This topic has been widely debated for years and years in a wide variety of denominations that to actually know what is the truth verses what people's opinions are would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. The armchair theologians are quick to assert their opinions as are simple lay people and they are quite dogmatic about it without any proof of their condemnation to the proven innocent party. So I wonder how many of us who profess to be Born-Again actually read what God says in His Word so that they can know and understand His mind and His moral will.
Everyone has opinions, we all know that but how many of those opinions are based on the Truth of Gods Word? If God hates divorce, what are we to believe what His mind is on remarriage? And if we also know that Gods character (as described in His Word) is full of grace, mercy and forgiveness, at what point do we draw the line between what is morally wrong and what is permissive within the will of God? And where do we draw the line between Gods moral will and His individual will for each Believer?
It is true that one in two marriage end in divorce and statistically it is actually worse in Christian marriages than non-believing or secular marriages. It seems most people today change their relationships and marriages like they do their underwear, so with that in mind, I wonder how many people actually think (mindful) before making such a decision of consequence?
To reiterate..........It is true that unscriptural divorce is one of the great evils of our day and time. Many modern churches are as lax in their divorce laws as were the ancient Pharisees who allowed divorce for "every cause". Denounce and abhor this Hollywood kind of divorce. Keeping rigid standards against all laxity in divorce and sticking to the scriptures and only what God allows will keep the commitment in marriage. Interestingly and of particular concern are those denominations that do not allow their ministers to perform a ceremony for the proven innocent in divorce, but they will gladly receive these same people into their membership and take their money. Many are bound to denominational tradition and those roots go very deep!
The New Testament law of divorce and remarriage is very strict when compared to the 30 grounds for divorce in our 50 states. The ancient Jews however, allowed divorce and remarriage for every cause because of the "hardness of their hearts (Matthew 19:3)." In Moses' time, many Jews were cruel to their wives and divorced them for frivolous reasons such as burning biscuits, poor housekeeping, poor cooking or bad manners and because of this cruelty and "hardness of heart", God permitted divorce. Repudiation of the marriage at his whim and pleasure was at the center of Jewish divorce legislation. So all a Jew had to do to divorce his wife was give her a certificate of divorce in the presence of two witnesses. The marriage was then legally dissolved and both parties were free to remarry (Deuteronomy 24:1-2).
The only cause for divorce in the New Testament is fornication or adultery. Why is this? Old Testament men were allowed to have multiple wives and concubines but New Testament men are allowed only one wife. Clearly this would be a case already for adultery when a man has several wives like they did in the Old Testament. In Matthew 5:31, Jesus makes clear that the only time a certificate of divorce is allowed is in the case of adultery or fornication, otherwise any other reason would be the same as committing adultery. In other words, any man who divorces his wife (with the exception of adultery), causes her to commit adultery in remarriage. He is still her husband and she is still his wife in the eyes of God. Both sin if they remarry or enter into sexual relations with another. There could no dispute in this clearly undissolved marriage. If a divorce occurs beyond that of adultery or fornication in New Testament Law, the couple is still married so the question of dissolution is at the heart of the matter.
If the husband puts away his wife in the case of adultery, the marriage is dissolved and the man is not involved in the sin that the woman committed. The opposite is true for the wife in the case of a husband committing adultery. Beyond adultery or fornication, the spouse has given no other just cause as a reason to divorce and in so doing, they expose their spouse to sin. So fornication was a just cause or right cause for dissolution. Righteously speaking, would Jesus make it right for a man to divorce an adulterous wife and then make it wrong for him to remarry? Logically, what kind of law would that be which establishes a right but places a no-marriage penalty upon anyone who uses the right? Jesus used a decisive expression......"saving for the cause of fornication." The question of divorce and remarriage centers around these words. Messiah told the Jews they could not divorce their wives for the frivolous reason of burnt biscuits or over salted soup. He threw out every cause but the one of fornication so He did not abolish all divorce as some claim using Romans 7:1-3.
Doing an exhaustive and unprejudiced study would uncover the Truth but many are afraid to really investigate it. I believe the crux of the debate is what dissolves a marriage? Does adultery? And if so, there can be no question for remarriage. The right to divorce carries with it the right to remarriage. So why is not the Bible more clear on this subject? There are scriptures but one needs to elucidate the fact of dissolution verses non-dissolution.