Divorce According To God and The Sanctity of Marriage by Angie Lewis 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. The bottom line is, 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) |