GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 10:12
Emotional Adultery
A woman reported giving up her Christianity because her church did not allow divorce or remarriage. Her husband was physically and emotionally abusive—he was an elder in their church. Their pastor had preached sermons using Jesus’ words about marriage. Her husband had often quoted Jesus’ words: “And if a woman, after divorcing her husband, marries another man, she commits adultery.” (Mark 10:12) After one altercation, she could not live in that environment; she left the house and sought a divorce.
In her recovery, she found a Christian counselor who showed her that Jesus’ teaching about divorce and remarriage had to be read with the whole Gospel. She said that the same Jesus who taught about the sanctity of the marital relationship also taught about mercy, repentance, and restoration. Grace and moral clarity belong together—they are not opposites. Jesus’ teaching was not meant to trap people in misery or endorse abuse or cruelty. He taught against the casual abandonment that he saw around him; he was defending marriage against exploitation, not endorsing marital abuse, suffering, or oppression. The counselor said that adultery was legal, moral, covenantal, and relational, not just sexual. Thus a spouse who was legally abusive, morally harmful, violating the covenant of mutual love, and unrelatable was engaging in emotional adultery.
After many counseling sessions and times of prayer with the counselor, she regained her faith and trust in the forgiveness and restoration available through Christ’s redemptive suffering.
Previous
Next
Directory