The Bible's Laws on Divorce and Remarriage.

[Kaon]

Whosoever shall put away his wife, except for the cause of fornication, causes her to commit adultery (Matthew 5:32).

In Matthew 19:9 it says: “Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, commits adultery;"

Some think you can divorce for other reasons.

Right.


But this begs the question of what is marriage under the Most High God.

Surely, a contract given by an earthly state isn't enough for Him.

 

[Bible Highlighter]

Right.


But this begs the question of what is marriage under the Most High God.

Surely, a contract given by an earthly state isn't enough for Him.

I believe it is based on Romans 13.

 

[Kaon]

I believe it is based on Romans 13.

Interesting, but Paul wasn't even thought of, and the Hebrews were marrying, and giving into marriage. The antediluvian world (down to Adam) married without a marriage contract given by the State. And, it was recognized under the Most High God.

How?

We need the Word of God Himself:

And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these sayings, he departed from Galilee, and came into the coasts of Judaea beyond Jordan;

And great multitudes followed him; and he healed them there.

The 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?

And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,

And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?

Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?

He 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.

And 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. Matthew 19:1-9

​

Marriage is sex. Every time you "mate" with another person (male/female), then you have cleaved to that entity. When you go to someone else, you break the previous union, and create another one with someone else. There is no such thing as "pre-marital sex" because sex under the Most High God is marriage, and there is no divorce unless you actively break that union (through fornication).

​

 

[Bible Highlighter]

If the husband as already decided to remarry, he would be dead to her now also!

No. Technically he would be an adulterer because he decided to remarry. She would not be blamed for her husband's own unfaithfulness. While they might be divorced on paper lawfully, and remarried, God's laws supersede man made laws (if man's laws conflict His laws). According to God, they would still be married unless the husband died. Until death do they part is the saying at weddings. They are allowed to divorce for unfaithfulness, but they are not allowed to remarry unless the other spouse is dead.

 

[Bible Highlighter]

Interesting, but Paul wasn't even thought of, and the Hebrews were marrying, and giving into marriage. The antediluvian world (down to Adam) married without a marriage contract given by the State. And, it was recognized under the Most High God.

How?

We need the Word of God Himself:

And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these sayings, he departed from Galilee, and came into the coasts of Judaea beyond Jordan;

And great multitudes followed him; and he healed them there.

The 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?

And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,

And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?

Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?

He 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.

And 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. Matthew 19:1-9

​

Marriage is sex. Every time you "mate" with another person (male/female), then you have cleaved to that entity. When you go to someone else, you break the previous union, and create another one with someone else. There is no such thing as "pre-marital sex" because sex under the Most High God is marriage, and there is no divorce unless you actively break that union (through fornication).

​

What God has joined together and not what man has joined together. Marriage was done legally on paper even in Jewish times. If they were to be divorced, a certificate of writing was to be made. Usually they did not go by a person's word that two couples were married back in the time of the Israelites. They also had written proof and went through a ceremony to be married before sex. The marriage of Adam and Eve was not exactly given to us in any detail. It merely speaks about their marriage union in broad terms. We cannot make a doctrine out of a fuzzy passage in Genesis, when this was not the case involving the Israelites and the written Law.

 

[Kaon]

What God has joined together and not what man has joined together. Marriage was done legally on paper even in Jewish times. If they were to be divorced, a certificate of writing was to be made. Usually they did not go by a person's word that two couples were married back in the time of the Israelites. They also had written proof and went through a ceremony to be married. The marriage of Adam and Eve was not exactly given to us in any detail. It merely speaks about their marriage union in broad terms. We cannot make a doctrine out of a fuzzy passage in Genesis, when this was not the case involving the Israelites and the written Law.

What contract did Adam and Eve sign to recognize them as husband/wife under Most High God?

Remember what the Word of God said: He allowed Moses to give he Hebrews a writ of divorce because of the hardness of their hearts. But, what the Most High God puts together no one can tear apart.

Writing documents is a worldly activity; the Most High God doesn't give written contracts. That is not how He operates; it is how the world operates. There is nothing fuzzy about sex being marriage. It should make more sense why, then, only adultery breaks a covenant between man and wife.



Do you think the Most High God would consider a monogamous couple isolated from the world as "cohabitants living in sin?" Come now, clearly that would be a husband-wife relationship under the Most High God. No contract is needed. Maybe one can also see why fornication and lust in general is a terrible thing. You not only deface your spirit, but you entice others to be adulterous.

 

[servantofiam]

What about someone who is married to a violent wife beater?

Tough situation and scenario here to speak of. But as in all things, we must first consult God on the subject. And we know from God, that only if your spouse cheats on you through the act of adultery will be accepted. So, what about your situation you speak of?

Well, to me, it's like the life of Yeshua we read in the Gospels. We are to be witnesses and are to take the Gospel to a dying lost world at any cost, even the cost of your own life. Yeshua (Jesus) died bringing us this Gospel. He was hated and then lied about in order to kill Him. And we are to be like His example in going places to teach them about God that can ultimately kill us. It is laying our lives down in order for another to be saved.

In the scenario of a Christian spouse being abused physically, that spouse must remain in that situation as a witness and testimony of God to the abuser. And ultimately, if the spouse loses their life from the abuse, it could bring the abuser to repent and find God for themselves.

Now, does this sound right? NO, it does not. But, it is what God would instruct someone in this very situation. Marriage is a Holy Union!! And you cannot break the Holy Union because you are poor, can't pay the bills, your spouse is a bum, an abuser, and you find yourself so deep in the hole that when you look up you still see the bottom. It does not seem fair and very Godly to have to suffer such things. But then again, as followers of Christ, we will suffer and be hated like He was.

So whether we like it or not, we are the witnesses and testimonies to this lost and dying world. And if that brings us death, we are to welcome it. Our very own God went through the same thing. And we are no different. We as followers are destined eventually to lay our lives down for the lost in order for them to be saved!!

 

[Bible Highlighter]

What contract did Adam and Eve sign to recognize them as husband/wife under Most High God?

Remember what the Word of God said: He allowed Moses to give he Hebrews a writ of divorce because of the hardness of their hearts. But, what the Most High God puts together no one can tear apart.

Writing documents is a worldly activity; the Most High God doesn't give written contracts. That is not how He operates; it is how the world operates. There is nothing fuzzy about sex being marriage. It should make more sense why, then, only adultery breaks a covenant between man and wife.



Do you think the Most High God would consider a monogamous couple isolated from the world as "cohabitants living in sin?" Come now, clearly that would be a husband-wife relationship under the Most High God. No contract is needed. Maybe one can also see why fornication and lust in general is a terrible thing. You not only deface your spirit, but you entice others to be adulterous.

Again, you don't understand Jewish law. They had to have written physical proof of a marriage ceremony by witnesses to show that they entered a marriage covenant. It is the same reason why they needed to have a written bill of divorce. They did not take each other's word on if they were divorced or not. This was important to understand that they had to be married on paper otherwise the story of Ruth would be non-sensical. Boaz actually purchased Ruth to be his wife. So there had to be physical proof of this (like in written form with witnesses). Why do you think there was a wedding ceremony in John chapter 2? Jesus attended this wedding ceremony and he did not say it was a tradition of man. He condoned the ceremony by participating in it.

 

[Bible Highlighter]

Sex without a marriage covenant was generally regarded as fornication. Adultery is regarded as sexual unfaithfulness within a marriage.

 

[servantofiam]

As you can see by reading to the left of my bio/profile that I am divorced. I was able to prove adultery by the fact the child born had none of my DNA/genetics. She gave the child my last name, but biologically it was not mine.

It's a shame secular courts do not see things the way God's court does. I was forced to still pay for that child because I always have guaranteed income. Even though the courts knew the child was not mine biologically, which was obvious she committed adultery, the statute of limitations had exceeded and even though they granted me a divorce, they still hung me by making me support the child.

All you can do is give it to God at that point!!

 

[Bible Highlighter]

What contract did Adam and Eve sign to recognize them as husband/wife under Most High God?

Remember what the Word of God said: He allowed Moses to give he Hebrews a writ of divorce because of the hardness of their hearts. But, what the Most High God puts together no one can tear apart.

Writing documents is a worldly activity; the Most High God doesn't give written contracts. That is not how He operates; it is how the world operates. There is nothing fuzzy about sex being marriage. It should make more sense why, then, only adultery breaks a covenant between man and wife.



Do you think the Most High God would consider a monogamous couple isolated from the world as "cohabitants living in sin?" Come now, clearly that would be a husband-wife relationship under the Most High God. No contract is needed. Maybe one can also see why fornication and lust in general is a terrible thing. You not only deface your spirit, but you entice others to be adulterous.

Another reason we know that God does not equate sexual intercourse with marriage based on the fact that the Old Testament often distinguishes a wife from a concubine. For example, 2 Chronicles 11:21 describes one king’s family life: “Rehoboam loved Maakah daughter of Absalom more than any of his other wives and concubines. In all, he had eighteen wives and sixty concubines.” In this verse, concubines who had sexual intercourse with King Rehoboam are not considered wives and are mentioned as a separate category.

Source:
What constitutes marriage according to the Bible?

 

[Dave L]

In your view...

Find it if you think it is there.

 

[Dave L]

Divorce/remarriage are NOT unpardonable sins!

Only if repented of.

 

[Vicomte13]

"walking away" from an abusive relationship doesn't condone getting remarried. And that's the issue - remarriage. Many misconstrue the exception clause of Mat 19 as conditions for divorce. If you read it carefully you will find that it's not talking about conditions for divorce, but rather conditions for remarriage. There are many cases in which divorce is justified. But few in which remarriage is justified.

Well, the one that I can think of is that men and women had no intention of taking an oath of celibacy for the rest of their lives when they got married, and then found themselves in abusive relationships.

Considering that masturbation is as deadly a sin as adultery (it's ALL porneia - masturbation, fornication, adultery, gay sodomy), it doesn't make any practical difference from the perspective of sin if people remarry and thereby commit adultery, or stay unmarried and touch. But it sure makes a GREAT DEAL of difference when it comes to human suffering.

The Church has taken the stance that Jesus has taken the stance that people who have to escape abusive marriage have to be chaste and celibate for the rest of their lives because they, unfortunately, married a beastly person.

No.

No people will not do that. Historically, they masturbated alone and sad for the rest of their lives, and thus committed mortal sin in that way. In more modern days, people decided that's ridiculous and chose to remarry in pursuit of their own happiness. The Church chose to stand in the way, and so the Church has been kicked to the curb on this matter and is almost universally ignored, and rightly so.

Perhaps Jesus really did set up an impossible rule that magnifies human misery, in which case we sinners will sin, and hope he forgives us. Adulterous remarriage is the same sin as masturbation, but it is much more comforting and much less miserable to have human companionship.

Maybe the Church is right and Jesus intended to compel the unfortunate in marriage to endure the lifelong misfortune of celibacy thereafter. People have freewill and they are not going to obey him on this, any more than there is any normal teenager who ever abstained completely from masturbation until marriage.

"Be perfect" he is said to have said. Human beings are completely incapable of that degree of sexual perfection. Show me a normal male who says he never has masturbated, and I'll show you a mortal sinner - for lying is the same degree of sin as adultery and fornication and masturbation and homosexual sodomy: mortal. At least according to Jesus.

People are not going to abstain from sex for the rest of their lives because they were abused by their spouses. It doesn't matter what Jesus said: people are not going to obey that, just as teenagers are not going to abstain from masturbation.

The question, then, is what the Church is going to do. Eastern Orthodoxy permits remarriage after divorce, as an allowance to human weakness. The Protestants permit remarriage. The Catholics do not, but have tried to create a lax loophole for "nullification" that makes it "Catholic divorce-lite" in some cases, in some countries.

The Orthodox and Protestant solutions seem to disregard Christ. The Catholic solution seems to disregard reality and compassion to rigidly adhere to what Christ is said to have meant by what he said.

What's the right answer? Everybody has an opinion. And people are going to act on their own judgment, so it almost doesn't matter. When it comes to this subject, people are going to make their own decisions, and words are wind.

 

[Vicomte13]

Jesus said narrow is the way.
What Christians find to be unworkable is simply their own unwillingness to obey God.

Ok. Then God will have to decide whether to forgive them or cast them into the Lake of Fire at final judgment, as he must similarly decide regarding all masturbators, all liars and all hypocrites.

Nothing much more to be said.

 

[YeshuaFan]

No. Technically he would be an adulterer because he decided to remarry. She would not be blamed for her husband's own unfaithfulness. While they might be divorced on paper lawfully, and remarried, God's laws supersede man made laws (if man's laws conflict His laws). According to God, they would still be married unless the husband died. Until death do they part is the saying at weddings. They are allowed to divorce for unfaithfulness, but they are not allowed to remarry unless the other spouse is dead.

If she did decide to remarry though, would not the blood of jesus cleanse her from the past sin?

 

[Bible Highlighter]

If she did decide to remarry though, would not the blood of jesus cleanse her from the past sin?

I really do wish things were different. I really do. But unfortunately, I did not write the Word of God. God did. God's Word says is still ongoing practice of sin because they are not free from the law of marriage unless the other spouse dies.

"For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband." (Romans 7:2).

 

[Bible Highlighter]

Ok. Then God will have to decide whether to forgive them or cast them into the Lake of Fire at final judgment, as he must similarly decide regarding all masturbators, all liars and all hypocrites.

Nothing much more to be said.

Yes, Jesus warned about sexual lusting after a woman can cause a person to be cast bodily into hell fire (Matthew 5:28-30). Yes, Revelation 21:8 says all liars will be cast into the Lake of Fire. Yes, Jesus condemned the Pharisees for being hypocrites (Matthew 23:3). Jesus said our righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees or we will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5:20). A person can seek God's forgiveness over sin with the Lord Jesus Christ and be forgiven (1 John 1:9) (1 John 2:1), but they have to stop sinning after that (1 John 1:7) (Also see: Proverbs 28:13).

 

[YeshuaFan]

Only if repented of.

Do you think that you have repented totally of all sin before God then?

 

[YeshuaFan]

Yes, Jesus warned about sexual lusting after a woman can cause a person to be cast bodily into hell fire (Matthew 5:28-30). Yes, Revelation 21:8 says all liars will be cast into the Lake of Fire. Yes, Jesus condemned the Pharisees for being hypocrites (Matthew 23:3). Jesus said our righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees or we will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5:20). A person can seek God's forgiveness over sin with the Lord Jesus Christ and be forgiven (1 John 1:9) (1 John 2:1), but they have to stop sinning after that (1 John 1:7) (Also see: Proverbs 28:13).

Are we saved on a probationary process, or eternally secured then?