Marry Not an Unbeliever
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husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will;
only in the Lord.” Again, in his second epistle, he writes: “Be ye not
unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath
righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light
with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what
part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath
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the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God;
as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will
be their God, and they shall be My people. Wherefore come out from
among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the
unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you,
and ye shall be My sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.”
Never should God’s people venture upon forbidden ground. Mar-
riage between believers and unbelievers is forbidden by God. But too
often the unconverted heart follows its own desires, and marriages
unsanctioned by God are formed. Because of this many men and
women are without hope and without God in the world. Their noble
aspirations are dead; by a chain of circumstances they are held in
Satan’s net. Those who are ruled by passion and impulse will have a
bitter harvest to reap in this life, and their course may result in the loss
of their souls.
Those who profess the truth trample on the will of God in marrying
unbelievers; they lose His favor and make bitter work for repentance.
The unbelieving may possess an excellent moral character, but the fact
that he or she has not answered to the claims of God and has neglected
so great salvation is sufficient reason why such a union should not be
consummated. The character of the unbelieving may be similar to that
of the young man to whom Jesus addressed the words, “One thing
thou lackest”; that was the one thing needful.
Can Two Walk Together Except They Be Agreed?
The plea is sometimes made that the unbeliever is favorable to
religion and is all that could be desired in a companion except in
one thing—he is not a Christian. Although the better judgment of
the believer may suggest the impropriety of a union for life with an
unbeliever, yet, in nine cases out of ten, inclination triumphs. Spiritual
declension commences the moment the vow is made at the altar; reli-