Listen:  149.5

First of all, I’m encouraged that you see this as a problem and that you want to deal with it. There are many examples of this in the Bible and in each case there was untold harm done, and this was especially true if the believer married the unbeliever. I think of Abraham and Hagar and the utter chaos in their house after Ishmael was born. Samson’s love for Delilah led to gross departure from the Lord and ultimately to his death. King Solomon fell in love with many unsaved women who worshipped idols and his heart drifted far away from God. In each case it NEVER led to the salvation of the unsaved but rather to the believer sinking to the level of the world.

I’m assuming, by your question, that you haven’t married the person yet. If that be the case, there is crystal-clear instruction in God’s Word for you. Let’s consider 2 Corinthians 6:14-18, “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will dwell in them and walk in them. I will be their God, and they shall be my people.’ Therefore come out from among them and be ye separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean and I will receive you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the LORD Almighty” (NKJV). As we meditate on this portion we can’t help but see the lengths that God has gone to in describing the inconsistency of forming a relationship with an unbeliever. He poses no less than five questions that illustrate this point, all designed to tug at the believer’s heart and to prepare him for what he must do if he finds himself in an unequal yoke: he MUST “come out from among them and be ye separate.” Separation is the ONLY solution to your problem, dear friend, as hard as that may be, given the emotional ties you have with the unbeliever. May you look to the Lord in prayer and ask Him to give you the grace to do this. He loves you and desires to have fellowship with you, as we see in verses 17-18, so you can count on Him to give you the needed wisdom in breaking any fellowship you may have with the person in question. This is a delicate matter and will demand a lowly and humble approach, and perhaps, by God’s grace, it will even provide an opportunity to witness to your friend of God’s saving grace. We will be praying for you, and for the person you have come to love.  (149.5)  (DO)