John MacArthur

May There Be More Men In The Arena – A Tribute To John MacArthur

/ Christopher Terry

I began work on this article some months ago, just after John MacArthur’s homegoing. I had to put it away for a time. I return to it now.

The apostle Paul wrote, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing” (2 Tim. 4:7–8). Pastor-teacher John Fullerton MacArthur, Jr. entered the presence of his Lord on the evening of Sunday, July 13, 2025. MacArthur leaves behind his wife of 61 years, Patricia, his four children, and fifteen grandchildren. John pastored Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, for 56 years. He faithfully led The Masters University since 1985 and The Masters Seminary since 1986.

The first time I ever heard John MacArthur speak was on the radio in the Fall of 1998. The local Christian radio station would broadcast a daily one-minute audio clip of John sharing a devotional thought from Scripture. The name of the segment was Portraits of Grace.[1] Each time I listened to these brief lessons from Scripture, I was impressed by the simplicity, graciousness, and conviction of the man who shared them. I learned from him, as a new believer, what the Scriptures meant. John’s preaching and teaching style was straightforward, no frills. When you listened to him, you gathered that he believed everything that he was teaching. The Word of God was clearly the authority in all areas of life for John MacArthur. There were a number of Bible teachers on the radio during those days. As I was growing in my faith, growing in my understanding of the Word of God, I realized that there were passages that most Bible teachers did not want to touch because they were too “controversial” in the estimation of the listening public. This was not the case for John MacArthur. If it was in the Scriptures, he was going to teach it. It was during my time in Seminary that I began to dig into the vast collection of sermons that John had preached. I had the privilege of attending a Together for the Gospel conference in 2018 and hearing him preach in person. MacArthur preached 3,000 sermons during his years of ministry, which can be found on the Grace to You website.[2]

John was close friends with R.C. Sproul, Sr. (1939-2017) for many years. They worked together, along with D. James Kennedy, to oppose the ecumenical Evangelicals and Catholics Together movement, which sought to blur the significant differences between Protestants and Catholics.[3] MacArthur appreciated that R.C., as an amillennialist and Reformed Presbyterian, had invited him as a self-described “leaky” dispensationalist and Reformed Baptist to speak at the Ligonier Conference. It was at R.C.’s memorial service that John shared the following, “R.C.’s nickname for me was ‘Boris.’ The first time he introduced me at one of the Ligonier Conferences, his introduction began with a detailed recounting of how Boris Yeltsin single-handedly stopped a coup in Moscow in August of 1991. Armed hardline communist insurgents were rolling through the streets of Moscow in a column of tanks, intending to seize the Russian Parliament building and overthrow Prime Minister Mikhail Gorbachev, whose reforms they opposed. Yeltsin, recently elected president of the Soviet Union, intercepted the parade of insurgents, climbed onto the turret of one of the tanks, and made a speech that effectively ended the coup.”[4] During his life, Sproul repeatedly said that there was no one he would rather have by his side contending for the faith than John MacArthur. Sproul’s and MacArthur’s friendship provided a worthy example of how to disagree on important issues, like baptism and eschatology, while remaining good friends.  

As I mentioned earlier, John MacArthur was an example over the years of being willing to confront theological error and the sins of the age when others did not want to do so. He saw the errors of the Charismatic movement as a serious danger to evangelical Christians. John combatted those errors in his book Charismatic Chaos and then later through the Strange Fire conference. MacArthur also corrected the errors of the gospel (and salvation) without repentance teaching (i.e., a hyper-grace, easy-believism). He combatted this error through the book The Gospel According to Jesus, which was a much-needed response to the teaching that someone could be saved and never change. John described this teaching, that Christ could be Savior and not Lord, as a sort of rehashed neo-Pelagianism, in the vein of Charles Finney.[5] John sought to protect the gospel and a proper biblical understanding of salvation. He spent his life pursuing the goal of grounding Christians in sound doctrine through regular instruction in God’s Word. This resulted in the books Think Biblically: Recovering a Biblical Worldview and Biblical Doctrine: A Systematic Summary of Bible Truth. As he saw the prevalence of worldly compromise in the church, he wrote the books Ashamed of the Gospel: When the Church Becomes Like the World and The Vanishing Conscience: Drawing the Line in a No-fault, Guilt-free World. In recent years, MacArthur was concerned about the growing confusion over and indifference toward eschatology. This led him to write Because the Time Is Near: John MacArthur Explains the Book of Revelation and The Second Coming: Signs of Christ’s Return and the End of the Age. During his life, John authored nearly 400 books and study guides.[6]

Pastor John and Grace Community Church were in the headlines several years ago when they stood boldly against California’s COVID-19 lockdowns.[7] Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, ordered houses of worship to remain closed.[8] The County of Los Angeles threatened and fined Grace Community Church because the church did not cease meeting in person, nor limit attendance, nor enforce arbitrary social distancing measures. The County sent a cease and desist letter threatening a daily $1,000 fine or imprisonment of up to 90 days or both (each time the church met indoors was considered a separate punishable offense).[9] The County of Los Angeles, as of August 2020, for a fourth time, was seeking a court order to close Grace Community Church.[10] County health officials were showing up at church services on a weekly basis to observe and scold the church for their non-compliance. Subsequently, the County decided to break a contractual agreement[11] wherein the County leased land to Grace Community Church, which was used for parking.[12] Grace had leased the land from the County continuously since 1975. [13] In response to this development, a Jewish synagogue down the street from Grace offered to let the church use their 150-space parking lot for free.[14]

During this time, California Governor Gavin Newsom showed preference to the entertainment industry and other nonessential businesses over against churches. The Department of Justice pointed this out in a letter to Newsom stating, “California has not shown why interaction in offices and studios of the entertainment industry, and in-person operations to facilitate nonessential ecommerce, are included on the list as being allowed with social distancing where telework is not practical, while gatherings with social distancing of religious worship are forbidden, regardless of whether remote worship is practical or not.”[15] In August 2020, Grace Community Church sued the County of Los Angeles and the State of California.[16] On August 31, 2021, the judge presiding over the case ruled in favor of Grace Community Church, stating that the County and the State had overstepped their Constitutional authority with their unlawful COVID-19 measures. The judge ruled that the State and the County were to pay a total of $800,000 to Grace Community Church to help them recoup legal fees.[17] Each paid $400,000 to settle the lawsuit.[18] The County also agreed to honor its contractual agreement for the land leased to the church.[19] In light of the legal victory, MacArthur wrote supporters, “monumental victory for Grace Community Church… We know that there is no circumstance that can cause the church to close. The church is not only a building but is the bride of Christ and exists to proclaim the truth.”[20] It was also during this time that Grace Community Church produced and released the documentary film The Essential Church, which encouraged churches to begin meeting for worship in person.[21]

The Supreme Court, in December of 2020, also ruled (5 to 4) that it was unconstitutional for states to restrict attendance at houses of worship while permitting other groups to have large crowds.[22] In a joint opinion, Justices Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas, joined by Justice Samuel Alito, wrote that California had “openly imposed more stringent regulations on religious institutions than on many businesses… If Hollywood may host a studio audience or film a singing competition while not a single soul may enter California’s churches, synagogues, and mosques, something has gone seriously awry.”[23] Additionally, the State of California had to pay $1.6 million in a suit brought on behalf of South Bay United Pentecostal Church in Chula Vista and pay $550,000 in a suit brought on behalf of Trevor Burfitt, a Catholic priest in Bakersfield.[24] In total, California paid over $2 million in lawsuits because the leadership of the State acted illegally, overstepping Constitutional authority. If that was not enough, the State of California and its agencies agreed “to enter permanent injunctions that prohibit the State from ever again imposing discriminatory restrictions on all houses of worship statewide.”[25] If you are trying to make sense of all of that information, here is a simple summary, the State of California and the County of Los Angeles had to admit they acted unlawfully and unconstitutionally in their COVID-19 restrictions on churches.

John received serious criticism from other Christians and Christian ministries (one of those notably was 9Marks) over non-adherence to COVID-19 lockdowns.[26] In September 2020, one month after Grace Community Church sued California and the County of Los Angeles, Capitol Hill Baptist Church (pastored by Mark Dever, who also at the time was President of 9Marks) sued the Mayor of Washington, D.C., over lockdown measures.[27] The church won its lawsuit and was awarded $220,000 for legal fees.[28] So, some of the men who publicly and forcefully disagreed with MacArthur and Grace Community Church came to the same conclusion one month later. Praise the Lord for his abundant goodness!

I know that many would like to forget that period of time.[29] Winston Churchill, while addressing the House of Commons in 1948, said, “Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it.”[30] I mention this because we learn through the example of John MacArthur that faithfulness to the Lord over the long haul involves hardship, criticism, and at times loss. We endure the loss of friendships, reputation, and other opportunities. This is the cost of Christian faithfulness (1 Pet. 3:13-17; 4:1-19). Serving and glorifying Christ is the most worthy pursuit, regardless of the cost (Phil. 1:21). On April 23, 1910, President Theodore Roosevelt delivered a speech entitled “Citizenship In A Republic.” It included a portion that has become commonly known as The Man In The Arena. In that portion of his speech, Roosevelt said, “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”[31] We need only to survey the pages of Scripture to learn that every faithful man of God has had his critics. John MacArthur, over the years of his life and ministry, had critics. One thing is also sure: John MacArthur, by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, was a man in the arena. May God, in his grace, raise up more men like John MacArthur who will be in the arena for the glory of Christ.

[1] https://www.oneplace.com/ministries/portraits-of-grace/

[2] https://www.gty.org/

[3] https://www.gty.org/articles/A149/evangelicals-and-catholics-together

[4] https://tms.edu/news/a-tribute-to-my-friend-john-macarthur-remembers-r-c-sproul/

[5] https://www.gty.org/blogs/B150227/seeker-vs-sinner

https://www.gty.org/blogs/B160120/ask-jesus-into-your-heart
https://www.challies.com/interviews/5-more-questions-with-john-macarthur/

[6] https://www.gracechurch.org/leader/macarthur/john

[7] https://www.gty.org/blogs/B200723/christ-not-caesar-is-head-of-the-church

[8] https://www.thomasmoresociety.org/case/cases-los-angeles-county-v-grace-community-church

[9] https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/63d954d4e4ad424df7819d46/667340221c971de2a85bee39_MacArthur-Ex.-5-1_Cease-and-Desist-Letter.pdf

https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/63d954d4e4ad424df7819d46/667d8b8bb7efeb7913f22c39_20STCV30695-LA-SC-8-25-20.pdf

[10] https://cbn.com/news/us/john-macarthur-files-declaration-against-los-angeles-repeated-church-closure-attacks

[11] https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/63d954d4e4ad424df7819d46/667dbb058c536a205bc134c8_Grace-Community-Church-Letter-for-County-of-LA.pdf

https://www.facebook.com/groups/MacArthur.111/posts/3829680747047984

[12] https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/63d954d4e4ad424df7819d46/667dbb058c536a205bc134c8_Grace-Community-Church-Letter-for-County-of-LA.pdf

[13] https://www.thomasmoresociety.org/news/los-angeles-county-yanks-parking-lot-lease-out-from-under-pastor-john-macarthur-and-church

[14]https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2019078561549227&id=154851931305242&m_entstream_source=timeline

[15] https://www.newsweek.com/doj-accuses-california-governor-newsom-discriminating-against-religion-tells-state-reopen-1505294

[16] https://www.thomasmoresociety.org/news/pastor-john-macarthur-and-grace-community-church-sue-state-of-california

[17] https://www.thomasmoresociety.org/news/big-religious-liberty-win-for-john-macarthur-and-grace-church

[18] https://californiaglobe.com/fr/grace-community-church-wins-against-gov-newsoms-attacks-on-religious-liberty

[19] https://www.gracechurch.org/news/posts/2228

[20] https://www.newsweek.com/church-that-defied-gavin-newsoms-covid-rules-get-800k-legal-settlement-1624801

[21] https://essentialchurchmovie.com/

[22] https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/article247507750.html

[23] https://www.npr.org/2021/02/06/964822479/supreme-court-rules-against-california-ban-on-in-person-worship-amid-the-pandemi

[24] https://cbn.com/news/us/california-gets-another-multi-million-dollar-smackdown-discriminating-against-churches

[25] https://www.thomasmoresociety.org/case/cases-los-angeles-county-v-grace-community-church

[26] https://www.9marks.org/article/a-time-for-civil-disobedience-a-response-to-john-macarthur/

https://www.9marks.org/episode/episode-140-a-conversation-about-grace-community-churchs-statement-on-civil-disobedience/

https://www.9marks.org/article/further-reflections-on-recent-conversations-about-christian-freedom/

[27] https://www.christianpost.com/news/capitol-hill-baptist-sues-dc-mayor-over-ban-on-outdoor-worship-with-over-100-people.html

https://context-cdn.washingtonpost.com/notes/prod/default/documents/eecc2501-3017-43a4-97fd-c8b7f579497c/note/2cf9ae61-0a27-41f8-aa3a-d0cc4d520c0d.#page=1

[28] https://www.christianpost.com/news/dc-to-pay-220k-for-restricting-in-person-worship-of-church.html

[29] https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/10/covid-response-forgiveness/671879/

https://www.christianitytoday.com/2023/06/covid-19-pandemic-amnesty-masks-vaccine-lockdown-church/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/interactive/2025/covid-pandemic-anniversary-lessons/

[30] https://winstonchurchill.org/resources/in-the-media/churchill-in-the-news/folger-library-churchills-shakespeare/

[31] https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/address-the-sorbonne-paris-france-citizenship-republic

1 Corinthians 7:27-28 – A Limited Case for Divorce and Remarriage

/ Christopher Terry / 18 Comments

The issue of divorce and remarriage continues to be hotly debated among evangelical Christians, and this has led to a great deal of confusion.1 Scripture supplies two allowances for believers to divorce their spouse which are: being abandoned by an unbelieving spouse (1Cor. 7:15), and unrepentant sexual immorality by the spouse (Matt. 5:31-32; 19:4-9). It should be mentioned that although sexual immorality by one’s spouse allows for divorce, it does not demand it (Matt. 18:21-22; 1 Cor. 7:10-11; Eph. 4:26-27, 29-32; 5:22-23). The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that there is a limited allowance for divorce and remarriage found in 1 Corinthians 7:27-28. Specifically, it allows for those who have been divorced prior to conversion to remarry and by extension those believers who have been divorced because an unbelieving spouse abandoned them. Stated another way, in Corinth the situation was unique and does not provide a blanket approval for all divorce and remarriage.

It is clear that Scripture permits divorce and remarriage, but it is questionable that 1 Corinthians 7:27-28 supplies permission to do so. Scholars differ on their interpretation of this passage. For instance, Craig Keener believes the verses which mention those “released from a wife” refer to divorced men.2 Thus, the argument goes that divorced men may take advantage of Paul’s permissive statement in verse 28 “if you marry, you have not sinned.” John MacArthur also interprets the verses to refer to permission for men to remarry who were divorced prior to conversion.3 Yet, one must examine the surrounding contextual argument which Paul is setting forth. He begins chapter seven by proposing marriage as a deterrent for sexual immorality and issues proper guidelines for sexual relations in a marriage relationship (vv. 1-7). The apostle makes the statement that he desires all believers to be unmarried, but he makes clear that this is not a command (vv.6-7). It must be acknowledged that Paul realizes that being single is not for everyone (v. 7b). This sets forth a Pauline principle of blessing being found in singleness.

Next, Paul deals with the unmarried and the widows (vv.8-9). The word translated (unmarried) is from the root word agamo~, which generally referred to men and women who were single.4 He encourages those who are single and the widows to remain single (v. 8). Again, the apostles suggests singleness as a more desirable choice. Yet, he repeats that singleness is not for everyone and encourages those who have strong sexual desires to marry (v. 9).

In the next section, Paul instructs married believers to remain married to their unbelieving spouse unless the unbelieving spouse deserts the marriage, in which case they are free to divorce and remarry (vv. 10-16). This provides a second allowance for divorce and remarriage- abandonment by an unbelieving spouse. In such cases believers are not bound to the marriage relationship.

Following his instruction to believers who are married to unbelievers, the apostle addresses a variety of issues which include circumcision and slavery (vv. 17-24). In Corinth there were some who were circumcised, uncircumcised, slaves, and free men. Upon accepting Christ they were uncertain what to do about these preexisting life-situations. Paul declares that even though so many things have changed because of their relationship with Christ they should not force a change in their status because ultimately such things were irrelevant (vv. 19-20, 24).

After addressing these life-situation issues, Paul speaks of what virgins are to do (vv. 25-38). The question had arisen in Corinth about whether believers should seek to marry or not. Since this was not a situation faced by Christ during His earthly ministry, the apostle acknowledges that Christ did not speak directly about the issue but Paul (under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit) gives his view about what is proper (v.25).5 He issues four reasons why virgins should remain unmarried: the present crisis (v.26); Christ’s return (vv.29-31); undistracted devotion to Christ (vv. 32-35); and increased happiness (vv. 39-40). Therefore, he says “because of the present distress: it is fine for a man to stay as he is” (v. 26 HCSB). The context clarifies what is meant by introducing the categories of married and unmarried (v. 27). The real issue is that Paul tells those who are “bound” (dedesai – 2nd person singular perfect passive indicative)6 not to seek to be “loosed” (lusivn – noun, feminine singular accusative)7 and then tells those who are “loosed” (lelusai -2nd person singular perfect passive indicative)8 from a wife not to seek a wife. It is clear that a man who is bound to wife refers to a married man9, which also means that for a man who is married to seek to be loosed means he would seek to divorce his wife. Yet the pertinent question is, does Paul refer to divorcées in his second question, “Are you loosed from a wife?”

The words translated “loosed” in the verse are both from the same root word. One is a noun form and the other is a verb form. So, if one is consistent is consistent in translation within the verse, one would conclude that Paul is instructing married men not to divorce and divorced men not to remarry. Where this becomes problematic for some is that verse 28 declares that those who have been “loosed from a wife” may marry and not sin by doing so. The question is, does this refer to divorcées? Keener and MacArthur believe so because they understand the two forms of the word translated “loosed” as referring to divorce.1011 Admittedly, MacArthur is more restrictive in his interpretation as noted earlier.

Conversely, D.A. Carson and William Heth12 believe that the verbal form translated “loosed” refers to a betrothed man who had not yet married his betrothed.13 Therefore, Paul is teaching betrothed males not to proceed to the stage of marriage because of the four reasons mentioned earlier: the present crisis (v.26); Christ’s return (vv.29-31); undistracted devotion to Christ (vv. 32-35); and increased happiness (vv. 39-40). They believe that Paul is referring to virgins and betrothed males because of the immediate context (vv. 25-38).14

Does one give more weight to the larger context (vv. 1-40) and to consistency of translation within the verse (v. 27) or the immediate context (vv. 25-38)? Carson and Heth prefer giving more weight to the immediate context of the passage and therefore interpret the “loosed” to refer to the betrothed. But, Keener and MacArthur ascribe more weight to the larger context (vv. 1-40) and to a consistency of translation within the verse (v. 27) thus viewing the “loosed” as divorcées. So, which is the most likely interpretation?

Paul has set forth the principle of remaining in the state each believer was found when he believed in Christ. Further, he proposes it would be more beneficial to remain unmarried.15 Yet, these general principles do not solve the interpretive problem of whether the “loosed” refer to divorcées or virgins and betrothed men.16 So, one must investigate further to arrive at a conclusion. In examining the passage Paul begins in verse 25 by addressing what virgins are to do and deals almost exclusively with this issue through verse 38. He also specifically addresses widows in this section, but it is by far a lesser focus (vv. 39-40). The first paragraph in this section outlines how virgins and the unmarried are to approach marriage in view of their present circumstances (vv. 25-31).17 After the apostle provides suggestions for these two groups he instructs them that being unmarried will provide them with a greater opportunity to serve Christ without distraction (vv. 32-35). He continues this consistency of thinking when he advises betrothed men not to seek the next step of marriage if they are able to remain sexually pure in a single state (vv. 36-38). Again, Paul is setting forth the principle of the blessings of singleness. He is most concerned with instructing the single Corinthians to maintain undistracted devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ. One must recognize that the apostle clearly mentions that if the betrothed man chooses to marry his virgin he has not sinned.18

The larger context of chapter seven must be considered in this discussion (vv. 1-40). Paul is instructing new believers how to conduct themselves as Christians. These new believers were found in various life-situations when they believed the gospel. Some were ready to abandon their life-situations because they were now followers of Christ. Paul writes to caution them about abandoning all areas of their former lives. He teaches that married couples are not to deprive one another sexually (vv. 1-7). The apostle then advises the unmarried and the widows to remain single, but if necessary they may marry to remain sexually pure (vv. 8-9). Next, he addresses married male and female believers by instructing them not to divorce (vv. 10-11; Matt. 5:32; 19:3-9). Paul begins to address a situation which had arisen in Corinth when one spouse converted to Christ and the other did not (vv. 12-16). The believing spouse was not to divorce the unbelieving spouse, unless the unbeliever abandoned the believer. In such a case, the believer was free from the marriage (“not under bondage in such cases”). The Corinthian church knew that a believer was not to marry a non-believer (2 Cor. 6:14-18) and were prepared to divorce their unbelieving spouses. They are commanded not to do so.

Following this, Paul addresses the issues of slavery and circumcision (vv. 17-24). The new believer is not to undo/do things in his life which are unnecessary. Instead, he is to obey God’s Word in the life-situation in which he was saved (vv. 19-20, 24). Then Paul speaks to the issue of virgins, the unmarried, and widows (vv. 25-40). He informs them that they will be better off remaining single. But, if they do choose to marry they have not sinned. In the larger context of the chapter, the “unmarried” appears to refer to those who were divorced prior to conversion and were currently unmarried. It would also apply by extension to those believers who had been abandoned or would be abandoned by an unbelieving spouse. Those who were currently “bound to a wife” had entered into marriage at a time in the past and were still married at the time of Paul’s writing as indicated grammatically (dedesai – 2nd person singular perfect passive indicative, “bound”). Those who were currently “loosed from a wife” had been released from marriage at a time in the past and were still currently unmarried at the time of Paul’s writing (lelusai – 2nd person singular perfect passive indicative, “loosed”). Paul began to address what virgins and the betrothed were to do now that they had converted to Christ (v. 25) and what he appears to do is to present a general principle, which encompasses individuals outside of the categories of virgin and betrothed (vv. 26-31). As a result of the current circumstances in Corinth he tells the married to remain married (“do not seek to be released”) and the divorced (“released from a wife”) not to get married (v. 27). He has already prefaced this statement with the principle of remaining in the life-situation in which one is found (vv. 8, 17, 20, 24, 26). As one considers the principle of remaining in the life-situation in which he was found upon conversion, in relation to those individuals who have been “loosed from a wife” one must recognize that such men have been divorced prior to conversion. The principle would also apply to those who had been abandoned or would be abandoned by an unbelieving spouse (vv. 12-16). Paul encourages those men who were divorced prior to conversion to remain unmarried, so they would be able to serve Christ without distraction (vv. 26-27, 32-35). Yet, if such men do marry they have not committed sin (vv. 27-28). Paul distinguishes between virgins and the divorcees in his allowance for marriage (vv. 27-28).

The larger context of chapter seven speaks of not abandoning the life-situation in which one was found when conversion occurred (vv. 1-40). In reference to marriage, Paul highlights the benefits of singleness but recognizes all may not be so equipped. Therefore, he instructs the virgins, the widows, and the unmarried. The larger context identifies those who have been “released from a wife” as being individuals who had been divorced prior to conversion and by application those who have been abandoned by an unbelieving spouse (vv. 15, 27). Paul says that such individuals may remarry (v. 28). The purpose of this paper has been to demonstrate that there is a limited allowance for divorce and remarriage found in 1 Corinthians 7:27-28. Specifically, it allows for those who have been divorced prior to conversion to remarry and by extension those believers who have been divorced because an unbelieving spouse abandoned them. Stated another way, in Corinth the situation was unique and does not provide a blanket approval for all divorce and remarriage.

WORKS CITED

Bauer, Walter, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, trans. William F. Arndt and F. Wilbur Gingrich, 3rd ed., rev. and aug. Frederick W. Danker (Chicago, Ill: Univ. of Chicago Press, 2000).

Büchsel, Friedrich, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Vols. 5-9 Edited by Gerhard Friedrich. Vol. 10 Compiled by Ronald Pitkin., ed. Gerhard Kittel, Geoffrey William Bromiley and Gerhard Friedrich (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1964-c1976).

Carson, D. A., New Bible Commentary : 21st Century Edition, Rev. Ed. of: The New Bible Commentary. 3rd Ed. / Edited by D. Guthrie, J.A. Motyer. 1970., 4th ed. (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill., USA: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994).

Hawthorne, G.F., “Marriage and Divorce, Adultery and Incest,” in Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, ed. Gerald F. Hawthorne, Ralph P. Martin, and Daniel G. Reid ( Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill., USA: Inter-Varsity Press, 1993).

Heth, William, “Remarriage for Adultery or Desertion,” in Remarriage After Divorce in Today’s Church: 3 Views, ed. Paul Engle, and Mark L. Strauss (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2006).

“Another Look at the Erasmian View of Divorce and Remarriage” JETS 25/3 (September 1982).

Jamieson, Robert, A. R. Fausset, A. R. Fausset et al., A Commentary, Critical and Explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments, On Spine: Critical and Explanatory Commentary. (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997).

Keener, Craig S. and InterVarsity Press, The IVP Bible Background Commentary : New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993).

Liddell, H.G., A Lexicon : Abridged from Liddell and Scott’s Greek-English Lexicon (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1996).

Louw, Johannes P. and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament : Based on Semantic Domains, electronic ed. of the 2nd edition. (New York: United Bible societies, 1996, c1989).

MacArthur, John, “Jesus’ Teaching on Divorce, Part 6” http://www.gty.org/Resources/Sermons/2341_Jesus-Teaching-on-Divorce-Part-6 COPYRIGHT (C) 2009 Grace to You.

Polhill, John B., “1 Corinthians: A Church Divided,” ch. 12 of Paul & His Letters (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 1999).

Quinn, Lance, “Common Questions Regarding Divorce and Remarriage,” article found at http://www.gty.org/Resources/Articles/A377_Common-Questions-Regarding- Divorce-and-Remarriage q=divorce+and+remarriage COPYRIGHT (C) 2009 Grace to You.

Swanson, James, Dictionary of Biblical Languages With Semantic Domains : Greek (New Testament), electronic ed. (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997).

Walvoord, John F., Roy B. Zuck and Dallas Theological Seminary, The Bible Knowledge Commentary : An Exposition of the Scriptures (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1983-c1985).

1William A. Heth, “Another Look at the Erasmian View of Divorce and Remarriage” JETS 25/3 (September 1982), 263-272. Heth has since changed his interpretation to a selectively restrictive view.

2Craig S. Keener and InterVarsity Press, The IVP Bible Background Commentary : New Testament (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 1 Co 7:27.

3John MacArthur, “Jesus’ Teaching on Divorce, Part 6” http://www.gty.org/Resources/Sermons/2341_Jesus-Teaching-on-Divorce-Part-6 COPYRIGHT (C) 2009 Grace to You.

4Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, trans. William F. Arndt and F. Wilbur Gingrich, 3rd ed., rev. and aug. Frederick W. Danker (Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 2000), 5.

5John F. Walvoord, Roy B. Zuck and Dallas Theological Seminary, The Bible Knowledge Commentary : An Exposition of the Scriptures (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1983-c1985), 2:519.

6James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages With Semantic Domains : Greek (New Testament), electronic ed. (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), DBLG 1313, #7.

7Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament : Based on Semantic Domains, electronic ed. of the 2nd edition. (New York: United Bible societies, 1996, c1989), 1:456.

8Friedrich Büchsel Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Vols. 5-9 Edited by Gerhard Friedrich. Vol. 10 Compiled by Ronald Pitkin., ed. Gerhard Kittel, Geoffrey William Bromiley and Gerhard Friedrich (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1964-c1976), 4:335-336.

9H.G. Liddell, A Lexicon : Abridged from Liddell and Scott’s Greek-English Lexicon (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1996), 181.

10Craig S. Keener and InterVarsity Press, The IVP Bible Background Commentary : New Testament (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 1 Co 7:27.

11John MacArthur, “Jesus’ Teaching on Divorce, Part 6” http://www.gty.org/Resources/Sermons/2341_Jesus-Teaching-on-Divorce-Part-6 COPYRIGHT (C) 2009 Grace to You.

12William Heth, “Remarriage for Adultery or Desertion,” in Remarriage After Divorce in Today’s Church: 3 Views, ed. Paul Engle, and Mark L. Strauss (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006), 129.

13D. A. Carson, New Bible Commentary : 21st Century Edition, Rev. Ed. of: The New Bible Commentary. 3rd Ed. / Edited by D. Guthrie, J.A. Motyer. 1970., 4th ed. (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill., USA: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994), 1 Co 7:25.

14G.F. Hawthorne, “Marriage and Divorce, Adultery and Incest,” in Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, ed. Gerald F. Hawthorne, Ralph P. Martin, and Daniel G. Reid ( Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill., USA: Inter-Varsity Press, 1993), 594-601.

15Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, A. R. Fausset et al., A Commentary, Critical and Explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments, On Spine: Critical and Explanatory Commentary. (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), 1 Co 7:27.

16Lance Quinn, “Common Questions Regarding Divorce and Remarriage,” article found at http://www.gty.org/Resources/Articles/A377_Common-Questions-Regarding- Divorce-and-Remarriage q=divorce+and+remarriage COPYRIGHT (C) 2009 Grace to You. Quinn states that the “unmarried” were divorced prior to conversion and only they are permitted to remarry. He is one of MacArthur’s associates.

17John B. Polhill, “1 Corinthians: A Church Divided,” ch. 12 of Paul & His Letters (Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1999), 240-41.

18D. A. Carson, New Bible Commentary : 21st Century Edition, Rev. Ed. of: The New Bible Commentary. 3rd Ed. / Edited by D. Guthrie, J.A. Motyer. 1970., 4th ed. (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill., USA: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994), 1 Co 7:36.

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