What is Gods View of Divorce?
Divorce is rampant in modern culture. It seems easier to divorce one’s spouse than it is to fire an employee. When boredom or stress enters a relationship, divorce is often considered and sometimes sought. Kids bear the brunt of the pain as they are forced to choose sides in bitter fights and custody battles. The emotional turmoil rivals that of losing a loved one and can scar a person for life.
God hates divorce (Malachi 2:16). From the beginning, He meant marriage to be for life (Mark 10:6). In a perfect world, divorce would be non-existent. However, the realities of sin and the resulting conflicts, marital infidelities, physical abuse, and emotional neglect, make divorce inevitable, and sometimes, even the lesser of two evils.
Moses understood that divorce is not always avoidable because of the hardness of people’s heart (Matthew 19:8). God permitted Moses to give women a “bill of divorcement” in order to protect them. He did not permit divorce because he thinks it is all right. Rather, since husbands were throwing their wives out of the house without any reason, thereby subjecting women to abuse and exploitation, God made it possible for these abandoned women to have a document that permitted someone else to marry them and protect them.
Yet, Jesus brands divorce and remarriage as adultery (Matthew. 5:32; 19:3-12; Mark. 10:2-12; Luke. 16:18) and only permitted it when there was sexual unfaithfulness. His strong prohibition is contrasted with the casual divorce procedures of first century Judaism, which allowed a man to divorce his wife on trivial grounds. His concern was not only for the sacredness of the marriage vows, but also for the real possibility of economic and social destitution for the divorced woman.
While acknowledging that divorce is sin in God’s sight, those who come to Christ by faith and confess their sins, can be forgiven. Even Christians who divorce can find grace from the Father, who understands human frailty and allows for second chances. Sin is still sin, but his grace is greater than our sin (Romans 5:20).
Paul dealt with many in the Corinthian church who had been immoral and adulterous. He also recognized the transformation of life that came with the Gospel (1 Corinthians 6:9,11). Although, some in the church were compromising their sexual purity, Paul still considered them as fellow believers who needed to conform to God’s higher calling (1 Corinthians 6:15-20).
However, God’s grace is never to be regarded as a loophole for disobedience (Romans 6:1-2). Divorce is sin in God’s eyes and while He may forgive us, we do face consequences. Divorce can harm children and create a continual atmosphere of conflict between former spouses that can harm one financially, emotionally and spiritually. Divorce can also ruin a person’s opportunity for vocational ministry and damage one’s Christian witness in the community. Divorce should only be permitted as a last resort after much prayer and godly counsel.
