If A Marriage Is Legal (Approved By The Government), Does That Mean That It Is God-Approved?
This question must be based on the statement that Jesus made in Matthew 19:9: "And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for fornication, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery."
It is possible that a marriage is legal and God-approved under three circumstances:
Both parties have never been married before (Genesis 2:21-24; Matthew 19:4-5).
The innocent spouse of the God-approved marriage (who did not commit fornication in the prior marriage and was faithful to the former spouse - Matthew 19:9) was allowed by God to put the guilty spouse away for fornication.
The spouse in a God-approved marriage died while scripturally marriage, giving the living spouse release from the law and the right to remarry "in the Lord", if the spouse so chooses (Romans 7:1-4; 1 Corinthians 7:39).
It is possible that a marriage can be called a marriage in an accommodative sense in the Bible, but it is not God-approved. The marriage between Herodias and Herod Antipas was legal, but it was NOT God-approved (Mark 6:16-30).
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