Blessed Magazine October/November, 2013 Volume 7 | Page 39

The Bible describes the union as "the two will become one flesh. 1 Corinthians gives the example of a believer having sexual relations with a prostitute. The resulting union joins Christ to a prostitute. Likewise, the joining of a Christian and a non-Christian joins Christ to an unbeliever. The New Testament goes as far as to warn us not even to eat with idolaters (1 Corinthians 5:11). Paul tells us "...Bad company corrupts good morals" (1 Corinthians 15:33). The Bible is actually much more direct about marrying unbelievers than has been indicated to this point. The Old Testament specifically forbids God's people from marrying "foreign wives": "Now therefore, make confession to the LORD God of your fathers and do His will; and separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives." (Ezra 10:11) The Old Testament contains other verses that prohibit marrying unbelievers, including examples of those who broke the command and were led astray by their wives (e.g., Solomon in his later years). In the New Testament, Paul specifically says that a woman may marry whomever she wishes, but "only in the Lord," clearly referring to those who are followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. So, the New Testament makes it clear that believers are only to marry fellow believers. Although dating of Christians and nonChristians is not specifically handled in the Bible, it is clear that such an action is asking for trouble. An unbeliever who practices Christian-like morality is going to be attractive to a Christian. However, the chances that such a person will become a Christian, allowing the Christian to marry him/her is statistically remote. "Missionary dating" often results in years of conflict and usually ends in broken hearts. There is a special case where a person marries an unbeliever while himself/herself are, likewise, an unbeliever, and only later to become a believer. Such scenarios often occurred in the early church as unbelievers were converting in large numbers. Paul gives specific instruction to believers who are married to unbelievers—stay together! If the unbeliever consents to living with the believer, the believer is to behave in such a way that the unbelieving spouse would want to become a Christian. If the unbeliever leaves the Christian, the Christian is no longer bound to that spouse (1 Corinthians 7:15), but is free to divorce. Some Christians question whether such a spouse is free to remarry. However, the concept of being bound to a marriage is expressed in Romans 7:2-3, where Paul says that the spouse is bound to the husband while he is alive, but freed from that bond when the husband dies. If the same concept applies to the case where a non-Christian abandons a Christian, one could conclude that being freed from the marriage allows one to remarry. The Bible is clea ?????? ??????????????)?????????? ??????????????????)??????????????????? ???????????????)??????????????????????????????????????)???????????????????????????????????)???? ?????????????????????????????????)??????Q??????????????????????)????????????????? ??????????)???????????????????????????????????)??????)???????????????????????????????????????}???????()]????????????????????????????????)?????????????????????????)?????????????????????)????????????????????((0