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there’s a verse that has been traditionally used by people to teach that a christian is forbidden from marrying a person who is not a christian.
Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. 2 Corinthians 6:14-16
here’s some observations:
first, this passage is not about marriage.
second, the letter was written to christians living in a corinthian culture well-known for it’s wild, pagan lifestyle…to teach them the necessity of ethical boundaries that god had established for the distinctive lifestyle of a follower of christ…boundaries that ran the risk of being blurred on a daily basis.
just like in our modern culture, the people wanted to be christian while still getting to do all the things that marked the worship of the Greek gods. the attitude seemed to be that they could be spiritually christian “inside” while the physical body could still enjoy the crazy party lifestyle of corinth.
wow. sound familiar?
third, because we christians have this incredible habit of creating laws where they don’t exist…and then beating each other over the head with them…we are consistently prone to miss the point.
even though i agree that a christian should only marry a person who shares a common belief, we need to get our heads out of the sand. the majority of christian marriages that i have seen struggle over the course of my years is not because one partner is christian and the other isn’t.
nope. the struggles i have seen stem from something more deceptive. more profound.
they come from differences in defining what it means to be a disciple of christ…and what it means to live out that lifestyle day to day.
are you and your spouse committed to the authority of the word of god…above and beyond all other authorities? do you both believe that the wisdom of god is to be followed at any and all cost? do you both practice the spiritual disciplines of prayer, the study of the word, worship, rest and forgiveness? have you both surrendered to a life of humble service? do you both believe that the needs of others are more important than your own? do you both believe that personal worth, security, significance and success are found in knowing and serving jesus…and not in the accumulation of stuff, performance, recognition, or human relationships? do you both live out your lives in light of eternity…rather than the temporary? do you both find your greatest joy in seeing the greatness of god in the lives of people? are you both content with what you have and committed to giving thanks to god for everything?
yeah, it’s definitely not a great idea for a christian to get married to someone who isn’t. i get it. but in my world, that’s not much of a problem.
christian husbands and wives who are not joined at the hip in a passionate and relentless pursuit of the honor of god and the expanding of his kingdom on earth…well, they are simply playing with fire.
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