What does the Bible say about divorce and remarriage?

If Jesus had left lots of loopholes in the gospel for divorce, by our natural evil bent, people would abuse the exceptions. God intended marriage to be indissoluble — and the foundational unit of all society.

Since the fall, people have found any reason to broaden the door for divorce, way beyond the Bible. And even though a couple might be legally divorced by the laws of the land, they might not be divorced in the sight of God. According to the higher law, they are not free to remarry.

Basically, by the words of Jesus, the scriptures teach that there are no grounds for divorce except marital unfaithfulness or death. “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” (Matthews 5:32).

There is also one more exception. “But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart; a brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases. But God has called us to peace” (1 Corinthians 7:16.

Clearly, in these passages, the innocent party is free to remarry. The purpose for divorce in the Bible is to dissolve the marriage and render the innocent party free to remarry. Otherwise, why divorce?

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