by Robert C. Veil, Jr.
Question: Under what circumstances does the Bible say it is OK to get a divorce?
Answer: This excellent question reflects an awareness of a very real problem in current American
culture. Rampant divorce and the rapid disintegration of the home and family is causing untold
heartache and other problems, and has far-reaching consequences into the future.
We start by remembering that God’s provisions for marriage and the family are ultimately
designed for man’s happiness and fulfillment. To the extent we follow God’s word in this, and in
any other matter, we will be ultimately blessed. God’s original intent with respect to marriage and
divorce must be honored and respected. Our Lord referred to this in the 19th chapter of Matthew,
when the scribes and Pharisees were tempting him, trying to trap him with a question: “Is it lawful
for a man to put away his wife for every cause?” Evidently, their corrupted traditions under the
Mosaic law had greatly perverted God’s original intent, and divorces were being freely obtained,
even though God “hates divorce,” (Malachi 2:16). When we consider the misery and heartache
occasioned by divorce, it isn’t hard to understand why God so strongly directs us against it. So
Jesus responds with an answer which draws them back to God’s plan from the beginning: “Have
ye not read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, For
this cause, shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the two shall
become one flesh? So that they are no more two, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined
together, let not man put asunder.” (see Matthew 19:1-6).
In bringing man back to God’s plan, Jesus announces the following directive: “And I say
unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except for fornication, and shall marry another,
committeth adultery: and he that marrieth her when she is put away committeth adultery,”
(Matthew 19:9). Thus, Jesus allows but one cause for divorce and remarriage, namely fornication
by one’s spouse. Otherwise, the parties are to remain married until death.
We see from this commandment that there is something so serious about fornication that the
Lord allows it as the sole ground for divorce and remarriage. What is fornication? It is illicit or
unlawful sexual activity. It is a physical act whereby a person commits sexual impurity. The word
translated “fornication” is the Greek word, porneia, from which we get the English word
“pornography.” It is sometimes translated “sexual immorality” or “unchastity.” This is a broad
word, which includes all forms of illicit sexual acts. God views fornication as so serious that it
gives the innocent party the option of divorcing, or “putting away” the offending party, and
remarrying.
This general rule would appear to apply to either the husband or the wife. It is phrased in
masculine terms as generic language, but is repeated for the female in Mark’s account, (see Mark
10:11-12). Notice that the innocent party is not required to put away his or her spouse in the case
of fornication, but is given that option by God.
We notice also that this teaching of Jesus is consistent with his prior instructions given during
the Sermon on the Mount, (Matthew 5:32): “But I say unto you, that everyone that putteth away
his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, maketh her an adulteress: and whosoever shall marry
her when she is put away committeth adultery.” This is also consistent with Luke’s account in Luke
16:18.
In First Corinthians 7, the inspired apostle Paul provides additional direction on an issue not
specifically addressed by Jesus. In the case of an unbelieving (non-Christian) spouse who “departs”
from her Christian husband, the husband is not required to chase after her and try in vain to hold
the marriage together, (see 1 Corinthians 7:8-17). Yet, consistent with Jesus, no right to remarriage
is provided in that situation. In other words, Paul’s teaching supplements but does not contradict
the teaching of Jesus, that the only ground for divorce and remarriage is fornication by one’s
spouse. This challenging, but straight-forward teaching of the Bible is the lynchpin increasingly
forgotten for the modern American home.
