law was made to serve us, not us to serve it.

At least Piper is largely consistant. Driscoll’s position is full of bizarre exceptions (Yes, I’m making that statement without a long post detailing them all. I suppose if you want me to outline them to backup my statement, I will. But if you read his position, I think you’ll find plenty of examples yourself.)

No. The Laws concerning marriage are like any other Law. It’s silly to sit around debating how many coats you can take from your house if it catches fire on the Sabbath.