The Bible teaches that marriage is meant to be a lifelong covenant, divorce is always tragic, and remarriage after divorce is only clearly permitted in a few specific situations, which Christians interpret in different ways.

Key New Testament passages

Here are the main verses people look at when asking, “What does the Bible say about remarrying after divorce?”:

  • Jesus’ words in the Gospels:
    • Matthew 5:31–32 and 19:3–9: Jesus says that divorcing your spouse and marrying another is committing adultery, except in cases of “sexual immorality” (Greek: porneia).
* Mark 10:2–12 and Luke 16:18: These passages stress that God joined husband and wife and man should not separate what God has joined.
  • Paul’s teaching in 1 Corinthians 7:
    • Verses 10–11: A wife should not separate from her husband, but if she does, she should remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband; the same principle is given to husbands.
* Verse 15: If an unbelieving spouse deserts a believer and refuses to live with them, the believer is “not bound” in such circumstances, which many understand as permitting remarriage.

These passages hold together two truths: God’s design is lifelong faithfulness, yet Scripture recognizes that in a broken world there are exceptional cases where divorce and possibly remarriage are allowed.

When remarriage is commonly seen as biblical

Most mainstream evangelical and many other Protestant teachers today would say remarriage can be biblically allowed in at least these situations:

  1. After a spouse’s death
    • Widows and widowers are clearly free to remarry in the Lord (Romans 7:1–3; 1 Corinthians 7:39). The only condition Paul adds is that the new spouse should be a believer.
  1. When divorce was due to sexual immorality
    • In Matthew 19:9, many understand Jesus’ “exception clause” to mean that if a spouse has broken the covenant through sexual immorality and divorce happens, the innocent party may remarry.
  1. When an unbelieving spouse abandons a believer
    • In 1 Corinthians 7:15, Paul says the believer is “not bound” if the unbelieving spouse departs, which a large number of scholars and pastors take to allow remarriage.

Some theologians also argue that Scripture recognizes remarriage as a real marriage even when it follows a questionable or sinful divorce, pointing for example to Deuteronomy 24:1–4, where a second marriage is treated as a lawful marriage, not dismissed as “not real.”

Where Christians disagree

Faithful Christians do not all land in the same place on remarriage after divorce. Here are the main views:

[3][5]

[5][7]
View Basic idea How it reads the key texts
Very restrictive No remarriage while the first spouse is alive, except possibly for the innocent party after adultery. Some allow no remarriage at all. Leans heavily on Mark 10 and Luke 16, seeing almost all remarriage as adultery, and reads 1 Corinthians 7 as saying divorced people should remain single or reconcile.
Exception-based (common evangelical view) Remarriage is allowed for the innocent party in cases of sexual immorality or desertion by an unbeliever. Emphasizes the exception clause in Matthew 19:9 and the “not bound” phrase in 1 Corinthians 7:15 as genuine grounds for dissolving the marriage bond and permitting remarriage.
Broader grace view Sees divorce as always serious and often sinful, but believes that where true repentance exists, God allows remarriage even if the original divorce was not clearly justified. Appeals to the wider biblical picture of forgiveness and restoration, and notes that Deuteronomy 24 treats a second marriage as a real covenant, not as ongoing adultery.
Many modern Bible teachers also stress that while the Bible is firm about God’s hatred of divorce (Malachi 2:16), it does not teach that divorced or remarried believers are second‑class Christians or beyond God’s grace.

Big themes: covenant, sin, grace

When you gather the different passages together, several themes stand out:

  • Marriage as covenant
    • Jesus goes back to Genesis, showing that God’s original intention is one man and one woman, united for life.
* Because of that, divorce is never treated as a light or casual option.
  • Divorce as a result of hardness of heart
    • Jesus says Moses permitted divorce “because of your hardness of heart,” implying that divorce is a concession to human sinfulness, not God’s ideal.
  • Remarriage and adultery language
    • Jesus’ warnings show how serious it is to pursue divorce mainly to be free to marry someone else.
* At the same time, some scholars note that passages like Deuteronomy 24 and the way Greek verbs function in the Gospels suggest that not every remarriage in every circumstance is equated with ongoing adultery.
  • Grace for the divorced and remarried
    • Many pastoral resources emphasize that even when divorce and remarriage have involved sin, there is forgiveness and a way forward for those who repent and seek to honor God in their current situation.

An example often given in pastoral writing is someone who divorced for unbiblical reasons, later repented, and is now seeking to follow Christ faithfully in a second marriage; most contemporary pastors would not counsel breaking up the current marriage, but rather living in faithfulness and seeking God’s mercy.

Practical notes if you are personally affected

Because this topic is deeply personal and situations can be very complex, most Christian counselors and pastors recommend:

  1. Talking with a wise, trusted pastor or Christian counselor who knows Scripture well and can also understand your specific story.
  1. Taking time to examine your own heart, including any part you may have played in the breakdown of the marriage, and seeking repentance, healing, and forgiveness where needed.
  1. Moving slowly about any potential remarriage, especially if wounds and patterns from the previous relationship are still unhealed.
  1. Remembering that God’s grace in Christ is real, even if your situation does not fit neatly into any one “category” in an article or sermon.

Meta description (SEO style):
Wondering what the Bible says about remarrying after divorce? Explore key Scriptures, major Christian viewpoints, and pastoral insights on divorce, remarriage, and God’s grace in real‑life situations.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.