Scripture reveals that remarriage after divorce is treated as adultery unless the original spouse has died, with the exception of infidelity establishing grounds for divorce.
Scripture on Remarriage
Matthew 19:9
New Testament
"I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery."
Romans 7:2-3
New Testament
"By law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law that binds her to him. So then, if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord."
1 Corinthians 7:39
New Testament
"A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord."
Luke 16:18
New Testament
"Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery."
1 Corinthians 7:11
New Testament
"But if she does [separate], she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife."
The Bottom Line
God's design for marriage is permanence—remarriage after divorce contradicts His intent for the covenant, with death being the only condition that truly frees a person to marry again.
Try Today
If you're considering remarriage after divorce, sit with these verses honestly for 30 minutes without rushing to conclusions—write down what questions they raise for you and bring them to a wise, biblical counselor or pastor.
Prayer
Jesus invites us to bring our hardest questions to Him: 'Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest' (Matthew 11:28).
Father, these words about remarriage are hard to sit with. I feel the tension between Your design for permanence in marriage and the brokenness I see—in my own life or in others' lives. Help me not to turn away from what Scripture says, but to understand it more deeply. Give me clarity about what repentance, healing, and obedience look like in my specific situation. I trust that Your way, though narrow, leads to true restoration and peace. In Jesus' name, Amen.
📚 Read 1 Corinthians 7 for Paul's fuller teaching on marriage, divorce, and remarriage in the context of believers' freedom in Christ.
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