What does the Bible say about divorce and remarriage?
Maybe your marriage is falling apart. Maybe you’re already divorced and wondering if God is done with you, or if you’re allowed to marry again. This is what the Bible says.
God designed marriage to last for life: “what God has joined together, let man not separate” (Matthew 19:6), and He says plainly, “I hate divorce” (Malachi 2:16). Our doctrine follows the two reasons Scripture gives where divorce is allowed: sexual unfaithfulness (Matthew 19:9), and when an unbelieving spouse leaves the marriage (1 Corinthians 7:15). In those two cases, the faithful spouse is released and may remarry in the Lord. Outside of them, the call is to reconcile. And divorce is not the unforgivable sin. If you’ve been divorced, God’s grace covers you, and He is not done with you.
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Hosea bought his wife back
God told the prophet Hosea to marry Gomer, and she left him for other men again and again. Then God said, “Go again, show love to a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress,” and Hosea bought her back for fifteen shekels of silver and some barley (Hosea 3:1–2). God used Hosea’s marriage to show Israel how He loved them even when they were unfaithful. Divorce was allowed for unfaithfulness. Hosea chose mercy anyway.
The two reasons, in plain words
Adultery: “whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery” (Matthew 19:9). When a spouse breaks the covenant through unfaithfulness, the faithful one is allowed to end the marriage. Forgiveness and staying is still the better way when it’s possible.
Abandonment: “if the unbeliever leaves, let him go. The brother or sister is not bound in such cases” (1 Corinthians 7:15). If a spouse who doesn’t follow Christ walks out, the believer is not chained to an empty marriage.
If you are being abused
Get safe now. Scripture allows a spouse to separate (1 Corinthians 7:11), and God never asks you to stay in danger. Call 911 if you’re in immediate danger, or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233. Tell your pastor. Then seek God’s wisdom about the marriage from a place of safety.
If you’re already divorced
Divorce is not the unforgivable sin. If you sinned in it, confess it, and God forgives completely (1 John 1:9). If you remarried outside these reasons before you knew Christ, don’t try to undo your current marriage. Honor God in the marriage you’re in now (1 Corinthians 7:17, 20).
What the Bible says
- 01
Jesus on divorce.
“Then some Pharisees came and tested Him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?” Jesus answered, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’ ? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.” “Why then,” they asked, “did Moses order a man to give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away? ” Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because of your hardness of heart. But it was not this way from the beginning. Now I tell you that whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery. ””
Matthew 19:3–9 - 02
God hates divorce.
“And this is another thing you do: You cover the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping and groaning, because He no longer regards your offerings or receives them gladly from your hands. Yet you ask, “Why?” It is because the LORD has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have broken faith, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. Has not the LORD made them one, having a portion of the Spirit? And why one? Because He seeks godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit and do not break faith with the wife of your youth. “For I hate divorce,” says the LORD, the God of Israel. “He who divorces his wife covers his garment with violence,” says the LORD of Hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit and do not break faith.”
Malachi 2:13–16 - 03
Paul’s teaching.
“To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife. To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If a brother has an unbelieving wife and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. And if a woman has an unbelieving husband and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his believing wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy. But if the unbeliever leaves, let him go. The believing brother or sister is not bound in such cases. God has called you to live in peace. How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?”
1 Corinthians 7:10–16 - 04
Love her again.
“Then the LORD said to me, “Go show love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love to offer raisin cakes to idols. ” So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a lethech of barley. Then I said to her, “You must live with me for many days; you must not be promiscuous or belong to another, and I will do the same for you.””
Hosea 3:1–3 - 05
What marriage pictures.
“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her to sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to Himself as a glorious church, without stain or wrinkle or any such blemish, but holy and blameless. In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. Indeed, no one ever hated his own body, but he nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church. For we are members of His body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, but I am speaking about Christ and the church. Nevertheless, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.”
Ephesians 5:25–33 - 06
Forgiveness.
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
1 John 1:9
Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible.
If your marriage is struggling, ask your spouse to pray with you for one minute tonight. If that’s not possible, pray for them by name.
Common questions
Can I divorce for irreconcilable differences?
Scripture doesn’t give that as a reason. Seek counsel, prayer and help to reconcile.
Is remarriage after divorce adultery?
Not when the divorce was for adultery or abandonment by an unbelieving spouse. Outside those, Jesus calls it adultery (Matthew 19:9).
Can a divorced person serve in church?
Yes. God uses people with every kind of past who have been made new in Christ.
You weren’t made to do life alone.
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