HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 212
page A210
Marriage continued
• PR O V E R B S 1 2 :1 5 | Fools think their own way is right, but the wise listen to others.
Don’t be afraid to seek the counsel of a pastor or therapist.
But what if a Christian has already married an unbeliever? Should they stay
together?
• 1 C O R I NT H I A NS 7 :1 3 | If a believing woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is
willing to continue living with her, she must not leave him.
Don’t leave your spouse just because he or she doesn’t know Christ. If possible, win that
person to Christ and then both you and your children will greatly benefit.
How does God compare marriage with our relationship with him?
• I SA I A H 5 4 :5 -6 | “Your Creator will be your husband. . . . For the Lord has called you back
from your grief—as though you were a young wife abandoned by her husband.”
• J E R E MI A H 3 :2 0 | “But you have been unfaithful to me . . . ! You have been like a faithless
wife who leaves her husband. I, the Lord, have spoken.”
• 2 C O R I NT H I A NS 1 1 :2 | [Paul writes,] I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God himself.
I promised you as a pure bride to one husband—Christ.
Our relationship with God, like marriage, is based on mutual love, faithfulness, and
permanent commitment.
M
Is marriage God’s will for everyone?
HelpFinder
• MAT T H E W 1 9 :1 0 -1 2 | Jesus’ disciples then said to him, “If this is the case, it is better
not to marry!” “Not everyone can accept this statement,” Jesus said. “Only those whom
God helps. Some are born as eunuchs, some have been made eunuchs by others, and
some choose not to marry for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. Let anyone accept this
who can.”
• 1 C O R I NT H I A NS 7 :1 -2 , 7-9 | Now regarding the questions you asked in your letter. Yes, it
is good to abstain from sexual relations. But because there is so much sexual immorality,
each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband. . . .
But I wish everyone were single, just as I am. Yet each person has a special gift from God,
of one kind or another. So I say to those who aren’t married and to widows—it’s better to
stay unmarried, just as I am. But if they can’t control themselves, they should go ahead
and marry. It’s better to marry than to burn with lust.
God created marriage and called it good (read Genesis 2:18-25). Marriage is also the only
way through which God intended children to be born and raised. But the Bible also makes
it clear that marriage is not for everyone. Sometimes, because of certain cultural, personal,
or spiritual reasons, marriage is best avoided for some.
If a person’s spouse dies, is it all right to marry again?
• 1 C O R I NT H I A NS 7 :3 9 | A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. If her husband
dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but only if he loves the Lord.
Marriage is a lifetime commitment. When a spouse dies, the marriage “contract” is over. It
will take some time to go through the grieving process, but when the surviving spouse is
ready, it is not wrong to marry again.
What are some ways to prevent divorce?
• E PH E S I A NS 5 :2 4 -2 5 | As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your
husbands in everything. For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the
church.
• 1 T H E S S A L O NI A NS 5 :11 | Encourage each other and build each other up.
Couples who love each other with the kind of love Christ showed when he died for us, and
who seek to please one another, and who encourage and build up one another—these are
the couples who will likely remain together in a happy marriage. The format is simple, but
the fulfillment takes some doing! Never let your marriage become a marriage of convenience.
