Marriage
|
1. If a married woman commits fornication, does her sin permit her
husband to remarry? |
|
No, it
doesn’t. For her sin of fornication allows her husband to send her away, but
it does not allow him to remarry. For Jesus said: “It hath been said,
Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:
But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the
cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall
marry her that is divorced committeth adultery” (Matthew 5:31-32), and also:
“And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for
fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth
her which is put away doth commit adultery” (Matthew 19:9). |
|
Someone,
in reading these words of Jesus, will probably point out that Jesus did not state
that if a man sends away his wife for marital unfaithfulness and marries
another woman he commits adultery, but He stated that the husband commits
adultery if he sends away his wife (and marries another) for any reason
except fornication. However, this interpretation is wrong because in another
place it is written that Jesus said: “Whosoever putteth away his wife, and
marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put
away from her husband committeth adultery” (Luke 16:18) which means that no
matter what the reason, for which the husband sends away his wife, is (that
is, no matter whether it is a reason that justifies or not the man who sends
away his wife), if the husband marries another woman, he commits adultery. |
|
The only
reason which allows a man to remarry is the death of his wife; no other event
can loose him from the law which binds him to his wife. |
|
It is
obvious that this principle is applied also to the case in which it is the
husband who commits fornication; for in this case the wife who departs from
her husband cannot remarry but she must remain unmarried. As it is written: “But
even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her
husband” (1 Corinthians |