Matthew 5:31-32
It has been said, "Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce." But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
(More discussion on divorce:)
Matthew 19:3-12
Some Pharisees came to Him to test Him. They asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?"
"Haven't you read," He replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate."
"Why then," they asked, "did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?"
Jesus replied, "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery."
(When they were in the house again,) the disciples asked him about this: 'If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry."
Jesus replied, "Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others--and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it."
(see also Mark 10:1-12)
Jesus was born under the Law (Galatians 4:4), by His life and death He fulfilled the Law, and now we are not under the Law, but under Grace (Romans 6:14).
So according to the beginning, with Adam and Eve, before the Law was given, God determined that when a man marries a wife, then God says that when they perform "the marital act" in joining together physically, then they are essentially one body. God has joined them together, and this relationship is meant to last their lifetime. This is God's ideal, because it results in the very best for us. Many scientific studies have shown that long-time married couples have the best sexual relationship over any other situation. So this lifestyle of lifetime monogamy has still proved to bring the most happiness in this world.
But so many of us have been divorced, what about us? Can we never again do right by our fellow man in this area? Paul wrote in his first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 7, 40 verses about marriage, divorce, widowhood, religiously mixed marriages, remaining single, the whole subject. And many Bible scholars point to verse 15, "But if the unbeliever leaves [the marriage], let it be so. The brother or sister is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace," as meaning that the believing spouse is not bound by the marriage vows to the unbelieving spouse, so is as free to remarry as the widow who is "loosed from the law of her husband" (Romans 7:2).
Other Bible scholars say that this is "stretching" and "reaching" for justification for Christians who give up on the marriage instead of staying and working out the difficulties, and too bad for the faithful, innocent spouse who is left in the lurch.
And there is the situation where someone is already divorced and remarried and then becomes a Christian, they cannot "be reconciled" to the spouse they had divorced (verse 11), they're already married to another spouse. To break up another family would not be "liv[ing] in peace."
Today's maritally convoluted society is not a problem for God; He has given us the ideal to strive for, and He also gives us grace to deal with the situations we face. I say, today is the first day in the rest of our lives, and if we have been living in ways that don't conform to these standards, then we can begin today, "remain[ing] in the situation [we are] in" (verse 20) today, whether married or single; and if we are in any other kind of relationship, then we can do the right thing to get right, whether that means to leave that unrighteous liaison, or to marry the lover you are entangled with, or whatever other situation you may find yourself in. With God's grace, and the strength and power of "He Who lives in us Who is greater than he who is in the world," (I John 4:4) we can straighten out our lives and our lifestyles and live in the right-ness that brings the joy of the Lord into our days.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
