I want to ask you about two people who have divorced. I understand they are supposed to remain unmarried, and if one of them does get married later, he is living in adultery. Is the other person free to marry, since in God’s eyes they are still connected to their first spouse, have broken the covenant, and went with another person? Is the other divorced person free of obligation and can get then re-married? I looked at Scripture and I come to a point of racking my brains because they both chose divorce so that is their commitment, but then again God says they commit adultery even after divorce so it’s breaking the covenant and could leave the other person free to marry.<\/p>\n\t
Congratulations! You’ve stumbled upon an issue that people have been arguing about for decades. There are a number of variations, but they all boil down to the question of what happens if a spouse commits adultery after a divorce.<\/p>\n
So let’s review the basics: The only cause for divorce that allows for remarriage is fornication, and even then only the one who had not committed fornication is allowed to remarry.<\/p>\n
“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<\/em>” (Matthew 5:32).<\/p>\n
“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<\/em>” (Matthew 19:9).<\/p>\n
“So He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery<\/em>” (Mark 10:10-11).<\/p>\n
“Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced from her husband commits adultery<\/em>” (Luke 16:18).<\/p>\n
“Now to the married I command, yet not I but the Lord: A wife is not to depart from her husband. But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband is not to divorce his wife<\/em>” (I Corinthians 7:10-11).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
When remarriage is not allowed, the person who remarries is guilty of adultery and whoever marries the person is also guilty of adultery.<\/p>\n
Only Matthew 5:32 and Matthew 19:9 mention the exception and both are worded such that it is the cause of the divorce that allows the remarriage of the innocent party. It should also be clear that divorce is not required if fornication takes place. Overall, divorce is to be strongly discouraged. But if it does happen, the only two choices are for the two people are to remain unmarried or be reconciled to their spouse. Only in the case of fornication can the person who did not commit fornication get a divorce and has the option to remarry.<\/p>\n
Even though the sin of remarrying after a divorce is in the category of adultery, it is not because they are still married in God’s sight. I Corinthians 7:11 makes it clear that divorce leaves the two people unmarried. Yet remarriage after a divorce to anyone else still falls under the category of adultery.<\/p>\n
Matthew, Mark, and Luke’s records regarding divorce all mention the possibility of adultery occurring after the divorce, but notice what is not mentioned: There is no mention of the adultery freeing up the ex-spouse to be able to remarry. The only time remarriage is allowed is when the cause of the divorce was fornication on the other spouse’s part. To claim there are additional reasons for remarriage is to add to what was revealed, something we cannot do. “Do not add to His words, lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar<\/em>” (Proverbs 30:6). There is no indication in God’s words that later sins change the terms.<\/p>\n
What it comes down to is that God disapproves of divorce. “For the LORD God of Israel says that He hates divorce, for it covers one’s garment with violence<\/em>” (Malachi 2:16). Jesus gave one exception that doesn’t have to be used but can be if the person involved insists. Otherwise, marriage is a lifetime commitment. If a person wants out before the death of the partner, then they can only do so knowing that they have given up their right to remarry. I can’t think of a better incentive to cause two people to try to work out their problems.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: I want to ask you about two people who have divorced. I understand they are supposed to remain unmarried, and if one of them does get married later, he is living in adultery. Is the other person free to marry, since in God’s eyes they are still connected to their first spouse, have broken…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[66,167],"class_list":["post-16856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-adultery","tag-divorce"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":17196,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-a-divorced-person-remarry-if-adultery-occurred-after-the-divorce\/","url_meta":{"origin":16856,"position":0},"title":"Can a divorced person remarry if adultery occurred after the divorce?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 5, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: If two people are divorced for unbiblical grounds and there is no adultery at the time, yet one spouse after the divorce marries someone else or is sexually immoral is the other then free to remarry another? Answer: \"And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28224,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-a-person-who-married-a-person-who-had-no-right-to-marry-divorce-and-marry-someone-else\/","url_meta":{"origin":16856,"position":1},"title":"Can a person who married a person who had no right to marry, divorce, and marry someone else?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 28, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: If a man marries a woman who was not supposed to remarry because she and her husband had committed adultery, can the man in the second marriage divorce her because of her continued adulteries during the second marriage and be able to marry again? Answer: When a person marries\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":42225,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-there-be-adultery-after-divorce-ends-a-marriage\/","url_meta":{"origin":16856,"position":2},"title":"How can there be adultery after divorce ends a marriage?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 23, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: You said on your website: \"When one partner in a marriage commits adultery, the innocent party has the option to divorce the unrepentant adulterer and may marry someone else if he or she so chooses.\u00a0The adulterer remains bound by the terms of his marriage covenant.\u00a0Anyone marriage enters into will\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13180,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-the-status-of-a-person-who-married-a-person-who-had-no-right-to-marry-but-later-divorced-that-person\/","url_meta":{"origin":16856,"position":3},"title":"What is the status of a person who married a person who had no right to marry, but later divorced that person?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 2, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: If someone has been scripturally divorced, but her previous spouse was not eligible for marriage because of a previous marriage. What is the status of that person? Answer: When a person's marriage ends in divorce for some reason other than fornication, or if the marriage ended in divorce because\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17263,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-need-a-dumbed-down-version-about-divorce-and-remarriage\/","url_meta":{"origin":16856,"position":4},"title":"I need a dumbed-down version about divorce and remarriage","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 30, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I was wondering about a book called A\u00a0Review of Homer Hailey's The Divorced & Remarried Who Come To God\u00a0by Weldon Warnock. Have you read it or know the author? He takes a stand against Homer Hailey's, but I was wondering your opinion on it. I still need the divorce\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2894,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-it-matter-who-files-for-the-divorce\/","url_meta":{"origin":16856,"position":5},"title":"Does it matter who files for the divorce?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 24, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: When you say that someone may divorce their spouse due to fornication, does it matter who actually files the papers? A woman I know moved out of her house, filed divorce papers, and then started dating another man. Her husband didn't know for sure if she was committing adultery\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16856","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16856"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16856\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}