Can I Remarry If I Still Struggle with Lust?

I have struggled with masturbation and pornography for a long time. I want to get remarried; the only problem is that this would be my third marriage. Can I remarry?

The Bible says that God hates divorce. (Malachi 2:16) People usually end up in divorce court because they didn’t seek the Lord’s will about their perspective mate in the first place. Then, once married, they lived a self-centered life instead of unselfishly seeking the good of the other.

However, I’m not one of those ministers who takes a rigid (what I would term legalistic) stand on remarriage. God is always concerned with what is going on in the heart. He does hate divorce, just like He also hates murder, and hypocrisy, and pride and a lot of other things.

The important issue is not whether or not you have been married in the past but what your life is like now. If you will truly repent of your sin and live a godly life, the time will probably arrive when the Lord will feel as though He can trust you with a wife.

The other thing I would say is that marriage is not the answer to a masturbation or pornography problem. It will only be a matter of time before you tire of your wife in bed and start looking for something carnal to take her place. If you will get your life right with God, I think you will find that your desires will truly change from the inside.