Don't marry if possible?

[Tellyontellyon]

Matthew 19:10-12

10 The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.”

11 Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given.(I) 12 For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others—and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.”

* To me this seems to say that if you are able to resist the desire of getting married, then you should do so... Remain celibate and dedicate yourself more fully to serving God.

** Is that something that many Christians consider?

 

[Sketcher]

Matthew 19:10-12

10 The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.”

11 Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given.(I) 12 For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others—and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.”

* To me this seems to say that if you are able to resist the desire of getting married, then you should do so... Remain celibate and dedicate yourself more fully to serving God.

** Is that something that many Christians consider?

Reading the passage to the beginning of the chapter, Jesus was giving a moderating voice to his disciples' reaction. Culturally, they were used to being able to divorce their wives "for any and every reason" - which would give them a respectable out if they wanted to pursue a different single woman, or if their wives just wouldn't behave, or at least a leverage point to get their wives to behave. Without that ace card up the sleeve so to speak, marriage all of a sudden didn't look like a good arrangement for them anymore. Then Jesus gave those two verses.

Jesus didn't give a clear preference to marriage or singleness here. In doing so, he showed both are legitimate paths.

How many Christians pursue singleness, I can't say. It was more popular between the time Gregory VII put the hammer down on married priests and the Reformation. I am not Catholic, but the religious Catholic guys I have been acquainted with have gone through a period when they considered becoming a priest, which for them, means celibacy. Outside of that, I don't think it's that popular - but with MGTOW on the rise, I think there will be more Christians signing on to singleness for those reasons - not really holiness, but self-preservation.

 

[Pavel Mosko]

** Is that something that many Christians consider?

I see passages like that and others as the reasons why Christian monasticism came into existence. That besides some of the other acetic practices going on with the Essenes, and OT laws regarding ritual cleanliness to enter the temple etc.


Not to mention the 3 dominant personalities of the NT were celibate, (Jesus, Apostle Paul, John the Baptist). I also would credit Mary as well but don't list her because of certain Bible passages that Protestants take very literally.

 

[Skye1300]

Nuns and priests do it. Others take a private vow of chastity or celibacy. It's just not talked about that much, but lots of Christians do it.

 

[Tolworth John]

Remain celibate and dedicate yourself more fully to serving God.

Not many can do this.

 

[Tellyontellyon]

Not many can do this.

Though Jesus seems to be saying that if you can do it, you should. Paul wishes for similar.
I see that it's not obligatory, and many wouldn't be able... but perhaps many could.... more than we see.
I've heard of monks and nuns, mostly among Ronan Catholics, and to a lesser extent among Anglicans...
.... But I don't hear about it being a thing among Baptists, Calvinists, Methodists, Pentecostals etc. etc. Even though Jesus (and Paul) seem to encourage it in those able. I just wonder why it doesn't seem to be talked about much.

 

[Sketcher]

But I don't hear about it being a thing among Baptists, Calvinists, Methodists, Pentecostals etc. etc. Even though Jesus (and Paul) seem to encourage it in those able. I just wonder why it doesn't seem to be talked about much.

These faith groups essentially rejected monasticism because taking life-long vows of celibacy is not commanded, and is also seen as too restrictive. One could theoretically make one that is good for only X years at a time and renew as circumstances warrant, and I think today that might be beneficial - but such a tradition didn't spring up during the Reformation as far as I am aware. With all the upheavals going on at the time, it's not surprising since it would blur the lines between Catholic and Protestant as they were being drawn.

 

[com7fy8]

* To me this seems to say that if you are able to resist the desire of getting married, then you should do so... Remain celibate and dedicate yourself more fully to serving God.

** Is that something that many Christians consider?

Hi, Tellyontellyon . . .

1 Corinthians 7:7 says each person has the gift that God gives to each of us. This is in context with whether marriage should be considered undesirable in comparison with celibacy. But it seems that Paul considers marriage to be a gift, and celibacy is a gift. And so we do well to trust our Father to give each of us the gift He pleases for each of us to have.

My opinion > celibacy is our intimacy with God gift. A celibate specializes in sharing intimately with God, and ministers this to other celibates and to married people so all may grow closer to God in His love.

And holy matrimony is the gift for sharing in a close relationship with another human. In marriage a couple is in a research laboratory for making breakthrough discoveries in how to relate in love in a close involvement with another person. And married couples can minister this to other couples . . . and to celibates, too, who need to learn how to love in sharing with other people.

And as we grow in Jesus, our specific gifts blend in with all the other abilities which come with growing in Jesus.

I think a celibate can get close to God, and then be able to do very well in marriage. Because closeness to God helps us to grow better and more mature in how we relate with other people. And a married couple, in order to do well with one another, needs to get close to God And this can prepare them for if one of them dies, and then the other possibly becomes a . . . celibate.

God's love is in and through both gifts, able to do all God's good, of intimacy with God and relating well in close sharing with other children of God.

 

[Cute Peonies]

Is that something that many Christians consider?

Depends on your age, your past and your priority in life. Oh and your calling to. Suppose that God called a 17yo girl to be a nun, she will likely follow that route. On the other hand, I know that some girls started praying for their future husbands in high school. Those ones will get married at some point.

 

[Clare73]

Matthew 19:10-12

10 The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.”

11 Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given.(I) 12 For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others—and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.”

* To me this seems to say that if you are able to resist the desire of getting married, then you should do so... Remain celibate and dedicate yourself more fully to serving God.

** Is that something that many Christians consider?

The Roman Catholic Church has maintained a large population of them for centuries, they're called priests and nuns.

 

[James_Lai]

Matthew 19:10-12

10 The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.”

11 Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given.(I) 12 For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others—and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.”

* To me this seems to say that if you are able to resist the desire of getting married, then you should do so... Remain celibate and dedicate yourself more fully to serving God.

** Is that something that many Christians consider?

Nobody considers it except for a very few among Christians. I have a good friend who’s a very sincere Christian who chose this path… Not easy for him

 

[Clare73]

Though Jesus seems to be saying that if you can do it, you should. Paul wishes for similar.
I see that it's not obligatory, and many wouldn't be able... but perhaps many could.... more than we see.I've heard of monks and nuns, mostly among Ronan Catholics, and to a lesser extent among Anglicans...
.... But I don't hear about it being a thing among Baptists, Calvinists, Methodists, Pentecostals etc. etc. Even though Jesus (and Paul) seem to encourage it in those able. I just wonder why it doesn't seem to be talked about much.

Paul and Jesus recommend it for different reasons.

Paul does so in light of the coming tribulation and destruction Jesus prophesied.

 

[mama2one]

.

 

[1watchman]

Matthew 19:10-12

10 The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.”

11 Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given.(I) 12 For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others—and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.”

* To me this seems to say that if you are able to resist the desire of getting married, then you should do so... Remain celibate and dedicate yourself more fully to serving God.

** Is that something that many Christians consider?

Some may consider they don't want marriage, but there might be a place for it after one is settled on their plan for a life journey and whether they want a partner: one who truly loves and cares for you --better found in Church association to know if they are a real Christian (as John 3:16).

 

[Skye1300]

at least 7 single people in our neighborhood
2 men, 5 women

3 of the women never married...two in their 60s, other in 40s...don't know about the men

don't know if they planned not to marry or just never found their person

out of my many siblings, two Christian sisters never married....both stopped dating years ago
both of them are lonely even though they have friends

All I know is that I'm glad I found my husband before learning about all of the craziness of online dating. There's so many cases of women going missing after dating someone from one of those sites. It's crazy. Too dangerous these days.

 

[James_Lai]

All I know is that I'm glad I found my husband before learning about all of the craziness of online dating. There's so many cases of women going missing after dating someone from one of those sites. It's crazy. Too dangerous these days.

Today probably it’s no more if not less dangerous than in the old days. Nowadays media report all negative news instantaneously across all platforms and globally so we are better aware of all the crimes happening in our society.

 

[APersonWithNoName]

Matthew 19:10-12

10 The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.”

11 Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given.(I) 12 For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others—and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.”

* To me this seems to say that if you are able to resist the desire of getting married, then you should do so... Remain celibate and dedicate yourself more fully to serving God.

** Is that something that many Christians consider?

I think it is a bad idea to go down this path unless you feel the calling to do so.

 

[ViaCrucis]

Matthew 19:10-12

10 The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.”

11 Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given.(I) 12 For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others—and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.”

* To me this seems to say that if you are able to resist the desire of getting married, then you should do so... Remain celibate and dedicate yourself more fully to serving God.

** Is that something that many Christians consider?

Thousands, perhaps millions, of Christian women and men have committed themselves to lives of celibacy as part of their vocation as followers of Jesus over the last two thousand years.

But there's nothing inherently worse/better about celibacy than marriage. Each has its own struggles, each has its own kind of cross. The Church has always accepted and confessed that those who want to be celibate should be celibate, and those who want to marry should marry.

The Apostle Paul was celibate, the Apostle Peter was married. Both were Apostles and servants of God, both helped ordain pastors, some married and some celibate. Both led congregations composed of married, single, and celibate Christians.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[Campos]

Marriage, to me, is a way to not sin. Marriage is a way to get rid of sexual feelings. As said by Paul:

1 Corinthians 7:1-6

7 Now, getting down to the questions you asked in your letter to me. First, Is it a good thing to have sexual relations?

2-6 Certainly—but only within a certain context. It’s good for a man to have a wife, and for a woman to have a husband. Sexual drives are strong, but marriage is strong enough to contain them and provide for a balanced and fulfilling sexual life in a world of sexual disorder. The marriage bed must be a place of mutuality—the husband seeking to satisfy his wife, the wife seeking to satisfy her husband. Marriage is not a place to “stand up for your rights.” Marriage is a decision to serve the other, whether in bed or out. Abstaining from sex is permissible for a period of time if you both agree to it, and if it’s for the purposes of prayer and fasting—but only for such times. Then come back together again. Satan has an ingenious way of tempting us when we least expect it. I’m not, understand, commanding these periods of abstinence—only providing my best counsel if you should choose them.

Remember, masturbating is a sin. This is how:
Matthew 5:28-32
28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.
30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

However, if you divorce, you are still eligible to commit adultery if remarried, or widowed.

31 “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’
32 But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

I will not give my opinion, but I hope this provides more detail.

God bless!
~N. Campos

 

[Joined2krist]

Jesus encouraged it, so you are free to chose singleness. You will have fewer disruptions. But the OP is married so i wonder why he asked about this