What Does "Causeth Her To Commit Adultery" In Matt 5:32 Mean?
Matt 5:32a reads “… whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery …” That shows it is a sin (in and of itself) to divorce a spouse, but what does it mean “causeth her to commit adultery”?This is best explained by I Cor 7:3-5 – “Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband. The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife. Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.”So when a man divorces his wife thereby causing the marital bed to be separated, that leads to adultery most of the time - the wife is undeservedly tempted to fulfill her desires/needs with another man. It is that the man places a sexual stumblingblock before his wife.And it’s always a sin to put a stumbling block before another person – I Cor 8:9-12:But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak. For if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the idol's temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols; And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ.Conclusion: Divorce for any reason other than fornication is sin (even if no remarriage follows), because you cause your spouse to commit adultery.