HOW I SEE THE SCRIPTURES ON DIVORCE AND REMARRIAGE

I might as well start at the beginning. 

As you will recall from the last post, it was my belief about divorce and remarriage that got me started on my personal journey of rethinking my theology in 1980, so I will deal with that issue first.

What DOES the scripture say about it? I have gone the gamut from believing back in 1958, when I first started pastoring, that marriage was nothing more than a legal status and I was simply doing my civic duty when I performed one, to believing there is no scriptural grounds for divorce whatsoever and there is certainly no right for remarriage if a marriage contract was ever broken. It was this latter belief that I held in 1980 when my journey began. 

Now to what I believe today.

It is perfectly clear to all of us, I would think, that according to scripture no one should approach the marriage covenant casually. "What God has joined__no one is to see themselves as having the "power to tear it asunder"__ is serious stuff in the scriptures.  

Having said that, I have found it to be true that in scripture divorce does not turn a person into a leper. That must never be forgotten. In fact, in the sacred text those hurting the most, and divorce does hurt everyone involved generally, are the very ones to whom Jesus gave His greatest attention and the full measure of His genuine abounding love and compassion was experienced by the wounded. So, to see any divorce action as invalidating the worth of an individual and making them an object to be scorned, is certainly contrary to everything that is godly and biblical. 

It is always wise to remember as well that marriage is not intended for every human being as seen in the fact that our Lord Himself was single, Marriage is not God's way of making a person complete as we are complete in Christ whether ever married or not. Then remember too that the marriage covenant is not to be viewed as an eternal covenant as there is no marriage in heaven or in the coming Kingdom of God.

All this said, it is especially needful to remember, as already mentioned above, that biblical marriage is a covenant relationship at heart. We find both Jesus and His instructions concerning adultery and Paul in giving the Corinthians some instructions on desertion of a spouse, reflecting on the covenant nature of the marriage union that is to be lifelong in duration.

Someone pointed out that there are several reasons for this kind of covenant marriage biblically, and I quote.

 "Marriage is intended as a spiritual partnership and the provision of mutual edification for both husband and wife while doing the will of God. [Genesis 2:18-25; Ephesians 5:22-23; 1 Peter 3:1-7]  God intends it for the procreation of children and the nurturing of the family relationships as well. [Genesis. 1:26-28]  Marriage is intended to also be for the development of a couple in intimacy both spiritually and physically. [Genesis 1:18-25] Then there is the New Testament added purpose stated by Paul as a protection against lust, immorality, and sexual temptations. [1 Corinthians 7:1-9; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12]"

That's a mouthful!

This is not to say every married couple will be able to reproduce children biologically, But it is to say that children are not to be second class citizens to the marriage covenant whether embraced through birth, adoption or care-giving.

But the question at hand is, can the marriage covenant be legitimately broken, and if it can be, is there a right of remarriage? It seems to me there are only two reasons given biblically for legitimate divorce and the ending of a covenant vow of marriage. These two reasons are clearly set forth by the instructions of Jesus in the gospels and Paul in his Corinthian letter. [Matthew 5, 19 and 1 Corinthians 7 respectively.] Sexual immorality and desertion are those two grounds.

Of course a marriage is ended by death, ipso facto [by that fact alone], but for a marriage to end otherwise, scripturally at least, many believe it to be as A.A. Hodge said years ago, “Divine law about divorce is that marriage is a contract for life between one man and one woman... and the only causes upon which any civil authority can dissolve the union of those whom God has joined together are (a) adultery, (b) willful, causeless, and incurable desertion.”

I want to briefly look at those two reasons for divorce and their implications for marriage and remarriage, by looking at the biblical texts and their teachings in a very simple way. This is not a theological white paper remember, but a blog post.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus Christ said the following: “It was also said, ‘whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery” (Matt. 5:31–32).

There were two different and distinct Greek words used that show what Jesus was actually saying and are often not seen in English. They are "porneia" and "moichao". "Everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of porneia (sexual immorality), makes her moichao (commit adultery)."  That first word, "porneia" expresses ideas about all kinds of illicit sex outside the bounds of a monogamous marriage. It comes from a family of porn-words in Greek that describes all types of illicit sex. The Greek verb porneuo (to fornicate) is related to the Greek words porneo (harlot), pornos (fornicator), and porneia (fornication) that were prevalent in that Roman culture. By implication, incest and a host of other modern sexual activity might apply here as well.

The second word is more specific. Moichao is a verb used for adultery in marriage. It means to “have sex with someone other than the spouse to whom you are married.” The cognate of the verb, moicheia, always referred to adultery and nothing else. This difference is to be understood when teaching about biblical grounds for a marriage ending. That sexual reason is MORE than simply an act of adultery in the popular sense.

Later in His ministry Jesus expounded on this viewpoint. [Matthew 19:1–12]  The issue of divorce was raised by the Pharisees who ask Jesus, “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?”

On the occasion of that question Jesus went on to give an overview about marriage. He pointed out that from the beginning of creation, God has always intended a marriage to be between one man and one woman as a lifetime commitment. [Genesis 2:18–25]. Then He showed that Moses did not prescribe divorce as God's desire at all, but rather it was given by Moses because of the “hardness of the heart” of the people. [Deuteronomy 24:1–4.] In fact, the “certificate of divorce” was intended by Moses to make divorce more difficult to obtain, not to facilitate a dissolution of marriage.

Jesus  goes on to say that only porneia or moicheia (sexual activity outside of marriage) are acceptable grounds for divorce. No one is saying that there is a command to dissolve the marriage intended here because of adultery, simply the right to do so if it comes to that. He concludes it all by saying [and here's the thing that is tough for many to swallow] that those who divorce each other for any reason other than for sexual infidelity create a case of moicheia (specific act of adultery) being committed by a both parties in a new marriage. 

There is one other biblical ground for a legitimate divorce as seen by AA Hodge and many others and that is willful desertion that cannot be remedied. Jesus did not speak to this ground for divorce, but the Apostle Paul did in 1 Corinthians 7.

Some view this ground as inferior to that of adultery and a few even reject willful desertion as a biblical ground for divorce all together. I would think that one’s view of Scripture will affect their position on this issue. If a person accepts the inspiration and infallibility of the Scriptures as a whole, then it cannot stand that what Jesus said in Matthew carries more authority than what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians. Both times instruction was spoken from God (2 Pet. 1:21) and both complement each other’s teaching in reflecting the Holy Spirit’s inspiration (2 Tim. 3:16–17).

My understanding of Scripture places the statement of Jesus and Paul on equal ground as Truth. Both are the inspired Word of God. For me, this means I accept it when Paul says that willful and impenitent desertion is a ground for divorce equal to that of adultery as Paul clearly stated in 1 Corinthians 7:10–16.

When you read that 1 Corinthians 7 passage at your leisure, I think you will find as I did that Paul’s instructions are pretty straightforward as he sets forth several things concerning marriage, desertion, and divorce.

One is that husbands and wives should not leave (desert) or seek to divorce their spouses (1 Cor. 7:10–11).  But he does show that if a person does leave a spouse for a reason other than adultery, that person should be reconciled to his/her spouse or he/she should remain separated without seeking divorce and remarrying (1 Cor. 7:11).

Another point he makes is if a Christian is married to an unbeliever (non-Christian person), the believer should not leave nor put away the unbelieving spouse if that spouse is content to remain married (1 Cor. 7:12–14, 16). But if an unbelieving spouse does leave and does seek a divorce, then the Christian in that marriage is “not enslaved” (i.e., not bound to remain married), and may consent to the divorce with the right to remarry since that's the only reason being released from the bondage of the marriage vows would be mentioned (1 Cor. 7:15).

In summary, Paul teaches that Christians, even those “unequally yoked with unbelievers” (2 Cor. 6:14), should always do all they can to preserve their marriages, both for the honor of Christ and for the spiritual good of spouse and children (1 Cor. 7:14). But if the non-Christian spouse decides either to desert the marriage or to seek divorce, the Christian does not need to work to preserve the marriage.

The believer is free to grant a divorce or seek a divorce on the basis of “willful desertion”; and, having been granted that divorce, is free to remarry—but only to a fellow Christian. The deserted and divorced spouse falls into the same category as a widowed person: free to remarry, but “only in the Lord,” that is, to another Christian (1 Corinthians 7:39–40).

Paul's review in 1 Corinthians 7 is one that covers the entire scope of what is to be the Christian's view of marriage, divorce, and remarriage. He sets forth a very demanding and difficult charge to his fellow Christians: they were to remain married as much as possible and as long as possible, because the gospel of Christ has called us to peace (1 Corinthians. 7:15).

In so doing, Paul sets forth several general guidelines.  One writer I read said it this way, "Paul, in the spirit of Jesus Christ, seeks not to make divorce easier for people, but rather to regulate divorce in this broken world in which we live and certainly does hold Christians to a higher standard while allowing for the fact that human depravity and sin that may often make marriage impossible to sustain, and his teaching, like Christ’s, reflects the beautiful combination of a high view of God’s will, a measure of sympathetic grace, and wisdom in the face of the realistic facts of life."

That writer concludes by saying this, "In a broken world, holiness may be more difficult to find than happiness. But it is holiness that is our calling as Christians in marriage, and not happiness. We may not like that message, but it is biblical." I concur with this wholeheartedly.

While this is true, I think it bears repeating what I said earlier in this post and those previous words I give here as a quote, may even be a good ending word to this whole issue.

"I have found it to be true that in scripture divorce does not turn a person into a leper. In fact, in the sacred text those hurting the most, and divorce does hurt everyone involved generally, are the very ones to whom Jesus gave His greatest attention and the full measure of His genuine abounding love and compassion was experienced. So, to see any divorce action as invalidating the worth of an individual and making them an object to be scorned, is certainly contrary to everything that is godly and biblical."

May those who've been wounded by divorce experience from ALL BELIEVERS nothing less than the full measure of His love and compassion as well.


Paul B.