My Husband Deceived Me by Hiding His Impotency Before We Got Married. Can I Leave the Marriage and Remarry?
1) Direct answer
No. Deception is sin and must be repented of, but it does not give you a right to remarry while your husband lives. You may seek separation if conscience or circumstances require it, but Scripture binds you to remain unmarried or be reconciled.
2) Scriptural explanation
- The Bible says a wife is bound to her husband “so long as he liveth” (Romans 7:2-3; 1 Corinthians 7:39). That is the plain rule.
- If separation happens, the Lord’s command is, “let not the wife depart from her husband: but and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband” (1 Corinthians 7:10-11).
- Jesus allowed one scriptural ground that dissolves the union for remarriage: “except it be for fornication” (Matthew 19:9; 5:32). Now notice, that word points to sexual uncleanness—premarital immorality like Joseph considered when he thought to put Mary away privately (Matthew 1:18-19; compare Deuteronomy 22:13-21). Impotency is not fornication.
- God hates “putting away” (Malachi 2:16). He calls marriage a covenant to which He is a witness (Malachi 2:14).
- Conjugal duty is commanded (1 Corinthians 7:3-5). If a spouse fails through weakness or sickness, that calls for prayer, help, and healing—not a new marriage. “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church… and the prayer of faith shall save the sick” (James 5:14-15).
3) Simple clarifying logic
- Deceit is wrong. Your husband must repent and walk in truth (Ephesians 4:25; Colossians 3:9). But the vow you made is still a vow. The Bible gives no verse that says fraud about health or ability dissolves a marriage so that one is free to remarry.
- The only release for remarriage while a spouse lives is fornication. Impotency is a condition, not fornication. Therefore, the covenant stands.
- If someone says, “Fraud annuls the marriage,” ask them to show the Scripture. The Bible does not grant remarriage for this cause.
- If living together becomes untenable, Scripture allows separation, but not a second marriage: remain unmarried or be reconciled.
4) Short reinforcing statement
Seek God for mercy and healing. Bring it into the light—confession, prayer, medical help, and pastoral oversight. God can restore what is broken. But do not step outside the Word: no remarriage while he lives, unless the biblical ground of fornication is present. Stay with the Word, and the God of peace will guide your steps.
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What did the Laodicean Church Age (our age) Angel (- messenger) Say about this?
Ranked passages from the local William Branham sermon and Church Age Book database. Relevance is relative, not a statement of doctrinal certainty.
In His presence
62-0909E §49
...Jacob, "supplanter," to "Israel---a prince, having power with God." That's what happened to Jacob. The supplanter, the deceiver, the unrighteous, the unholy, the deceiver, deceived his brother, stole the birthrights, as it was, from his brother, took a little dirty way of doing it, such a deceiver. He deceived his father-in-law. Put poplar sticks and made speckled calves, when the cows being pregnated, they'd come there, look at it, and the sheep ... would see that speckled stick and make speckled cattle, give the...
Questions and Answers
62-0527 §17
...that your sanctified life will sanctify that believer, cause them to believe, see. Either side, man or woman, see. But now just to say, "Brother Branham, I got married and my wife's an unbeliever, and here's a sister over here I can marry. I'm going to leave this one and marry that one." Oh, no! No, indeedy! Your vow is until death you separate, and there's nothing else in the world will permit you to marry (in the Bible) until your companion is dead. That's right. The only grounds! There's no remarrying nowhere a...
Questions and Answers, Part 2
64-0823E §97
QUESTION: Should a saved wife refuse herself to her husband if he is a sinner? No, sir! No, sir! That's your husband. You'll drive him farther away from God than ever by doing that. See? That's right, brother, sister. You married him; he's yours, and you're his.
A man running from the presence of the Lord
65-0217 §27
...have to do, so much responsibility that we have to face. Everybody's got to face a certain responsibility. When you come to choose your wife, to get married, or choose your husband, you've got to take a responsibility. And then you must remember... Maybe you build a home. It's a nice, pretty home. And then remember, as a married woman you've got to think of the responsibility of raising children. You got to think that them pretty slick walls is going to have little dirty hand prints all over them. Then you got the...
The Message of Grace
61-0827 §119
And directly He found her trouble. How many knows what it was? Sure. She was living with her sixth husband. So you see, it's wrong when you got a living husband and so forth, and going out and just for any cause put a woman away, and marry her and go marry another one, marry another one, marry another one. You shouldn't do that. So He said... Then I guess she was living without even being married to him. She might never have married him. She might not have never even been married. So she said ... all these evil thi...