Whoever divorces his wife
Jesus said, "Furthermore it has been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 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" (Matthew 5:31-32).
The Problem of Divorce — There is no greater problem in our society than those which arise from misuse and abuse of the home, especially where broken homes are concerned. Even in situations where homes have been reestablished with new mates and step-children and step-parents and circumstances are good, it is never able to achieve the same level of greatness achieved in homes established and maintained in Godly principles from the beginning. In our society there is a divorce on average every twenty-seven seconds, 3164 each day. The sacredness of the vows which say, "Till death do us part" is no longer the stabilizing force in marriage and that which gives comfort and security to the participants. The more divorce is accepted in society and in the churches, the more likely it is that increased numbers will be torn apart from each other and from within by this awful killer of homes, families, and persons.
God’s Word On Divorce — The truth is that God hates divorce and those who engage in it are dealing treacherously with each other (Malachi 2:-14-16). While God allowed divorce for any reason during the period of the Law (Deuteronomy 24:1), it was only because of the hardness of the heart of those who desired such (Matthew 19:8). As we live today under the will of God given by Jesus Christ, the rule is that a man and woman are bound together by law as long as they both live. If one dies, the one left alive may remarry someone else. If either party marries another while the first mate is alive, that individual commits adultery (Romans 7:1-3; 1 Corinthians 7:39; See also Mark 10:11-12 and Luke 16:18).
Only One Exception — There is only one exception to this rule! Hear it again! In the Scriptures, there is only one exception to this rule!!! That exception is fornication (KJV) or sexual immorality (NKJV). Sexual infidelity is the only exception to the rule that marriage is to last for life. Forget "We were too young and we made a mistake." It wont work to say, "We just don’t love each other any more." For one to divorce and marry someone else it must be that person’s mate is guilty of fornication. We are concerned with civilized divorces when we ought to be concerned with scriptural divorces. There is no divorce which does not involve sin on the part of one party or the other or both. If a divorce is without fornication, the sin is in leaving the responsibilities of marriage and eventually adultery. If a divorce is for fornication, that is the sin. Either way, there is sin in all divorce and God hates it. (More Next Week!)