Marriage, Divorce & Remarriage

## Core Position

Marriage is a covenant between one man and one woman, designed by God from creation as a permanent union. Divorce is permitted in cases of sexual immorality and abandonment by an unbelieving spouse. Remarriage is permitted for the innocent party in these cases. Divorce is an accommodation to human hardness of heart — not God's original design or desire.

Marriage by Design

Genesis 2:24 — "A man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." One man, one woman, permanent union — established at creation before the fall.
Matthew 19:4-6 — Jesus reaffirms Genesis: "What God has joined together, let no man separate."
Hebrews 13:4 — "Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled."
Ephesians 5:22-32 — Marriage reflects the relationship between Christ and the church — the highest possible model.

Grounds for Divorce

Sexual Immorality (the Matthew exception):
Matthew 19:9 — "Whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery." Sexual immorality (porneia) is stated as grounds.
Matthew 5:32 — Same exception stated in the Sermon on the Mount.

Abandonment by an unbelieving spouse:
1 Corinthians 7:15 — "But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved." The believing spouse is released — not bound.

Divorce Is Accommodation — Not Design

Matthew 19:8 — "Moses allowed you to divorce your wives because of your hardness of heart, but from the beginning it was not so." Divorce is an accommodation to fallen human nature — not God's original intent or desire.
Malachi 2:16 — "For the man who does not love his wife but divorces her... covers his garment with violence, says the Lord of hosts."

Remarriage

The innocent party in a divorce on biblical grounds (sexual immorality or abandonment) is released from the covenant and may remarry.

1 Corinthians 7:15 — "not enslaved" — the believing spouse is not bound in cases of abandonment. Release from the covenant includes freedom to remarry.
Matthew 19:9 — the exception clause permits remarriage for the innocent party after divorce for sexual immorality.
1 Corinthians 7:39 — a widow is free to remarry — "only in the Lord." Same principle of freedom applies in release from a broken covenant.

The precise boundaries of the remarriage question are genuinely debated among credible scholars. The positions above represent the weight of the textual evidence without claiming more precision than the text provides.

What This Rejects

No divorce under any circumstances — Matthew 19:9, 1 Corinthians 7:15.
Divorce permitted for any reason — Matthew 19:8-9 (Jesus explicitly narrowed Moses's broader permission).
No remarriage ever — 1 Corinthians 7:15 ("not enslaved"); Matthew 19:9 exception; 1 Corinthians 7:39.
Divorce as an unforgivable failure — the grace of God covers the full range of human failure — including broken marriages.