Thank you for your good question. Before I begin to answer it, I have a question for you. Have you repented of your sins and trusted in Christ as your Savior? If so, then you are a Christian. If not, please do so today! After we trust Christ as our Savior, then the Lord Jesus gives us a desire to please Him. We read in 2 Timothy 2:4, “No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may PLEASE HIM who hath chosen him to be a soldier.” With this in mind, what will be most pleasing to the Lord in your situation?

Even though you are not engaging in sin, please consider the message that you are communicating to others by living together as an unmarried couple. We read in 1 Thessalonians 5:22, “Abstain from all appearance of evil.” We also read in Romans 14:21, “It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles” (NASB). What if the observer is a young person who is looking to older people like yourself to know how to navigate life? The Lord Jesus said in Mark 9:42, “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe to stumble, it would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea” (NASB). That is strong language from the Lord about stumbling young people!

So, what is the honorable thing to do? What would please the Lord? We read in Hebrews 13:4, “Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.” My purpose in mentioning this verse is to show that marriage is honorable. I am not implying that you are guilty of the sins mentioned in the latter part of the verse. If your boyfriend is a Christian, wants to please the Lord, and you both believe that the Lord wants you to marry someday, why not get married as soon as possible? Based on the Scriptures above, I believe that the Lord would be most pleased if you did not live with your boyfriend until you are married. That would be a powerful testimony to others, even if it involved sleeping in your car for a few days. Is there a women’s shelter in your area? Do you have even one friend or family member with whom you could stay?

I would encourage you to look up online the fastest way to get married in your location. In many locations you can quickly get a marriage license and have a simple ceremony performed at your local courthouse. If you are delaying getting married because you want to have a nice ceremony with all of your family and friends, then you can still enjoy that later when you have the funds to do so. It will still be a beautiful, memorable event to confirm your vows at a later date when your family and friends can celebrate with you. If you explain these thoughts to your boyfriend and he gets angry, then how badly does he want to please the Lord? Is this the person that the Lord wants you to marry if his primary goal in life is NOT to please the Lord? I am praying that the Lord will give you wisdom, grace, and provision to PLEASE HIM in your decision.  (DJ)  (672.6)