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Jumpstarter 9 of 10

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The Life of the Early Christians  /  Divorce and Remarriage  /  Discussion Questions
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Question 9
Several early sources David quotes (Hermas, Apostolic Constitutions, Tertullian) go beyond “permission” and describe an obligation to put away an ongoing adulterous wife—yet forbid the husband from remarrying and urge receiving her back if she repents; how does that combination (severity toward ongoing sin + openness to repentance + no remarriage) challenge modern categories like “boundaries,” “closure,” and “moving on”?
Another way to ask: How does this idea hit you: separate from an unfaithful spouse, don’t remarry, and take them back if they repent? How does that challenge modern ideas like “boundaries,” “closure,” and “moving on”?

Direct Answer David shows the early Christians combined firm separation from ongoing adultery with a posture that still aimed at repentance and possible reconciliation—without solving the pain by remarriage. That challenges modern instincts to seek “closure” by starting over, because their model holds the covenant open while refusing to tolerate unrepentant sin.

Support from Transcript:

  • Hermas: if the husband knows and she “does not repent but persists,” and he continues with her, “he is also guilty… a sharer in her adultery.”
  • Hermas instructs: “The husband should put her away and remain by himself,” and if he “marries another, he also commits adultery.”
  • Hermas adds repentance: if she repents and wants to return, “If the husband does not take her back, he sins… For he should take back the sinner who has repented.”
  • David notes the logic: the husband should not remarry “so that hopefully she will repent and come back.”
  • Apostolic Constitutions: retaining an adulteress is “foolish and impious,” yet also warns against putting away a blameless wife, tying both to “what God has joined together.”
Discussion Follow-ups How do we distinguish “not enabling sin” from “keeping the door open to repentance”? What does “remain by himself” imply about the cost of obedience?

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