Remarriage.

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Matthew 19:9, "And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away
his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry
another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which
is put away doth commit adultery."

Notice that it says "except it be for fornication" above. 
Meaning?
If a man puts his wife away for the cause of fornication
AND MARRY ANOTHER he is EXCEPTED from what Jesus is about
to
say or EXEMPTED FROM committing adultery.  IOW "Those who
put away their
spouse FOR THE CAUSE OF FORNICATION *ALONE* and marry
another are excluded from the classification as an
adulterer.  This is not my opinion but what Jesus SAID.

As to what fornication means there is no way anyone can
rightly restrict the meaning of this word to the narrow
interpretation I have seen it given.  None.  By any
standard of lexicology the word means illicit sexual ACTS
that include but are not limited to adultery,
homosexuality, beastiality and
whatever else is against the laws of God.

As to all the "details" that surround this question of who
this applies to and who it does not, it is really VERY
simple.  Just ask this question: "Is the person who has
been divorced or would like to be divorced and remarried
been the "VICTIM" of an unrepentant FORNICATOR?  If the
answer is yes, they can divorce and remarry and if the
answer is no, they cannot. They can "separate" but must
remain faithful to their spouse (There is not and cannot be
a divorce in God's eyes no matter what ANYONE else says). 
Even if they get a
"legal" divorce they are still married in the eyes of the
Lord. 

Even if when separated one commits fornication and
will not repent the other has grounds for divorce and
remarriage, only in the Lord.  The offender can then be
saved if they repent but must then remain unmarried
themselves.  Fornication is not the unforgivable sin but if
this continues UNREPNETED it can be the END of the
"bondage"
to the offender for the innocent spouse.  If the guilty
party repents
before they are "put away" they are to be forgiven, PERIOD.

If they repent AFTER they are put away they cannot be
"remarried" to anyone, EVEN their original spouse (once
divorced they would have to be remarried to their original
spouse and they are forbidden to remarry, PERIOD).

A new convert who is married to an unbeliever cannot "put
away" the unbeliever (institute the divorce) and remarry
EXCEPT for the cause of fornication.  If the unbeliever
CHOOSE to leave however, Paul says the saint is not BOUND
and is therefore FREE to remarry, only in the Lord.  I find
no evidence which would sugges that a believer EVER becomes
unbeliever.  Even those who have been given to a reprobate
(couterfiet) mind "await their destruction" (paraphrase
from Hebrews somewhere).  One can deny the truth and still
believe the truth.

Anyone can leave their spouse.  God's will is that you live
together in peace but if this is not possible you can
"depart" or live somewhere else but you are still married. 
While you are separated,
whether "legally" divorced or not, you AND your spouse are
BOUND together and the ONLY reason for divorce with the
option of remarriage is "FORNICATION" PERIOD.  If both have
been faithful and want a mate again they have to go back to
their spouse since God still sees them as "ONE."

As an aside: those who are separated can engage in however
much of the marital relationship that they can maintain in
peace and in the Lord.  The fact that they are separated
has NO bearing on their marital statis what-so-ever.  I
would also add again, and STRESS,  that it is God's will
for a husband and wife to live TOGETHER and in PEACE!

When anyone gets saved their past is ERASED.  They are new
creatures with a CLEAN slate.  Married and divorced a
hundred times and it is nothing.  Once saved however, they
must abide by the the scenerios above.

Bob and Sue are 2 belivers and they marry.  They are still
married until one dies OR until one fornicates without
repenting.  Let's say Bob fornicates and Sue catches him,
and he repents.  Sue must forgive him.  This would go for
Sue in the same situation.  Let's say Sue beats Bob and Bob
has finally had enough so he moves out.  They are still
married in God's eyes. Sue gets mad a gets a divorce that
is signed by her Pastor, the Pope, the President and Albert
Einstine.  They are still married in God's eyes.  Sue
repents and wants a man agian.  She has to return to Bob
since they are still married in God's eyes.  They are not
divorced until one has committed fornication and doesn't
repent.  Let's say Bob doesn't trust Sue and Sue gets mad
and moves in with Mike since she thinks she is divorced. 
Bob gives her the opportunity to repevt and she refuses. 
Bob can now remarry but in the Lord and still be saved.  If
the two hadn't already been legally divorced he could "put
her away" for the cause of fornication and be EXCEPTED from
the clasification of adulterer by the words of Jesus
Himself.  

If Sue is to go to Heaven she must move out of Mikes (even
if they got married) and live alone for the rest of her
life.  Children by Mike would complicate things but would
not affect her statis as an adulterer.  She cannot even
REMARRY Bob since they were divorced legally already and
when she refused to repent of her fornication Bob and her
became divorced in God's eyes since Sue "died" to the
marriage at that point and Bob became a "widower" as far as
God is concerned.  None of the past circumstances matter
since there was no unrepented fornication until Sue moved
in with Mike.  This is the ONLY FACTOR for divorce with the
option of remarriage between believers: UNREPENTED
FORNICATION.
The guilty party must remain unmarried if they are to be
saved and the innocent party is FREE or IOW "widowed" and
may conduct themselves as any unmarried Christian.

Timothy Litteral
472 Grant St.
Marion Ohio 43302
trlitteral@usa.net
http://members.tripod.com/~trlitteral