Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth (Rom. 14:22).
I am well aware that the Bible forbids us from denying marriage (1 Tim. 4:3). I'm not saying that marriage is itself wrong. I am saying that it can be entered wrong and treated wrong, to the damnation of one's eternal soul! My purpose is only 1) to warn believers how dangerous it is to treat marriage casually like the secular world does, and 2) to suggest that it is better to remain single to more efficiently do the Lord’s work on earth for His kingdom (1 Cor. 7:8-9, 7:32-33).
According to 1 Cor. 7:27, if you are married, don’t divorce. If you are divorced, don't remarry.
When is a person free to remarry? Only after the death of the spouse. If your spouse dies, you are free to remarry, only in the Lord (1 Cor. 7:39). If your divorced spouse dies, you’re a widow or widower, and thus free to remarry, only in the Lord.
What does “in the Lord" mean? It means a person fully committed to the Lord in all commandments given to us. Add to that, in this case, a person not already married, and not divorced. Remember that legal divorce is no more than separation so far as God is concerned. The marriage continues till death of one of the married partners.
The Bible tells us that no adulterer will enter the kingdom of heaven (1 Cor. 6:9-10):
Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
Speaking to the carnal believers in Corinth about marriage, divorce, and remarriage, Paul said this (1 Cor. 7:7-11):
For I would that all men were even as I myself. But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that.
I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I.
But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn.
And unto the married I command, [yet] not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from [her] husband:
But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to [her] husband: and let not the husband put away [his] wife.
Paul goes on to say to men (1 Cor. 7:27-28):Art thou bound unto a wife? not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife. But and if thou marry, thou hast not sinned; and if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned. Nevertheless such shall have trouble in the flesh: but I spare you.Paul is saying that those who marry for the first time (not in adultery), though not committing sin if done according to all the restrictions that necessarily apply, would do better not to marry in the first place. So, is it wrong to divorce if you find yourself in an adulterous marriage or remarriage? Well, how can God honor an adulterous marriage? He can't. After all, this is all God's rules in the first place. If you marry a divorced person and want to get right with God, then divorce for the gospel's sake. If you are married to a second or third spouse while any of the previous spouses are living, you are in an adulterous marriage, and your only option, as I can see it, is to divorce out of it to set things right. To do so is to admit that the adulterous marriage should have never occurred in the first place. Marriage is and always has been in the true church 'till death do you part'.
Paul then continues to speak to men in 1 Cor. 7:32-33:
But I would have you without carefulness. He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord: But he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please [his] wife.Thus, Paul as much as proclaims that it is better not to marry at all to better serve the Lord and His kingdom.
As for a second marriage, Paul said this (1 Cor. 7:39):
The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord.
Paul repeats this rule and adds more detail in Romans 7:2-3:
For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to [her] husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of [her] husband.
So then if, while [her] husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.
From the gospel of Matthew (Matthew 19:3-12):
The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made [them] at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. 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. His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with [his] wife, it is not good to marry. But he said unto them, All [men] cannot receive this saying, save [they] to whom it is given. For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from [their] mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive [it], let him receive [it].
Never rush into marriage. A five-year engagement would not be unreasonable to prevent a bad marriage. There is a proverb we should all keep in mind: Marry in haste, repent at leisure.
What about if one is single and tempted to fornication. Then do what Paul told you to do: Walk in the Spirit (Gal. 5:16) and you won’t get horny and you will have sexual self-control. Paul could not have advised believers to remain single if it were not possible to do so in holiness.