polygamy or divorce?

Post By Baptist Believer

What if a man was in fellowship with the Lord but his wife rebelled against God, cheated on him, deserted him, divorced him and remarried, and then later he married a good christian woman and continued to be faithful to serving the Lord and followed a calling into the ministry. should he be allowed to pastor a church?
Of course.

My friend, doesn't that violate "the husband of one wife" in I Timothy 3:2?

Rufus

 

Only if you hold an extreme view that would find a person who is widowed and remarries as unfit for the pastorate. I do not.

From the context of the passage, it is clear that the point being made is that the pastor needs to be of good character. The specifics are all related to that. A pastor should be devoted to their spouse.

 

Paul addresses this passage to believers in general: I Cor. 7:39. A wife is bound by law as long as her husband lives; but if her husband dies, she is at liberty to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord."

In I Timothy 3:12 he addresses the subject of bishops or pastors.

In general a widowed believer may remarry.

But a highter standard seems to be held up for a pastor: "ONE WOMAN MAN." The general characteristics listed by Paul cannot be interpreted without proper exegesis of the specific terms employed.

I appreciate the spirit of the posts here and I pray God's riches blessings on each poster.

Rufus