In 1974, a significant change occurred in the Worldwide Church of God regarding the doctrine of divorce and remarriage. Previously, it was taught that the only lawful reason for divorce permitting remarriage was fraud, but this was revised. Divorce, with the possibility of remarriage, is a liberty available under certain circumstances, though it must not be abused. Scriptures indicate that divorce allowing remarriage is possible, contrary to interpretations of Romans 7:1-3 which suggest marriage can only end with death. Our Savior clearly states in Matthew 19 that there is a reason for divorce that permits remarriage, showing a more nuanced position than a strict prohibition. At the time of Christ, differing views existed among the Jews on divorce, with some advocating liberal grounds and others restricting it to adultery. Jesus' teachings in Matthew 19 seem to align more closely with the stricter view, yet additional scriptures suggest He was more liberal than initially apparent, emphasizing the need to consider the entirety of God's Word. The term 'fornication,' used by Jesus as an exception for divorce, encompasses a broad range of sexual sins beyond premarital relations, including various perversions as understood in the Greek term porneia. This broader interpretation indicates that grounds for divorce may include not just sexual misconduct but other forms of violence against the marriage covenant, such as abuse or deceit, which make the relationship untenable, lacking peace, and destructive to God's purpose. God hates violence against the marriage covenant, as seen in Malachi 2:16, where violence—whether physical or otherwise—abuses the marital contract. This violence, committed by either or both spouses, often leads to divorce. Deuteronomy 24:1-4 and Exodus 21:10-11 show that God permitted divorce and remarriage under the Old Covenant, despite His original intent for marriage to be permanent, demonstrating His flexibility and mercy in untenable situations. Jesus' symbolic marriage to Israel under the Old Covenant illustrates the challenges of a union between a converted and unconverted partner, often leading to failure due to the unconverted spouse's attitude and conduct. This highlights that a marriage ideally requires two converted individuals to meet God's intent, and even with one converted, it falls short. The basic cause for a lawful divorce permitting remarriage is unconversion, or hardness of heart, as Moses permitted divorce for this reason. Unconversion can manifest in various ways, not solely through sexual sins. Violence against marriage may include non-sexual abuses like lying, stealing, or refusal to provide love and care, all of which violate the marriage contract. In I Corinthians 7, Paul addresses marriages between converted and unconverted individuals, advising that if the unconverted spouse is unwilling to live peacefully with the converted, causing stress and lack of peace, the converted is not bound and may seek divorce, as God calls us to peace. Human nature can complicate such situations, with unconverted spouses remaining in destructive marriages for selfish reasons, even when they have emotionally departed from the relationship. The converted person must be brutally honest, recognizing their own potential responsibility for marital strife, as God holds them more accountable due to their knowledge and access to His Spirit. If striving to uphold God's law, He grants mercy through divorce to ensure peace and the opportunity to be in His Kingdom.

The word "divorce" traces its origins to the Latin term "divortere," meaning to turn aside or deviate, which evolved into "divortium," the noun form indicating a turning in another direction. This etymology reveals divorce as an act of diverting a marriage from its intended path, deflecting it onto a new, often destructive course. God intended marriage to be a lifelong relationship, foundational for creating families and a prosperous society. Divorce, by breaking this relationship, undermines that institution and makes achieving God's purposes for marriage difficult or impossible. In the Roman Republic, where the term originated, divorce was initially rare and valued marriage and family highly, only allowing divorce on grounds such as a wife's adultery. Over time, reasons expanded to include infertility or drunkenness, and eventually, women could also initiate divorce. This loosening of marital bonds coincided with a cultural decline into decadence, illustrating how divorce can divert a society from its moral values toward destruction. Scripture presents divorce as a diversion from God's purpose for marriage, leading down a destructive path for individuals and society. God hates divorce, as stated in Malachi 2:16, because it betrays the covenant of marriage. Jesus, in His Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:31-32, restates God's original intent, declaring that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. His authority surpasses common understandings of the time, emphasizing that divorce outside this exception violates God's design. In Mark 10:1-12, Jesus expands on this teaching, explaining that Moses permitted divorce due to the hardness of the Israelites' hearts, as they lacked the spiritual capacity to uphold lifelong marriage. However, God's original intent was for marriage to teach unity and oneness, reflecting a deeper spiritual union with Him. Divorce halts this purpose, stopping the growth God desires through the marital covenant. Jesus reiterates that God joins husband and wife together in a divine covenant, not to be dissolved lightly by human will, as doing so mocks the covenant and demeans God's high purpose for marriage. Malachi 2:10-17 further illustrates the treachery of divorce, equating faithlessness in marriage to disloyalty to God. The men of Judah forsook the wives of their youth, marrying foreign women and introducing false religions, showing betrayal on both personal and spiritual levels. This treachery diverted God's purpose of producing spiritual children through marriage, leading to societal chaos as God stepped back, allowing them to reap the consequences of their actions. God warns them to take heed to their spirit, as breaking faith with their wives or with Him yields no good outcome. Finally, in I Corinthians 7:15, Paul addresses situations within the church where an unbelieving spouse cannot dwell peacefully with a converted member. In such cases, if peace is unattainable and hinders spiritual growth, divorce may be contemplated, as God has called us to peace. This principle underscores that chronic, severe marital problems restricting the pursuit of righteousness may warrant separation, though reconciliation should always be sought first. Divorce should never be an easy out but considered only when necessary for spiritual health.

As steeped in Judeo-Christian values as it is, America is a nation that should know better, yet for at least three generations, the sanctity of marriage has steadily declined among its people until today, when divorce is routine. Back in earlier times, divorce was still shameful, and most families did not want their sons or daughters to marry a divorced person. However, as society secularized, divorce lost its stigma until no-fault divorce laws swept across the nation. According to recent data, 20% of marriages are disrupted after five years and about one-third of marriages after ten years. As of 2020, the current divorce rate is 2.3 per 1,000 population, while the marriage rate is 5.1 per 1,000, meaning that just under half of marriages end in divorce. God declares in Malachi 2:16 that He hates divorce, emphasizing His desire for stable family units. True, not all fathers are good fathers, and God makes provisions for such cases in His principles on divorce, but more often than not, a father in the home creates a better environment for raising children than a home that lacks one.

Divorce is addressed within a broader discussion of marriage as a fundamentally spiritual institution rather than a merely physical arrangement. Many in contemporary culture adopt a physical viewpoint of relationships, prioritizing factors such as sexual compatibility and often engaging in fornication and cohabitation outside marriage vows. This approach, however, actually increases the likelihood of divorce, with studies showing a 40 to 85 percent higher risk of marital breakdown among couples who cohabited beforehand compared to those who did not. This outcome stems directly from viewing marriage through a physical rather than spiritual lens. When God established marriage at creation, He placed it on a spiritual plane, rooted in humanity's creation in His own image. This spiritual foundation is central to understanding Jesus' teaching on divorce in Matthew 19. When Pharisees questioned Him about whether a man could divorce his wife for any reason, their question arose from a misreading of Deuteronomy 24:1-4, which had led to widespread and casual divorce among the Jews. Rather than engaging their cynical premise, Jesus responded by returning to Genesis 1:27 and 2:24, affirming that God made humanity male and female and that a man and woman become one flesh in marriage. By doing so, Jesus demonstrated that God's original intentions for marriage have never changed or evolved over time; marriage remains a God-plane union with profound implications tied to being made in God's image. Jesus concluded that since the two become one flesh, "what God has joined together, let not man separate," establishing marriage as a divinely ordained, lifelong institution rather than something to be broken at will. He further explained that Moses permitted divorce only because of "the hardness of your hearts," clarifying that this was never God's original design. This teaching reveals that divorce represents a departure from God's intent rather than its fulfillment. The significance of this teaching connects directly to the purpose of marriage in producing righteous, godly character. Since God is preparing children who not only resemble Him physically but who also live according to His nature, marriage serves as a vital environment for spiritual growth and conversion. Divorce, by severing the union between husband and wife, can become a serious hindrance to this spiritual development in both parties. The breaking of the marriage bond therefore works against the very purpose for which God instituted marriage in the first place. This understanding is reinforced by the fact that God blessed the first marriage at creation, endowing Adam and Eve with the power and authority needed for success in their union. Because God Himself is a party to the marriage covenant, He supplies the strength necessary to sustain it, meaning that couples have little excuse for failure. Viewed this way, divorce is not merely a legal or relational matter but a failure to rely upon the spiritual power and purpose God has built into the marriage covenant from its very beginning.

Divorce enters this discussion as a key marker of societal decline, illustrated through the historical example of Rome. During its centuries as a flourishing republic, Rome maintained a tenacious grip on the traditional family and was renowned for its total absence of divorce. Rome's eventual decline can be traced to the period when easy divorce, combined with open promiscuity, began to cheapen the value of the marriage covenant. This historical pattern serves as a diagnostic tool for assessing where America, and the broader Western world, now stands on the timeline of societal decline. Applying this pattern directly to contemporary society, divorce and promiscuity became commonplace not long after World War II. In the nearly sixty years since that time, divorce rates have hovered around fifty percent, accompanying a near-universal acceptance of out-of-wedlock sex and resulting in roughly a third of America's births being illegitimate. This trajectory parallels Rome's own decline and signals that the erosion of marriage as an institution follows a recognizable and dangerous historical trend. This concern over divorce connects to the larger controversy surrounding attempts to redefine marriage itself, prompted by a series of legal and political developments: the Supreme Court's overturning of a Texas sodomy law, Massachusetts' move toward legalizing homosexual marriage, and a presidential announcement regarding the codification of marriage into U.S. law. These developments reveal a society confused enough about morality to seriously entertain altering marriage's definition. Should such redefinition succeed in opening marriage to combinations beyond one man and one woman, it would mark the death-knell of the nation, since no society has endured far beyond the demeaning of the marriage institution. From a biblical perspective, marriage stands as humanity's founding institution, established when God united Adam and Eve immediately after their creation, forming the bedrock of human civilization. Various alternative family structures—polygamous, incestuous, communal—have been attempted throughout history, but none have endured as successfully as the one-man-one-woman lifelong bond. Traditional marriages produce children who extend a nation's existence, ideals, and wealth into future generations, and such families prove healthier, more stable, and more productive than alternatives, yielding a net benefit to society that homosexual unions cannot replicate. Paul's statement in Hebrews 13:4 reinforces this standard, declaring marriage honorable and the marriage bed undefiled, while warning that God will judge fornicators and adulterers. The use of both terms is significant: fornicators covers all sexual immorality, including homosexuality, while adulterers specifically addresses marital infidelity such as divorce-related unfaithfulness. Such behavior is defiling, perverse, and unwholesome, with no place among God-fearing Christians. Ultimately, this examination of marriage and divorce calls Christian husbands and wives to evaluate their own relationships—asking whether they honor God, model love for their children, and maintain unity in belief and practice—so that even amid societal collapse, they create an environment of strength capable of rebuilding a better world for future generations.

Divorce enters the discussion as a failure to fulfill the third purpose of marriage—creating a proper environment for raising godly seed for God's Family. Referencing Malachi 2:13-16, the covenant relationship God intended for marriage had degenerated among His people to the point that husbands were treacherously divorcing their wives for trivial reasons, breaking the solemn vow they had made. This behavior displeased God greatly because it directly undermined the purpose He had established for marriage: producing a peaceful, stable environment in which children could be raised in His image, not merely for the benefit of the human family, but for God's own Family. This failure stands in stark contrast to the positive picture presented in Psalm 128, where a marriage grounded in proper fear of the Lord produces blessing, unity, and fruitfulness that radiates outward to the whole family and, ultimately, to the nation. Such God-fearing homes create the peaceful environment necessary for righteousness to grow, producing upstanding individuals who build society rather than disturb it. Divorce, especially when driven by treachery and inconsequential causes, destroys this peaceful foundation and prevents the home from fulfilling its intended spiritual function. The broader point connects to the theme that physical marriage mirrors spiritual realities. Since God is seeking a home for His spiritual offspring, a marriage relationship broken through faithless divorce fails to reflect or support that higher purpose. The covenant of marriage is not merely a social or personal arrangement but a vow with spiritual weight, and breaking it treacherously represents a serious breach of the trust and order God intended marriage to teach and embody. This failure to honor the marriage covenant is presented as a significant deviation from God's design, since marriage is meant to train individuals in faithfulness, government, and righteous character—qualities that divorce, especially when entered into carelessly or deceitfully, directly undermines.

God was upset with Israel for allowing easy divorce laws for the putting away of their wives. By doing so Judah had profaned the holy institution of marriage that God so dearly loves. The instruction Christ gave in Matthew 5 teaches that marriage is permanent with ties so binding that they can only be broken by death or moral abandonment by either husband or wife or both which is called adultery. His response to the Pharisees left no doubt on how binding the institution of marriage is and that from the beginning of creation the standard had been set. Christ said in Matthew 5 that adultery comes from the heart and is more than an outward action but a lust that comes from within. So hurtful to the sacredness of marriage is the breaking of this command that it was the only reason given in Christ's response to the Pharisees in Matthew 19 that allowed divorce. America is swiftly following in Rome's footsteps with about half of all marriages today ending in divorce tearing families apart. As long as men and women stay out of compliance with God's laws this trend toward national ruin within marriage will continue.