WHAT IF I’M THE GUILTY PARTY ? One of the common stones thrown at Believers who repented of their sins, gotten right with God, and desire with all their hearts to serve him are Scriptures such as: 1 Timothy 3:2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; 1 Timothy 3:12 Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. Titus 1:6 If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly. What the stone-throwers fail to do is recognize the historic context of these verse. That was a time when men frequently had more than one wife. The Scriptures stating, “husband of one wife,” related to the common practice of bigamy, NOT that a person whose wife had been put away could not serve in those capacities. If a person’s wife had been put away because of sin, he was considered by God not to be married any more, so those Scriptures would not apply. In the case of someone who was guilty of a sin which broke the marriage contract, the same historic context holds true. That individual is no longer married, according to the Bible. A careful reading of the stone-thrower’s “proof Scripture” shows this. Romans 7:2 For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. It says, “...the woman which HATHa husband…” If she has been “put away,” she is no longer married to the innocent party, and therefore no longer has a husband. Their so-called proof text does not apply, since it clearly refers to a woman who is still married and has a husband. Another important issue applying to the guilty person whose cause the marriage break-up is the power of God’s forgiveness. What does God do when a person is forgiven from their sins ? Does He continue to hold it against them ? If He did we would all be destined to Hell. The grace of our God has provided a wonderful opportunity to have our lives changed, and serve Him fully, even though there are things in the past which revealed us to be the sinners that we were. Some have assumed that being the guilty (or even innocent) party in a former marriage makes a person ineligible for the most service within the church. This concept comes from a gross misunderstanding of the Word. Is being guilty of a sexual sin cause for God to scratch you off opportunities to serve Him ? What about King David ? He not only committed adultery, but also committed murder by killing Bathsheba’s husband, tried an elaborate cover-up, etc., etc. Did this disqualify him from being King ? From being a prophet ? From being a Spirit-filled instrument of God who was used to pen down many Scriptures AFTER the events ? Of course not. The essential ingredient to picking up the opportunities against to serve God was REPENTANCE. David repented. This is what Jesus required of the woman brought to Him in the Temple, who was caught in adultery. He told her, “Go, and sin no more.” (John 8:11) If a guilty person truly repents of their sin, even though the marriage is now broken, they will be forgiven, and given opportunity to serve the Lord. Some have contended that all other sins were forgivable, and complete restoration with God and His Plan was possible...except for sin which broke a marriage. This contradicts what the Bible clearly teaches. Mark 3:28 Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: Once again, we must abandon the teachings of men, and fully embrace what God says in His Word.