Can Christians Divorce?
1) Direct Answer
No. God’s will is one man and one woman for life. A Christian is not to divorce. If separation must occur, the believer is to remain unmarried or be reconciled. Remarriage while a living spouse remains is adultery.
2) Scriptural Explanation
- From the beginning: “They two shall be one flesh…what God hath joined together, let not man put asunder” (Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:4-6).
- God hates putting away (Malachi 2:16).
- Jesus restored the original standard: “Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so” (Matthew 19:8).
- The “exception” Jesus named is fornication (Matthew 19:9; 5:32). Now notice, Scripture itself shows what that means: Joseph “being a just man…was minded to put her away privily” when he thought Mary had been unclean before they came together (Matthew 1:18-19). That deals with discovering unchastity at the start of the union—not granting a license to dissolve a consummated marriage.
- After marriage is joined, Jesus said plainly: “Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery” (Mark 10:11-12; Luke 16:18).
- Paul confirms: “Let not the wife depart… but and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband” (1 Corinthians 7:10-11). A believer is “not under bondage” to force an unbelieving spouse to stay (1 Corinthians 7:15), yet this does not open the door to remarriage; he later says, “The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth” (1 Corinthians 7:39; Romans 7:2-3).
- Leadership standard: an overseer must be “the husband of one wife” (1 Timothy 3:2). That’s why men who came into the faith already with more than one wife were received as believers but not placed in church office.
3) Simple Clarifying Logic
- God joins; man must not tear apart what God joined.
- Moses permitted divorce because of hardness of heart; Jesus lifted it back to God’s first intent.
- If divorce were allowed for any later offense or convenience, Jesus would not have called remarriage “adultery,” nor would Paul have commanded separated believers to remain unmarried or be reconciled.
- If an unbeliever departs, the believer is called to peace; but Scripture still binds the marriage bond while the spouse lives.
4) Short Reinforcing Statement
Come as you are, repent of past wrongs, and walk clean from now on. Don’t break up more homes. If you’re already entangled, stay as you are and live faithfully to Christ; but do not seek remarriage while a living spouse remains. God honors His Word and heals where we submit to it.
Ask a Follow-up Question
What did the Laodicean Church Age (our age) Angel (- messenger) Say about this?
Ranked passages from the local William Branham sermon and Church Age Book database. Relevance is relative, not a statement of doctrinal certainty.
Jesus at the door
58-0529 §36
The Bible claims that if a woman cuts her hair or locks, her husband has a right to divorce her and send her away. The Bible said so. She dishonors her husband. And a dishonorable woman shouldn't be lived with. Oh, you say, "I'm just as pure as a lily." That might be true, sister; it's because the preacher never told you about it, or either your stubborn will that won't let God come in. Maybe it didn't come into the preacher's heart. I know that's rough. I don't mean to hurt you, but that... We can't handle the Gos...
Questions and Answers
62-0527 §16
Or the woman say to her husband, "I'm not going to mix up with that bunch of holy rollers. I'm not going to do this! I'll separate and leave you." Don't you leave the church, you let her leave, see. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such case. That is, if your companion is putting you away and wants to depart, you don't have to just hold onto them. If they're wanting to leave you and they're going to leave you for the cause of Christ, let them leave. But, you can't remarry! "But God has called us unto p...
Questions and Answers
61-1015M §81
...it adultery: whosoever marries her that is put away liveth in adultery." So don't do that. No, you cannot go back to your first wife if she's been married again. But if she divorced you and put you away...
Questions and Answers
62-0527 §18
You can't make it contradict itself. So just read the verses before and after, and you'll catch them what he's talking about. Now, this means here, not ... see: "Does this mean a sister or a brother is free to remarry?" No, sir. See, he explained that first. See: ... unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband: But and if she departs, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: ... [See?] There's no such things as any believer ever being reconciled to...
Hebrews, Chapter 7, part 2
57-0922 §57
...t through it! I said, "If I said about my wife, 'Oh, well, I'd like to have two wives. I'd like to run around with this one, and do this and that. But if I do, my wife will divorce me and my kids will be in ... my ministry would be lost,'" You dirty, rotten hypocrite! That's right. You don't love her right, in the first place. That's exactly right. If you loved her, there'd be no law about it; you love her, anyhow, and you stick with her. That's exactly right. And you women will do the same thing to your husband. T...