The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1905-11-08
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!: SUNDAY SERMON T:
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A Scholarly Discourse By 2
DR.. II. Allen Tupper. 8
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tist Church, preached Sunday on MAR
riage and Divorce" The text wa,
Matthew xix:4-6: "And He answered
and said unto them: Have We not read
that He which made them at the be
ginning made them male and female
and said for this cause shall q mar
leave father and mother and shall
cleave to his wife; and they twain shall
be one flesh? What therefore God
hath Joined together, let not man put
asunder." DR.. Upper said:
Marriage was the first institutional
gift of God to man; and the family was
the first organization formed by God
for the blessing Of humanity. During
all the centuries, amid the changes of
governments. ceremonies and dispense
tions, the impress of divine favor rest
ed upon these heaven-born establish
ments, and when their integrity has
been maintained they have been the
sources and centres of light and love;
but when their integrity has been as
sailed untold sorrows and suffering
have come upon mankind.
Christ wrought the beginning of His
miracles at marriage feast, in gath
ering Of families and the pen of in
spiration pictures Him as the Bride
groom and His Church as the Bride.
The holy ordinance of marriage was
given to support social order; to in
crease human happiness, and to pro-
vide that through well regulated fami-
lies truth and Righteousness might be
transmitted from age to age. The vio-
latlon of its vows is the canker at the
heart of human progress and civiliza-
tion. In the West Indies, we are told
there is q timber that has all the ap-
pearance Of strength and solidity, but
when the test is applied 1t snaps asund-
er and fine white powder fills the air
The cause is now apparent; a worm has
eaten its way into the heart of the
wood and slowly but surely devoured
its fiber until hollow shell only re-
mains.
The divorce evil, If not arrested, will
gradually undermine our proud civiliza-
tlon, and when the testing time comes
what appeared to be so attractive will
prove to be only hollow sham.
In the discussion of marriage and di.
vorce 1 will call your attention to a
divine law, social disease and a fatal
danger.
First-A divine law. Centuries ago
the cunning Pharisees attempted TO en-
trap the divine Teacher by asking Him
the question: "Is it lawful for q man
TO put away his wife for every cause?"
In that day there existed two opposing
schools. At the head of one was Sham
mai, who insisted that divorce should
be allowed only in the case of adultery;
at the head of the other was Hillel,
who maintained that man might put
away his wife for any cause at all. The
tempters of Christ thought that the
4t.a.A nIl o., 10 u f,;I 10
hold strict views on the marriage Ques-
ton they would report Him to the fol-
lowers of Shammai, and if He held the
opposite opinion they would turn upon
Him the enmity of the followers of
!, ,Hillel, one of whose strong adherents
was Herod. who had just beheaded
John the Baptist. In the words of an
other: Brushing aside their qulbbling,
Jesus goes back to foundation princl-
pies and gives His message to the
church of all ages concerning marriage
and divorce
1t is a fivefold message: The mar
riage of one man and one woman is a
divine institution; 1t is divine act it
joins husband and wife in a relation
closer and more binding than the rela-
tion of parent and child; 1t so unifies
husband and wife that they cease to be
two and become one flesh; and it can
be dissolved only by death. When the
point was made by the Pharlsees that
Moses maintained that writing of di-
vorcement shall be given under certain
conditions, Jesus declared that this was
a concession to the hardness of heart Of
the people.
The position of Jesus Christ on the
subject under discussion is clearly set
forth in His Sermon on the Mount: 1T
has been said, 'Whosoeyer shall put
away his wife, let him give her q writ
ing of enforcement, but / say unto you
that whosoever shall put away his
wife saving for the cause of fornica-
tion, causeth her to commit adultery"
And Mark records these words of
Jesus: "Whosoever putteth away his
wife and marrleth another committeth
adultery against her. And if a woman
shall put away her husband and be
married to another, she committeth
adultery" And in Luke we have set
forth the same law of Christ. From
His recorded words we are forced to
the following conclusions: That Jesus
allowed divorce on one and only one
ground, namely, adultery, and that He
seems to allow the re-marriage of the
innoceHt party.
In Ephesians v:22-2S Paul gives the
noblest picture of the sanctity and dig
nifty OF the marriage relation, for he
compares 1t to the mystic union be-
tween Christ and the glorious church of |
the redeemed for whom Christ died. |
This Is no temporary bond to be |
snapped at will. Jesus is to-day the |
Head of His Church, and it is being !
purified by Him and made without |
spot or wrinkle. Moreover, in Romans |
vii:1-6 Paul argues that the Christian |
is set free from the bondage of the |
law, as the woman can have new
husband only on the death of the |
former husband. But in l Corinthians |
vlt:l2-16 Paul speaks of the problem in |
family life presented where the nus
band Is Christian and the wife n |
heather and vice versa. He has two
things to say about this new problem
that had not arisen when Jesus spoke
on the subject. His first word is that
the Christian must not force a separa-
ton. II the heather husband or wife
Is willing to continue the union, the |
Christian must be willing to do so
The marriage is legitimate and the
children are legitimate. But the other
word Is this: Suppose the heathen' |
husgand or wife is not willing TO keep |
up the marriage relation and insists on |
separation, then what? Well, let the !
1nbelieving husband or wife 10. says |
Paul He usQ9 tho xvord sdono IN ptr haro |