A denominational preacher by the name of Stephan Gola wrote a book entitled, “Divorce, God’s Will.” In this book he sets forth the theory that all divorced people can remarry with God’s approval on the basis that “divorce was never a sin in itself—ever!” Is there any biblical truth to this claim that divorce is never a sin? The better question, perhaps, would be when is divorce not a sin? That divorce is most often a transgression of God’s law settles the issue of whether or not it is sinful (1 John 3:4). The truth is the only time a person has a right before God to divorce his or her spouse is when their spouse has committed fornication (Matthew 19:9). The only exception to this truth would be a case where a couple was unscripturally married, a case wherein God has not joined or bound them together in the first place, and thus in order to get out of an adulterous relationship they must divorce. So then, Mr. Gola is dead wrong and is guilty of teaching a false doctrine. Divorce is not only sometimes a sinful procedure, it is most often a sinful procedure.  

Sadly, there are some brethren who have bought into this false theory that divorce is not sinful. Even popular, conservative minded preachers are starting to preach strange doctrines on this issue. It has been stated that a person can divorce his mate because of, among other things, financial problems, or incompatibility. Even worse, there are couples who are struggling in their marriages who are hearing these man-made theories and being persuaded to sin against God by divorcing instead of trying hard to work out their differences. There are several reasons why divorce is sinful. Let us observe a few of them. 

1. Divorce is a violation of the words of Christ (Matthew 19:6). When asked if divorce was lawful for every cause, the answer of Jesus was no. His exact words were, “…what therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” When a person divorces his or her spouse for any reason other than infidelity on the part of a spouse (Matthew 19:9), a violation of the direct words of Jesus has occurred. How can this not be sinful? Only emotionalism would cause an otherwise clear-thinking Christian to conclude that one can violate a direct command from Christ without sinning.

 2. Divorce is a violation of a direct apostolic command (1 Corinthians 7:10). When an apostle commands something, it is the same as Christ commanding it (1 Corinthians 14:37). In the passage before us, Paul makes sure this is understood by stating that the Lord is the one who is commanding wives and husbands not to depart. The word “depart” is from the Greek word “chorizo” and literally means “to put room between or to separate”. That divorce is under consideration is clear in that if the women disobeys the command and departs, she will be in an “unmarried” state. So, Paul is clearly and unequivocally setting forth an apostolic command not to divorce. When a person does this anyway, he or she violates a direct apostolic command. How can this not be sinful?

Some have tried to minimize the command of Paul here by referring to his instruction to remain “unmarried” ver. 11. Paul said, “But and if she departs, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband…” First, the words of Paul here in no way suggest that the departing is not a sinful act. Let us all be clear about that. Even if you take the position that Paul is saying one can divorce a spouse and remain “unmarried” without any attempt at reconciliation, you must admit that the departing itself constitutes sin. Now, anyone who approaches his or her relationship with God with an attitude that basically says, “I don’t care what God wants me to do, I’m going to do what I want (sin), and then repent” is in deep trouble spiritually. But, let us think carefully about the words of Paul in ver. 11 of 1 Corinthians 7. Is Paul teaching that one can divorce a spouse for any cause and remain unmarried without any attempt at reconciliation? To conclude such is to believe that Paul taught one can sin and be forgiven without repentance, or to misunderstand the true nature of repentance. It has been said, based on ver. 11 that one who unscripturally divorces a spouse merely needs to be sorry for getting the divorce and move on. However, just because one feels sorry does not mean that repentance has occurred. Only godly sorrow works repentance (2 Corinthians 7:10), and repentance means to have a change of mind. A person who unscripturally divorces a spouse and then sees the error of his way and repents, will attempt to rectify the sin by reconciling with his spouse. If no reconciliation is even attempted, then there has been no change of mind, regardless of what one might claim. Now then, why did Paul give the option of remaining “unmarried.” First, he knew that a remarriage would result in adultery (Romans 7:1-3; Mark 10:12) and thus put the soul of a third person in jeopardy. Second, he knew that there is the possibility that reconciliation was impossible; thus, the only choice would be to remain unmarried. But again, nothing Paul says in ver. 11 erases the fact that the departing or divorce spoken of in ver. 10 is a sinful action.

3. Divorce causes another to commit adultery (Matthew 5:31-32). How could one purposely commit an act that will most probably put another person’s soul in jeopardy without sinning? The spirit of Christ simply would not allow a person to so act. When a person concludes that he is going to do something, even if it endangers the soul of another, he has lost the “mind of Christ” that Paul says should be in us (Philippians 2:5). Would you ever do something that you knew would probably result in the physical death of another? Most of us would answer no to that question. When did physical life become more important than the salvation of one’s soul? According to Jesus, when a person decides to divorce a spouse for a reason other than fornication, that person is putting another person’s soul in danger. Isn’t it better to just work out the problems in a marriage, no matter how much work must go into it, rather than risk the eternal damnation of a soul?

The bottom line is this: God hates divorce (Malachi 2:16). Can you think of anything that God hates that is not sinful? Man may say that “divorce was never sin in itself”, but the Bible tells a different story. To divorce is to put asunder what God has joined together, and to do that is sin in itself. The only exception is when one is divorcing a spouse for the purpose of fornication or when one is getting out of a marriage that is unscriptural, in which case the couple was never joined together by God in the first place. Other than those exceptions, divorce is always a transgression of God’s law and contrary to his will.