In post-Christian America, an increasing percentage of children are born to couples who are cohabiting but not married. According to the Institute for Family Studies, “such children are approximately twice as likely to see their parents break up by the time they turn 12.” Researchers have also studied the long-term detrimental effects family instability has on these children.

Marriage is not simply a social institution, but a moral and spiritual relationship instituted by God (Gen. 2:24). That’s why divorce is a serious issue. The Mosaic Law did allow for divorce in certain circumstances (v. 31; Deut. 24:1–4). But in Matthew 5, Jesus once again raised the bar saying the only legitimate justification is sexual unfaithfulness (v. 32). What’s more, a man who divorces his wife for any other reason makes her a victim of adultery, and to marry a wrongly divorced woman is to commit adultery. In other words, divorce doesn’t automatically open the door to remarriage. In the early church, as the gospel went out to the Gentile world, the apostle Paul indicated that spousal abandonment due to an unbelieving spouse being unwilling to live with a believer is also potential grounds for divorce (1 Cor. 7:12–15).

In our permissive society, these teachings sound harsh and are often ignored, even by Christians. But the text is clear: We are to take seriously the divine origin of marriage. Jesus spoke in Matthew 19:1–12 on the created sanctity of marriage (vv. 4–6). Both marriage and singleness are callings (vv. 11–12). Moses allowed divorce not because it was God’s desire but because people’s hearts were spiritually hard (v. 8). Jesus taught against divorce, except in the case of sexual unfaithfulness (v. 9). Like many today, His disciples thought this teaching was a difficult one to accept.

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