Listen:  105 Question 5

For a believer on the Lord Jesus Christ to marry someone that is not a believer is in direct opposition to the will and Word of God.  We read in 2 Corinthians 6:14-17, “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 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.”  To yoke, or bind, the believer with the unbeliever creates a completely unequal bond.  While there may things you have in common with an unbeliever, there is no basis for a committed relationship with an unbeliever.  You do not have Christ in common!  While this is a very general statement about having any committed bonds with unbelievers, one of the most committed bonds there is would be the marriage bond.

This portion, after telling us clearly that we should not be bound with an unbeliever, goes on to ask five questions dealing with our bonds with others.  What fellowship does righteousness have with unrighteousness?  None!  What communion does light have with darkness?  None!  What does Christ have in common with Belial, or the devil?  None!  What blessing from the Lord does a believer share with an unbeliever?  None!  What agreement does the temple of God have with idols?  None!  These are complete and total opposites.  Like oil and water, they just do not mix; they do not belong together.  Oftentimes, people will marry someone with the thought that their love can overcome any obstacles.  For the believer who truly desires to follow and obey the Lord, it is not a question of love for another; it is a question of love for the Lord.  The Lord Jesus says in John 14:15, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”  The Lord also asks in Luke 6:46, “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?”  If we claim that Christ is our Lord, then we should live our lives in obedience to His Word.

Let’s read the instruction of the Lord regarding marriage in Deuteronomy 7:1-4, “When the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou; And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them: Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly.”  Here, the Lord commands His people that they do not marry someone of another race or nationality.  The spiritual lesson is obvious; the Lord’s people were not to marry those who were not the Lord’s people.  In other words, believers are not to marry unbelievers.  The Lord points out the danger in being unequally yoked with unbelievers: they will turn the Lord’s people away from Him.  Some have thought that if they marry an unbeliever that they will be able to win them to the Lord.  However, marriage is not a tool for evangelism.  The Word of God instructs us that we should not be unequally yoked with an unbeliever.  May we all learn the wisdom of God’s Word in this matter.  (105.5)