Can a person remarry after a divorce?

[AgnosticBoy]

Matthew 5:32 and 19:9 says that remarrying after a divorce commits adultery. But there is one exception. If the divorce was due to "sexual immorality", then a remarriage is not adultery.

BUT

Mark 10:11 and Luke 16:18 makes no exception. It just says that a person who remarries after a divorce is committing adultery.

I've read about this issue years ago, but I don't remember there being a consensus among Christians, especially if the person that left the marriage is a non-believer like in 1 Corinthians 7:12, 13, 15.

Relevant Passages:
Matthew 19:9
I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”

Mark 10:11
He answered, “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her.

Luke 16:18
“Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

1 Corinthians 7:12-13, 15
12 To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. 13 And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him.
15 But if the unbeliever leaves, let it be so. The brother or the sister is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace.

Other relevant passage:
Jeremiah 3:1
“If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him and marries another man, should he return to her again? Would not the land be completely defiled?


I think this can create a stumbling block for those already in the faith or for those looking to join. I also think that those who have already broken this rule would probably want to interpret the passage more loosely, while others may want stricter interpretation.

For Debate:
1. Is it moral for a Christian or anyone else to remarry after a divorce?
2. Why is the exception only found in Matthew and not the other Gospels?

 

[Scooter]

Divorce among Christians is a hot topic. Unfortunately, many legalistic believers see divorce as the unpardonable sin. The only justifiable reasons for divorce is for adultery or if a nonbeliever leaves a believer. So, any other reason would be sinful. However, all sins can be forgiven if a person repents and seeks forgiveness. This is an issue I have struggled with for years because I have been divorced. I got married at a very young age to a woman from another country who I met while serving overseas. It was a huge mistake for both of us. After seven years of marriage, she went back to her home country and I eventually married my high school sweetheart. When I began to feel God calling me into the ministry, I resisted for several months because I had been taught that a divorced/remarried man could not be in the ministry. After much prayer I finally surrendered to God's call. However, many other Christians have rejected my calling from God. I have had several churches be quite nasty to me because I have been divorced. I don't take their nastiness personal. I realize they are trapped in the same legalism I was brought up in. I do find their silence interesting when I point out that God, Himself, has been divorced...

Isaiah 50:1 Thus saith the LORD, Where is the bill of your mother's divorcement, whom I have put away? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away.
Jeremiah 3:8 And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also.

 

[AgnosticBoy]

God, Himself, has been divorced...

Isaiah 50:1 Thus saith the LORD, Where is the bill of your mother's divorcement, whom I have put away? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away.
Jeremiah 3:8 And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also.

True, and now there's a new bride (a remarriage in other words), i.e. the Church (2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:22-24).

To play the other side here, I suppose the best argument someone could offer for no remarriages after divorce is that God hates divorce and it was not part of his original plan. They go on to say that Jesus was restoring God's original plan for marriage in Matthew 19:5-6:
‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

BUt we know the rest of the story when Jesus was pressed further on the question. Jesus mentioned the exception where divorce is allowed later on. Interestingly, in the OT, the one guilty of adultery would've been dead anyway from capital punishment, so that has the same outcome as a divorce - the end of the marriage.

 

[AgnosticBoy]

Yeah, I am not married yet, but I am slow to jump into it because I think it is a commitment to take seriously. In my view, there is no point in getting married if the standard for divorce amounts to any problem (other than cheating). Problems are inevitable for any couple!

Earlier this week it was reported that Jennifer Lopez filed for divorce from a guy that she loved for a long time. I thought her and Ben Affleck were going to last since she wanted to be with him for a long time. So contrary to popular opinion, fame and money doesn't guarantee a happy marriage.

 

[Scooter]

I hate to hear of anyone going through a divorce. It is tough for everyone involved. I also hate how people who have gone through a divorce are treated by the self-righteous crowd. I have been involved in numerous pre-marriage counseling sessions and I stress the importance of keeping God at the center of the relationship. Divorce is another evidence of Satan's desire to kill, steal and destroy.

 

[AgnosticBoy]

Imagine how divorce affects the kids. The kids don't want to see mom and dad split up and it still happens. I think divorce was worse on women back then because they were financially dependent on their husband. So divorce back then was probably like leaving a woman helpless and to fend for herself.

Well, it seems we have a consensus here so far. God is okay with remarriage after a divorce just as long as the reason for the divorce was sexual immorality.