Porneia might refer to premarital sex during the betrothal of a couple. In Biblical times, couples were betrothed--engaged to be married. Such betrothals were strong bonds almost equal with marriage. In such cases, if a man found that a woman was guilty of premarital
sex with another man, he might break the betrothal. Consider the situation of Mary, the mother of Jesus, who was pledged to be married to Joseph. When Joseph discovered that Mary was pregnant
prior to their marriage, he considered divorcing her—that is, he considered breaking the betrothal (
Matthew 1:19 NIV). It is uncertain as to exactly what
porneia means, so it is uncertain as to exactly when divorce is allowed. Notice that divorce is only permitted in the case of
porneia--divorce is not advocated.
If the marriage is lawful, then the couple should try to reconcile their differences and keep the marriage intact. Jesus proclaimed that God joins together a man and woman in marriage, and man should not separate this one flesh (
Matthew 19:4-6; Mark 10:2-9; Luke 16:18).
The Apostle Paul taught against divorce. He wrote that a woman is bound to her husband as long as the husband lives, and that if she remarries
while her husband is alive, she commits adultery (
Romans 4:1-4; 1 Corinthians 7:10,11). Paul wrote that a believer must not seek to divorce an unbeliever (
1 Corinthians Share with your friends: 
