Divorce and Remarriage: What are the Permissible Causes?

There are a lot of different views in the Apostolic movement on MDR. Even among those who teach that some divorce and remarriage is permissible, there is no consensus as to what the parameters are. Some think that only infidelity is a valid cause for divorce and remarriage, and then only for the innocent party. I hold a much more broad view of valid causes. In this blog I am going to tell you what those causes are, and then I will defend them in later posts. 

1. INFIDELITY: This is the one with which most agree. The scripture is clear that adultery is a justifiable cause for divorce. God, the ultimate standard for righteousness, put away his wife and gave her a bill of divorce because she committed adultery (Jeremiah 3:8). 
2. DESERTION BY AN UNBELIEVER: Paul taught the Corinthians that if an unbeliever was not please to dwell with a believer and departed that the believer was not "under bondage in such cases" (I Corinthians 7:15). What is the bondage of this context? The only logical referent is the bondage to "remain unmarried" (1 Corinthians 7:11). Therefore, if an unbeliever deserts his/her believing spouse, then the believing spouse is free to marry any Christian they chose. I like to use this phrase: God always sides with the church!
3. REFUSING MATERIAL PROVISION: A husband is obligated to provide for his wife food, clothing and the duty of marriage (Exodus 21:10-11). If he does not, then she can go out free. This means that she is free to be married to another man. If a man does not provide for his wife he also falls under the above category of an unbeliever (I Timothy 5:8). 
4. REFUSING SEXUAL INTIMACY: This point is drawn from the text for the above section. A husband must give to his wife the "duty of marriage" (Exodus 21:10-11). Paul alluded to this concept with the phrases "defraud not" and "due benevolence" (I Corinthians 7:3-5). Paul also made "due benevolence" the responsibility of both the husband and the wife. If either spouse willingly persists in refusing to perform these duties, then they are breaking covenant. 
5. PHYSICAL ABUSE: If a spouse is being abusive to their spouse or children then they are obviously not "pleased to dwell" (I Corinthians 7:12-13). And even if the abusive spouse claims to be a Christian, if they do not repent then they are to be declared an unbeliever (Matthew 18:17). 

These are the reasons that I believe justify both divorce and remarriage. As stated earlier, I will provide a fuller defense of them at a later time. 

As always, feel free to comment!