Expert: Rev. Robert Woods - 5/10/2005

Question
Dear Pastor Woods,
    Greetings in Jesus' name! I have a single male friend who met a lady in the internet; the girl is from Russia, and is divorced. He wants to marry her - is it allowed for christians to marry a lady who is divorced? Is a divorced person still considered married - based on the Bible? Others say that a marriage paper is just a document made by humans - while the real union of a man and a woman is from above. Like for instance, a female in a rebel territory is forced to sign a marriage contract to be a wife a rebel male she did not love; does this mean  she is married - in the sight of God? though the process is unfair? I hope you can give light to this confusing situation.

Sincerely,
Amram

Answer
Blessings and thank you for your question.
Divorce is a sin.  When God created marriage, he intended for 2 people to be together until death.  Divorce came into the picture when sin entered the marriage.  God gave permission for people to divorce when their partner was unfaithful.  By the time of Jesus, divorce was a big problem.  Many Jewish men would marry prostitutes for a night and divorce them the next morning.  This enabled them to get what they wanted without breaking the law.  

Jesus saw the hardening of their hearts and pointed out that marriage was a sacred vow.  Divorce should only happen in the severest of cases.  

Divorce is not a sin only if your partner was unfaithful or if your partner is not a Christian and wishes to divorce.  Now I don't think God would want someone to stay in a marriage where they are being abused.  So each case of divorce should be looked at individually.

While divorce is a sin, it is not an unforgivable sin.  I believe that if a person repents and asks the Father for forgiveness, then the Father forgives that person.  Then they are free to marry again.    


Exodus 21:10-11; Ezra 10:1-6; Deuteronomy 24:1-4; Isaiah 54:6; Jeremiah 3:1, 20; Hosea 2:7. Malachi 2:13-16; Matthew 1:19, 5:31-32, 19:3-9 24:37-38; Mark 10:2-12; Romans 7:1-3; 1 Corinthians 7:10-14; 2 Timothy 3:3