The Rights of a
Wife Who Has Been Unscripturally Divorced
When a man and woman become “bound by the law” to each other, they are
to remain married to each other until death parts them. Jesus said,
“Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against
her.” Jesus did give one exception to this rule. He said,
“whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries
another, commits adultery” (Romans 7:1-3; Mark 10:11; Matthew 19:9).
When a man divorces his wife for a reason other than that given by our
Lord, what rights does the put-away wife then have?
She has the right...
[1] ...to know that her husband has violated the plain and clear
command of the Lord. Jesus never granted a man the right to divorce his
wife for things such as loss of passion in the relationship,
irreconcilable differences, financial distress, or anything else --
except -- except only this: He granted a man the right to divorce his
mate if she has been sexually unfaithful. The Lord could not have made
this any clearer.
[2] ...to know that if her husband repents and desires to
reconcile with her, that the law of Christ allows such (1 Corinthians
7:10-11).
[3] ...to know that her husband will pay the price eternally if
he does not repent. Not only has he violated the plain command of the
Lord, he has further placed his former wife in the precarious position
of being tempted to commit adultery. Jesus said “that whoever divorces
his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit
adultery” (Matt. 5:32).
[4] ...to know that she herself has no right to marry another.
Jesus said that “whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery”
(Matthew 19:9), and “whoever marries her who is divorced from her
husband commits adultery” (Luke 16:18). Even if she did not want her
husband to divorce her, yet she is a divorced woman nonetheless, and has
no right to marry another. Jesus’ legislation does not differentiate
between women who go along with their husbands’ divorce proceedings and
those who do not go along with such. Read again His simple words.
Nor does Jesus give a blanket "authorization for remarriage" to the
"innocent party" in a divorce. Some have thought that if a husband,
after putting his “innocent” (sexually faithful) wife away, commits
fornication, that she may then “put him away” and remarry. We need to
pay close attention to Jesus’ words. He only gave a right to remarry to
one who "divorces" (i.e., puts away) his mate "for sexual immorality."
One who has been "put away" (regardless of the reason) has no such
right.
[5] ...to know that she does have the ability, with God’s
aid, to remain celibate “for the kingdom of heaven‘s sake“ (Matt.19:12),
and can still serve the Lord and go to heaven.
[6] ...to know that if she succumbs to the temptations of Satan
and marries another man, that both she and her new husband (adulteress
and adulterer) will reap an eternity in hell if they remain together
(Luke 16:18; Romans 7:3; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Revelation 21:8; Hebrews
13:4).
NOTE: These may appear to be blunt and harsh statements,
but they are the truth. Let us not seek to “soften” or “water down” the
truth. Among other things, let this be said: Marriage is for life. It is
not to be entered into lightly. All those who have a scriptural right to
marry should consider soberly their choice for marriage. Choose someone
who is as well eligible for marriage and who, above all else, loves God
-- a Christian in the full sense of the word. Two people who love God
more than anything else can make their marriage a wonderful, lifelong
union. Marriage is serious business.
--Mike Noble
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