I became a Christian just before the divorce was final. Do I need to go back to my ex-husband?
Question:
My husband cheated on me and I forgave him. I wanted to make our marriage work, but after I forgave him, he continued to sleep around with the same woman. Once I found out from this woman and my close friends, I decided enough was enough. I filed for divorce. About a month before we were scheduled to appear before the judge and get our divorce decree, I was baptized into the Lord's church. My husband is not a Christian. Can I remarry? Should I go back to him? I think I can remarry but I Corinthians 7:12-15 really has me confused. Please help.
Answer:
There is only one faith. The rules that apply to Christians also apply to non-Christians. The reason someone who is not a Christian is in sin is that he is breaking the laws of God (I John 3:4).
Your husband was committing adultery and continued to do so despite your attempts to repair the breach that he caused. "And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery" (Matthew 19:9). You have cause for your divorce and that cause does allow you to remarry if you so choose. He does not have the right to remarry, but since he doesn't seem to care about his sexual sins, he is likely to compound his problems by marrying again. But that is his problem, not yours.
I Corinthians 7:12-15 is dealing with the issue of whether a Christian needs to divorce their non-Christian mates simply because they are not Christians. The answer Paul gave was no because the marriage is still recognized by God. At the same time Paul makes it clear that if a non-Christian refuses to live with a Christian because of the Christian's faith, the Christian does not leave his faith just to try and hold the marriage together. See Marriage for more details.
