Marriage and Divorce

Short Essay on Marriage and Divorce

Marriage is an institution that has been around since the beginning of the world, and it is still something that most people partake in today. Aside from salvation, who you marry should be the biggest decision a person makes. Sadly many people today take marriage too lightly.

God instituted marriage in the Garden of Eden, when he married Adam and Eve. God intended marriage to be exclusive and for life. “Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate” (Matt. 19:6). The Bible’s view on marriage changes between testaments. In the Old Testament marriage is seen as “the union of man and wife for the procreation of children as well as for the increasing and thus strengthening of the nation” (marriage customs in the Bible 740), but in the New Testament believers view marriage as a sacrament. Elwell also contends that marriage is privileged for those who are mature because a relationship like that will only withstand trials if the participants are fully prepared to handle it (theology of marriage 744)

A good question to ask is what makes a couple married? Some believe that marriage is accomplished through the act of sexual intercourse, yet today so many people engage in extramarital sex with a multitude of partners this view is impractical. The more accurate view I believe is that “marriage is brought about as the result of a declaration of desire to be married, accompanied by the expression of mutual intention of sole and enduring fidelity and responsibility toward the other, preferably undergirded by self-giving live, in the presence of accredited witnesses.” (Theology of marriage 744) this is basically a wedding ceremony that we would see today.

Divorce is never something intended when people get married; it is never part of the plan, just as it is not in God’s plan for us. But sometimes we are sinful and go outside of God’s plan even though he knows what is best for us. In the New Testament states plainly...