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have known what was allowed under the Mosaic law. Hence we have Christ referring to it in dealing with the questions raised with him. However the Gentiles who were not under the Mosaic law were probably not familiar with it and were in a somewhat different position. They may have been married more than once before they were converted and they may well have led dissolute lives. However, when they came to know Christ and were received into the Christian fellowship they would have been baptised. The old life would have been terminated. Whatever sexual (as well as other) wrongdoing they may have been involved in would have been washed away and they would have started a new life in Christ. Paul says as to this: "And these things were some of you; but ye have been washed, but ye have been sanctified, but ye have been justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." (1 Corinthians 6:11). The previous two verses list the evils which he describes in verse 11 as these things. The things include fornication, idolatry and adultery. The point is that a Christian man may have been married to an unbeliever and been divorced from her before conversion or have been sexually promiscuous, but that would not preclude him marrying a believer after his conversion, though if he had an unbelieving wife at the time of his conversion Paul tells him not to leave her as we have seen in considering chapter 7. Although a parable it is I believe clear that when the prodigal Son had repented the Father was not holding his past life against him though the elder son was. The latter refers to the prodigal as the one who had devoured his Father's "substance with harlots" (Luke 15:30). He had no real wife in the story and the impression gained is that he would have been free to marry, though he had been promiscuous in the far country. It should not be overlooked, however, that the prodigal (i.e. younger) Son did not get again the substance he had wasted. All the remaining substance belonged to the elder Son (Luke 15:31).

Then we have the case of the woman that Christ met at Sychar's well in John's Gospel chapter 4. She had had five husbands and was at the time of her interview with Christ living with a man who was not her husband. Perhaps this simply means that there had been no marriage ceremony or vows, but it may mean that she was living with a man married to another woman. As often happens if one marriage fails, later marriages fail also (take Henry the eighth and his six wives as an example). It is unlikely that all her five husbands had died. Divorce is more likely at least in some of the cases. Being a Samaritan the woman was outside the pale so far as Jews were concerned (verse 9) though there was some fear of Jehovah with the Samaritans (2 Kings 17). Even to this day they sacrifice on Mount Gerizim so we are told. Christ points out that the time was now dawning when the place of sacrifice would not be significant. Worship was to be in spirit and truth (verse 23). Christ does not instruct her as to how she should get out of the marital mess she was in but speaks of living water (verse 10) which would satisfy her spiritual thirst which she was no doubt trying to assuage by her sexual adventures. If her spiritual thirst were assuaged by the living water and her course judged in the sight of God a way out of her situation would no doubt have presented itself: "God... will... make the issue" - that is, the way out (1 Corinthians 10:13). The same is true of the marital messes that people get into in the present day.

Conclusions

We are not today under the law of Moses, but we are under the authority of Christ. He is our Lord and his injunctions should govern us (1 Corinthians 9:21). Hence, what he has said about marriage and divorce is binding on us as Christians. In the day to come when Christ reigns no doubt what Christ said on earth as to these matters will also apply then. His injunctions apply to us in our path through this world; they are not connected with our relations to one another in the assembly.

Christ did not teach the indissolubility of marriage (in any case death dissolves it - Romans 7:1-3), but that it should not be dissolved at the whim of either the husband or the wife. Sin (fornication - the fundamental violation of the relationship) may mean that it is right for the offended party to put away his/her spouse. It would be done because it ought to be, and not because the offended party wants to. If love is in operation putting away would only be resorted to when all efforts to effect reconciliation had failed. Space would be given for repentance.

A wife who is separated from her husband is enjoined to remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband (1 Corinthians 7:10/11) There is no corresponding injunction against the husband marrying again where he has been put away or deserted by his wife. A man in these circumstances is not denied the right to marry another. This is in accord with the fact that there is no prohibition in Scripture against a man having two or more wives, though multiplying wives as Solomon did (1 Kings 11:1-8) is contrary to the law of Moses where kings are concerned (Deuteronomy 17:17) and we are that (1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 5:10). The sexual needs of men and women are not identical. There are many more celibate spinsters than celibate bachelors and women normally do not pay men for sexual favours in the same way that men pay women. The sexual needs are not normally so pressing in the case of the female sex. The fact that an overseer should be the husband of one wife (1 Timothy 3:2) would imply that there were those in the early Christian assemblies who had more than one wife. There would be no point in making the statement otherwise. It would go without saying that unbelievers, murderers etc. would not be considered for overseership; they would not be in the Christian company anyway.

What may have happened prior to a person becoming a Christian cannot affect a man or a woman's right to marry another Christian if they are practically and legally free to do so. Previous marriages which have broken down or previous promiscuity would not stand in the way. There may of course be certain consequences of a past dissolute life such as venereal diseases and AIDS. These might in some cases make it unwise to marry. Further, if a person is married at the time of his conversion and the unconverted party is willing the couple should remain together.

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