Is divorce ever permissible?

Response

Remarriage after divorce is sin.

Deuteronomy 24:1-2 states that divorce was allowed legally at the time, but this does not mean that God endorses divorce.  As Jesus put it, “For the hardness of your heart [Moses] wrote you this precept.”

I Corinthians 7:15 states that a believer is “not under bondage” when an unbeliever departs.  However, this does not mean that the believer can remarry, but that he/she is simply not under bondage.  Divorce is not God’s plan, but God understands when an unbeliever decides to leave a believer.  Though it is sad, it is not the believer’s fault.  They still must obey God and not remarry, unless their former mate dies (Romans 7:2).

Exception Clause

There is one exception to the no divorce/remarriage rule: “for the cause of fornication.”  This is when a husband or wife is unfaithful before the couple is come together.  In American culture, the closest example is if a fiancé is unfaithful before “marriage.”  In the Jews’ culture, a couple would be “husband” and “wife” before they were come together.

For instance, when Joseph thought that Mary had been unfaithful before they were come together (Matthew 1:18-19), he planned to divorce her.  Although Mary had not been unfaithful, Joseph shows us the only permissible case for divorce and remarriage: before a couple is come together.