Biblical authors would refer to the sins that end a covenant as that which breaks the covenant, but they also refer to the dissolution action taken by God or men as that which breaks the covenant.  It is not divorce but rather treacherous sin that is the cause of all broken covenants.  Divorce is the documentation of the broken covenant; it records it for posterity. This is true of a divorce, a business partnership dissolution, churches exiting denominations, denominations disavowing churches, churches excommunicating a member, etc.  Divorcing a spouse who has broken the marriage covenant is not a sin, which is why Jesus said the Pharisees in Matthew 19 were guilty of adultery.  Divorce is a provision in God’s Law to protect innocent spouses from treacherous spouses.  If the divorce action was a sin, then it would not be in God’s Law, and Jesus would have said the Pharisees in Matthew 19 were guilty of divorce. Of course, Jesus would never say that because divorce is not a sin that breaks marital covenants. Treachery against ones’ spouse breaks marital covenants.

This brings up a very important point.  How can the Church know which marriages should divorce and which marriages should stay intact? 

Marriages That Should Fight to Stay Intact

First, marriages that consist of one man and one woman both demonstrating fruit consistent with regeneration should expect a very low divorce rate approaching zero.  Legitimate exceptions, such as adultery exist, but for equally yoked saints this will be a very unlikely scenario. Also, this group can expect genuine repentance and transformation when a breach of fidelity occurs. These marriages are too valuable to severe them easily. Bear in mind that some of these marriages give the appearance of belonging to this first group, but may very well prove to belong to the second group.

Marriages That Should Consider Divorce

Second, marriages that consist of one spouse with discernable fruit of regeneration and one spouse who loves the world and the things in the world (unequally yoked-2 Cor. 6:14) can experience a much higher rate of divorce than the equally yoked believers.  Note: A significant percent of these marriages can give an appearance of having two believers, but the worldly-minded spouse is merely a formal Christian lacking regeneration; though they are a “Christian”, they are not in Christ. Jesus provided us with the following principle: “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.  If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own.  As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world” (John 15:18, 19).  It is simply naïve to think that this principle does not apply to the unequally yoked marriage relationship.  The unbeliever grows to resent their believing spouse, and resentment is a form of hatred.  Being unequally yoked is the largest risk factor for a Christian having to experience a divorce.  The unbeliever will either file for divorce or so torment the believer that they will finally conclude that God does not want them in covenant with an unbeliever.  Unmarried Christians must bear this in mind before being so foolish as to so much as date unbelievers (including marginal or merely formal Christians).

Marriages for Which Divorce Was Designed

There is a third group to consider regarding marriages and the likelihood of divorce. Marriages with at least one treacherous (biblical term) or narcissistic (phycological term) spouse experience the highest divorce rate of all.  When the one person who has promised to love and cherish their spouse and to forsake all others becomes their spouse’s constant tormentor and antagonist, then divorce was designed to protect innocent spouses from just such treacherous, narcissistic spouses. 

Marriages That Are Capable of Going Either Way

The fourth and final group is one man and one woman both of whom are not in Christ. If unequally yoked Christians and Christians married to treacherous spouses stand a good chance of needing a divorce, then what chance do two unbelievers have of avoiding a divorce.  The answer might surprise you because these marriages have a very good chance of staying happily married for the entirety of their lives.  Both individuals are considered equally matched in their beliefs, as neither identifies rightly as a born-again Christian.  Therefore, they may share similar perspectives and values aligned with secular interests.  As long as neither of them is a treacherous person, then they could very easily have a beautiful marriage until death separates them.  Unlike the second and third type of marriages, these are positioned to lack major conflicts. 

In conclusion, people who have yet to marry should recognize the danger of being unequally yoked because their future will hinge on their marriage partner far more than they know. A second very important point is to study the Biblical gospel above all other doctrines so that you are not persuaded by the many false gospels of our day. The single greatest cause of unequally yoked marriages that are often doomed for divorce from the start is belief in a false gospel. Inviting Jesus into one’s life or heart has saved precisely nobody ever. There are perhaps millions of true believers who have done just that, but they were saved in spite of that prayer and usually before they prayed it. Although many are saved well after praying it. But here is the key: Millions more have prayed that same unbiblical prayer who have never received God’s forgiveness, who are not in Christ Jesus (although they give the impression that they are) who are the very unbelievers who marry believers only to turn their lives into a living hell because they have not eyes to see nor ears to hear and they cannot walk the narrow path with their believing spouse. More than that, these are hateful toward their godly spouse as Jesus warned us.