Should Christians Date or Marry Non-believers? By Evangelist Jeremy Major This was a question presented to me within a Christian group I am a member of on facebook. I knew the answer, but the Lord instructed me to apply scripture with my response, and as I was doing so, the Lord gave me an even deeper revelation of His word regarding this very issue which is thoroughly covered in 1 Corinthians Chapter 7. Ive spent extensive study on the subjects of marriage, divorce and remarriage, but have never had to address a question like this because true believers shrink back at the horror and are fully aware of the doom thats 99% likely to happen if you were to do something like that, unless of course, you arent a true believer, but just a professing one. 1 Corinthians 7:10-16 says, Now to the married, I command, yet not I but the Lord; A wife is not to depart from her husband. But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband is not to divorce his wife. But to the rest I, not the Lord, say: If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her. And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him. For the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy. But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart; a brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases. But God has called us to peace. For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife? Now, that last verse, verse 16 raises a question, and Im going to paraphrase—How do you know if youll save your husband? How do you know youll save you wife? Thats just it—you dont know. Now, before I go on any further, turn if you will over to 1 Peter 3:1, “Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the the conduct of their wives. I mostly preached from the New King James version for the last few years, but I would like to point out that the word conduct in the King James version is translated as “conversation.” So, why then does it say, “without a word” in that same verse then? Its because “Without a word” in this passage is saying that you dont have to preach to them. This is a simple fact that many of the best of us arent even aware of, because were just in such a hurry to get their spouse to understand and see the light, but youve got to remember thats its all in Gods timing, and that you cant run ahead of God, and thats exactly what youre doing if youre doing this not only with your spouse, but anyone for this matter. Im not saying youre not to say anything at all, but when you do, be sure its the Lord prompting you to do it, because, and I love the way Joyce Meyer puts it, “Im not Holy Ghost Jr. and I just dont get the job. OK, now, at the same time, “conversation” or “conduct” is the way you act when you speak, using the gentleness of the Holy Spirit to speak through you which will overtime allow the husband to see Gods light within you, and will therefore come to know Christ because He will feel Gods love coming through you if indeed He is being drawn by the Holy Spirit. Sometimes you may feel that your spouse is on the way, that he could get saved any minute, only to see him revert back. In a sense, its just like how God kept hardening Pharoahs heart each time. I really thought it was very important to point that out. Well, thats enough said about this issue. Its not minor by any means, but yet a little nugget of wisdom that some of you may not have knowledge of, but theres no need to elaborate any further on that, and I know the Lord makes it very plain for us to understand, and maybe well look more into that in a future message. Now, if youll go back to 1 Corinthians chapter 7, something Id like to point out if youll go back and take a look at verse 12 where Paul says, ...I, not the Lord, say... Thats one thing about the apostle Paul--he was always one to point out when it was him speaking as a man on the subject, and when it was the Lord speaking about it, and was always careful in these regards to speak clearly so that the church would understand. Now, some have asked why the apostle Paul would do this, but the Lord is showing me how to word this even as Im typing it now. Paul had to elaborate on issues within the church that the Lord Himself should have never been forced to elaborate on, because of the fact that it wasnt in Gods original plan. Notice back in verse 10, the way he words it, and if you read it carefully, youll understand it more clearly. ...I command, yet not I but the Lord.... So, based on this, we can come to the conclusion that verses 10 & 11 were the commands of the Lord, plain and simple, but since we arent living in a perfect world, and sin had crept in since the fall of man in the garden of Eden, Paul had to touch on the scenarios that God couldnt touch on because of the fact that the commandments that Paul was giving wasnt in line with Gods original plan. I know the Lord is helping me explain this as clearly as possible, because Im learning myself as the Holy Spirit is giving me the words to explain this, and its always good to pray for revelation and insight into Gods word. Now, let me say this. It wasnt that verses 12 through 16 werent any less the inspired word of God. Paul actually relied on the Holy Spirit to explain things that God the Father didnt speak about, and once everything is brought back into alignment, Gods original commands will have final authority without even a need to address issues that we currently have to address as long as were still living under the curse. Thank You, Lord. Im telling you, people, The Holy Spirit is showing me how to explain this as I go along, and this is very powerful. Now, moving right along, if youll notice, verses 17 through 24 are basically all summed up in verse 24, Brethren, let each one remain with God in that state in which he was called. Then, if you will look down in verse 27, the apostle Paul goes on to say, Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be loosed. Are you loosed from a wife? Do not seek a wife. Now, verses 28 through 38 dont even deal with the issue of whether or not they are not they are a believer. Verse 39 says, “A wife is bound by law as long as her husband lives; but if her husband dies, she is at liberty to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord.” Now despite all the other questions concerning marriage and divorce and remarriage in the Bible, which is again, something that wasnt in Gods original plan, the last 4 words of verse 39 makes it clear--”only in the Lord.” Thus proving that if you remarry after the death of a spouse, or whether you remarry while your spouse is still alive which is another subject altogether, those 4 words clearly show that we are not to be yolked together with unbeliever. If youre already married to them, and they are please to dwell with you, but if they leave and you want to remarry, it has to be with a believer. I hope this clears up any questions you may have concerning this. Lord, thank You for Your wisdom regarding these questions that some of us have. Its a wonderful thing to be able to study in Your word, and learn all that we can from you. Lord, Your word says to study to show ourselves approved unto God, a worker who needs not to be ashamed. Lord, if there are any others who have any further insight regarding these issues, I pray that you will send them our way, and use it to bring edification and unity to the body of Christ, in Jesus name. Amen.
Posted on: Sun, 05 Oct 2014 08:47:15 +0000
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