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Remarriage After Divorce: Continual Adultery? Christ’s View

August 4, 2023 / 30 Comments on Remarriage After Divorce: Continual Adultery? Christ’s View

According to Jesus Christ and the New Testament, is remarriage after divorce continual adultery? Christ is clear that putting away or divorcing one’s spouse and marrying someone else when one’s spouse is still alive is a wicked sin, and the consummation of that second marriage is an act of adultery, making the people who commit that sin adulterers:

2 And the Pharisees came to him, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? tempting him. 3 And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you? 4 And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away. 5 And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. 6 But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. 7 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; 8 And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh. 9 What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. 10 And in the house his disciples asked him again of the same matter. 11 And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her. 12 And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery. (Mark 10:2-12)

A (very) small minority of people in Christendom teach not only that the act of remarriage is an act of adultery, but that one is living in continual adultery with a second spouse, and, therefore, needs to abandon that second spouse and go back to his or her first husband or wife. Some Amish groups that are confused on the gospel adopt this false teaching, as do some Mennonites (who also very largely are confused on the gospel by denying eternal security and confused on the church by denying the necessity of immersion in baptism). There are very few groups that get the gospel and the church correct that adopt this false teaching on leaving one’s spouse to go back to a former husband or wife.

The Lord Jesus Christ does NOT teach that someone should go back to his former husband or wife if he or she commits the sin of remarriage. The remarriage was a sin, one that should be repented of with sorrow. However, some sins, once they are committed, do not allow one to go back to what would have been right formerly. After Israel sinned by faithlessly refusing to enter the Promised Land (Numbers 14), God punished them by swearing that they would have to dwell in the wilderness for forty years. After they decided not to go up, it was too late for them to change their mind and go into the land. Some of them tried, and God was not with them:

39 And Moses told these sayings unto all the children of Israel: and the people mourned greatly. 40 And they rose up early in the morning, and gat them up into the top of the mountain, saying, Lo, we be here, and will go up unto the place which the LORD hath promised: for we have sinned. 41 And Moses said, Wherefore now do ye transgress the commandment of the LORD? but it shall not prosper. 42 Go not up, for the LORD is not among you; that ye be not smitten before your enemies. 43 For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and ye shall fall by the sword: because ye are turned away from the LORD, therefore the LORD will not be with you. 44 But they presumed to go up unto the hill top: nevertheless the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and Moses, departed not out of the camp. 45 Then the Amalekites came down, and the Canaanites which dwelt in that hill, and smote them, and discomfited them, even unto Hormah. (Numbers 14:39-45)

The same situation takes place after a remarriage. The sin of divorce should not have been committed (Malachi 2:16), and the sin of remarriage should not have been committed (Mark 10:2-12), but once these grave sins have been committed, there is no going back. It is an abomination to divorce a second time and go back to a former husband and wife, according to the Lord Jesus Christ. How do we know this?

Remarriage-Go Back To the First Spouse?

Jesus Christ Did Not Teach One Should Go Back to a Former Spouse

Because The Old Testament Taught It Is An Abomination To Do So

Deuteronomy 24:1-4 reads:

1 When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. 2 And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man’s wife. 3 And if the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife; 4 Her former husband, which sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before the LORD: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.

As explained elsewhere on this blog by both Dr. Brandenburg and in my article “Divorce, Deuteronomy 24:1-4, Remarriage, and New Testament teaching,” Scripture is clear that going back to a former spouse after a remarriage is an abomination before Jehovah, something that God Himself hates. What is an abomination to Jehovah is not just a sin for Israel, but for all people at all times; as the Gentiles had defiled the land by abominations, so Israel must not defile the land by committing this abomination. Thus, it is clear that someone who has sinned by entering a second marriage should not sin again by leaving his current spouse to go back to a former one.

Remarriage-Go Back To the First Spouse?

Jesus Christ Did Not Teach One Should Go Back to a Former Spouse

Because The Passages In the New Testament Misused to Claim This Do Not Teach It

Luke 16:18 reads:

Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery.

πᾶς ὁ ἀπολύων τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ καὶ γάμων ἑτέραν μοιχεύει· καὶ πᾶς ὁ ἀπολελυμένην ἀπὸ ἀνδρὸς γαμῶν μοιχεύει.

pas ho apolyōn tēn gynaika autou kai gamōn heteran moicheuei; kai pas ho apolelymenēn apo andros gamōn moicheuei.

The verb “committeth adultery” (μοιχεύει, moicheuei) is in the Greek present tense (cf. also Mark 10:11-12; Matthew 5:31-32). People with a surface-level understanding of Greek have concluded from this fact that one who has remarried is committing continual adultery every time the act of marriage takes place. However, the verbs “putteth away” and “marrieth” are also in the present tense, yet are clearly not continual and ongoing actions. As someone with a deeper knowledge of Greek will recognize, the present tense forms in Luke 16:18 clearly fit the syntactical category of the gnomic or timeless present—continual marriage ceremonies, continual divorces, and continual adultery are not at all in view, any more than the present tense verbs in Galatians 5:3; 6:13 specify continually getting circumcised or the present tense verb in Hebrews 5:1 specifies being ordained to the priesthood over and over again. An examination of pages 523-524 of Daniel B. Wallace, Greek Grammar beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996) illustrates that the syntactical features requisite for identifying a gnomic present appear in this context. Luke 16:18 does not teach that those who have committed the grievous sins of divorce and remarriage should commit another abomination (Deuteronomy 24:4) by leaving their current spouses for the previous ones. Rather, in this passage the “present … [specifies] [a] class … of those who … once do the act the single doing of which is the mark of … the class … [as in] Luke 16:18” (Ernest De Witt Burton, Syntax of the Moods and Tenses in New Testament Greek, 3rd ed. [Edinburg: T&T Clark, 1898], 56-57). The destruction of one family unit through remarriage, the physical consummation of which is an act of adultery, is bad enough; it must not be compounded with a further abomination. Please see my study Reasons Christians Should and Can Learn Greek and Hebrew for more information on both Deuteronomy 24 and Luke 16:18.

Thus, Scripture is clear that one who has committed the sin of remarriage should not go back to his or her former spouse. God teaches that it is an abomination to do so. The Lord Jesus Christ, who revealed the Old Testament by His Spirit in His prophets, taught that it is an abomination in Deuteronomy 24:1-4. Christ did not contradict what He affirmed in the Old Testament in the Gospels. Remarriage while a spouse is alive is the wicked sin of adultery, but those who have committed that sin are now bound to remain with their new spouses until death do them part.

–TDR

No Divorce–Just Legal Separation!

April 9, 2021 / Leave a comment

Scripture plainly teaches that God hates divorce, e. g. Mark 10:11-12:

And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her. And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.

But what about “legal separation”? Can a believer justify separating himself or herself from his or her spouse, going to law in custody battles, and in other ways remaining unreconciled, as long as “legal separation” and not “divorce” is what this is called? Consider the following passages.

1.) 1Cor. 7:10 And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband:
1Cor. 7:11 But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife.
1Cor. 7:12 But to the rest speak I, not the Lord: If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away.
1Cor. 7:13 And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him.
1Cor. 7:14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy.

Note that “let …” is the English way of rendering a 3rd person imperative in Greek–in other words, these are not just allowances, they are commands, infallible orders in God’s Word. “Let not the wife depart from her husband … Let not the husband put away his wife” are not options, but commands, commands just like the commands not to commit idolatry, not to steal, to confess Christ, etc.Note as well that a believing spouse is not suggested, but commanded to “not leave” even an unconverted spouse–and what kind of unconverted people are we talking about? What kind of people are the unconverted at Corinth? They were “unrighteous … fornicators … idolaters … adulterers … effeminate … abusers of themselves with mankind … thieves … covetous … drunkards … revilers … extortioners” (1 Cor 6:9-10). Even spouses who are unconverted and are engaging in such filthy perversion and gross wickedness come under the command, not the option, but command, “Let not … leave.”The only person who is seen leaving is the unconverted spouse. Leaving is what an unconverted person would be characterized by, not a converted person who can love, suffer, patiently endure wrong, etc. like Christ because of the fruit of the Holy Spirit.Note as well that leaving does not result in a better situation for the household. Staying with even a spouse who is a fornicator, adulterer, thief, etc. results in the household being “sanctified” and the children being “holy.” It is better for the children for the two to stay together, even if one spouse is engaged in such gross wickedness. Nothing in the text says anything about separating until the other person gets better or changes. On the contrary, the only mention of change in the evil of the one spouse is if they stay together (1 Cor 7:16):

1Cor. 7:16 For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife?

where the “whether” is the Greek particle for “if” with the assumption of the reality of the condition (1st class conditional)–in other words, “whether/if thou shalt..” with the assumption that staying together will result in the positive change (1st class), not “whether/if” with this presented as only being possible (3rd class) or unlikely (4th class conditional). The only thing the text says happens when the two are not together is children who are unclean instead of holy and the other spouse not making positive change.

2.) Mal. 2:13 And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand.
Mal. 2:14 Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.
Mal. 2:15 And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.
Mal. 2:16 For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the LORD of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.

Note that Jehovah, the God of Israel, says that “he hateth putting away.” Note that Jehovah does not say that He only hates giving a certificate of divorce. He says that He hates–He finds detestable in His holy Being–“putting away.” A simple search for this word (shalach, Piel stem) indicates that “putting away” appears in passages such as:

Gen. 12:20 And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had.

Ex. 10:7 And Pharaoh’s servants said unto him, How long shall this man be a snare unto us? let the men go, that they may serve the LORD their God: knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed?

Josh. 24:28 So Joshua let the people depart, every man unto his inheritance.

and many others.So what God “hates” is not just signing a divorce certificate, although He certainly does hate that. He hates “putting away.” He hates it when spouses “depart” or “go” from each other, and when this happens, not only do they do something that He “hates,” but they do something that greatly compromises the “godly seed”–something also seen, as noted above, in 1 Cor 7. “Putting away” meaning literally “departing” or “going” etc., not just “divorce,” as something hated by God is also seen in 1 Cor 7 above, where “put away” is paralleled with “depart,” not being “reconciled,” “dwell with,” “not .. leave,” etc.So what God hates, what He calls “treachery” to the marriage vow in Malachi 2, is not just divorce, but “putting away.” Consider the contextual curses related to the sins of the chapter like “putting away” include:

Mal. 2:2 If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart.
Mal. 2:3 Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts; and one shall take you away with it.

The text indicates God calls putting away of a spouse treachery, and He curses those who do it, corrupts their seed, spreads dung on them, and takes them away.

3.) Psa. 15:1-4 LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?
Psa. 15:2 He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.
Psa. 15:3 He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour.
Psa. 15:4 In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the LORD. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.

Note that this passage says that those who “speak truth” and “swear to [their] own hurt, and changeth not” are those who will “dwell in [God’s] holy hill,” and are contrasted with the “vile person.” The upright person swears to his own hurt and does not change, while the vile change and when swearing is to the vile person’s own hurt, he changes, unlike the righteous.So if someone calls together a large group of witnesses, and then swears to God something such as, in part:

“I, ___, take thee, ___, to be my wedded husband/wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part, according to God’s holy ordinance; and thereto I pledge thee my faith.”

Even if one later thinks he or she should not have made this vow it does not matter. The righteous swears to his own hurt and does not change. The vow has been made and must be kept even to one’s own hurt. Christ’s people know that their time on earth is about losing their life, taking up the cross–which is terrible, humiliating suffering and excruciating death–to follow Jesus Christ. So even if keeping one’s vow means one will be in awful misery, he needs to keep his vow that was sworn to one’s hurt, and not change, since Jehovah calls spousal separation “treachery” in Malachi 2. It is better to endure lifelong misery than to sin. It is better to suffer a horrible death like crucifixion than to sin. While God gives comfort to His obedient people in suffering, and it is not likely that staying in a marriage will mean life-long suffering for a believer, even if it does the believer is to swear to his own hurt and not change. This life is nothing compared to eternal life, and suffering for 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, or 100 years is nothing compared to eternity. It is better not to make a foolish vow, but once it has been made it must be kept, because life is not about our feeling comfortable, but about the glory of God.If we have the following attitude:

Is. 66:2 For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.

it is very clear that “legal separation” is hateful to God. Believers who file for “legal separation” are sinning against the Lord. If a spouse is running at you with a meat cleaver screaming he is going to kill you, you can run away so you don’t get killed. If you are getting beaten up, you can flee to prevent that from happening because of the Biblical principle in the Sixth Commandment to preserve life from murder (Exodus 20:13). You do not get to leave if you have an unsaved spouse who is mean, who says terrible things to you, or anything like that. Obey God. Reject legal separation, just like you reject divorce. God rejects them both.

Learn more about the Christian home here.

–TR

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