If divorce is a devastating problem for God's church - for families and children - remarriage is as
great or greater.  Divorce is an evil because of the evil it often results in:  remarriage, while one's original
spouse still lives.

 With God's people of old, we cry "with overwhelming grief I weep" because of this violation of
God's law.

 But has it come to such a pass that divorce and remarriage are not considered problems, evils?  Is
it so that God's people have so wearied of the problem that they have given in?  Has the church surrendered
to the pressures to allow divorce for "every cause" and remarriage of any who have "confessed" their sin?

 Here, more than ever, it is important not to allow our emotions to guide us.  For there are very few
who are not personally touched by these questions.  Study with me the Bible's teachings on remarriage.

 The Bible teaches that there may be no remarriage unless one's spouse has died.  This means
physical death, as every person who has made the vows at marriage would admit is the meaning of the
phrase, "till death do us part."

 Some claim that two New Testament passages especially are grounds for remarriage after divorce,
even when one's spouse is still living.  Matthew 19:9 speaks of remarriage when it says, "and shall marry
another."  The innocent party, according to one interpretation of this text, is allowed to remarry.  I
Corinthians 7:10-15 speaks of the desertion of a spouse.  Verse 15 says that if an unbelieving spouse
departs (deserts) the believing spouse is not "under bondage in such cases."  Implied is that the believing
spouse is free to marry again.

 Aside now from the interpretation of these texts, consider what has happened in the churches that
have taken this view of these texts.  Divorce is not only allowed on these two grounds - adultery and
desertion - but for almost every cause.  Desertion is taken to mean almost everything, from mental cruelty to
being aloof.  And remarriage is allowed not only for the "innocent party," but for anyone who has divorced.
The floodgates have been opened, allowing to be swept away the blessed institution of marriage.

 What does the Scripture say?  In every other passage of scripture, God makes it very plain that he
does not allow remarriage.  Mark 10:11,12, Luke 16:18, Romans 7:1-3, and I Corinthians 7:39, all make
very  plain that remarriage is forbidden when one's original spouse is still living.

 If one points to Deuteronomy 24 as grounds for remarriage, he must first read Matthew 19 and
hear what Jesus said about that kind of appeal.  We explained Deuteronomy 24 in the article "God's Will
Concerning Divorce."

 Matthew 19 is more important.  Aside from the difficulty of judging who really is "innocent" in a
divorce, Matthew 19 does not allow for an innocent party to remarry.  Four things make that clear:

 FIRST, one must look carefully at the "except" clause.  See what the except clause refers to.  The
exception is to Jesus prohibition of divorce, and not of remarriage.  Jesus could easily have said,
"Whosoever shall put away his wife and marry another, except it be for fornication . . ."  But he said,
"Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication and shall marry another, committeth
adultery."  Notice carefully the placement of the "except" clause.

 SECOND, it seems that Jesus referred to a woman who had not committed adultery here - an
innocent party.  Jesus says about her, "and whoso marries her which is put away doth commit adultery."  If
the man that marries the innocent woman commits adultery by marrying her, she certainly is committing
adultery.  That's plain.

 THIRD, even though we might not think Jesus teaching was very clear, His disciples did!  It seems
that everyone who uses this passage to support remarriage fails completely to deal with the following
verses, 10-12.  In these verses, Jesus disciples privately complained, "If your teaching is true, Jesus, it
would be better for a man not ever to get married."  Now, why would the disciples make such a statement?
If divorces were so easy, and remarriage allowable with a statement of confession of sin, why would the
disciples have said that it would be better not ever to marry?  There is no other explanation, other than that
they saw Jesus' hard, humanly impossible calling for some after they marry.  Jesus' own answer to the
disciples shows that our interpretation is correct.  He says that there are three different kinds of eunuchs
(men or women who are not sexually active).  Some are born with no sexual desire.  Others are made
eunuchs by men (common for slaves in a king's harem).  And others "have made themselves eunuchs for the
kingdom of heaven's sake.  He that is able to receive it, let him receive it."  What is Jesus saying?  Very
simply, some refrain from all sexual activity (remarriage) for the sake of obedience to Jesus Christ.  Jesus
says this in immediate connection with a question about divorce and remarriage.

 FOURTH, Jesus' apostles understood well what Jesus taught here.  Paul, the chief among them,
explained Jesus' teaching about remarriage in I Corinthians 7:10, 11.  There he makes a distinction between
what the Lord commands and what he commands.  The difference is not between what is required and what
is opinion, but between what the Lord Jesus had explained in His earthly ministry and what Paul adds by
inspiration of the Spirit.  In verse 10 Paul refers to something the Lord himself had commanded.  What was
that?  "Let not the wife depart from her husband:  but and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be
reconciled to her husband."  Amazing!  Paul says that Jesus gave two options to a woman who had to leave
her husband:  (1) Remain unmarried; (2) Be reconciled.  It would be the height of cruelty for Paul to give
only these two options to a divorced mother of children, if Jesus had given another - remarry.  Faithful to
Jesus' teaching in Matthew 19, Paul does not give permission to remarry while one's spouse is living.

 Next, I Corinthians 7:15 is often used to support remarriage while one's spouse still lives.  Briefly,
the explanation goes, if a man deserts his wife (or vie-versa) the wife is not "bound" any longer.  And since
verse 39 shows "not bound" means freedom to marry, this deserted spouse is free to marry.  One sad aspect
of this line of thought is that it is based on the NIV translation that carelessly translates two different Greek
words with the same English word.  Verse 15 speaks of being in bondage (slavery), and verse 39 speaks of
being bound (tied firmly).  Marriage binds a man to his wife for life; but a deserted spouse is not a slave to
the dread of guilt, excommunication, etc.  God calls us to peace.

 Why this strict teaching of Scripture?  Because marriage is a bond made by God, to be broken only
by Him.  No legal contract that can be broken by the parties at their will and whim, marriage is God's bond
(I Corinthians 7:39).  Genesis 2 says, "They two shall be one flesh."  No man can do that.

 The question is, "Can anything but death break that bond?"  The answer of some is, "Divorce."
But if that is the answer, there is no reason the guilty party may not remarry.  Alas, this is the case in almost
every church that began allowing divorce for only the "innocent party."

 Those who remarry, while their original spouse still lives, are living in continual adultery.
Repentance is to leave the new spouse and remain unmarried, or be reconciled to the original spouse (I
Corinthians 7:11).  Reconciliation must be prayed for, sought out, zealously, for God's sake and the
children's.

 Is this impossible?  Is it the case, as it is argued so persuasively, "Jesus would never require such
hardship as that"?  If so, we have made out Christianity to be a religion far different than what Jesus taught
it to be.  For He said it would be a cross - losing life, giving up family members, even hating father or
mother.  Let us "count the cost" before we follow Him, lest we be mocked (Luke 14:25-33).  Let us read the
Bible and know what Jesus says in Matthew 10:34-39, 19:1-12, Mark 10:28ff, and Luke 12:49-53.

 Let us be motivated by this to work on our marriages, warn our children, preach the truth about
marriage, guard jealously God's institutions, and (especially!) pray for grace to walk in God's way, in which
we carry away His blessing.  Be encouraged, God's people, by His word to you in Ephesians 3:20,21.  "Now
unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that
worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end.
Amen."