Definition:
To divorce is to dissolve the marriage bond between a man and wife. It means to end marriage with (one’s spouse) by way of legal divorce.
Brief Explanation:
For many generations, divorce was seen as the unforgivable sin. With divorce rates consistently hovering around the 50% mark, it has moved from unforgivable to an epidemic that must be addressed in the life of the church. Thus, many churches are realizing their responsibility to help people who have experienced the pain of divorce, or who are facing the present abandonment of a spouse or parent.
The helping process is similar to that of working with a loss due to death. The primary difference is that the corpse, so to speak, is still walking around. Thus, it is in many ways more difficult to come to a place of acceptance, learning from mistakes made, repenting for areas of sin, and gaining a new perspective before venturing again if at all into the land of matrimony. See To the Corinthians by Dr. Ken Chant for an excellent theological and practical discussion on the divorce and remarriage issue, and Marriage and Family Life, previously referenced.
The Word of God:
Genesis 2:24
“For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.”
Matthew 5:31, 32
“It was said, Whoever sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce; but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”
Mark 10:11, 12
“And He said to them, Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her; and if she herself divorces her husband and marries another man, she is committing adultery.”
1 Corinthians 7:10, 11
“But to the married I give instructions, not I, but the Lord, that the wife should not leave her husband (but if she does leave, she must remain unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband), and that the husband should not divorce his wife.”
