Two Wrongs (Divorces) Don’t Make A Right

One of the more common arguments for the position that couples may continue living in marriages Jesus calls “adultery” in Matt 19:9 is “Two Wrongs (Divorces) Don’t Make A Right.” The reasoning is – sure the first divorce was wrong, but if then in a second marriage, divorcing that second spouse would be a second wrong. My response would be …

I agree two wrongs never make a right, but in this case, ending an unscriptural marriage is not a wrong; it is a right/required (Luke 13:3).

Would it have been a second wrong for Herod and Herodias to get a divorce? – Mark 6:18 – For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother’s wife.

Suppose I stole (Eph 4:28) a car to give to my son for his 16th birthday. Would it be a second wrong to “steal” it back from my son the next day and return it to its rightful owner?

What if I did wrong by marrying a second wife (polygamous – I Cor 7:2)? Would it be a second wrong to repent and divorce the second wife, and go back to being monogamous with the first?

What if two homosexuals did wrong by getting married (Rom 1:26-27)? Would it be a second wrong for them to get a divorce from each other?

Just like it is required (not a second wrong) to terminate a polygamous or homosexual marriage, it is also required to terminate an adulterous marriage. Adultery (Gal 5:19) is just as wrong as polygamy and homosexuality, isn’t it?

Texts like Matt 19:6 (“Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate” – NKJV) only forbid separating marriages God has joined, not marriage unions God didn’t join (authorize).