If someone divorced their spouse in a sinful way, and then remarried, ive heard it said that God would forgive their sin, and they move on with the next marriage.
Firstly, is the second marriage recognised by God, and if not, doesnt this make the second marriage, an ongoing sinful adulterous relationship that shouldnt continue?
So forgiveness in that context couldnt validate more of the same?
We just had a sermon on divorce, so its a question that was raised.
different churches view this question in different ways.
that said, the important thing here is understanding what makes a marriage in the first place.
Most people (especially the ones getting married) have no concept of what a marriage really entails.
That's why most responsible churches will highly suggest (or require) 6 months of marriage prep classes
and consults with clergy to ensure that everyone is on the same page.
In Jesus' day it was very easy for a man to divorce his wife for the most superficial reasons.
the problem with that was that the society in those days was run by the men--either father or the husband.
There were few exceptions, which left a divorced wife in dire straits when it came to the basics of food, shelter, clothing, and money.
Jesus wanted to correct this, so he took the men to task for their responsibilities as husbands, reminding them of the binding that had taken place at their weddings.
so getting back to your OP, a responsible church would ask that both parties examine their original marriage prep, and the reasons for the previous divorce so that they have a better understanding of marriage than when each of them first ventured forth.
Beyond that, the church itself would be held responsible for any further decisions regarding a second marriage.
and yes, there are some churches where the reasons given for the divorce of the first marriage would not be seen as being correct or allowable. In that case the first marriage would be upheld so long as the ex was still living, and the second marriage declared adulterous provided that normal marital relations were occuring in the second marriage.
But that's not where they leave things hanging, and that's also not where Jesus left them hanging either.
Jesus' response was "Go, and sin no more."
Hope that answers your question.