Question: Hi, Greg,

What does the Bible say about divorce and remarriage?

Thank you!

John

Answer: Dear John,

The Bible makes it very clear – God hates divorce. Marriage should be until "death do us part." But, because of our sin, we humans often fall short of what God intends – and the statistics in our society bear this out.

How Christians view what God says about divorce depends upon what is called the exception clause in the Gospels – a clause that is interpreted in many ways. Matthew 19:9 tells us divorce should not take place "except for marital unfaithfulness". The Greek here can be interpreted in several ways – and seem to have enough meaning to allow for remarriage.

Those who are involved in a divorce generally lean toward a wider allowance of what "marital unfaithfulness" means – and, of course, this is very human. Those who are very strict about remarriage after divorce believe that marital unfaithfulness on the part of the offending spouse must be prolonged, continual, etc. – before any remarriage can be biblically "allowed" under these instructions. There are a variety of opinions across the denominational spectrum.

In Christ,

Greg Albrecht