How does God see an annulment?
Question:
Good morning,
I have been discussing annulment with someone. My question is: What is an annulment in the eyes of God? I know they can’t remarry, and dating may be a sin as well.
My other question is: If they try to reconcile later, would they need to go through the marriage ceremony again?
Thank you.
Answer:
An annulment is a declaration that a marriage was never valid or should never have taken place. For instance, most countries have laws stating that a man may only have one wife. If a man marries a second woman, without ending his first marriage, then he is violating the law, and marriage can be annulled. Other legal grounds for annulling a marriage may be incest, a lack of consent to the marriage, or mental incapacity to make a legal covenant. In other words, an annulment is a declaration that the covenant made to establish the marriage is not valid.
A divorce is the ending of a legal marriage. A marriage covenant was made, but those involved want out of the covenant. The only grounds for divorce that release a person from his marriage covenant is fornication (Matthew 19:9). Such a divorce does not release the guilty party from the covenant.
In the case of an annulment, the marriage should never have occurred; therefore, the individuals involved can remarry.
