If A Gay Couple Gets Saved, Should They Stay Married Since God Hates Divorce?

When the Bible speaks of marriage and divorce, it is always in the context of heterosexual unions. God designed marriage to be between one man and one woman for life. Therefore, couples legally married to those of the same biological gender do not fit God’s criteria for marriage but fall into the category of sexual immorality. Therefore, Bible verses on divorce do not apply in these unions.

If a gay couple becomes born-again, they need to forsake their former lifestyle and end their same-sex marriage. Obtaining a legal divorce would not be sinful but God-honoring to right a wrong and help untangle them from their unholy contract (Romans 12:1; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5).

Gay couples who become saved but continue their gay relationship and lifestyle are living in willful, habitual sin and immorality. Their lives dishonor Jesus and seriously call into question the genuineness of their salvation. Paul warned believers in Galatia about those who practice sin rather than godliness by stating, “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:16-21). This is why the Bible instructs believers to flee sexual immorality (1 Corinthians 6:18-20; Ephesians 5:3-16) and be “in” the world but not “of” the world (1 John 2:15; 1 Corinthians 5:9-11; Romans 12:2).

Ultimately, God hates divorce because it tears apart those who have become one flesh in marriage. But, as stated earlier, gay couples who obtain a legal divorce after being born-again do not offend God or violate any biblical mandates on marriage. They are simply reversing what was never a God-ordained union from the start.