WHAT ABOUT MARRIAGE?
God designed marriage as a lifelong covenant relationship (Mal. 2:14, 1 Cor. 7:39) between a man and woman (Gen. 2:7; 18-25) for the purposes of mutual companionship (Gen. 2:18), bearing children (Gen 1:28), marital satisfaction (1 Cor. 7:2-5), relational oneness, and to display the nature of the relationship between God and his people (Eph. 5:22-33). In marriage, one is “leaving” primary bonds of mother and father and permanently “cleaving” to a husband or wife. Marriage is therefore solely a union of man and woman in an enduring bond of commitment and fidelity. Marriage is enacted by a vow to this effect; and in this way God makes the couple “one flesh.” (Gen. 2:18-24. Matt. 19:5-6) Every marriage is permanently binding under God’s authority.
Marriage is not a human institution, but a divine one, initiated by God at creation and deemed good by Him along with all of God's creation. (Matt. 19:6)
God's perfect plan for marriage is that it be a lifelong pursuit of intimacy between a man and a woman and that it never be ended by anything but death. He desires that two people would not merely live together, but that they would pursue oneness within their marriage relationship. Being in an estranged marriage and ignoring this call to oneness and love is also a violation of His intention for marriage. (Eph. 5:22-31, 1 Peter 3:1-7)
Marriage is an illustration of the covenant relationship between God and believers. Where Christ is the head and submits to the needs of His bride the church, husbands are to follow His example in His sacrificial love for His bride. Where the church is to respect and submit to the Christ as the head, wives are to respect and submit to the needs of their husband. (Eph. 5:22-33)
WHO IS QUALIFIED TO MARRY?
Scripture is clear that the initiation of a marriage between a believer and a unbeliever is considered sin. (2 Cor. 6:14)
Marriage is an institution set up by God between one man and one woman. Note about Gender: one's biological sex is assigned by God at conception and is unchangeable.
For the follower of Christ, premarital sex is sin and is incompatible with sexual purity. (1 Cor. 6:18, 1 Thess. 4:3-8, Heb. 13:4)
WHAT ABOUT DIVORCE?
Because of the hardness of man’s heart, God allowed divorce for the nation of Israel in the Old Testament, but divorce is not God’s plan for the New Testament believer, as shown in Matthew 5:31-32 and Matthew 19:4-9. God tolerates the believer initiating divorce for one reason (Matt. 19:9), and gives allowance for the believer in the case of an unbelieving spouse initiating divorce (1 Cor. 7:15). Allowances are not to be confused with His preference, or commands. God permits divorce in the cases of:
Adultery - Where there has been physical, sexual immorality. (Matt. 19:9)
Abandonment - Where an unbelieving spouse has deserted a believing spouse, and has expressed they are done with the marriage. In this case, the believer is no longer under the bind of marriage and should peaceably cooperate with the divorce that the other has expressed they want. (1 Cor. 7:12-16)
Note: This must be the choice of the unbeliever and not by the initiative of the believer.
“Irreconcilable differences,” “Incompatibility,” “falling out of love,” “being unhappy,” “an unhealthy relationship” or “things not working out,” are never grounds for a Christian to divorce. Even abuse is not a reason to divorce (1 Peter 2:18-3:7). However, there may be times where a physical or even legal separation could occur for the sake of one or both spouses. For the believer, this would be for the sake of the spouse with the ultimate hope for, and working toward, reconciliation.
WHAT ABOUT REMARRIAGE?
Remarriage is permitted when the former spouse is deceased. (Romans 7:2-3, 1 Cor. 7:39)
Remarriage is permitted when the divorce occurred for one of the biblical reasons above (i.e. an unbeliever leaves the marriage; the divorce occurred in the case of adultery)
In all other cases, remarriage is permitted when or if reconciliation can no longer take place. i.e. if a divorce occurred for unbiblical reasons, one is to remain unmarried so long as reconciliation could take place in the future, since scripture indicates God does not see the bind of marriage being dissolved in the case of a divorce for a non-biblical reason (Matt. 5:32, Mark 10:11-12). However, if the spouse that left remarries/has sexual relations with another, then the remaining spouse may remarry. In this case, the bind has been broken.
WHAT ABOUT DIVORCE BEFORE COMING TO KNOW CHRIST?
If a person initiated/caused a divorce prior to conversion, the new believer should take responsibility for their part in the dissolution of the marriage and seek forgiveness and reconciliation in accordance with the admonitions given in Scripture. If it is still possible (i.e. the abandoned spouse is still unmarried and desires reconciliation), a reasonable attempt at reconciliation should be made. If unsuccessful, the new believer is permitted to remarry.
Scriptures to consider:
1 Corinthians 7:39; Malachi 2:14, Genesis 2:7;18-25, Genesis 2:18, Genesis 1:28, Proverbs 5:18-19; 1 Corinthians 7:2-5, Ephesians 5:22-33, Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:5-6, Genesis 2:18-24; Matthew 19:5-6, Matthew 19:6. Genesis 2:18-24, Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:5-6. Ephesians 5:22-31; 1 Peter 3:1-7, 2 Corinthians 6:14, 1 Corinthians 6:18; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8; Hebrews 13:4, 2 Corinthians 2:5-8; 1 John 1:9; 2:1, Ephesians 5:3; Philippians 2:14-16; 1 Timothy 5:2, Philippians 2:14-15; Ephesians 5:3, Matthew 19:8, Exodus 20:14; Matthew 19:9, 1 Corinthians 7:12-16, Malachi 2:16, 1 Corinthians 7:10-11, Matthew 18:15-17; Ephesians 4:32, Galatians 6:1-2,Matthew 18:17, 1 Peter 3:1-2; 1 Corinthians 7:12-16; Galatians 6:1; Matthew 7:3-5, Isaiah 50:1; 54:6-7; Jeremiah 3:8, Hosea 1:2; 3:1-3, Malachi 2:15-16, 2 Corinthians 5:16- 20, Romans 7:2-3; 1 Corinthians 7:39,Deuteronomy 24:1-4; Matthew 19:9; Romans 7:2-3; 1 Corinthians 7:39, 2 Corinthians 2:5-8; 1 John 1:9; 2:1, 1 Corinthians 7:10-11; Romans 7:2-3, Deuteronomy 24:1-4, 1 Corinthians 7:11; James 5:16, 2 Corinthians 5:17; Romans 6:4-7, Hebrews 13:17; 1 Peter 5:1-3, 1 Corinthians 5:1-5, 9-13 and section 3.4, 1 Corinthians 7:15,2 Corinthians 2:5-11; Matthew 6:14; 18:21-35; Mark 11:25; Luke 17:3; Ephesians 4:32, 1 Corinthians 6:16