My friend wants to know if it's a sin to marry without a marriage license. She is planning on marrying her boyfriend but she said all of her Christian friends and family are giving her a hard time about it because her boyfriend can't sign a marriage license or he'll lose his disability check.
So her boyfriend would rather continue to receive benefits than commit himself, in marriage, to her?
They pretty much tell her that if she doesn't have a marriage license, she'll be living in sin and will no longer be considered a Christian.
In God's eyes it is consummation of the marriage that makes two people married.
And I think in law, if they went through a ceremony, wanted to split a year later and testified that the marriage had never been consummated, it would be annulled.
It sounds to me as though this is what you mean by "marrying someone" without having a marriage licence or going through a ceremony.
But she doesn't believe that. She thinks it's not a sin but her Christian friends will not stop pestering her about it.
Jesus said that for this reason a man leaves his family and joins with his wife; that they would become
one flesh.
Paul taught that sexual relations outside of marriage is wrong.
Her Christian friends, and family, are "pestering her about it" for a reason - having intimate, sexual relations with someone before marriage is not God's ideal, or plan, for us.
I can understand if someone is capable of signing a paper and doesn't do it, then that wouldn't be right. But if the person legally can't do it and that person is deeply in love, what do they do?
From what you've said, her boyfriend CAN legally do it - there's no law against getting married.
He may not be WILLING to, because he'll get more money as a single disabled person than as a married disabled person - but that is an entirely different matter.
Is that even the case? Could be get a part time job and still keep many of his benefits? Could his wife claim carer's allowance?
Suffer all because of what one Christian thinks?
It's not ONE Christian though, is it? It's her family and friends - who are saying what they say because of the Bible's teaching.
I personally think denominations ruin Christianity.
Granted.
But we're not talking about that; we're talking about going against the Bible's teaching.
They all have different beliefs and if you don't listen to one of those beliefs, you're considered not a Christian.
No, not always.
For example, The non denominational church believes it's not a sin to drink alcohol and yet the baptists do. Which one is right? Which one is wrong? Who's going to hell and who isn't?
Going to hell is not determined by whether or not you drink alcohol. Nor, actually, is it determined by whether or not you sleep with someone before marriage. But if you love God, you will want to please HIM first, obey his word and not do anything to hurt him.
It's not right that the baptists get to point fingers at a person for believing differently. Am I right?
If they're judging people not to be Christians because they have different Christian practices - like baptising babies, or anything else - then you are right, they should not do that; no one should.
But they have the right to say, "this is what Scripture says .... you may be a Christian if you ignore it and do your own thing, but your life will not be showing obedience and producing good fruit."