Biblical Divorce and Biblical Remarriage. Divorce in itself is not Sin!

Biblical Divorce & Biblical Remarriage

In MOST cases, divorce and remarriage is NOT sin at all, and never was! A biblical divorce is not sin. A biblical remarriage is not sin. This is because divorce and remarriage are not sin in themselves — nor have they ever been! .

Sanctified (Holy) Spouse Doing Unholy Things?

Whether a Christian marriage is equally yoked or unequally yoked, God's command to us is always the same; “...MAN OF GOD ...PURSUE RIGHTEOUSNESS, GODLINESS, faith, love, patience, gentleness” (1Timothy 6:11). As we do this, “...the unbelieving husband is SANCTIFIED by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is SANCTIFIED by the husband; otherwise, your children would be unclean, but now THEY ARE HOLY” (1Corinthians 7:14).

To be “sanctified” simply means that there is a process of cleaning up going on in a person’s life by God that causes them to be separated from that which is not like Himself and being made into that which is like Himself. (Actually, the words sanctified, separated, holy and hallowed that are used in the Bible are basically the same Greek word. They mean the same thing.) Because the “unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife,” the wife must be sanctified herself and because the “unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband,” would mean the husband must be sanctified himself. And if the “children would be unclean [unholy], but now they are holy,” a mother or father MUST be serving God. Between the husband and wife, one being a Christian and the other a non-Christian, someone must give their whole life to God for Him to make the rest of the family holy. I have heard it said all too often that when a husband lives ungodly and the wife wants to live godly, that the wife must stay with her spouse and do whatever he tells her to do no matter what it is because he is the head even to the point of not serving God. How ridiculous! The wife is seeking for a way out of a bad situation, but is only sentenced back to her prison by “holy men of God.” They want to serve God with all their heart, only to find out they must bear the heavy yoke again. Many times this situation ends in tragedy and the so-called “glory” is given to God. Then the spouse who wants to live godly ends up as a “slave of man” instead of a “slave of righteousness.”

Slaves Of Men Or Slaves Of Righteousness?

“But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart; a brother or a sister IS NOT UNDER BONDAGE IN SUCH CASES. But God has called us to peace” (1Corinthians 7:15).

Notice the word “bondage” in verse 15. The word in the Greek text is “douloo,” which is the same word for “slave,” or “to be enslaved.” Most clearly, when one is in bondage, they are a slave to whomever or whatever has them bound. Let’s read verse 15 from the Wuest translation: ”But assuming that the unbelieving husband departs, let him be departing. A [CHRISTIAN] BROTHER OR [CHRISTIAN] SISTER IS NOT IN THE POSITION OF A SLAVE, NAMELY, BOUND TO THE UNBELIEVING HUSBAND OR UNBELIEVING WIFE IN AN INDISSOLUABLE UNION IN CASES SUCH AS THESE; but God has called us [to live] in peace” (1Corinthians 7:15 WUEST).

Notice the “peace” in this case, comes from a separation, not a union. “...God has called us [to live] in peace” (1Corinthians 7:15b). A home that has become a war zone because of two opposing hearts that have been tied together is not peaceful. Being at peace is having the same heart. Again, the Scripture says that a Christian brother or sister “is not in the position of a slave” and goes on to say that they ARE NOT “bound to the unbelieving husband or unbelieving wife in an indissoluble union in cases such as these.” Which means, if we stayed in a situation such as this, we would actually become a slave. And if we become a slave, then someone would have to be the master! You can’t be a slave without having a master over you. And you can’t be in bondage, without someone or something binding you. THE SLAVE ALWAYS PORTRAYS THE MASTER’S DESIRE.

If a godly spouse continues to live with an ungodly spouse, the godly spouse will most likely eventually portray ungodliness, which is also reflected by them not growing in God. This is why Jesus bought us with a price, “...so you DO NOT become slaves of men ...[but] slaves of righteousness” (Romans 6:18, 1Corinthians 7:23).

The book of James says, “Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? Thus, NO SPRING YIELDS BOTH SALT WATER AND FRESH” (James 3:11,12b). This is a Bible principle. When sin (salt water), is mixed with holiness (fresh water), that which was holy becomes corrupted and sinful. Thus, no spring yields BOTH salt water and fresh. When polluted water is mixed with clean water, the clean ALWAYS becomes polluted.

The “slave” living under the “master” and the “fresh water” being mixed with the “salt water” is the godly spouse being polluted by the ways and actions of the ungodly spouse. The godly spouse will become a slave and polluted. Good apples in a bushel do not make the rotten apples better. The good become rotten. God is always saying, “come out of her my people, lest YOU share in her sins, and lest YOU receive of her plagues” (Revelation 18:4). “DO NOT BE DECEIVED: “EVIL COMPANY CORRUPTS GOOD HABITS. AWAKE TO RIGHTEOUSNESS, AND DO NOT SIN; FOR SOME DO NOT HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD” (1Corinthians 15:33,34).

There are many critical keys in this book regarding divorce, remarriage, submission, interracial marriage and relationships. Click on Divorce: God's Will? to order.