Yes, you can marry a divorced person as long as he or she was not divorced because of sexual immorality. This is because Jesus teaches 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 5:32).
For example, if you marry a woman who was divorced because of sexual immorality, you should be ready to live with the fact that by marrying her, you will be committing adultery. The same case applies to a man who was divorced because of sexual immorality.
In addition, the Bible teaches that if a woman is divorced by her husband and then gets married to another man, If the latter divorces her, she cannot go back and be remarried by her former husband because doing so would be committing an abomination to God (1 Corinthians 24:1-4).
As Christians, it is generally a good idea to search the scriptures in order to determine God’s mind regarding certain issues so that the actions we take will not put us in direct conflict with His word. In other words, it is good to know what the Bible says about marriage, divorce, and remarriage, before making any of these binding commitments. In light of this, the following section is subdivided as follows:
- What the Bible says about marriage
- What the Bible says about divorce
- What the Bible says about remarriage
What does the Bible say about marriage?
God is the one who initiated the institution of marriage, as recorded in the book of Genesis. After creating Adam, God causes him to sleep and then extracts one of his ribs, from which He forms a woman. God then presents the woman to Adam, who receives her and declares that she is ‘bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh’. The Bible then records this fundamental verse that is used to represent the institution of marriage in Genesis 2:24:
“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”
So when two individuals, a man and a woman, are joined together in marriage, what they have done is enter into a lifelong commitment or covenant with God as their main witness. This covenant can only be undone when one of the partners is deceased or is involved in sexual immorality. This shows that marriage is both sacred and binding.
These sentiments are echoed by Christ Jesus in Matthew 19:4-6, which says:
“And He answered and said to them, Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Consequently, what God has joined together, let not man separate.”
Ephesians 5:31 puts it this way:
“For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”
It is also important to note that, according to God, the kind of marriage recognized in heaven is that between a man and a woman, anything short of this is NOT marriage as designed by God. This is because one of the main reasons that God created Adam and Eve was so that they could be fruitful and multiply. Now, that can only happen when a man and a woman get married, resulting in children (procreation).
Another reason God instituted marriage was for companionship. At the very beginning, God pointed out that it was not good for man to be alone. Consequently, He formed the woman in order to be the man’s helper and companion. We find this in Genesis 2:18, which says:
“And the LORD God said, ‘it is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.’”
Another reason for marriage is so that both the husband and the wife can satisfy one another’s conjugal needs. In other words, the husband should meet the sexual needs of his wife, and likewise, the wife should meet the sexual needs of her husband. This is recorded in the book of 1 Corinthians 7:3-5, which says:
“Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise, the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.”
To summarize, the following are the three main reasons for marriage:
- Procreation
- Companionship and helping each other
- To meet each other’s conjugal needs
What does the Bible say about divorce?
From the beginning, God intended that the man and woman in a marriage covenant should stick together till death. However, the Bible talks of the hardness of the hearts of men that prompted the allowing of divorce, though that was never God’s initial intention.
In Matthew 5:31, Jesus taught against divorce by saying:
“Further, 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.”
Here, Jesus shows that divorce is not the best route to take for any married couple, except in cases of sexual immorality. Therefore, if the reason for divorce is something else, then the two couples shall be required to remain unmarried until their deaths. This is because if either of them remarries, then they will be living in perpetual adultery with their newly found partners.
The Apostle Paul also advises against divorce in 1 Corinthians 7:10–11, which says
“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.”
Here, we see the Apostle Paul advocating for reconciliation between a husband and his wife, who, for one reason or another, got separated. In case reconciliation fails, the apostle advises the wife against getting married to someone else.
Another kind of divorce that the Bible permits is that between a believer and a non-believer who had been married, but the unbelieving partner decided to leave. This is recorded in 1 Corinthians 7:12–16, which says
“But to the rest, I, not the Lord, say: if any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her. And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him. For 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. But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart; a brother or sister is not under bondage in such cases. BUT GOD HAS CALLED US TO PEACE.”
What does the Bible say about remarriage?
Our first encounter with the issue of remarriage is found in Deuteronomy 24:1-4. This is what it says:
“When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some uncleanliness in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house, when she has departed from his house, and goes and becomes another man’s wife, if the latter husband detests her and writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house, or if the latter husband dies who took her as his wife, then the former husband who divorced her must not take her back as his wife after she has been defiled; for that is an abomination before the LORD, and you shall not bring sin on the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.”
According to this scripture, a divorced woman was at liberty to get married to another man. However, if, by chance, the second husband died, she could not be married to the first husband. This is because she had become defiled as a result of getting married to the second man.
These sentiments are also echoed by the prophet Jeremiah in the book of Jeremiah 3:1, where it says:
“They say, If a man divorces his wife, and she goes from him and becomes another man’s, may he return to her again? Would not that land be greatly polluted? But you have played the harlot with many lovers; yet return to Me,’ says the LORD.”
According to this scripture, a divorced woman, who had been remarried to another man could NOT RETURN to her first husband, as this would greatly pollute the land.
In the book of 1 Corinthians 7:8, we read this:
“But I say to the unmarried and to the widows: it is good for them if they remain even as I am; but if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.”
In this passage, the Apostle Paul addresses two categories of people. The first category is individuals who are yet to get married. The advice Paul gives to this group is that it is better for them to remain single, as he is.
The second category relates to widows, whom he also advises to remain single. However, Paul cautions them by saying that whoever cannot manage his or her sexual desires, then it is better to enter into a marriage covenant where that need shall be met.
Conclusion
This article examined whether it is okay for someone to marry a divorced person. We have since established that one can marry a divorced person as long as he or she was not divorced because of sexual immorality. According to the Bible, marrying a divorcee accused of sexual immorality, would be tantamount to committing adultery (Matthew 5:32). Furthermore, we have looked at some important basics for the institution of marriage that I believe may be helpful to someone intending to enter into the same. Finally, the article also considered the issue of remarriage and the reasons for and against it.
I hope the information was helpful. Thank you.
Related Post: Bible teaching on marriage
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Source: https://www.biblegateway.com/
My name is Nicodemus. I'm a Kenyan by birth. I got saved over 30 years ago while in high school.
I love studying scriptures in order to enhance my comprehension of God and His plan for mankind.
I have an MBA degree in strategic management and a BSc degree in botany and zoology.
I’m married to a loving lady called Leah. God has gifted us three sons: Wayne, Salem, and Michael.
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