IS DIVORCE TOTALLY A SIN?

 Divorce is a real and prevalent issue both inside and outside the church. There are several reasons why people divorce: adultery, abuse, finances or simply falling out of love. But the big question is, is divorce totally a sin? Is there any condition under which God will not count divorce a sin?

For people not facing this challenging situation, it could be very easy to come to the conclusion that divorce is totally a sin but this conclusion is not correct. Both Paul and Jesus talked about factors under which divorce can be justified and not regarded as a sin. 

But whether you believe that all forms of divorce is a sin or not, we all agree that every divorce is a product of sin. If there was no sin in the marriage, divorce would not be needed. In Matt 5:32, Jesus said "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." 

When God created marriage, the plan was that it would be for life, but we know that this does not always happen. In this portion of the scriptures, Jesus defined legitimate grounds for divorce and in this case, it is adultery. Adultery is a legitimate and acceptable reason in God's eyes for divorce.

But is adultery the only ground for divorce? Scripturally, there are two other grounds  where divorce would be acceptable in God's eyes. Those other two grounds are abandonement and abuse. In 1st Cor 7:10, Paul while talking about divorce said "Let not the wife depart from her husband." then vs 15 says "But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases."

What Paul is clearly stating here is that marriages are designed to be for life. It doesn't mean there won't be rough patches in the marriage. Do your best to make it work but if your spouse abandons the marriage, then you are no longer obligated to stay bound to the commitment of the marriage. You are free to walk away too, it's not a sin.

The other ground where divorce is not a sin is when there is intense abuse of the other party. Any kind of abuse can be very tormenting whether physical or emotional. When you are married to an abusive, brutal and an unforgiving partner. He hates you, lacks self control, beats you up all the time and takes pride in what he does. I don't believe God would require anyone to endure that kind of partner. In this case, i don't think divorce is a sin.