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A similar question was asked of me by a loyal reader of my articles on divorce and marriage that are available on my website: www.TotalHealth.bz. It seems this is one area that I have not covered sufficiently.
While it is true that Jesus established a new law according to prophecy (Jeremiah 31:31), questions remain as to the pertinence of the Old Testament. Is it no longer the word of God? Are we to dismiss all the teaching contained in it as being inapplicable today? Was all the Old Testament for Israel only?
A legitimate concern, which I hold, is that the Lord's church must look to the New Testament to find authority for all its beliefs, teaching, organization, and practices. Yet the Old Testament is an essential part of God's word - a fact that is not questioned by reasonable Christians. But it must be recognized that the church has no authority over marriage and divorce, the Roman Catholic Church notwithstanding. These matters were established and settled long before the New Testament was written. God's original law on marriage and divorce was intended to be timeless and pertains to any (in the past, present, and future) who seek to be governed by the Creator. It is noteworthy that the New Testament does not even define divorce (as does the Old Testament [Deut. 24:1, 2]), nor does it establish any new teachings that contradict God's previously established and permanent teachings. In fact, it was the apostle Paul - not Jesus - who answered questions that Christians asked about marriage and divorce (1 Cor. 7:1, 2).
Many have misunderstood the teaching of Jesus in such a way that they have Him contradicting this established law that allowed a divorced woman to "go and be another man's wife" (Deut. 24:1, 2; Jer. 3:8). Seeking to counter the arguments against the position that breaks up legal marriages and imposes celibacy on people who need marriage, some argue that the Law of Moses, which defines divorce and commands it - as opposed to merely putting away or sending away (permanent separation) - is not applicable. But this position is untenable because Jesus, whose teaching they base their doctrine on, appealed to the Old Testament (which was the center of the discussion Jesus had with the Pharisees) in answering the Pharisees' questions. The fact that He asked "What did Moses command you?" (Mark 10:3) is proof that the Old Testament was applicable to those who heard Jesus' teaching.
But then some argue that Jesus' teachings are Old Testament - not New Testament. This notion may have arisen from some who did not understand what Jesus said and who sought to make sense of Paul's teaching (that seemingly contradicted Jesus' teaching) that commands and allows the "unmarried" to marry and even affirms that such is not sin. See 1 Corinthians 7:1-2, 8-9, 27-28.
Others have unsuccessfully argued that Jesus' teaching was not applicable to the Jews but was intended to become applicable to Christians only after the death of Christ. This is a convoluted notion which I dealt with in a series of debates with J.T. Smith:
https://www.totalhealth.bz/marriage-divorce-remarriage-debates.htm
Wayne Jackson published an article that deals with the question of Gentile applicability to the Jewish Law before the New Testament was written:
https://christiancourier.com/articles/to-what-law-were-the-ancient-gentiles-accountable
I highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about this issue.
To answer the question, yes, the divorce law contained in the Old Testament is still applicable today. Paul made this clear when he stated that all "loosed" people are free to marry (1 Corinthians 7:27-28). The only scripture we have that gives clear instruction as to how a person is loosed from a marriage is found in the Law of Moses, which we know Jesus quoted. Divorced people are free from one another. They may remain alone, or they may marry another (1 Corinthians 7:27-28). And when we impose celibacy on them, it is we (not they) who disobey God and bind where God has loosed.
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