This question is more complex that it appears on the surface. My reaction to the first part of your question was, “Yes, now that they are believers they can honor the Lord by getting married and forming a Christ-centered home.” While that is certainly the ideal in a case like this, there are questions that need to be faced and they should be answered honestly.

1) Do they love each other? In Ephesians 5:25 we read, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it” (NKJV). Likewise we read that Christian wives are taught, “To love their husbands” in Titus 2:4. Perhaps they didn’t really love each other BEFORE they became believers and it’s not a given that they will now automatically love one another because they have been saved. Without true love governing their relationship and household, there could be more damage done than good if they were to marry. Under those circumstances, they should break their relationship.

2) Are they both submitting to the Lordship of Christ? In 1st Corinthians 7:39 the apostle Paul is informing women whose husbands have died that they are free to remarry, but he sets forth a condition, “She is at liberty to be married to whom she wishes, ONLY IN THE LORD.” It is one thing to marry someone who is “in Christ” (which means one who has believed on Christ as their Savior); it is quite another thing to marry “in the Lord” (which means you are marrying someone who is subject to Christ as their Lord). There are many true Christians who are not compatible for this reason; one may own the Lord Jesus as their Lord in every area of their life while their prospective spouse may not be devoted to Christ and is unwilling to submit to Him as Lord. This could (and most likely WOULD) lead to countless problems. Amos 3:3 states, “Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?” If a man and a woman, though both believers, cannot walk in harmony together because they are not both walking in obedience to Christ, it would be better for them not to marry.

3) Are they both willing and desiring to worship the Lord together and to have fellowship together with other believers? I thought of this in connection with the second half of your question where you spoke of marrying “within church bonds.” I’m not exactly sure what you meant by “church bonds,” but my understanding of those words would imply that they both want to attend the same local church where they can worship the Lord, grow together in the Lord, and have intimate fellowship with other like-minded believers. If there is a serious difference of opinion along this line, there could (and again, most likely WOULD) be problems. The children they have had together would serve to compound the problem, for where would their children go for worship and ministry? Would they agree to “split them up” on the days they attend meetings of the local church? Again, this is a recipe for disaster, for as we already saw, “Can two walk together, unless they are agreed” (Amos 3:3)?

I’d like to end on a positive note. If they truly do love each other (even if their love didn’t blossom until AFTER their conversion) and they both desire to submit to the Lordship of Christ in every area of their lives (including where they go for worship and ministry), then they should definitely marry. The Lord will no doubt bless them richly now that they have Christ as the Center of their lives/home and He can and will use them for His honor and glory. They will then be able to train their children for the Lord as we see in Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” In many cases a godly Christian couple will be rewarded by seeing their children saved and later marrying someone “in the Lord” and starting a Christ-centered family of their own. (288.7) (DO)