THE CHURCH MUST WARN AGAINST MARRYING UNBELIEVERS
J. Grant Swank, Jr.
There is much confusion today within the family and marriage. No one needs further detail to underline that tragic fact today.
One of the ways by which this tragedy can be stayed is for believers to marry believers. This is the biblical way.
Genesis 24:3-4:
Abraham talking to servant: "'I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, that you shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites (nonbelievers), among whom I live, but you shall go to my country and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son Isaac.'"
Genesis 26:34-35:
"When Esau was forty years old he married Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite (nonbeliever), and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite (nonbeliever), and they brought grief to Isaac and Rebekah."
When a child marries an unsaved person, pain is shot through the entire family, particularly leveled against godly parents who have sought to bring up the child to date and marry only a believer.
Exodus 34:13-16:
God spoke: "'Rather, you are to tear down their (heathen) altars and smash their sacred pillars and cut down their Asherim (idols)--for you shall not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God--lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants (nonbelievers) of the land and play the harlot with their gods, and sacrifice to their gods, and someone invite you to eat of his sacrifice; and you take some of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters play the harlot with their gods, and cause your sons also to play the harlot with their gods.'"
God knows how easy it is to fall in love with a nonbeliever; therefore, He wants us to have nothing to do with that lifestyle--worshiping of other gods than the true God. To marry an unsaved person is to open the way for the believer to backslide and so trade in the love for God for the love of spiritual harlotry. Believers simply cannot take that risk.
Deuteronomy 13:6-10:
God spoke: "'If your brother, your mother's son, or your son or daughter, or the wife you cherish, or your friend who is as your own soul, entice you secretly, saying "Let us go and serve other gods" (whom neither you nor your fathers have known of the gods of the peoples who are around you, near you or far from you, from one end of the earth to the other end), you shall not yield to him or listen to him; and your eye shall not pity him, nor shall you spare or conceal him.
"'But you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. So you shall stone him to death because he has sought to seduce you from the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt. . .'"
God ordered the execution of persons who took believers away from His heart. Severe penalties give a strong message to others not to disobey. Weak penalties open the door for weak humans to disobey. It is a dangerous move for a believer to permit an unbeliever to entice the believer to backslide from the heart of God.
Joshua 23:12-13:
God spoke: "'For if you ever go back and cling to the rest of these nations (nonbelievers), these which remain among you, and intermarry with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, know with certainty that the Lord your God will not continue to drive these nations (nonbelievers) out from before you; but they shall be a snare and a trap to you, and a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which the Lord your God has given you.'"
When a believer marries an unbeliever, with certainty the believer marries a "snare. . .trap. . .whip. . .and thorns in. . .eyes" for the rest of earthly days. What an awful state to be in for life when marrying outside the will of God.
Judges 3:5-7:
"And the sons of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and they took their daughters for themselves as wives, and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods. And the sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and forgot the Lord their God, and served the Baals and the Sheroth."
When believers marry unbelievers, they do evil. In too many instances, believers are worn down spiritually by the unbelievers. In time, many lose out spiritually and so take up the worldly lifestyle, thus losing their souls to hell.
I Kings 11:l-4:
"Now King Solomon loved many foreign women (nonbelievers) along with the daughter or Pharoah: Moabite, Ammonite, Edmonite, and Hittite women, from the nations concerning which the Lord has said to the sons of Israel, 'You shall not associate with them, neither shall they associate with you, for they will surely turn your heart away after their gods.' Solomon held fast to those in love.
"And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned his heart away. For it came about when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been."
God knows how weak we are. Therefore, He warns believers not even to "associate" (that is, date) with unbelievers lest believers fall in love, become engaged, then marry such unbelievers. There is a real chance that such marriages will bring down the believers so as to lose their souls.
Ezra 9:l-2:
"Now when these things had been completed, the princes approached them, saying, 'The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, according to their abominations, those of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Amonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites (all nonbelievers).
"'For they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy race has intermingled with the peoples of the lands; indeed, the hands of the princes and the rules have been foremost in this unfaithfulness.'"
Christians are to separate from non-Christians when it comes to dating and being engaged and then marrying. The word "separate" is a strong term in order to save the saved from the unsaved influence.
Amos 3:3:
"'Do two walk together unless they are agreed?'"
When two marry, they become one. It is impossible for a believer and a nonbeliever to become spiritually one in the sight of God. How then could they walk the road of life together in agreement? They cannot. And when this occurs, much life-long disagreement takes place. When children are born into this kind of marriage, they are the innocent ones damaged beyond measure.
Malachi 2:11-l2:
"'Judah has dealt treacherously, and an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the Lord which He loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god (nonbeliever). As for the one who does this, may the Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob everyone who awakes and answers, or who presents an offering to the Lord of hosts.'"
When believers marry unbelievers, they profane the very sanctuary in which they have the wedding ceremony because of such disobedience. God does not bless such disobedience. Instead, He considers it an "abomination."
II Corinthians 6:12-18:
"Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial (idols), or what has believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, 'I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
"'Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,' says the Lord. 'And do not touch what is unclean; and I will welcome you. And I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me,' says the Lord Almighty."
Christians are called by God to separate themselves from non-Christians when it comes to romance and eventual marriage. The non-Christian is referred to in the Bible as being spiritually "unclean." The Christian has been made clean only through the awful death on the cross by Christ.
In summation:
God has instituted marriage. He therefore can define it.
God has defined the believer's marriage as being fit only when a believer marries another believer.
Follow God's design and know peace in conscience. Disobey God's design and experience much heartache.
When a believer marries a non-believer, there is not only pain to the believer but also any godly relatives witnessing such disobedience.
But more: the pain continues into the next generation when children are born into an "unequally yoked" (I Cor 5:l4) marriage. Often sons born to that marriage go the way of the ungodly father, if it is the father who is the non-Christian. This breaks the heart of the Christian mother especially.
Keeping marriage together in a wicked age is difficult enough without the marriage starting out unequally yoked.
__________________________________________________________________
MARRIAGE IS A GIFT FROM GOD
__________________________________________________________________
For more: http://conservativeposts.us/ <http://conservativeposts.us/>
There is much confusion today within the family and marriage. No one needs further detail to underline that tragic fact today.
One of the ways by which this tragedy can be stayed is for believers to marry believers. This is the biblical way.
Genesis 24:3-4:
Abraham talking to servant: "'I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, that you shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites (nonbelievers), among whom I live, but you shall go to my country and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son Isaac.'"
Genesis 26:34-35:
"When Esau was forty years old he married Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite (nonbeliever), and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite (nonbeliever), and they brought grief to Isaac and Rebekah."
When a child marries an unsaved person, pain is shot through the entire family, particularly leveled against godly parents who have sought to bring up the child to date and marry only a believer.
Exodus 34:13-16:
God spoke: "'Rather, you are to tear down their (heathen) altars and smash their sacred pillars and cut down their Asherim (idols)--for you shall not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God--lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants (nonbelievers) of the land and play the harlot with their gods, and sacrifice to their gods, and someone invite you to eat of his sacrifice; and you take some of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters play the harlot with their gods, and cause your sons also to play the harlot with their gods.'"
God knows how easy it is to fall in love with a nonbeliever; therefore, He wants us to have nothing to do with that lifestyle--worshiping of other gods than the true God. To marry an unsaved person is to open the way for the believer to backslide and so trade in the love for God for the love of spiritual harlotry. Believers simply cannot take that risk.
Deuteronomy 13:6-10:
God spoke: "'If your brother, your mother's son, or your son or daughter, or the wife you cherish, or your friend who is as your own soul, entice you secretly, saying "Let us go and serve other gods" (whom neither you nor your fathers have known of the gods of the peoples who are around you, near you or far from you, from one end of the earth to the other end), you shall not yield to him or listen to him; and your eye shall not pity him, nor shall you spare or conceal him.
"'But you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. So you shall stone him to death because he has sought to seduce you from the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt. . .'"
God ordered the execution of persons who took believers away from His heart. Severe penalties give a strong message to others not to disobey. Weak penalties open the door for weak humans to disobey. It is a dangerous move for a believer to permit an unbeliever to entice the believer to backslide from the heart of God.
Joshua 23:12-13:
God spoke: "'For if you ever go back and cling to the rest of these nations (nonbelievers), these which remain among you, and intermarry with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, know with certainty that the Lord your God will not continue to drive these nations (nonbelievers) out from before you; but they shall be a snare and a trap to you, and a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which the Lord your God has given you.'"
When a believer marries an unbeliever, with certainty the believer marries a "snare. . .trap. . .whip. . .and thorns in. . .eyes" for the rest of earthly days. What an awful state to be in for life when marrying outside the will of God.
Judges 3:5-7:
"And the sons of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and they took their daughters for themselves as wives, and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods. And the sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and forgot the Lord their God, and served the Baals and the Sheroth."
When believers marry unbelievers, they do evil. In too many instances, believers are worn down spiritually by the unbelievers. In time, many lose out spiritually and so take up the worldly lifestyle, thus losing their souls to hell.
I Kings 11:l-4:
"Now King Solomon loved many foreign women (nonbelievers) along with the daughter or Pharoah: Moabite, Ammonite, Edmonite, and Hittite women, from the nations concerning which the Lord has said to the sons of Israel, 'You shall not associate with them, neither shall they associate with you, for they will surely turn your heart away after their gods.' Solomon held fast to those in love.
"And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned his heart away. For it came about when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been."
God knows how weak we are. Therefore, He warns believers not even to "associate" (that is, date) with unbelievers lest believers fall in love, become engaged, then marry such unbelievers. There is a real chance that such marriages will bring down the believers so as to lose their souls.
Ezra 9:l-2:
"Now when these things had been completed, the princes approached them, saying, 'The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, according to their abominations, those of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Amonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites (all nonbelievers).
"'For they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy race has intermingled with the peoples of the lands; indeed, the hands of the princes and the rules have been foremost in this unfaithfulness.'"
Christians are to separate from non-Christians when it comes to dating and being engaged and then marrying. The word "separate" is a strong term in order to save the saved from the unsaved influence.
Amos 3:3:
"'Do two walk together unless they are agreed?'"
When two marry, they become one. It is impossible for a believer and a nonbeliever to become spiritually one in the sight of God. How then could they walk the road of life together in agreement? They cannot. And when this occurs, much life-long disagreement takes place. When children are born into this kind of marriage, they are the innocent ones damaged beyond measure.
Malachi 2:11-l2:
"'Judah has dealt treacherously, and an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the Lord which He loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god (nonbeliever). As for the one who does this, may the Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob everyone who awakes and answers, or who presents an offering to the Lord of hosts.'"
When believers marry unbelievers, they profane the very sanctuary in which they have the wedding ceremony because of such disobedience. God does not bless such disobedience. Instead, He considers it an "abomination."
II Corinthians 6:12-18:
"Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial (idols), or what has believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, 'I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
"'Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,' says the Lord. 'And do not touch what is unclean; and I will welcome you. And I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me,' says the Lord Almighty."
Christians are called by God to separate themselves from non-Christians when it comes to romance and eventual marriage. The non-Christian is referred to in the Bible as being spiritually "unclean." The Christian has been made clean only through the awful death on the cross by Christ.
In summation:
God has instituted marriage. He therefore can define it.
God has defined the believer's marriage as being fit only when a believer marries another believer.
Follow God's design and know peace in conscience. Disobey God's design and experience much heartache.
When a believer marries a non-believer, there is not only pain to the believer but also any godly relatives witnessing such disobedience.
But more: the pain continues into the next generation when children are born into an "unequally yoked" (I Cor 5:l4) marriage. Often sons born to that marriage go the way of the ungodly father, if it is the father who is the non-Christian. This breaks the heart of the Christian mother especially.
Keeping marriage together in a wicked age is difficult enough without the marriage starting out unequally yoked.
__________________________________________________________________
MARRIAGE IS A GIFT FROM GOD
__________________________________________________________________
For more: http://conservativeposts.us/ <http://conservativeposts.us/>
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