May I Divorce My Spouse For Any Reason? (Part 1)
We live in an age where divorce and remarriage is
rampant. It seems that not many respect the sacred
institution of marriage, as ordained by God (Gen. 2:21-25).
During the age when God’s revelation was being gradually
revealed and because of man’s rebellion against his Creator,
he tolerated certain weaknesses of man, but only for a time.
Such rebellious practices included polygamy and other things
contrary to the original pattern for marriage as set forth in
Genesis. However, that all changed when Christ came on
the scene. The Lord Jesus restored God’s marriage law back
to the way it originally was. In Matt. 19:3, the Pharisees
came to Jesus and asked, “Is it lawful for a man to put away
his wife for every cause?” The Lord responded in v. 4-6, by
referring the Pharisees back to the original plan and pattern
for marriage. In v. 4, Jesus quoted from Gen. 1:27, and in v.
5, he quoted from Gen. 2:24. In v. 6, Jesus declared,
“Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore
God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” God is
involved in the marriage, whether people like it or not. God
does the joining. And, since God is the divine architect of
the marriage bond, and since he does the joining, then no
man has the right or authority to annul and make void that
marriage bond, unless authorized by God to do so. Jesus
clearly said, “let not man put asunder.” In Matt. 19:7, the
Pharisees, in response to what Jesus said, asked, “Why did
Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put
her away?” Jesus responded in v. 8 by saying, “Moses because
of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your
wives: but from the beginning it was not so.” In v. 9, Jesus set
forth God’s strict marriage law: “And I say unto you, Whosoever
shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall
marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her
which is put away doth commit adultery.” This passage sets
forth the fact that there is only one exception to a legitimate
divorce and subsequent remarriage by the innocent party,
and that one exception is “fornication.” To divorce for a
cause other than fornication is unauthorized, and the
subsequent union that is formed by either is an adulterous
union. Next week, we will examine this passage a little
more closely.