Page 34 - The Marriage Covenant

Paul says a man must be “temperate,” which is to say, “showing moderation,” and this
statement immediately follows his instructions regarding having one wife. A temperate
man, demonstrating moderation, will not seek to have many wives. His focus will be upon
the things of God rather than the things of the world.
The apostle Paul then goes on to speak of other areas in which those who are leaders
in the church must demonstrate moderation, including their attitude toward drink, toward
money, and in their abstaining from an excess of anger.
A Christian man does not commit adultery by having more than one wife, but his
interests are divided. He must consider how to please his wives, as well as how to please
God. The more wives he has, the less able he is to devote himself to spiritual things.
I do not doubt that what has been stated here, namely that a Christian man is
permitted to have more than one wife, will appear to some as error. The society we live in
exerts a very strong influence upon our thoughts and opinions. What I am setting forth is
a Biblical world view, not a present day world view. There are many discrepancies between
current practice and values and the word of God, and these differences extend even to the
church. The church has abandoned the admonition to “rightly divide the word of God.” The
members of the church judge many things by the counsel of their own souls.
Whether the church and society recognizes it or not, polygamy is practiced by a great
number of people in Western society. Polygamy, by God’s definition, is the law of the land
in America. How is this so? Western society condones divorce and remarriage. The numbers
of divorced and remarried people is very high, indeed the number of people practicing serial
polygamy in the West exceeds those practicing polygamy in other societies where it is an
acceptable custom.
In the eyes of God, a man and woman who are married and then divorce, are yet
married. The only thing that can terminate the marriage is death.

Romans 7:1-2
Or do you not know, brethren (for I am speaking to those who know the law), that
the law has jurisdiction over a person as long as he lives? For the married woman is
bound by law to her husband while he is living; but if her husband dies, she is
released from the law concerning the husband.

Paul is speaking here of the Law of God, not the law of man. The Law of God says a
man and woman who have entered into the covenant of marriage continue in that marriage
as long as they both shall live. Though the laws of the nations today declare otherwise, we
must agree with God. Therefore, any man who divorces, and then takes another wife while
his first wife yet lives, is a polygamist. If the second wife has never been married, then he
is only a polygamist, and not an adulterer. Yet, if she was formerly married, and her spouse
is living, the man and the woman are both polygamists and adulterers. This is the teaching
of the word of God.
Keep in mind, a man being a polygamist, though looked upon as a great transgression
in many societies today, is nowhere condemned by God. The Law of God provided
guidelines for men who took more than one wife, but never forbade them from doing so. A
man may be a Christian today and have more than one wife, but he cannot be an elder,
overseer, or deacon. These positions require a devotion to God that is not possible when a
man has multiple wives to care for, nor is he demonstrating a pattern of moderation and
self-control.