Tertullian stated,
"I say that my gospel is the true one. Marcion [a leading Gnostic teacher] says that his is. I say that Marcion's gospel is adulterated. He says mine is. Now, how can we settle this stand-off, unless we use the principle of time. According to this principle, authority lies with the one who is prior in time. It's based on the elemental truth that corruption (of doctrine) lies with the one who is shown to have originated later in time. Since error is falsification of truth, truth must necessarily precede error."
Why do Christians today choose doctrines that were first taught 1,400 years or more after the deaths of the apostles over ones that were taught within a few decades of their lives? Who necessarily speaks the true biblical beliefs of faith?
Since modern Christians refuse to listen to what God's Word has to say on the issue of divorce, let us look to what the early Christians taught on the issue:
DIVORCE:
"And I said to him, "Sir, if anyone has a wife who trust sin the Lord, and if he detects her in adultery, does the man sin if he continues to live with her?" And he said to me, "As long as he remains ignorant of her sin, the husband commits no transgression in living with her. But if the husband knows that his wife has gone astray, and if the woman does not repent, but persists in her fornication, and yet the husband continues to live with her, he also is guilty of her crime, and a sharer in her adultery." And I said to him, "What then, sir, is the husband to do, if his wife continues in her vicious practices?" And he said, "The husband should put her away and remain by himself. But if he puts his wife away and marries another, he also commits adultery."
And I said to him, "What if the woman who has been put away should repent, and wishes to return to her husband? Shall she not be taken back by her husband?" And he said to me, "Assuredly. If the husband does not take her back, he sins. And he brings a great sin upon himself. For he should take back the sinner who has repented. But not repeatedly. For there is but one repentance to the servants of God. In case, therefore, that the divorced wife may repent, the husband should not marry another after his wife has been put away. In this matter, man and woman are to be treated exactly in the same way. Moreover, adultery is committed not only by those who pollute their flesh, but also by those who imitate the pagans in their actions. For that reason, if anyone persists in such deeds, and does not repent, withdraw from him, and cease to live with him, otherwise you are a sharer in his sin."" —Hermas (c. 150, W)"All who have been twice married by human law, are sinners in the eye of our Master." —Justin Martyr (c. 160, E)
"She considered it wicked to live any longer as a wife with a husband who tried to indulge in every kind of pleasure contrary to the law of natures. . . . So she desired to be divorced from him. But she changed her mind because of her [Christian] friends, who advised her to remain with him, with the thought that some time or other her husband might give some hope of change." —Justin Martyr (c. 160, E)
"That the Scripture counsels marriage and allows no release from the union is expressly contained in the law, "You will not put away your wife, except for the cause of fornication." And it regards as fornication the marriage of those separated while the other is alive. . . . "He who takes a woman who has been put away commits adultery."" —Clement of Alexandria (c. 195, E)
"Where is that happiness of married life, ever so desirable, that distinguished our earlier [Roman] manners? As the result of that, for about 600 years there was not among us [Romans] a single divorce. Now, [Roman] women have every member of their body heavy laden with gold; . . . and as for divorce, they long for it as though it were the natural consequence of marriage." —Tertullian (c. 197, W)
"The Lord holds it more pleasing that marriage should not be contracted, than that it should at all be dissolved. In short, He prohibits divorce, except for the cause of fornication." —Tertullian (c. 205, W)
"Christ prohibits divorce, saying, "Whoever puts away his wife and marries another, commits adultery. And whoever marries her who is put away from her husband also commits adultery." In order to forbid divorce, He makes it unlawful to marry a woman who has been put away." —Tertullian (c. 207, W)
"Christ plainly forbids divorce; Moses unquestionably permits it. . . . Even Christ, however, when He commands, "the wife not to depart from her husband, or if she departs, to remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband," both permitted divorce (which indeed he never absolutely prohibited) and confirmed marriage (by first prohibiting its dissolution). If separation had taken place, He wished the marriage bond to be resumed by reconciliation." —Tertullian (c. 207, W)
"The reason why He has abolished divorce, which "was not from the beginning," was in order to strengthen that thing which "was from the beginning"—the permanent joinder of two into one flesh. . . . So He permits divorce for no cause, except one. . . . So true is it that divorce "was not from the beginning," that among the Romans, it was not until after the six hundredth year from the building of the city [of Rome] that this type of "hard-heartedness" began to be permitted. . . . To us, even if we do divorce them [i.e., adulterous spouses], marriage will not be lawful." —Tertullian (c. 217, W)
"She must necessarily persevere in that peace with him whom she will no longer have the power to divorce. Not that she would have been marriageable—even if she had been able to divorce him." —Tertullian (c. 217, W)
"We gladly abide by the bond of a single marriage. In the desire of procreating, we know either one wife, or none at all." —Mark Minucius Felix (c. 200, W)
"When being inquired of, Christ gave this judgment: He said that a wife must not be put away, except for the cause of adultery. . . . Laws are prescribed to married women, who are so bound that they cannot thence be separated." —Novatian (c. 235, W)
"Some of the laws were written—not as excellent—but as by way of accommodation to the weakness of those to whom the Law was given. For something of this kind is indicated in the words, "Moses, because of your hardness of heart, allowed you to put away your wives." —Origen (c. 245, E)
"A wife must not depart from her husband. Or, if she should depart, she must remain unmarried." —Cyprian (c. 250, W)
"He who marries a woman divorce from her husband is an adulterer. So is he who divorced a wife for any cause other than adultery, in order to marry another." —Lactantius (c. 304-313, W)
"Do not let it be considered lawful after marriage to put her away who is without blame. For He says, "You will take care to your spirit and will not forsake the wife of your youth" [Mal. 2:14-15]. . . . And the Lord says, "What God has joined together, let no man put asunder." For the wife is the partner of life, united by God into one body from two. However, he who divides back into two that body that has become one—he is the enemy of the creation of God and the adversary of His providence. Similarly, he who retains her who is corrupted [by adultery] is a transgressor of the law of nature. For "he who retains an adulteress is foolish and impious" [Prov. 18:22]. Also, He says, "Cut her off from your flesh" [Sir. 25:26]. For she is no longer a helpmate, but a snare, having turned her mind from you to another." —Apostolic Constitutions (compiled c. 390, E)
REMARRIAGE:
"And I said, "If a wife or husband dies, and the widower or widow marries, does he or she commit sin?" "There is no sin in marrying again," he said. "However, if they remain unmarried, they gain greater honor and glory with the Lord. Still, if they marry, they do not sin."" —Hermas (c. 150, W)"A person should either remain as he was born, or be content with one marriage. For a second marriage is only a specious adultery. Jesus says, "For whoever puts away his wife and marries another, commits adultery." He does not permit a man to send her away whose virginity he has brought to an end, nor to marry again. A man who deprives himself of his first wife, even though she is dead, is a cloaked adulterer, resisting the hand of God. For in the beginning, God made one man and one woman." —Athenagoras (c. 175, E)
"That erring Samaritan woman did not remain with one husband. Rather, she committed fornication by many marriages." —Irenaeus (c. 180, E/W)
"Being a heretic by his very nature, . . . he maintains repeated marriages." —Tertullian (c. 200, W)
"The Lord . . . hurdled His denunciation against Herod in the form of unlawful marriages and of adultery. For he pronounced as an adulterer even the man who married a woman who had been put away by her husband. He said this in order the more severely to load Herod with guilt. For Herod had taken his brother's wife after she had been loosed from her husband—by death rather than by divorce. For he had been impelled thereto by his lust—not by the commandment of the Law. For his brother had left a daughter. Therefore, the marriage with his widow could not be lawful." —Tertullian (c. 207, W)
"But now, contrary to what was written, even some of the rulers of the church have permitted a woman to marry—even when her husband was living, doing contrary to what was written. For it is said, 'A wife is bound so long as her husband lives."" —Origen (c. 245, E)
"A woman is an adulteress—even though she seems to be married to a man—if the former husband is still living. Likewise, also, the man who seems to marry the woman who has been put away, does not so much marry her as commit adultery with her—according to the declaration of our Savior" —Origen (c. 245, E)
""To the unmarried and widows, it is good for them if they can remain even as I am. But if they cannot contain themselves, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn." Here Paul also persisted in giving the preference to continence. . . . He challenged his hearers to this state of life, teaching that it was better that a man who had been bound to one wife should from then on remain single, just as he did. on the other hand, . . . on account of the strength of animal passion, Paul allows "by permission" one who is in such a condition to contract a second marriage. . . . He allows a second marriage to those who are burdened with the disease of the passions, lest they should be wholly defiled by fornication." —Methodius (c. 290, E)
"Let not the younger widows be placed in the order of widows, lest . . . they come to a second marriage and become subjects to sin. . . . For you should know this, that marrying once according to the law is righteous, as being according to the will of God. But second marriages, made after the promise, are wicked—not because of the marriage itself, but because of the falsehood. Third marriages are indications of incontinency. But any marriages beyond the third are manifest fornication. . . . But to the younger women, let a second marriage be allowed after the death of their first husband." —Apostolic Constitutions (compiled c. 390, E)
Who are you going to listen to? The Reformers, who were 1,500 years removed from the lives of the apostles? Modern preachers, such as John MacArthur, Jay Adams, etc., who are 1,900 years removed from the lives of the apostles? Or the early Christians (A.D. 70 to 300)?
As you can see, the teachings of the early Christians drive the final nail in the coffin on this issue, ending the discussion once and for all for all time. Only the disobedient and rebellious will continue to disregard their words, and the words of God's Word, and insist against all evidence and logic that Jesus and the apostle Paul made provisions for divorce. Any professing Christian who teaches that the Lord Jesus or the apostle Paul made provisions for divorce is a liar and a false teacher, putting lies in the mouths of both Jesus and the apostle!