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Hebrews 13:4
Marriage is honorable in all and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and
adulterers God will judge. |
The scriptures
count divorce as a sin. The bible is very plain about this subject.
Christians do not get divorced. It takes a minimum of one sinner to make a
divorce.
In Genesis
God created the institution of marriage.
Genesis 2:24
Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto
his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
Moses wrote a law of divorce that people began to misuse.
Deuteronomy 24:1-2
1When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she
find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her:
then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and
send her out of his house. 2And when she is departed out of his house, she
may go and be another man’s wife.
The prophet Malachi cautioned the people not to use the law of divorce that
Moses had given without proper cause. God said he hated “putting away” or
divorce. God is seeking a “godly seed” who don't get divorced. Like I said earlier,
it takes a minimum of one sinner to make a divorce.
Malachi 2:14-16
14...the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth,
against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and
the wife of thy covenant. 15And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue
of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore
take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife
of his youth. 16For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth
putting away: (divorce) for one covereth violence with his garment, saith
the LORD of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not
treacherously.
In the New Testament, Jesus gave only one cause for divorce and it was when
one of the married persons committed adultery. This is the New Testament law
that we Christians must live by.
Matthew 19:3-9
3The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it
lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? 4And he answered and
said unto them,
Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning
made them male and female, 5And said, For this cause shall a man leave
father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one
flesh? 6Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God
hath joined together, let not man put asunder. 7They say unto him, Why did
Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?
8He saith unto them,
Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered
you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. 9And I say
unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication,
and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which
is put away doth commit adultery.
The Apostle Paul adding to this subject said if a person got divorced for
any other reason than adultery, then they were to remain unmarried or be
reconciled to their spouse. But Paul also said if the unbelieving depart
from a marriage then the Christian is "not under bondage" to that person.
This means a Christian is free to be divorced and remarried
if your
unbelieving spouse leaves you for no reason that you have caused.
1 Corinthians 7:10-15
10And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife
depart from her husband: 11But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried,
or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife.
12But to the rest speak I, not the Lord: If any brother hath a wife that
believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her
away. 13And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be
pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him. 14For the unbelieving
husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by
the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy. 15But
if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not
under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace.
Marrying A Divorced Person.
Jesus said not to marry a divorced person. He is obviously referring to
someone who did not have a divorce allowed by scripture. The people
who have been done wrong by someone is not in bondage to the evildoer.
There are two legal causes for divorce given in scripture:
If someone is
divorced because of one of these reasons, you can be remarried. You
are not in bondage to the person that did you wrong. You can go on
with life, which can include marriage.
But you should be careful about marrying a divorced person. You would
not want to marry someone who previously caused a divorce. Things done
before repentance and salvation don't count. Those things get
forgiven.
Divorce Not the Unpardonable Sin
Some people treat divorce like it was the unpardonable sin. Divorce
is a sin, but not the unpardonable sin.
It may become unpardonable if
you get divorced with the idea that God must forgive you no matter what you
do.
That’s called willful sin for which there is no forgiveness as stated in the
book of Hebrews.
Hebrews 10:26-27
26For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the
truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, 27But a certain fearful
looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the
adversaries.
What About Divorce Before You Became a Christian
At the time of repentance, your past sins are all forgiven, even if you were
married and divorced several times. But you must go forward in righteousness
when you repent whether single, married, divorced, or widowed.
After you
become a Christian you do not leave your present husband or wife for any
reason other than adultery. If you divorce your present spouse, you would be
committing a sin because divorce is a sin. If you are divorced at the time you repent and become a
Christian, your past divorce is forgiven and you are allowed to be
remarried, but as the scripture says, “only in the Lord.” Meaning you must
follow Christian principles in marriage, which includes the commandment not
to marry a divorced person unless they have a legal divorce allowed by
scripture.
If you are living with someone who is not your wife then you must leave the
person or marry them. You are married when the state government says
you are married and you are divorced when the state says you are divorced.
You cannot make up your own laws in these matters.
There are so many people messed up by marriage and divorce, you should be very
careful who you marry.
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