The Truth About Divorce, Remarriage, and Adultery

Please evaluate this article prayerfully and against the word of God. I have presented here my understanding of the word of God on this matter and also what the early church fathers almost unanimously taught and believed, and I agree with them. This does not mean I am or they were inerrant, but I believe it does present God's highest desire and ideal for us in this area. Any complex family situations need to be brought before the Lord in sincere prayer, and this article is not meant in any way to advise or tell anyone to make serious and life-altering decisions without consulting the Lord and seeking godly counsel from God-fearing leaders; it is only meant to bring forth what Jesus and the apostle Paul taught and how seriously God takes the issue of marriage, divorce, and remarriage, especially in a society where over 50% of marriages end in divorce even among Christians and divorce is permitted for all manner of reasons and marriage is no longer held with the sanctity God intended.

Remarriage after divorce is adultery if one’s former spouse is still alive. Marrying a divorced person is adultery. Adultery leads to hell if not repented of. In this article, we will explore what Jesus and the Apostle Paul taught about divorce and remarriage, how the early church understood the New Testament teachings on this subject, and what they taught and practiced.

“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.” 1 Corinthians 6:9-10

Jesus said plainly in Mark 10:11-12 – “And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her. And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.“

Luke 16:18 – Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery.

1 Corinthians 7:10-11 – 10 And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband: 11But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife.

Divorce is ONLY allowed in case of fornication, but remarriage is not

This is one area where, sadly, most churches in the modern generation have grown lenient and completely ignored what Jesus and the apostle Paul commanded. Jesus made it clear that remarrying after divorce and marrying a divorced person is committing adultery. Divorce is only allowed in cases of fornication, but in God’s eyes, the person’s spouse is still their lawful spouse as long as they are alive. They can divorce in cases of fornication but not remarry; Jesus did not mention remarriage but only divorce.

The church has compromised and changed its mind on this topic to accommodate people’s mistakes and desires over the past few centuries, but God has not changed.

Matthew 5:31-32 – 31It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement. 32But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.

Matthew 19:3-10 – “3The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? 4And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, 5And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? 6Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. 7They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? 8He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. 9And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.”

Fornication is one exemption where Jesus gave a justification for divorce (no other reason is justified for divorce). The word fornication, used in Matthew 5:32 and Matthew 19:9, is the Greek word porneia, which refers to sexual immorality.

From biblehub.com: “Usage: In the New Testament, “porneia” is used to describe various forms of sexual immorality, including fornication, adultery, and other illicit sexual practices.” Corresponding Greek / Hebrew Entries: The Hebrew equivalent often associated with “porneia” is זָנָה (zanah), which also refers to acts of harlotry or unfaithfulness, both physically and spiritually. Word Origin: Derived from the Greek word “πόρνη” (pornē), meaning “prostitute” or “harlot.”

What did Jesus mean by fornication:

There are three possible meanings:

Jesus meant infidelity. But curiously, he did not use the word adultery, which was used for the sexual sin of married people. Also curious is that Jesus said whoever even looks at a woman to lust after her commits adultery in his heart. So did Jesus mean divorce was allowed anytime someone lusts? I don’t think so. Maybe that is why he used the term fornication instead, which means harlotry, implying active physical sexual immorality. This is what I understand Jesus to have meant. He did not mean just any form of adultery, but a scenario where the woman was playing the harlot and actively “sleeping around.”.
Jesus meant an unlawful marriage. Some of the early church fathers (quoted further down) thought Jesus was talking about a marriage that was not lawful to begin with because the spouse of one or two of the partners was still alive. In this case, the marriage was adulterous and therefore invalid before God, and divorce was permitted.
Jesus meant that the woman had been discovered to have not been a virgin (committed fornication) previous to the marriage..

From the beginning, it was not so

The Pharisees were trying to test Jesus to justify divorce, but Jesus, who is greater than Moses, told them that Moses permitted divorce because of the hardness of their hearts, but from the beginning, it was not so. He was referring to the beginning of creation when God instituted marriage himself (Genesis 2:23-24). In fact, he said that Moses allowed divorce because of the hardness of men’s hearts, but it was not God’s original intent. Jesus came to fulfill the law and restore God’s perfect righteousness for man, and so in the new covenant, we do not have the excuse those under the law did. God hates divorce, and his original intent for marriage is what Jesus proclaimed: one man and one woman until death.

“23And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. 24Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” Genesis 2:23-24

And the two shall become one flesh

The reason why remarriage is not allowed except at death can only be understood when we understand how seriously God takes the marriage covenant and sex in marriage. When a man and woman get married, they become ONE flesh. That oneness cannot be undone by a divorce certificate (only by death). If the person marries another, they are becoming ONE with two people (because the other is alive), which is adultery. No human certificate can separate what God has joined.

God instituted marriage

God instituted marriage in the beginning when he created man and woman before the fall. He did not make any provision for divorce; therefore, divorce is not from him. He hates it. “For I hate divorce,” says the LORD.” Malachi 2:16

“For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” Mark 10:1-9

The Bible is clear, let not man separate them. They are one flesh before God. Divorce does not change this. Only death breaks this covenant.

They are bound until death does them part

1 Corinthians 7:39 – The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord.

Romans 7:1-3 – Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.”

The only thing that separates the two who have become one flesh before God, is not divorce but death. If they join with another while their spouse lives, they commit adultery.

This is why marriage is not a joke and must be entered into prayerfully and soberly and worked at in fear of God rather than emotions because it is permanent. It is a relationship that displays the relationship between Christ and his bride, the church.

Divorce/Separation and the Similarity with Backsliding

“But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.” 1 Corinthians 6:17

The Lord Jesus showed me one day that the marriage covenant symbolizes his union with a born-again believer who he considers his bride. When a believer backslides, which means they have committed adultery, the Lord Jesus does not shut them out. He may separate from them while you are in adultery but still makes room for reconciliation until the time of their death. Only death will separate a backslider (spiritual adulterer) from the Lord.

The born-again Christian enters a marriage covenant with the Lord; they are one flesh with him. Their backsliding does not change this in God’s eyes, and the Lord will continue to seek reconciliation with them while they live. God gave Israel a certificate of divorce (Jeremiah 3:8). Later he tells backslidden Israel that he was married to her (Jeremiah 3:14). He kept asking them to return to him. He never rejected them completely, always making room for repentance and reconciliation. God’s relationship with his children is displayed in the marriage covenant.

“Then I saw that for all the causes for which backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a certificate of divorce.” Jeremiah 3:8

“Return, O backsliding children,” says the LORD; “for I am married to you.” Jeremiah 3:14

Before death, the person has an opportunity to come back to his betrothal covenant with Jesus.

God’s heart is reconciliation for he is merciful God

The Lord does not permit remarriage after divorce because it shuts the door to reconciliation and also encourages the breaking of the covenant. What if Jesus likewise shut the door on us when we backslid? The divorced persons must work at reconciling with their first spouses and always leave room for reconciliation because that is the heart and nature of Christ, or else stay single. Jesus forgives and waits patiently for his backslidden children and does not give up. He is always making intercessions for us. This is what he expects from his married children, that they would demonstrate love, mercy, and long-suffering with one another as he does for us.

The story of Hosea the prophet was supposed to display how God takes seriously the union of marriage, both to him (spiritually) and between a man and wife (physically).

“Then the Lord said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by a lover^[a] and is committing adultery, just like the love of the Lord for the children of Israel, who look to other gods and love the raisin cakes of the pagans.” Hosea 3:1

God hates divorce

God hates divorce and his heart is always for the married couple to forgive one another. Fornication was given as the one exemption for divorce but in extreme cases where there was no repentance at all. This was mainly because the faithful man could not have sexual relations with the adulterous wife; he would partake of her sins. Therefore divorce was accepted for such cases, but not to remarry.

God divorced unfaithful Israel when she joined herself with other gods (lovers). But he waited for her and did not replace her by ‘remarrying’ another nation. “Then I saw that for all the causes for which backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a certificate of divorce.” Jeremiah 3:8

“13And this is another thing you do: You cover the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping and groaning, because He no longer regards your offerings or receives them gladly from your hands. 14Yet you ask, “Why?” It is because the LORD has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have broken faith, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. 15Has not the LORD made them one, having a portion of the Spirit? And why one? Because He seeks godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit and do not break faith with the wife of your youth. 16“For I HATE DIVORCE,” says the LORD, the God of Israel. “He who divorces his wife covers his garment with violence,” says the LORD of Hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit and do not break faith.” Malachi 2:13-16

God said whoever divorces covers his garment with violence. Why? Women who were divorced suffered and still suffer great anguish of soul and spirit and suffer physically and financially. Many are left to raise children alone, which also harms the children. The woman is left to play both roles. In most cases, the woman was left with no means of support, which would push her into adultery. It is violence.

What about the innocent party?

Jesus is clear on this. If the woman who is put away gets married again, she commits adultery, and the man who marries her also commits adultery. The marriage covenant cannot be broken either by the guilty or innocent party, but only by death. If divorce happens, the two must remain celibate.

Matthew 5:31-32 – It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement. But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.

Mark 10: 11-12 And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her. And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.

What about if the non-believing spouse leaves?

1 Corinthians 7:15 – But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace.

Some people use the above scripture to justify remarriage, but Paul never says that. He says the believer is not under bondage. This means they are no longer in bondage to remain with the unbeliever since they have opted to leave. God has called us to peace.

If a nonbelieving spouse divorces their spouse for a reason other than adultery, then the spouse is not under bondage, but they are not free to remarry; if they do, they commit adultery. They must pray for the salvation of their spouse and to be united with their spouse, stay single, or wait until their spouse dies. God respects the marriage covenant more than we do, and he has not made any provision for people to have multiple wives and husbands except in death.

The disciples say, “it is better not to marry”

After pressing Jesus twice about this matter and hearing his expectation for marriage having no exit clause, his disciples told Jesus, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry” (Matthew 19:10). It seemed a hard word for them. They thought Jesus would give them a reason to remarry and he gave none, and so they felt (humanly speaking) it would be even better not to marry.

This is also why Paul said it is better not to marry. Marriage is a serious covenant with no exit clause to remarry at whim; only death breaks. In the same way, only death can separate a backslider from the Lord for eternity if they do not repent.

“26I suppose therefore that this is good because of the present distress—that it is good for a man to remain as he is: 27Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be loosed. Are you loosed from a wife? Do not seek a wife. 28But even if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Nevertheless such will have trouble in the flesh, but I would spare you….32But I want you to be without [b]care. He who is unmarried [c]cares for the things of the Lord—how he may please the Lord. 33But he who is married cares about the things of the world—how he may please his wife. 34There is a difference between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman cares about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But she who is married cares about the things of the world—how she may please her husband.” 1 Corinthians 7:26-34

All adultery must be repented of and turned away from

Remarrying once divorced or marrying a divorced person is adultery in God’s eyes. You are having sex with someone else’s spouse, and this is adultery. You cannot repent and continue to stay with that person because you are committing adultery every day. God can never accept this God. It may seem unfair, but only because we take covenants lightly and elevate our fleshly desires above the will of God.

God can forgive you for remarriage, but you cannot continue in that relationship since you are committing adultery with someone’s spouse. It may be difficult, but you must leave an adulterous relationship and trust God to give you your lawful spouse (if you have never been married) or remain as you are if you are the divorced party and work at reconciliation with your spouse as much as depends on you.

The Bible says adulterers shall not inherit the kingdom of God. This is a serious matter and one most churches have decided does not matter. Some actively remarry divorced people in the church and even encourage it. Some pastors have been divorced and remarried, some multiple times.

Many are damning themselves to hell because of marriage. God may continue using you, but it does not mean you will enter heaven. Take this matter seriously. Your adultery will accuse you on the day of your judgment.

It’s better to stay single or humble yourself and pray for your divorced spouse (because God can restore) than go to hell after it all. It is not worth it.

If you are contentious, it is best to prayerfully seek God about it and meditate on the scriptures about the matter before making a decision that may be hard to reverse. Do not depend on people’s advice or your emotions, which can be deceitful.

Beware of deceivers

Sisters especially, be careful about divorced Christian men who come to woo you while their spouse still lives even if they are preachers. Say NO. Stand on God’s word because many sisters are falling into this trap.

Please do a thorough investigation to make sure the person you want to marry does not have a living husband/wife before you get married to them.

Do not let anyone cajole you into adultery with deception, emotional manipulation, sweet words, and twisting of scripture. It is always better to take the word of God at face value rather than reading meanings into it that are not written or disregarding it for the sake of emotional needs. Hell is real and God will not compromise his word for any of us.

Remember: “There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.” Proverbs 14:12

Let us always remember John the Baptist was beheaded because he stood up against Herod’s marriage to Herodias while her husband Philip was still living. John told Herod it was not lawful for him to have her. I always assumed it was because they were brothers, but I believe it was because she was still married in God’s eyes. He risked being killed rather than deny the truth. This topic is not popular and stirs up anger in people as it did in Herodias, but the true Christian who hopes for heaven needs to take it seriously and seek God’s ways rather than “the way which seems right to a man.”

All New Testament scriptures on the subject of divorce and remarriage

Matthew 5:31-32 – It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement. But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.
Matthew 19:3-10 – “3The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? 4And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, 5And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? 6Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. 7They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? 8He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. 9And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.”
Luke 16:18 – Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery.
Mark 10:11-12 – And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her. And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.
1 Corinthians 7:10-11 – 10 And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband: 11 But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife.
1 Corinthians 7:27 – “Art thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed.”
1 Corinthians 7:39 – The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord.
Romans 7:1-3 – 1Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? 2For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. 3So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.”
Hebrews 13:4 – Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.
1 Corinthians 7:15 – But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace. (not under bondage does not mean free to remarry)
“Then I saw that for all the causes for which backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a certificate of divorce.” Jeremiah 3:8
Jeremiah 3:14 – “Return, O backsliding children,” says the LORD; “for I am married to you.”
Matthew 14:3-4: – “Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because John had been telling him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”
Mark 10:2-11 “2And the Pharisees came to him, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? tempting him. 3 And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you? 4 And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away. 5 And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. 6 But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. 7 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; 8 And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh. 9 What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. 10 And in the house his disciples asked him again of the same matter. 11 And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her. 12 And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.”

What did early Christians believe about divorce and remarriage?

The early Christians did not encourage remarriage and all unanimously agreed that it was adultery. They were also very strict on divorces and only allowed them in extreme cases where one spouse was perpetually adulterous and refused to repent. But remarriage was not allowed. The allowance to divorce and remarry came about as the church grew more and more worldly over the centuries and lost reverence for the sanctity of scriptures in favor of human needs and desires.

Below I have copied a wonderful write-up by Joseph Webb that I found on what the early church fathers taught and believed about Divorce and remarriage. By early church fathers, it means those who were directly connected to and taught by the early apostles or someone directly connected to them. Therefore they provide a good idea about what was practiced by the early Christians. You will find it very enlightening.

Teachings of the Early Church on Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage By Joseph Webb

“The early church fathers were in complete agreement. Of all the early recognized Church Fathers who ever wrote or who were written about concerning every discussion and every debate in thousands of surviving documents over hundreds of years, there is not a single dissenting authoritative voice on the essential core doctrines of marriage, divorce and remarriage. Each taught the same doctrine, each held the same opinion and each enforced the same moral standards as you will read here.

Hermas (A.D. 90)
Hermas was sold into slavery and sent to Rome as a boy. He was later set free by his owner, a woman called Rhoda. He became known as one of the authoritative Fathers of the Church and an influential Christian writer, noted for his detailed description of early Christianity. His surviving book, The Shepherd, was considered an inspired book of the Holy Bible until the fourth century A.D. To quote the translators: “The Shepherd of Hermas is in form, an apocalypse.
It consists of a series of revelations made to Hermas by the church, who appears in the form of a woman, by the shepherd, the angel of repentance, and by the great angel who is in charge of Christians. Each revelation is accompanied by an explanation and from these it can be seen, though the form of the book is apocalyptic and visionary, its object is practical and ethical.”

Hermas wrote:
“I charge you” said he “to guard your chastity, and let no thought enter your heart of another man’s wife, or of fornication, or of similar iniquities; for by doing this you commit a great sin. But if you always remember your own wife, you will never sin. For if this thought enters your heart, then you will sin; and if, in like manner, you think other wicked thoughts, you commit sin. For this thought is great sin in a servant of God. But if any one commits this wicked deed, he works death for himself. Attend, therefore, and refrain from this thought; for where purity dwells, there iniquity ought not to enter the heart of a righteous man.” I said to him, “Sir, permit me to ask you a few questions.” “Say on,” said he. And I said to him, “Sir, if any one has a wife who trusts in the Lord, and if he detect her in adultery, does the man sin if he continues to live with her?” And he said to me, “As long as her remains ignorant of her sin, the husband commits no sin, the husband commits no transgression in living with her. But if the husband know that his wife has gone astray, and if the woman does not repent, but persists in her fornication, and yet the husband continues to live with her, he also is guilty of her crime, and a sharer in her adultery. And I said to him, what then, sir is the husband to do, if the wife continue in her vicious practices?” And he said, “The husband should put her away, and remain by himself. But if he put his wife away and marry another, he also commits adultery.” And I said to him, “What if the woman put away should repent, and wish to return to her husband: shall she not be taken back by her husband?”

And he said to me, “Assuredly. If the husband do not take her back, he sins, and brings a great sin upon himself; for he ought to take back the sinner who has repented…in this matter man and woman are to be treated exactly in the same way.” (The Shepherd 4:1-10) (a)

Hermas taught:

If a wife persists in adulterous behavior the “innocent party” may, and should, divorce in order to separate away from the sins of the offender.
If a husband divorces his wife for such a reason he must remain single and not remarry. If a wife repents of her offense the husband must forgive her and receive her back as wife.
If the husband does not forgive his repentant wife he brings a great sin upon himself.
Men and women are to act and be regarded exactly the same in this matter.
Authors Note:
• Is this what your church teaches?
• Is this what you teach and believe?
• This is what the New Testament Church taught.

Justin Martyr (A.D.151)
Justin Martyr was one of the great, early theologians and apologists for the Church. He had the distinction of presenting a defining explanation and defense of Christianity to Caesar and the Imperial Roman Senate. His Apology for the Christians, written to refute charges of sedition to the Roman state, is a magnificent legal testimony of the power of early Christians to live holy and pleasing lives in an evil, corrupt society. Justin was beheaded for refusing to sacrifice to pagan gods.

Justin Martyr wrote:
“In regards to chastity, Jesus has this to say: ‘If anyone look with lust at a woman, he has already before God committed adultery in his heart.’ And, ‘Whoever marries a woman who has been divorced from another husband, commits adultery.’ According to our teacher, just as they are sinners who contract a second marriage, even though it is in accord with human law, so also are they sinners who look with lustful desires at a woman. He repudiates not only one who actually commits adultery, but even one who wishes to do so; for not only our actions are manifest to God, but even our thoughts.” (First Apology 15) (a)

Justin Martyr taught:

To indulge in lust is to be guilty of adultery of the heart.
Whoever marries a divorced person commits adultery.
Whoever contracts a second marriage is sinning against God (while a former spouse lives).
God does not, and the Church must not, take into account human law when it is in violation of God’s law.
God judges motives and intentions, private thought life and actions. All is known and exposed to the God with which we have to do.
Authors Note:
• Is this what your church teaches?
• Is this what you teach and believe?
• This is what the New Testament Church
taught.

Clement of Alexandria (A.D.208)
Titus Flavius Clemens, known as Clement of Alexandria, was a Greek theologian who served as head of the famous Catechetical School in Alexandria. His writings were designed to guide mature Christians to a more perfect knowledge of God and a pure moral character. His defense of the faith exhorted morals, kindness and patience. He taught that the thoughts and will of God in the Scriptures exhorts, educates and perfects the true Christian. Many scholars believe he founded the great Alexandrian School of Theology. He is listed as a martyr for his faith.

Clement of Alexandria wrote:
“That Scripture counsels marriage, however, and never allows any release from the union, is expressly contained in the law: ‘You shall not divorce a wife, except for reason of adultery.’ And it regards as adultery the marriage of a spouse, while the one from whom a separation was made is still alive.

‘Whoever takes a divorced woman as wife commits adultery,’ it says; for ‘if anyone divorce his wife, he debauches her;’ that is, he compels her to commit adultery. And not only does he that divorces her become the cause of this, but also he that takes the woman and gives her the opportunity of sinning; for if he did not take her, she would return to her husband.” (Miscellanies 2:23:145:3) (a)

Clement of Alexandria taught:

The Scriptures encourage Christians to enter a marriage relationship.
The marriage union covenant is permanent and does not allow anyone to be released from the union.
Adultery is the only legitimate reason for divorce, otherwise separation is prohibited. Remarriage while a former spouse is alive is living in the state of adultery and is expressly forbidden in Scripture.
A man who divorces his wife violates and corrupts her, for if she remarries for any reason except for the death of her husband, she becomes an adulteress.
The person who marries a divorced spouse sins not only by committing adultery with another’s spouse but also sins against God by acting as an impediment to reconciliation of the original marriage.
If the divorced spouse had remained single she would have, if possible returned to the first union.
Authors Note:
• Is this what your church teaches?
• Is this what you teach and believe?
• This is what the New Testament Church taught.

Origen (A.D. 248)
Origen is known as the most accomplished and significant theologian of the early Church. As a student and to exegete of the Old New Testaments, he influenced the critical thinking of the Church in his day to such an extent that his works continue to have a major impact on doctrine and practice. He was the first teacher known to use the “allegorical” method of scriptural interpretation. It is estimated that he wrote some 5,000 thesis, tracts, epistles and books in his lifetime of service. Much of his work concentrated on refuting dangerous error and heresy. Origen was imprisoned during the reign of Emperor Decius. He was tortured to such an extent that he died from his ordeal after being released.

Origen wrote:
“For confessedly he who puts away his wife when she is not a fornicator, makes her an adulteress, so far as it lies with him, for if, ‘when the husband is living she shall be called an adulteress if she be joined to another man;’ and when by putting her away, he gives to her the excuse of a second marriage, very plainly in this way he makes her an adulteress…just as a woman is an adulteress, even though she seems to be married to a man, while a former husband yet lives, so also the man who seems to marry who has been divorced does not marry her, but, according to the declaration of our Savior, he commits adultery with her.” (Commentaries on Matthew 14) (a)

Origen taught:

A man that divorces his wife who is not guilty of fornication causes her to become an adulteress if she remarries, and the man that marries her is an adulterer.
The marriage covenant between a man and a woman is permanent as long as both husband and wife are alive.
No matter what the legal circumstances may appear to be, a remarriage relationship entered into when either or both parties are divorced and a former partner lives, is adultery. The intimate relations between the man and the woman remarried while former spouses still live are adulterous, and considered sin.
A remarriage is not an actual marriage, but disguised adultery.
Authors Note:
• Is this what your church teaches?
• Is this what you teach and believe?
• This is what the New Testament Church taught.

Basil the Great (A.D. 375)
Basil was born in Caesarea and educated in Athens. He is considered one of the great Fathers and Doctors of the Church. His writings include, On the Holy Spirit and Moralia. He was asked by the Church to help defend against the Arian heretical doctrines and subsequently became Bishop of Caesarea in 370. Basil became “Basil the Great” because of his outstanding personal integrity and holiness as well as his brilliance as a theologian and defender of the faith.

Basil the Great wrote:
“The man who has deserted his wife and goes to another is himself an adulterer because he makes her commit adultery; and the woman who lives with him is an adulteress, because she has caused another woman’s husband to come over to her…the woman who lives with an adulterer is an adulteress the whole time. The woman who has been abandoned by her husband, ought, in my judgment, to remain as she is. The Lord said, ‘If any one leave his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, he causes her to commit adultery, thus by calling her adulteress.’ He excludes her from intercourse with another man. For how can the man being guilty, as having caused adultery, and the woman, go without blame, when she is called an adulteress by the Lord for having intercourse with another man? A man who marries another man’s wife who has been taken away from him will be charged with adultery.” Amphilochius 199 (a)

Basil Taught:

A man that deserts his wife and she remarries another, makes his wife commit adultery.
The woman who a divorced man marries is guilty of adultery.
The second woman is guilty of taking another woman’s husband.
An adulterous relationship is continuous adultery, not a one time sin.
An abandoned wife is to remain as she is and not remarry.
An abandoned woman that takes another man and has sexual intercourse with him is committing adultery.
If a man is guilty of adultery, so is a woman.
It is a serious offense for a woman to take another woman’s husband; she will be charged with adultery.
It is a serious offense for a man to take another man’s wife; he will be charged with adultery.
Authors Note:
• Is this what your church teaches?
• Is this what you teach and believe?
• This is what the New Testament Church taught.

Ambrose of Milan (A.D. 387)
Ambrose is known as one of the four original Doctors of the Church. Born in Germany and educated in Rome, Ambrose was asked to be Bishop of Milan because of his extraordinary kindness and wisdom, which earned him the love and esteem of his people. History records that he publicly confronted, rebuked, and led to repentance Caesar Theodosius over the slaughtering of thousands of Thessalonians. He wrote major treatises on Christian morality and personal holiness, warning against adopting the world’s standards. He was by all accounts a most extra-ordinary man, equal to his times. He was influential in bringing Augustine into a saving personal knowledge of Jesus Christ and receiving him into the Body of Christ.

Ambrose of Milan wrote:
“But what shall I say about chastity, when only one and no second union is allowed? As regards marriage, the law is not to marry again, nor to seek union with another wife. It seems strange to many why impediment should be caused by a second marriage entered on before baptism, so as to prevent election to the clerical office, and to the reception of the gift of ordination; seeing that even crimes are not wont to stand in the way, if they have been put away in the sacrament of baptism. But we must learn that in baptism sin can be forgiven, but law cannot be abolished. In the case of marriage there is no sin, but there is a law. Whatever sin there is can be put away, whatever law there is cannot be laid aside in marriage.” (On the duties of Clergy: 1: 257) (a)

“And what else did John have in mind but what is virtuous, so that he could not endure a wicked union even in the king’s case, saying: ‘It is not lawful for thee to have her to wife.’ He could have been silent, had he not thought it unseemly for himself not to speak the truth for fear of death, or to make the prophetic office yield to the king, or to indulge in flattery. He (John the Baptist) knew well that he would die as he was against the king, but he preferred virtue to safety. Yet what is more expedient than the suffering which brought glory to the saint.” (On the duties of Clergy, 3:89) (a)

“No one is permitted to know a woman other than his wife. The marital right is given you for this reason: lest you fall in a snare and sin with a strange woman. ‘If you are bound to a wife do not seek a divorce,’ for you are not permitted, while your wife lives to marry another.” (Abraham 1:57:59) (a)

“You dismiss your wife, therefore, as if by right and without being charged with wrongdoing; and you suppose it is proper for you to do so because no human law forbids it; but divine law forbids it. Anyone who obeys men should stand in awe of God. Hear the Word of the Lord, which even they who propose our laws must obey: ‘What God has joined together, let no man put asunder.’” (Commentary on Luke, Sec. 8:5) (a)

Ambrose of Milan taught:

Sex is a marital right that is limited to one’s own husband or wife. Legitimate sexual relations with one’s spouse protects from sexual sin.
Extramarital sex is sin and a snare that will catch and kill.
It is forbidden by God for a spouse to divorce and to remarry another.
Ambrose interprets Paul’s writings in Corinthians to mean that it is forbidden for a man or woman to remarry another while a former or earlier spouse lives.
It is a wrong understanding to believe that it is simply one’s right to divorce a spouse. Even though human law may permit such a thing, God strictly forbids it.
Anyone who follows human customs and laws regarding marriage, divorce and remarriage instead of Divine laws should stand in fearful awe of God.
All lawmakers, both in and out of the Church, are warned to their peril to hear and obey the Word of the Lord. Jesus’ command is reaffirmed: “What God has joined together, let no man put asunder.”
Conversion to Christianity forgives past sin, but does not nullify or set aside God’s laws.
Authors Note:
• Is this what your church teaches?
• Is this what you teach and believe?
• This is what the New Testament Church taught.

Jerome (A.D. 396)
Jerome was another great Father and Doctor of the early Church whose most important work was the translation of the Bible into Latin (The Vulgate). He wrote works defending the Church from Jovinian, Vigilantius and Pelagianism heretics that were threatening the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Jerome wrote:
“In explaining the testimony of the apostle, ‘The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband; and likewise, also, the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife,’ we have subjoined the following: ‘The entire question relates to those who are living in wedlock, whether it is lawful for them to put away their wives, a thing which the Lord also has forbidden in the Gospel.’

Following the decision of the Lord the apostle teaches that a wife must not be put away saving for fornication, and that, if she has been put away, she cannot during the lifetime of her husband marry another man, or, at any rate, that she ought, if possible, to be reconciled to her husband. In another verse he speaks to the same effect: ‘The wife is bound…as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband; she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord.

I find joined to your letter of inquiries a short paper containing the following words: ‘ask him, (that is me,) whether a woman who has left her husband on the ground that he is an adulterer and sodomite and has found herself compelled to take another may in the lifetime of him whom she first left be in communion with the church without doing penance for her fault.’ As I read the case put I recall the verse ‘they make excuses for their sins.’

We are all indulgent to our own faults; and what our own will leads us to do we attribute to a necessity of nature. It is as though a young man were to say, ‘I am over-borne by my body, the glow of nature kindles my passions, the structure of my frame and its reproductive organs call for sexual intercourse.’ Or again a murderer might say, ‘I was in want, I stood in need of food, I had nothing to cover me. If I shed the blood of another, it was to save myself from dying of cold and hunger.’

Tell the sister, therefore, who thus enquires of me concerning her condition, not my sentence but that of the apostle. ‘Know ye not, brethren (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband, so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. So then, if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress.’ And in another place: ‘the wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord.’”

Authors Note:
Isn’t it interesting; Jerome didn’t know that portion of scripture didn’t apply to marriages as some say today? Later on we will see when this deception was created and propagated.

The apostle has thus cut away every plea and has clearly declared that, if a woman marries again while her husband is living, she is an adulteress.

“You must not speak to me of the violence of a ravisher, a mother’s pleading, a father’s bidding, the influence of relatives, the insolence and the intrigues of servants, household losses. A husband may be an adulterer or a sodomite, he may be stained with every crime and may have been left by his wife because of his sins; yet he is still her husband and, so long as he lives, she may not marry another.

The apostle does not promulgate this decree on his own authority but on that of Christ who speaks in him. For he has followed the words of Christ in the gospel: ‘whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced, committeth adultery.’ Mark what he says: ‘whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.’ Whether she has put away her husband or her husband her, the man who marries her is still an adulterer.

I have not been able quite to determine what it is that she means by the words ‘has found herself compelled’ to marry again. What is this compulsion of which she speaks? Was she overborne by a crowd and ravished against her will? If so, why has she not, thus victimized, subsequently put away her ravisher? Let her read the books of Moses and she will find that if violence is offered to a betrothed virgin in a city and she does not cry out, she is punished as an adulteress: but if she is forced in the field, she is innocent of sin and her ravisher alone is amenable to the laws. Therefore if your sister, who, as she says, has been forced into a second union, wishes to receive the body of Christ and not to be accounted an adulteress, let her do penance; so far at least as from the time she begins to repent to have no farther intercourse with that second husband who ought to be called not a husband but an adulterer. If this seems hard to her and if she cannot leave one whom she has once loved and will not prefer the Lord to sensual pleasure, let her hear the declaration of the apostle: ‘ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table and of the table of devils,’ and in another place: ‘what communion hath light with darkness? and what concord hath Christ with Belial?’” (Letters 55, 58) (a)

Jerome taught:

The Lord has forbidden divorce and remarriage in the gospel.
Christians must stop making excuses and stop trying to find justification for divorce and remarriage. None of it stands before God, and must not be considered at all when applying the Word of God in the Church or to our individual lives.
A marriage is for life, and no matter what a spouse turns out to be, or how they may act, or the sins they commit, the covenant remains fully in effect. God does not divide the one flesh relationship.
A spouse that is separated or divorced for any reason, no matter how provoked or how circumstances came to be as they are, is still bound to the marriage covenant and cannot be remarried to another as long as both live.
Authors Note:
• Is this what your church teaches?
• Is this what you teach and believe?
• This is what the New Testament Church taught.

Augustine (A.D. 419)
Augustine is widely regarded to be the single greatest Church leader and theologian between the time of the Apostles of Jesus Christ and the Reformation…perhaps beyond. His personal testimony of seeking and finding God after an early life of sin is as fresh and new today and as transparently Spirit-filled as it was then. His place in the Church among his peers can be compared to what Paul’s was among the Apostles. He rigorously and effectively defended the faith from enemies on all sides. His writings are credited with influencing to an enormous extent the thinking of the great leaders of the Reformation.

Augustine wrote:
“This we now say, that, according to this condition of being born and dying, which we know, and in which we have been created, the marriage of male and female is some good, the compact whereof divine Scripture so commends, as that neither is it allowed one put away by her husband to marry, so long as her husband lives; nor is it allowed one put away by his wife to marry another, unless she who have separated from him be dead.

Our Lord, therefore, in order to confirm that principle, that a wife should not lightly be put away, made the single exception of fornication; but enjoins that all other annoyances, if any such should happen to spring up, be borne with fortitude for the sake of conjugal fidelity and for the sake of chastity; and he also calls that man an adulterer who should marry her that has been divorced by her husband. And the Apostle Paul shows the limit of this state of affairs, for he says it is to be observed as long as her husband liveth; but on the husband’s death he gives permission to marry.

For he himself also held by this rule, and therein brings forward not his own advice, as in the case of some of his admonitions, but a command by the Lord when he says: ‘And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband: but and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife.’ I believe that, according to a similar rule, if he shall put her away, he is to remain unmarried, or be reconciled to his wife.” (Commentaries on the Sermon on the Mount, Harmony of the Gospels, Homilies on the Gospels) (a)

“For whosoever putteth away his wife except for the cause of fornication, maketh her to commit adultery. To such a degree is that marriage compact entered upon be a holy Sacrament, that it is not made void even by separation itself, since so long as her husband lives, even by whom she hath been left, she commits adultery in the case where she marries another, and he who hath left her is the cause of this evil. But I marvel, if it be allowed to put away a wife who is an adulteress, so it be allowed, having put her away, to marry another.

For holy Scripture makes a hard knot in this matter in that the apostle says, that, by commandment of the Lord, the wife ought not to depart from her husband, but, in case she shall have departed to remain unmarried, or to be reconciled to her husband…I can not see how the man can have permission to marry another, in the case where he left an adulteress, when a woman can not be married to another when she left an adulterer.

Seeing that the compact of marriage is not done away with by an intervening divorce, so that they continue as wedded persons one to another, even after separation, and commit adultery with those with whom they be joined, even after their own divorce, either the woman with the man, or the man with a woman.

Neither can it rightly be held that a husband who dismisses his wife because of fornication and marries another does not commit adultery. For there is also adultery on the part of those who, after the repudiation of their former wives because of fornication, marry others….

No one is so unreasonable to say that a man who marries a woman whose husband has dismissed her because of fornication is not an adulterer, while maintaining that a man who marries a woman dismissed without the ground of fornication is an adulterer. Both of these men are guilty of adultery.” (Adulterous Marriages 1:9:9) (a)

“A spouse, therefore, is lawfully dismissed for cause of adultery, but the laws of chastity remains. That is why a man is guilty of adultery if he marries a woman who has been dismissed even for this very reason of adultery.” (ibid., 2:4:4) (a)

“A woman begins to be the wife of no later husband unless she has ceased to be the wife of a former one. She will cease to be the wife of a former one, however, if that husband should die, not if he commit adultery.” (ibid, 2:4:3) (a)

“Therefore to serve two or more (men), so to pass over from a living husband into marriage with another, was neither lawful then (in the Old Testament), nor is it lawful now, nor will it ever be lawful. To apostatize from the One God, and to go into adulterous superstitions of another, is ever an evil.” (On the Holy Spirit; Doctrinal Treatises; Moral Treatises) (a)

Augustine taught:

It cannot be rightly held by those wishing to believe so, that anyone who divorces their spouse for adultery and then marries another is in the will of God and avoids the sin of adultery.
It is adultery to marry another if someone is divorced and then chooses a new husband or wife.
Whether or not a spouse commits adultery or fornication does not matter insofar as remarriage is concerned. Whoever remarries while a divorced spouse lives is in the state and sin of adultery.
When a spouse remarries according to the law of the land after a divorce, they are still married to the former spouse as long as that spouse lives. Therefore the sexual and intimate relationship they have with a new spouse is simply engaging in a forbidden relationship by sinning with a person to whom they are not married in the eyes of God and the Church. Chastity refers to sexual abstinence. To have sexual relations with a remarried spouse is to be living in sin in direct disobedience to God’s Word.
A spouse can if they must, divorce their husband or wife who is guilty of adultery, but must not have a relationship with another as long as the original partner lives, for they are still in a binding life-long covenant with them.
It is forbidden for a man or woman, even if they themselves were never previously married, to marry or have sexual relations with a divorced person whose spouse is still alive. They would be guilty of having sexual relations with another person’s spouse, which is the very definition of the sin of adultery.
It never has been lawful, is not now lawful, and it never will be lawful to divorce and remarry. To say and do otherwise is to adopt the adulterous superstitions of a different God than the one to which we have to do.
Authors Note:
• Is this what your church teaches?
• Is this what you teach and believe?
• This is what the New Testament Church taught.

Summary of Early Church Doctrine on Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage (90 A.D. – 419 A.D.)

If a spouse persists in adulterous behavior and there is no other alternative, the marriage relationship can be terminated by the innocent party. (Hermas, Clement, Jerome, Augustine)
Spouses that are divorced for any reason must remain celibate and single as long as both spouses live. Remarriage is expressly prohibited. (Hermas, Justin Martyr, Clement, Origen, Basil, Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine)
To indulge in lust with the mind is to be guilty of adultery of the heart. (Justin Martyr)
Whoever marries a divorced person commits adultery. (Hermas, Justin Martyr, Clement, Origen, Basil, Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine)
Whoever contracts a second marriage while a former spouse lives sins against God, whether a Christian or not. (Justin Martyr, Ambrose)
God does not, and the Church must not, take into account human law when it is in violation of God’s law. (Justin Martyr, Origen, Ambrose)
God judges motives and intentions, private thought life and actions. (Justin Martyr)
The marriage covenant between a man and a woman is permanent, as long as both husband and wife are alive. (Clement, Origen, Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine)
It is a serious offense against God to take another person’s spouse. (Basil)
The Church must charge all persons who are in possession of another living person’s former husband or wife with adultery. (Basil)
Sexual relations are a marital right that is limited to one’s own husband or wife. (Hermas, Justin Martyr, Clement, Origen, Basil, Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine)
Sexual relations with one’s legitimate spouse protects from sexual sin. (Ambrose)
Marriage and sexual relations with a remarried spouse while a former spouse lives is the sin of adultery. (Hermas, Justin Martyr, Clement, Origen, Basil, Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine)
It is a serious mistake to believe that it is simply one’s right to divorce a spouse and take another. Even though human law may permit such a thing, God strictly forbids it. He cannot, He will not honor it. (Clement, Origen, Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine)
Anyone who follows human customs and laws instead of God’s Divine instructions regarding marriage, divorce and remarriage should stand in fearful awe of God Himself.(Clement, Ambrose).
All lawmakers in and out of the Church are warned to their peril, to hear and obey the Word of the Lord in regard to His commands on marriage and divorce.
Christians must stop making excuses and stop trying to justify divorce and remarriage. There are no valid reasons acceptable to God. (Jerome, Augustine)
Marriage is for life. No matter what a spouse turns out to be or how they may act, no matter what they do or don’t do, or the sins they commit, the covenant remains fully in effect. A remarriage while a former spouse lives is not marriage at all, but sinful adultery. God does not divide the one flesh relationship except by physical death. (Hermas, Clement, Origen, Basil, Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine)
Marriage is a lifelong covenant that will never be invalidated by God while both parties live. (Hermas, Justin Martyr, Clement, Origen, Basil, Ambrose, Augustine)
It never has been lawful, is not now lawful, and never will be lawful to divorce and remarry. To say and do otherwise is to worship and adopt the adulterous superstitions of a different god than the one to which we have to do. (Augustine)ii.

Authors Note:
• Is this what your church teaches?
• Is this what you teach and believe?
• This is what the New Testament Church taught.

If we are reasonable people, we would have to say the teachers of the first through the third centuries were more pure and uncompromised in their teaching since they were so close to the source of all our truth – the Lord Jesus and the Apostles Paul and John the Beloved. These Early Church Fathers were still part and parcel of the practice initiated by the Apostle Paul. Again we are reminded of Paul’s instructions when writing to Timothy, “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.” (II Timothy 2:2)

The teaching then was still pure and undefiled by denominational corruption or the developing traditions of men. The Church Fathers clearly understood pure truth: one man, one woman, for life.

The permanence of the marriage covenant was the unanimous teaching of the early Church and continued to remain basically unchanged for fifteen centuries. These quotations were not, as some would suggest, their own private opinions, but their deeply held convictions based upon their proper “dividing” of God’s word.

Four Major Doctrinal Conclusions Established by the Early Church Fathers
From the accumulated teachings of these earliest Church fathers, the early Church came to some basic doctrinal positions. These positions were their summary of all they had been taught and had taught others in their century.
Historically, from the first to the sixteenth century, there were only four basic theological positions (conclusions) on marriage, divorce, and remarriage in the early Christian church. Paul Steele and Charles Ryrie, in their book Meant To Last (Victor Books) and William A. Heth and Gordon J. Wenham, in their book Jesus and Divorce (Thomas Nelson Publishers) describe these four positions in detail. Each position is listed here by name and includes a short explanation. The first four positions, being the earliest and thus the oldest, are:

The patristic view (Early Father’s View)
This view declared: If one were to suffer the misfortune of divorce, remarriage to a second spouse was not permitted regardless of the cause.

The preteritive view (Augustinian View)
This view interpreted Jesus’ remarks in Matthew 19 to be refusing to take “adultery” as a cause for separation, divorce, or nullity. Remarriage is always wrong following a valid marriage.

The betrothal view (Engagement View)
This view interprets the Matthew 19:9 passage as an exception clause, applying only to a Jewish betrothal period and previous to consummating the actual marriage. Thus the word “fornication” and not “adultery” is used.

The consanguinity view (Unlawful Marriage View)
This view said divorce would be allowed only in the case of a “forbidden (incestuous) marriage,” such as when close relatives married. Apart from this particular circumstance, neither divorce nor remarriage to a second spouse would be permitted.

All four of these earliest Church views concluded that the Bible clearly teaches marriage is for life and to remarry while your first partner is still alive constitutes adultery.

Steele and Ryrie also said:
“Careful research through the hundreds of manuscripts written by Church leaders of the first five centuries has revealed, that with only one exception (Ambrosiasteriii fourth century Latin writer) the Church fathers were unanimous in their understanding that Christ and Paul taught if one were to suffer the misfortune of divorce, remarriage was not permitted, regardless of the cause.”iv

These were the only doctrinal conclusions the Early Church knew and continued to know for over fifteen hundred years concerning the permanence of the marriage covenant.

This remained the standard view of the Early Church until the sixteenth century. For the first time in Church history a Roman Catholic, Greek and Latin scholar, Disiderius Erasmus, suggested a new, previously unheard of doctrinal position concerning marriage and divorce. This new idea was adopted by many of the new Protestant Theologians who had just come out of what was later called the Dark Ages, and were attempting to adjust and declare their new religious freedom and environment.”

Below is a wonderful video on the subject from a Bible teacher I respect, David Pawson who has since gone on to his reward.

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