Divorce According To God and The
Sanctity of Marriage
by Angie Lewis
Heaven Ministries
God considers marriage sanctified even if there is
only one believing spouse. This does not mean the wife can save her
husband or the husband can save his wife. It means that through the
relationship, the husband or wife may come to be a believer and become
saved on his or her own. So the wife should not divorce her husband and
the husband should not divorce his wife.
If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and
she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. 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. For the unbelieving
husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife
has been sanctified through her husband.
(1 Corinthians 7:12-14 NIV)
Sometimes stubborn couples cannot compromise with
each other and they fight constantly. This happens because neither one
of them is willing to give in - both the husband and wife are
controlling and demanding of each other. When neither partner submits,
usually chaos ensues within the boundaries of that marriage. I would
tend to believe that this is not a Christian marriage at all, but a
worldly marriage based upon selfishness.
If a husband or wife wants to leave the marriage
and insists on a divorce because they are too selfish to reconcile their
differences, God has instructions for that too.
But if the unbeliever leaves, let him do so.
A believing man or woman is not bound in such circumstances; God
has called us to live in peace. How
do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you
know, husband, whether you will save your wife? (1 Corinthians 7:15, 16
NIV)
This doesn’t mean to automatically go get a
divorce. God prefers that couples work through their problems and remain
married. This verse is so often misunderstood to be a loophole for
divorce. It does not even say anything about divorce! If a spouse
insists on leaving, what can you do? God does not want the believing
spouse to undermine their faith while trying to preserve the marriage
with an unbeliever – that would be worse than separation.
Now, if a wife or husband divorce and remarry
someone else, according to scripture, they will be committing adultery.
The reason is simple – they are still married to their first husband
or wife.
Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce
your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not that way from
the beginning. I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for
marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery.
(Matthew 19:8,9 NIV)
This does not mean just because a man or woman has
been unfaithful that God is allowing them to divorce. Jesus meant by
“marital unfaithfulness” a man who has not and will not repent of
his infidelity and wants out of the marriage. If a husband or wife wants
to leave the marriage and insists on a divorce because they are too
selfish to reconcile their differences, here is the scripture for that.
(1 Corinthians 7:15, 16 NIV) Do not misread this scripture to mean it is
scripturally allowable to get a divorce.
Jesus focused on marriage rather than divorce. God
intends marriage to be permanent and gives four good reasons why.
(Matthew 19:4-6 NIV)
A woman is bound to her husband as long as he
lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes,
but he must belong to the Lord. In my judgment she is happier if she
stays as she is – and I think I too have the Sprit of God.
(1 Corinthians 7:39,40 NIV)
…And a husband must not divorce his wife. (1
Corinthians 7:11 NIV)
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