"I'm getting a divorce,
but I don't plan to marry again." These words are being heard with
increasing frequency. Usually the spokesman is thinking that God allows the
right to divorce, but would disapprove remarriage. The truth is, however;
divorce itself is sinful unless it is for the cause of fornication.
Consider
Matthew 19:3-6.
The question originally asked Jesus by the Pharisees was not concerning
remarriage, but concerning divorce: "Is it lawful for a man to put away his
wife for every cause?" Jesus' reply to that question: "What therefore God
hath joined together, let not man put asunder." It was only after further
questioning that Jesus discussed the problem of remarriage and adultery.
Consider
Malachi 2:16.
"For the Lord, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away." Even
under the old covenant God did not approve of indiscriminate divorce. It is
likely that the "tears" of verse 12 which "covered the altar" and caused the
Lord to refuse their offering, were the tears of those who had been
wrongfully put away.
Consider
Matthew 5:32.
"Whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication,
causeth her to commit adultery." Observe the words, "causeth her" or "maketh
her" (ASV). This writer understands this verse to say that if one divorces
his wife he places her in a position of temptation to commit adultery, and
shares the guilt when she does commit adultery. On the other hand, if he
puts her away for the cause of fornication, he has put her away
legitimately, and shares no guilt in whatever adultery she may subsequently
commit.
Consider
1
Corinthians 7:16:
"And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife
depart from her husband." Observe the word "command" or "charge" (ASV). The
following verse (verse 11) does not negate or nullify this command, but
simply recognizes that one might disobey the Lord's command (in which case
he sins --
1
John 3:4), and
states his options if he has disobeyed. Not only does the Lord command
husband and wife to live together, but he commands them to meet one
another's physical needs
(1
Corinthians 7:3-5)
and to love one another
(Ephesians 5:25; Titus 2:4-5).
If one companion in a
marriage fails along these lines, the other must still be obedient to God,
seeking to be what He would have him or her to be in the marriage
relationship. Never should the thought of divorce or separation ever enter
the mind unless fornication occurs. We are not suggesting that divorce
itself is "adultery," but we are saying that divorce for any cause other
than fornication is sin. Christians must not be influenced by the loose
standards that prevail in the world in which they live.
