Divorce and Remarriage

"And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery - Matthew 19:9

Sin makes a complete and utter mess of our lives. When we sin, we have violated the will of Almighty God; that is not some light and trivial thing. Further, our sin complicates our lives in profound ways. The Apostle Paul said: For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself (Romans 14:7). That is, our lives affect other people. Our families, friends, and even our enemies are sometimes ruined by what we have done. Ezekiel 18:2 says: "What do you mean when you use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying: 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, And the children's teeth are set on edge'? While it is true that Ezekiel 18 seeks to place the blame where it belongs on the individual it is still true that the children suffered because of the actions of their fathers. This remains true today.

Divorce is a sad circumstance in the life of anyone or everyone who is involved in the dissolving of the marriage covenant that existed between a man and a woman.
Divorce occurs because one person, or maybe both partners in marriage, fails to respect God s law about the permanency of marriage. The Lord allows divorce for one reason, that being the unfaithfulness of either the husband or wife. Unfaithfulness in this case refers to sexual immorality.

In Matthew 5:32 Jesus said: "But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery. Sexual immorality porneia remains the sole reason allowed by Jesus for putting away. And that right is given only to the innocent party the one who did not engage in sexual immorality. Remember, too, that what Jesus says in Matthew 19 was more restrictive than the conventional wisdom of His day. While the mate who has been sinned against is allowed to put his/her unfaithful mate away, Jesus is still emphasizing the seriousness of such action. He draws a boundary between what does and what does not allow the sinned-against party to seek a divorce. In response to the strictness of Jesus teaching, the disciples replied: "If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry" (Matthew 19:10). They got the point. If you cannot accept the teaching Jesus gave, it may be better not to marry at all!

"They say, 'If a man divorces his wife, And she goes from him And becomes another man's, May he return to her again?' Would not that land be greatly polluted? But you have played the harlot with many lovers; Yet return to Me, says the LORD (Jeremiah 3:1). Sexual immorality polluted the land of Israel. It continues to pollute our society. Sin messes things up, royally. Living before the face of God means that we listen to His will. Can we not see our need to do that?