WHAT WE BELIEVE THE BIBLE TEACHES ABOUT DIVORCE AND

MCLEAN BIBLE CHURCH

WHAT WE BELIEVE THE BIBLE

TEACHES ABOUT DIVORCE AND

REMARRIAGE

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A position paper by the Elders of McLean Bible Church

Jesus once summarized God’s design for marriage to the religious leaders of Israel like this,

“So they are no longer two but one ﬂesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man

separate” (Matthew 19:9). Divorce is not a deliberate part of God’s plan from the beginning. In

fact, God says He hates divorce (Malachi 2:16).

Divorce has crept into human marriage relationships, however, and today has become

rampant. Approximately one out of every two marriages in America will be broken by divorce,

and the rate is increasing. To those who believe in Jesus Christ, this is a disconcerting state of

aairs. It is also a state of aairs that demands a clear understanding of what the Bible teaches

about divorce and especially remarriage.

The purpose of this information is to explain in a concise way what God says in the Bible

about divorce and remarriage. Certainly, every case involving a divorce and/or remarriage

must be considered individually, but the principles explained herein should provide a biblical

framework to evaluate each individual case.

This explanation operates on the following assumptions:

1. The Bible is the Word of God, inerrant, infallible, and authoritatively binding in every age

and culture on earth.

2. The Bible is to be interpreted literally unless the context clearly indicates that it should be

taken otherwise.

3. More speciﬁcally related to the issue of divorce and remarriage, it is assumed that whenever

God grants permission for a legitimate divorce, He also grants permission for a legitimate

remarriage. If God did not desire to grant permission to remarry, He could prescribe

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permanent separation only (1 Corinthians 7:11). Therefore, since in some cases God does

permit divorce, it is assumed that wherever He does, He also permits remarriage.

I. MARRIAGE BETWEEN TWO BELIEVERS

The general principle for a marriage between two actively professing Christians is stated by

Paul in his ﬁrst letter to the church at Corinth: “To the married I give this charge (not I, but

the Lord): the wife should not separate from her husband (but if she does, she should remain

unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and the husband should not divorce his wife”

(1 Corinthians 7:10-11).

The principles here are very clear:

1. No divorce is permitted to a Christian couple.

2. Separation is allowed in severe circumstances (e.g. physical cruelty or abuse, life threats,

etc.) but never divorce or remarriage.

The only exception to this principle is found in Matthew 5:32. “Everyone who divorces his wife,

except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a

divorced woman [meaning for any reason other than sexual immorality] commits adultery.”

Since sexual relations form a bond of oneness between two people (1 Corinthians 6:16), sexual

sin on the part of one marriage partner is grounds for divorce. The Greek word translated

“sexual immorality” (pornea) is a general term and would include adultery, homosexuality or

any type of sexual perversion. It should be noted that Jesus does not insist upon divorce in

such cases nor command it -- nor even encourage it. Considering the Scriptures as a whole,

it would seem that divorce should be a last resort, reserved only for cases of repeated and/or

ﬂagrant sexual violations. Short of this, forgiveness and reconciliation are to be sought after

and the marriage preserved. If a divorce is obtained because of sexual immorality, remarriage

is permitted.

II. MARRIAGE BETWEEN A BELIEVER AND AN UNBELIEVER

The Bible speaks directly to this kind of situation in 1 Corinthians 7:12-16:

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“To the rest I say (I, not the Lord) that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she

consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. If any woman has a husband who is an

unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. For the unbelieving

husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of

her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. But if the

unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved.

God has called you to peace. For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or

how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?”

The principles here are also very clear:

1. If the unbelieving partner desires to preserve the marriage, the believing partner has no

freedom to divorce him/her.

2. If the unbelieving partner chooses to leave and sue for divorce, the believing partner is to

let him/her depart. In such cases the believing partner is free to remarry, but “only in the

Lord”. (1 Corinthians 7:39)

III. SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS

Every situation does not ﬁt neatly into these categories. There are a number of varied

situations that can and do arise. Many are of such a unique nature that general principles

cannot be formulated for them. However, there are a few special cases that tend to reoccur

regularly, and these are considered below:

Involving a Non-Biblical Divorce - When any divorce is obtained on non-biblical grounds

and one of the parties remarries, that person has committed adultery since God never

recognized the divorce as legitimate (Matt. 5:32; Mark 10:11). Since the remarried partner has

“committed adultery,” the marriage bond is now broken and the remaining partner is free to

remarry.

Involving a New Believer - In the case of a person who has just accepted Christ as his/her

Savior, that person becomes a “new creature” in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). This does not mean

that God immediately erases all painful memories, bad habits or underlying causes of past

marital problems, but that He begins the process of transforming the believer through the

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Holy Spirit and the Word of God. Nor does this mean that the new believer is automatically

freed from all responsibility related to his/her former or existing marriage.

1. If the new believer is presently separated from his/her spouse, he/she must seek genuine

reconciliation with the estranged partner (1 Corinthians 7:11). If the partner refuses, and

seeks and receives a divorce, the believer is free to remarry in the Lord according to 1

Corinthians 7:15.

2. If the new believer is presently divorced, he/she must seek genuine reconciliation with the

divorced partner (1 Corinthians 7:11). If the partner refuses, the believer is free to remarry in

the Lord according to 1 Corinthians 7:15.

3. If the new believer is presently divorced and his/her former spouse has since remarried, the

marriage bond has been broken and the new believer is free to remarry in the Lord. To have

the remarried partner obtain a second divorce to reconcile with the new believer would be a

violation of the Scriptures (Deuteronomy 24:1-4).

4. If the new believer’s former spouse has remarried and is now divorced again, the new

believer is not allowed to take the former spouse back (Deuteronomy 24:1-4) but is allowed

to remarry in the Lord.

5. If the new believer is presently remarried, but his/her original divorce was not biblical, he/

she should not dissolve the present marriage to seek reconciliation with the former partner.

To do so would be a violation of the Scriptures (Deuteronomy 24:1-4). The new believer

should confess his/her sin, receive God’s forgiveness, and make his/her present marriage

honoring to God.

Involving the Restoration of a Previous Marriage - It is assumed that the grace of God

becomes operative in any attempt to reconcile a marriage. Two people who repent and confess

their sin, and seek God’s power and strength, can once again experience the joy of a healthy

marriage relationship. A true sign of repentance and salvation will be a sincere desire to

restore a former marriage whenever possible.

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Involving Remarriage from a Biblical Divorce - If the innocent party in a legitimate, biblical

divorce is seeking remarriage, it is preferable that he/she waits until a spouse who is unwilling

to reconcile has remarried. The purpose of such a wait is so as not to preclude any possibility

of reconciliation. However, this is not to be a hard and fast rule, but will depend upon a number

of factors that must be evaluated by each person in such a situation (e.g., purity of life and

thought, time, children needing a father/ mother, etc.)

IV. DIVORCE AND SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP

The church has a responsibility to uphold the biblical ideal of marriage, especially as

exempliﬁed by its leadership. In cases where there has been a divorce in a person’s past, the

church has an obligation to restrict, for a period of time, the person’s involvement in leadership

until it is proven that the person’s lifestyle and/or present marriage exempliﬁes godliness, pure

devotion and sacriﬁcial love.

On the other hand, divorce is no greater sin than any other, and must not be placed in a

unique category that is not in keeping with the Scriptures. 1 Timothy 3:2, 12 does not prohibit

previously married men from serving as elders and deacons. Such an interpretation would bar

widowers from such service as well as divorced men, and this would be a clear contradiction of

the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 7:39, Romans 7:1-3). Where there has been repentance, confession

and forgiveness from God, a believer’s qualiﬁcations for leadership must be evaluated on the

qualities which currently characterize his/her life. The Bible does not see divorce as a sin that

is to follow a person all his/her life or permanently disqualify him/her for all spiritual service.

For questions regarding the MBC Marriage Policy or getting married at MBC, please contact a

pastor or sta member at the MBC campus you attend.