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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) If a Christian woman is divorced, is it a sin to marry her?

(2) If a woman gets divorced as an non-Christian, then converts to Christianity, is it a sin to marry her?

(3) If a man divorces his wife, is remarriage a sin for him?

(4) If two Christians get married, then gets divorced -- is their only option to remain single for the rest of their lives?

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Here are a few brief YT videos where John Piper talks about his uncommon interpretation of what the bible teaches about divorce and remarriage: 1, 2, 3. – J Bunyan Jul 29 '12 at 6:10
@JBunyan: I believe the YT videos reaffirm his position paper. Is this interpretation correct with your understanding? – user1694 Jul 29 '12 at 6:46
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I haven't read the paper, but I would be very surprised if the videos and paper were in any way inconsistent, being as they're both from Piper -- a very solid teacher. The videos of him that I like to are from the "DGapj" and "desiringGod" YT channels, and include basic, "beginner friendly" explanations of reformed doctrines, usually in about five minutes. The Desiring God site, which you linked to in your response, is an incredible resource for more in-depth instruction of the topics he summarizes in the videos. – J Bunyan Jul 29 '12 at 7:05

2 Answers

up vote 3 down vote

From a conservative viewpoint -

  1. Depends on who initiated the divorce. If it was the husband then she's free to marry as she pleases.
  2. No.
  3. Yes.
  4. Yes.

For whys and wherefores see - Under what conditions does the Bible support divorce?

Edit:

Reasoning -

  1. Case 1: Man divorces woman and remarries.

    Matthew 19:9 I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery.

    Because of adultery woman is free to marry.

    Case 2: Man divorces but does not remarry.

    In this case he's not an adulterer but does become an unbeliever. So again, the woman is free.

    1 Timothy 5:8 If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

    1 Corinthians 7:15 But if the unbeliever leaves, let him do so. A believing man or woman is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace.

  2. Because -

    1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

  3. Covered in (1)

  4. (2) Doesn't apply -

    Hebrews 10:26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,

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The caveat of Matthew 19:9 makes blanket "yes"/"no" tricky – Marc Gravell♦ Jul 27 '12 at 10:14
@Monika: I clicked on the link. I don't see support for either of the answers to (1) or (2). Which Bible verses are you deriving your answers for 1 & 2 from? – user1694 Jul 27 '12 at 10:17
@user1311390 Please see my update.. – Monika Michael Jul 27 '12 at 10:44
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@Monika: I don't buy your argument to #2. By that logic, a believer could divorce, confess the sin, then be free to remarry. – user1694 Jul 27 '12 at 10:53
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@Monika: I don't buy your argument to #1 either. In case 1, where does the bible say "If a woman's husband commits adultery, she is free to remarry?" And in case 2, where does divorcing make one an unbeliever? – user1694 Jul 27 '12 at 10:54
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up vote 1 down vote accepted

John Piper has a very interesting position paper at http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/articles/divorce-remarriage-a-position-paper

From my interpretation of that paper, it appears "Divorce + Remarriage = Sin" unconditionally.

Based on that interpretation, the responses would be :

  1. Yes

  2. Not sure, but probably.

  3. Yes

  4. Yes

I believe this is in agreement with Luke 16:18 since

  1. Luke 16:18 does not make special provisions of "who is the one that filed for divorce."
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(PS, I'd prefer to be downvoted than have this converted into a comment. I intend to make this response meet the standards of an Answer). – user1694 Jul 28 '12 at 1:17

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