The first marriage was solemnized by God in the ‘Garden of Eden’ between Adam and Eve. Thus, the union of two souls in holy matrimony has been in vogue since its inception. Marriage is thus only solemnized by the Creator God. II Corinthians 6:14-17 “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore, go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you.”
The temptation to get involved with non-believers needs to be viewed from a different angle. We need to give room for a better position by examining the Bible’s teaching and building a stronger biblical foundation. If it’s forbidden for a Christian to marry a non-Christian, then it is at the very least a deliberate walk into temptation to date a non-Christian. If you can’t marry them without a supernatural conversion wrought by the Holy Spirit in their heart, then it would be an extremely foolish matter to consider such a marriage in the first place. Deuteronomy 7: 3-4” You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons, for they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods. Then the anger of the LORD would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you quickly.
God designs marriage to be a partnership in ruling creation under His and by His rule. If we don’t acknowledge that we’re ruling under God’s rule, then we’re ruling under the rule of someone or something else or a series of gods or even godmen. In our lives, we have to please God, the giver, and sustainer, rather than please ourselves and others. Marriage is a partnership, a gospel partnership. Conversely, marrying a non-believer necessarily makes marriage a partnership in something else. Genesis 3 shows how marriage gets messed up by sin. After disobedience God pronounces the curse, and after the fall of Adam and Eve, which has far-reaching implications. Genesis. 3:16 “Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.
But in a Christian marriage, spouses have the opportunity to call one another to submit one’s sinful will to God’s perfect will. When marrying a non-believer, we lose out on the blessing of having a spouse who calls you to submit your will not to Christ but to ask you to submit your will to the idols.
The Lord gives strict prohibitions against intermarriage. Intermarriage was also the downfall of many kings: even the super-wise Solomon (I Kings 11) and King Ahab (1 Kings 16–19). On the other hand, if a foreigner was already converted, then there was absolutely no prohibition against marrying them. Ruth and Boaz are among the most beautiful pictures of believers marrying. It’s a wonderful love story of how a woman who has come under the wings of the Lord comes into the love of a godly man.
To marry a non-believer is like two cooks trying to cook two different dishes in the same pot. One paints a picture of Jesus and the church, while the other is trying to paint something entirely different. In such a situation there can only be disharmony. It’s far better to live without a spouse and live within the company of the church than with someone who is living a life that’s not eternal.
Dr Ashwin Drummond
www.laddertoheaven.co.in