Featured Pastors in adulterous relationships

Does sex relations before getting saved even really count towards this issue?

 

It seems according to some on this thread it does! My point is and has been where is the line?

 

The point I was trying to make is that the act in and of itself constitutes a marriage in God's. So if adultery is occurring in remarriage after a divorce occurs, does it also occur when someone performed the act prior to marrying someone else but never has been legally married by state laws? To the state a marriage ceremony must take place to God it doesn't. So again would that constitute adultery? Where is the line drawn when it is?

 

This is a wonderful topic that cannot be answered in short, so I will try to express in brief what I consider some important concerns.

Perhaps the OT has some wisdom to share.

A maid is taken in a field - what is the result according to God? They either marry or the man gives to the family what we might consider a dowry or lump sum alimony.

Two things are clear from this. One, nothing is hidden - the family becomes involved and approves of the arrangement (marriage or money). Second, the event does not go without consequence effecting the family, the maid, the man.

So the question then comes what become of the maid and the man as you illustrate above?

If one takes the OT as a guide to how God expects the situation to unfold, combined with the issue of teenager immaturity and hormone driven lust, what were the consequences? Did they marry, or was some restitution arranged?

In our modern age, dowry is rarely and issue, but there are lasting consequences to both the family and persons - if nothing more than the rebuke of memories. In a practical sense, it would have been good had there been a meeting with the head of the family and certain matters discussed and conclusions reached.

THIS is important - If there was or is no family issue, and no marriage, then the OT obligations are met, and there is no sinfulness to address.

Therefore, though the man laid with a maid, they are not bound and he is free to marry another. (NOTE: this pertains to a maid - an unmarried virgin not some promiscuous "silly" woman who plots and entices).

There is the broader question of accountability. The NT adulteress did not escape wearing the banner of her former lifestyle - the same banner must be worn by the man of such estate. A man married (by license as you state) divorced and remarried (no matter the circumstances) must carry that banner.

The qualification issue as related to this matter.

Can a pastor wear the banner of adulterer?

It is important to remember it is in the hands of the church membership to establish which of their members meet or do not meet the qualifications set by Scriptures. One one man or committee is given that authority in the Scriptures. The man's life that is an open book to the membership, who has a well regulated personal and family life, ... may be accepted by the church as pastor/elder. The trust relationship must remain unbroken - just as husband and wife. Christ is to the church the husband. The pastor is the under-shepherd (in a sense the husbandry - to use and agricultural word) in physical form to the church. The trust relationship is paramount in the success of the ministry.

In short the man is qualified - the membership has examined the person in light of the Scriptures and presented him qualified.

Remember: Consequences remain and will continue until death even if the consequence is only the rebuke of memories that humble the believer and drive the believer to bath the feet of Christ in tears of gratitude that He is both merciful and gracious.

Note: The above does NOT condone promiscuity nor adultery in the clergy. Rather, it acknowledges that teenage hormone driven lust can mar a person and yet that person remain serviceable to God. This is far different than the adulterer who lays with multiple women, divorces his wife, and marries another man's wife, yet still expects to preach and be accepted as a pastor.