4/26/26 – Guarding Your Heart – Matthew 5:27-32

Lust and broken vows leave a trail of destruction. Let’s talk honestly about purity and why God’s standards are there to protect your family. The below sermon is part 3 of our Relationships that Work series where we will see that broken families and bitter grudges don’t have to be your “normal.” We’re looking at how to fix what’s broken.

Refuge Church Byhalia exists to share the hope of Jesus, love our neighbors in Byhalia, Barton, & beyond, & grow together as a family. We meet every Sunday at 11 AM. You can find us at 3964 MS-309 N., Byhalia, MS 38611

Intro

Good Morning!
Welcome again to Refuge Church
I’m so glad you are here today
I pray today is a day where you leave with higher thoughts of Jesus – and fired up & equipped to live according to the Word
We are in the middle of a series called Relationships that Work. (Graphic)
Where we are saying – broken families and bitter grudges don’t have to be normal for us
We can fight to fix what is broken
And fight for our relationships
Today we are focusing in on marriage & intimacy
And there may not be a more important passage for us to talk about
As we grow and aim to be salt & light in Byhalia Barotn & Beyond
We must, all of us, must fight for our marriages & purity
And to do that
Let me remind you of a few guiding principles we have discussed in this series.
First, Every page of the Bible is there for growth & flourishing.
Cover to cover, the Bible, it’s not an unnecessary weight
Its not a burden
Its not a fun ruiner
It’s a guide to the hope of the Gospel
And for a life of growth and flourishing
If you and I, by the power of the Holy Spirit were to follow the instructions & commands of God
If we were to follow the wisdom of God
We would find our lives to be greatly improved as we become more and more like Jesus.
And as we want this, and even specifically want our relationships to work & improve
We must take the commands of God seriously because it impacts life today & our standing in eternity.
We should not be haphazard or lazy with what this book says
We jump when it says jump, and we sit when it says sit.
For the good of our lives & relationships today
And for our standing in eternity.
I also want to remind you, that you are not your spouse or your neighbors Holy Spirit
Ask the Holy Spirit to help you grow in these areas before you consider how someone else needs to grow in these areas
Today, we learn about
Guarding Your Heart.
Here’s the gist of it: Lust and broken vows leave a trail of destruction.
So we aim to talk honestly about purity and why God’s standards are there to protect your family.
So please turn to

Passage:

Matthew 5:27-32 Page ___
As you turn – if you don’t have a Bible on a device or that you brought with you, use a Blue Bible
Page numbers are on the screen
Let’s dive in!
“²⁷^h“You have heard that it was said, ⁱ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ²⁸But I say to you that ^jeveryone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹^kIf your right eye ^lcauses you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into ^mhell. ³⁰^kAnd if your right hand ^lcauses you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into ^mhell. ³¹^h“It was also said, ⁿ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ ³²^oBut I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and ^pwhoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”

Prayer.

Jesus gets to a common issue in his day
And a common issue in our day
Intimacy, purity, & marriage
The first thing I want us to see here is

Point 1 – We must see how seriously God takes sin, especially lust, and take action!

Jesus goes way farther than saying being intimate with someone that isn’t your spouse is adultery
Jesus says – looking at them with intimate thoughts or desires is wrong
Deadly wrong
John MacArthur: “Sin must be dealt with drastically because of its deadly effects.”
That lingering glance
That inappropriate website
That daydream about how wonderful life may be with a person who seems “better” than your spouse
Are deadly – and will kill so many good things in our life – if nto dealt with drastically
• Warren Wiersbe: “Deal immediately and decisively with sin!”
We see the seriousness of Jesus, in 2 things
1st notice he repeats the idea of – if a member of your body causes you to sin – cut it off, gouge it out
So the repetition of Jesus shows the seriousness
But also the phrasing
- It is better to enter heaven maimed and with a nub or eye patch
- Than to go to hell forever.
Showing – unrepentant regular sin – can be a sign we are not in the faith. (Drink)
So yes – we have to take sin, especially lust seriously
And take action
Quickly
Decisively
Without hesitation
It is war men
It is war women
John Owen: “Always be killing sin or it will be killing you.”
Are we waging war and going to battle against sin
Or do we find ourselves dancing around the edge of the cliff of the stupid pool of lust & other sins.
Job 31:1 Page ___ — “I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin?”
Is that you? Is that me? Is that us
Coveneanting to make war against innappropriate thoughts, glances, actions, & daydreams
4 Ways to Fight Lust.
- 1. Avoid Triggers Quickly Don’t let your eyes linger on attractive people. Look away fast (like Job 31:1). Stay away from things that stir up wrong desires—change the channel, scroll past, or walk away. This stops lust before it starts in your mind.
  - Don’t read that book
  - Don’t go to that website
  - Change the TV channel, stop watching that TV series
  - Don’t go on that road
  - Don’t talk to that seemingly perfect attractive person at work
  - Don’t be cool with someone who isn’t your spouse – be super awkward and anything but smooth.
  - Avoid it!
- 2. Say “No” Right Away As soon as a lustful thought or daydream pops up – (even imagining life with someone “amazing”), say “No!” (like your toddler does) in your mind or out loud. Don’t let the fantasy grow. Cut it off fast—resist the devil and he will flee (James 4:7).
- 3. Turn to Jesus Immediately - When you feel pulled toward someone with your eyes or thoughts, quickly think about Jesus instead. Remember His love, His cross, or a Bible verse that brings joy in Him. Replace the tempting picture with the better joy of knowing Christ.
- 4. Pray, Read the Bible, and Get Help Pray every day for God’s help to stay pure. Read the Bible to fill your mind with good things. Tell a trusted Christian friend about your struggle so they can pray with you and keep you accountable.
- Key Truth: Lust with the eyes or in the mind dishonors God and others.
- Fight it by faith—Jesus gives greater satisfaction than any fantasy.
  - Oh let us believe this!
  - Jesus is better!!!!
- If you fall, repent and keep fighting. God’s grace is enough.
Now the 2nd thing I want us to walk away with
Is that

Point 2 – We must fight for our spouses and our marriages, because God loves marriage.

Marriage is good
If we find a wife, we find a good thing
Ladies if you find a husband – you find a good thing
Pastor & Theologian Joel Beeke from Michigan says: “A godly marriage is a school of sanctification where we learn to love as Christ loves His church.”
Marriage is a beautiful mystery – and it displays the Gospel
And therefore to not hinder the Gospel
We must fight for our marriages
And fight for our spouses
With love & grace
Just as God in Christ has demonstrated His love & grace to us
In marriage we grow
In marriage we flourish
In marriage we live out one of the first instructions from God – be fruitful and multiply to fill the earth
Young people – aim to get married to another Christian, and do it young
And have babies
As God allows & is sovereign over the womb, I recommend at least 3!
But that’s a conversation for another day
Marriage is good
And we want marriage to win
And our spouses to win
Divorce shouldn’t be part of the conversation.
Turn to Malachi 2:16 Page ___ “For the man who does not love his wife but divorces her, says the Lord, the God of Israel, covers his garment with violence, says the Lord of hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and do not be faithless.”
- Trevor Davis: “Malachi offers the quintessential reason for trying to keep a marriage together come what may: God hates divorce. He loves marriage. It is that simple.”
So we keep lust in check
We keep anger in check
We ask God to help
We ask our brothers & sisters to help
So that our marriages can work & flourish
And so that, for the single people in the room, our future marriages, Lord willing
Can work and flourish
Winning over lust & sin is a job for the single people too
3 Ways to fight for your spouse & marriage.
- 1. Talk Openly and Pray Together – Encourage your spouse to share temptations honestly (without too many details). Pray together for God’s help. This brings the struggle into the light and shows love and support.
- 2. Help Guard Eyes and Redirect Thoughts – Remind each other to look away quickly from attractive people. When a lustful thought or daydream starts, say “No” fast and turn to Jesus instead. Work as a team to focus on Christ and love each other.
- 3. Be Present and Available Regularly – Make time for your spouse every day:
  - • Emotionally: Listen, talk, and show kindness.
  - • Spiritually: Pray and read the Bible together.
  - • Physically: Be warm and sexually available often (as in 1 Corinthians 7).
  - Regular connection helps your spouse feel loved and satisfied at home, so outside lust loses its pull.
Fight lust together by faith in Christ. Show grace when your spouse stumbles. God’s help is enough.
Now, does God have anything to say about divorce and grounds for it
First I have to say – God doesn’t require divorce, ever
But he allows it
Turn to 1 Corinthians 7:12-15 Page ___ “¹²To the rest I say (I, not the Lord) that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. ¹³If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. ¹⁴For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. ⁱOtherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. ¹⁵But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you²^jto peace. ¹⁶For how do you know, wife, ^kwhether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife? ”
- So based upon Matthew 5 & 1 Corinthians 7 there are 2 bases for divorce in the New Testament
  - Sexual Immorality
  - Abandonment of an unbeliever
    - Which means so much more than the unbeliever disappearing
    - Abusive persons – are abandoning their home & marriage through their abuse
    - Addicts – abandon their home and marriage through their addictions
    - And more – unrepentant sinful actions – are a sign someone is not in right standing with God
    - And are not working for the good of their marriage or home
But if an unbeliever lives peaceably & wants to stay married to a believer
Thats a good thing!
John MacArthur: “One Christian in a marriage brings grace that spills over on the spouse even possibly leading them to salvation.”
This is so true!
Side note – if you’re approaching marriage – and courting or dating or engaged to a non-believer
- Proceeding into marriage with a non-beleiver
- Is contrary to the Word of God
- And is foolish
- We are called to not be unequally yolked
- So please, don’t go down that path
- Talk to a trusted person here about that situation and seek the Lord in that.
Now divorce – we cannot act as though it doesn’t happen in the world around us
In our extended families
And even in the church
So what do we do about it

Point 3 – Divorce was never God’s plan, so we avoid it and seek His grace & mercy to heal for past divorces.

God loves marriage & hates divorce
We must avoid it
John Calvin: “The bond of marriage is too sacred to be dissolved by the mere will of man, or for any light cause.”
But it does happen
And God even allows for it
But doesn’t command us to divorce
17th century puritan clergyman Thomas Manton: “Divorce is a remedy for the hardness of men’s hearts, but it was never intended to be a license for their lusts.”
Divorce was permitted – not prescribed
And permitted because of the sinfulness of man
Matthew 19:8 Page ___ “” ⁸He said to them, “Because of your ^yhardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so..”¹ ”
In our culture today
We get divorced for silly reasons
For big reasons
And everything in between
And it nukes families
Talk to Caleb, one of our elders, about what he sees in the elementary school he works at when kids come from broken homes
It will break your heart
But I have to say church
There is grace & mercy to heal from divorce
From evil
From your own sin
From the sin of others
Including divorce
So today – I have some guiding ideas for us
4 Ways to heal from past divorce.
- 1. God Forgives You Completely – Jesus died for all your sins, even those in the divorce. Confess honestly, repent, and accept His full forgiveness. You are not defined by your past.
  - *GOSPEL MOMENT*
- 2. Bring Your Pain to God – It’s normal to feel hurt, angry, or sad. Tell God how you feel. He comforts the brokenhearted and helps you grieve.
- 3. Trust God’s Grace Every Day – Healing takes time. God gives you strength for today. Lean on Him instead of fixing everything yourself.
- 4. Get Help from Others – Don’t go through it alone. Join a church, support group, or talk with caring Christians. Grow closer to Jesus and move forward with hope.

Key Truth: Divorce hurts, but God’s grace is bigger. He can bring healing and new purpose through Jesus
God wasn’t surprised by your divorce
God wasn’t surprised by your parents divorce
And it is not bigger than Him
Or out of His control
He is still at work
He is still God
And He still has love for you available

Conclusion

SO friends This stuff is heavy
And is not meant to be a burden we carry alone
So remember this, you need a church and there is a church that needs you.
Maybe that church is Refuge, I hope it is. Mark membership on your Care Card.
But also – come get prayer – if you need to repent
- Have a change of mind, heart, & action – come get prayer
- If the pain of past sin or divorce is plaguing your mind, come get prayer for peace, joy, and comfort in Christ
Don’t go it alone.
For the glory of God, good of our marriages, saving of our souls, & growth of Refuge
Let’s Guard our hearts & have victory.
Let’s pray!

Fighting Lust

4 Simple Ways to Fight Lust
- 1. Avoid Triggers Quickly Don’t let your eyes linger on attractive people. Look away fast (like Job 31:1). Stay away from things that stir up wrong desires—change the channel, scroll past, or walk away. This stops lust before it starts in your mind.
- 2. Say “No” Right Away As soon as a lustful thought or daydream pops up (even imagining life with someone “amazing”), say “No!” in your mind or out loud. Don’t let the fantasy grow. Cut it off fast—resist the devil and he will flee (James 4:7).
- 3. Turn to Jesus Immediately When you feel pulled toward someone with your eyes or thoughts, quickly think about Jesus instead. Remember His love, His cross, or a Bible verse that brings joy in Him. Replace the tempting picture with the better joy of knowing Christ.
- 4. Pray, Read the Bible, and Get Help Pray every day for God’s help to stay pure. Read the Bible to fill your mind with good things. Tell a trusted Christian friend about your struggle so they can pray with you and keep you accountable.
- Key Truth: Lust with the eyes or in the mind dishonors God and others. Fight it by faith—Jesus gives greater satisfaction than any fantasy. If you fall, repent and keep fighting. God’s grace is enough.

Fighting for your spouse

1. Talk Openly and Pray Together
Encourage your spouse to share temptations honestly (without too many details). Pray together for God’s help. This brings the struggle into the light and shows love and support.
2. Help Guard Eyes and Redirect Thoughts
Remind each other to look away quickly from attractive people. When a lustful thought or daydream starts, say “No” fast and turn to Jesus instead. Work as a team to focus on Christ and love each other.
3. Be Present and Available Regularly
Make time for your spouse every day:
• Emotionally: Listen, talk, and show kindness.
• Spiritually: Pray and read the Bible together.
• Physically: Be warm and sexually available often (as in 1 Corinthians 7).
Regular connection helps your spouse feel loved and satisfied at home, so outside lust loses its pull.
Key Truth: Fight lust together by faith in Christ. Show grace when your spouse stumbles. God’s help is enough.

Dealing with past divorce

1. God Forgives You Completely
Jesus died for all your sins, even those in the divorce. Confess honestly, repent, and accept His full forgiveness. You are not defined by your past.
2. Bring Your Pain to God
It’s normal to feel hurt, angry, or sad. Tell God how you feel. He comforts the brokenhearted and helps you grieve.
3. Trust God’s Grace Every Day
Healing takes time. God gives you strength for today. Lean on Him instead of fixing everything yourself.
4. Get Help from Others
Don’t go through it alone. Join a church, support group, or talk with caring Christians. Grow closer to Jesus and move forward with hope.
Key Truth: Divorce hurts, but God’s grace is bigger. He can bring healing and new purpose through Jesus

Notes

John MacArthur

He was using this graphic hyperbole to demonstrate the seriousness of sins of lust and evil desire. The point is that it would be better” (v. 30) to lose a member of one’s own body than to bear the eternal consequences of the guilt from such a sin.
Sin must be dealt with drastically because of its deadly effects.
If the divorce was not for sexual immorality, any remarriage is adul-tery, because God does not acknowledge the divorce. For more on divorce, see note on 1 Cor. 7:15.
Some believers must have felt that being married to an unbeliever was somehow defiling. However, just the opposite is true (v. 14).
One Christian in a marriage brings grace that spills over on the spouse even possibly leading them to salvation.
The presence of even one Christian parent will protect children from undue spiritual harm and they will receive many blessings, and often that includes salvation.
When an unbelieving spouse cannot tolerate the partner’s faith and wants a divorce, it is best to let that happen in order to preserve peace in the family (c. Rom. T2.18).
The bond of marriage is broken only by death (Rom. 1:2), aquitery att. 9:9), or an unbeliever’s leaving.
Christian is free to marry another believer.
Throughout Scripture, whenever legitimate divorce occurs, remarriage is assumed.
When divorce is permitted, so is remarriage. By implication, the permission for a widow to remarry (1 Cor. 7:39-40; Rom. Z:3) because the “bond” is broken, extends to this case where there is no more bondage.
Paul says there are no such assurances and it is better to divorce and be at peace (v. 15), if the unsaved partner wants to end the marriage that way.

Warren Wiersbe

The divorced wife could not return to her first husband if she was put away by a second husband.
Moses did not command divorce; he permitted it.
Jesus made it clear that Moses was only giving permission for divorce.
Why did God command that the adulterer or adulteress be stoned to death? Certainly as an example to warn the people, for adultery undermines the very fabric of society and the home.
There must be commitment in mar-riage, and faithfulness to each other and to God, if there is to be stability in society and in the church.
God opposed divorce in Israel because it weakened the nation and threatened the birth of the Messiah
God permitted the woman to marry again, and her second marriage was not considered adulterous.
The same God who gives the laws that join people together can also give laws to put them asunder.
Rather than have two people living together in constant conflict, with one or both of them seeking fulfillment elsewhere and thus commit sin, God permitted divorce. This divorce included the right to remarriage. The Pharisees did not ask about remarriage, for this was no problem.
Jesus affirmed God’s law of purity, and then explained that the intent of this law was to reveal the sanctity of sex and the sinfulness of the human heart.
God created sex, and God protects sex. He has the authority to regulate it and to punish those who rebel against His laws.
He does not regulate sex because He wants to rob us, but rather, because He wants to bless us.
Sexual impurity begins in the desires of the heart.
Again, Jesus is not saying that lustful desires are identical to lustful deeds, and therefore a person might just as well go ahead and commit adultery. The desire and the deed are not identical, but, spiritually speaking, they are equivalent.
The “look” that Jesus mentioned was not a casual glance, but a constant stare with the purpose of lusting.
The man Jesus described looked at the woman for the purpose of feeding his inner sensual appetites as a substitute for the act. It was not accidental; it was planned.
How do we get victory? By purifying the desires of the heart (appetite leads to action) and disciplining the actions of the body.
“Deal immediately and decisively with sin!
We think of passages like Colossians 3:5 and Romans 6:13; 12:1-2; 13:14.,

Trevor Davis

Marriage is an institution of God. It lines up with His divine plan and with the dictates of nature. And since marriage was intended to be an integral part of the bliss and paradise of the Garden of Eden, so should it be in a healthy society. But even more importantly, marriage was designed to be a social blessing that continues the human race, to develop people spiritually and emotionally and intellectually, and also to soothe and sustain us during the depressing and difficult circumstances of life.
One who is treacherous is a traitor, unreliable, disloyal; and a traitor is dangerous because his word, even under oath, means nothing.
Here we learn that the willful destruction of a marriage is a treacherous sin. It is treason against both the originator of marriage, God Himself, and the participator in marriage, the betrayed spouse.
Corrupt marriages would destroy worship and divide the covenant community. Unfaithfulness to the marriage covenant was also disloyalty to God.
Those who were dealing treacherously were reversing the process of sanctification and so were undermining the faith!
To agree to live together as husband and wife is a covenant, and God is the witness; to dissolve the marriage is to break the covenant – and God witnesses that too.
The covenant agreement of a marriage is to be based on loyal love, characterized by the protection and care of the partners, and dedicated to producing righteous, believing children that God may provide.
Malachi offers the quintessential reason for trying to keep a marriage together come what may: God hates divorce. He loves marriage. It is that simple.
For marriage to be holy matrimony it must be pleasing to God. And to develop this there must be a real commitment to the will of God over against our own notions and feelings. This commitment proves that both spouses see their marriage as service to God.

Matthew Henry

Victory over the desires of the heart, must be attended with painful exertions. But it must be done.
All our senses and powers must be kept from those things which lead to transgression.
Those who lead others into temptation to sin, by dress or in other ways, or leave them in it, or expose them to it, make themselves guilty of their sin, and will be accountable for it.
If painful operations are submitted to, that our lives may be saved, what ought our minds to shrink from, when the salvation of our souls is concerned?
There is tender mercy under all the Divine requirements, and the grace and consolations of the Spirit will enable us to attend to them.

General

On Heart Purity and Fleeing Lust (Matthew 5:27–30)
John Owen (Puritan) – “Always be killing sin or it will be killing you.”
Thomas Watson (Puritan): – “The eye is the inlet to the heart; if the eye be not guarded, the heart will be defiled.”
John Flavel (Puritan) – “The heart is a strange thing; it is like a deceitful bow, it starts aside as soon as you think you have it.”
Charles Spurgeon (Baptist): – “Avoid the very appearance of evil. He who will go to the brink of the cliff will one day fall over it.”
Charles Spurgeon (Baptist): – “Purity of heart is the main thing to be aimed at; for if the fountain be muddy, the streams cannot be clear.”
J.C. Ryle (Reformed/Anglican): – “A holy man will follow after inward purity. He will aim at a heart sprinkled from an evil conscience and a mind free from all uncleanness.”
Martyn Lloyd-Jones (Reformed): – “Our Lord is not so much concerned about the physical act as he is about the state of the heart that leads to the act.”
R.C. Sproul (Reformed): – “The problem with lust is that it is a desire for that which God has forbidden.”
John MacArthur (Baptist/Reformed): – “Purity is not just the absence of an act; it is the presence of a godly affection that outweighs the temptation.”
John Piper (Baptist/Reformed) – “Lust is a poor exchange for the joy of seeing God with a pure heart.”
On the Sacredness of Marriage and Divorce (Matthew 5:31–32)
John Calvin (Reformed): – “The bond of marriage is too sacred to be dissolved by the mere will of man, or for any light cause.”
Matthew Henry (Reformed): – “Marriage is a covenant of God, which is not to be trifled with, nor the bond of it to be lightly broken.”
William Gurnall (Puritan): – “Husband and wife should be like two strings in a lute that are tuned one to another; if one be out of tune, the music is marred.”
Thomas Manton (Puritan): – “Divorce is a remedy for the hardness of men’s hearts, but it was never intended to be a license for their lusts.”
John Murray (Reformed): – “The permanence of the marriage bond is a fundamental principle of the divine institution.”
Alistair Begg (Baptist/Reformed): – “The tragedy of divorce is not just the ending of a contract, but the tearing apart of what God has made one.”
Joel Beeke (Reformed/Puritan Scholar): – “A godly marriage is a school of sanctification where we learn to love as Christ loves His church.”
Sinclair Ferguson (Reformed): – When we understand the weight of Christ’s words on marriage, we realize that our faithfulness is a witness to the faithfulness of God.”
John MacArthur (Baptist/Reformed): – “God designed marriage to be an unbreakable union, and any deviation from that design is a concession to human sin.”
R.C. Sproul (Reformed) – “The sanctity of marriage is so great that God allows its dissolution only under the most extreme and specific circumstances of betrayal.”

Cross Reference:

Job 31:1 ““I have made a covenant with my ^beyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin?”
Proverbs 6:25 “²⁵ ^tDo not desire her beauty in your heart, and do not let her capture you with her ^ueyelashes;”
2 Samuel 11:2 “²It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on ^kthe roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. ”
Mark 9:43-48 “⁴³ⁿAnd if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to ^ohell,⁹ to ^pthe unquenchable fire.¹⁰ ⁴⁵^qAnd if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into ^ohell. ⁴⁷^rAnd if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into ^shell, ⁴⁸‘where ^ttheir worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’ ”
Luke 12:5 “⁵But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him ^bwho, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. ”
Deuteronomy 24:1 ““When a man takes a wife and marries her, if then she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and ^ehe writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, and she departs out of his house, ”
Mark 10:11 “ ¹¹And he said to them, ^k“Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, ”
Luke 16:18 “¹⁸^d“Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery. ”
1 Corinthians 7:10-11 “¹⁰To the married ^fI give this charge (not I, but the Lord): ^gthe wife should not separate from her husband ¹¹(but if she does, ^hshe should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and ^gthe husband should not divorce his wife. ”
Romans 7:3 “³Accordingly, ^fshe will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress. ”

1 Corinthians 7:12-15 “¹²To the rest I say (I, not the Lord) that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. ¹³If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. ¹⁴For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. ⁱOtherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. ¹⁵But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you² ^jto peace. ¹⁶For how do you know, wife, ^kwhether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife? ”

4/26/26 – Guarding Your Heart – Matthew 5:27-32

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