Is this a silly question?

[SirKenin]

Wow, where to begin?

I think that God does open and close doors for us. And he will open and close doors in our hearts as well......However asking God to speak to you and tell you what his will is, to guide you and close the door if it's not meant to be, that's trusting in him. He's not going to sit up there and tell you that your heart wasn't open, unless you're just speaking the words and not believing them.

That is what I'm trying to say. Yes. Thanks.

 

[SirKenin]

Maybe they are brought into your life for a reason, but how do you know what reason? How do you know that God means for you to be romantically involved with that person?

I don't know yet. That's the thing. So far so good, and it is a decent relationship if I do say so myself, but I have spent time sitting and thinking about it, to be honest. I'm a rather analytical person. Perhaps too much so.

God will speak to me in one of the many ways He uses to communicate. He will convict me of it one way or the other. I'm not the least bit concerned about that. He has before, and He will again.

 

[DaveKerwin]

DrFeelGood,

Can I get married to an unbeliever and trust that God had me marry her for a reason? NO. The bottom line is that God does not operate in ways that are contrary to his word. God has said that lightness and darnkess have nothing in common, yet you are claiming that simply because you know her and like her, it means God intended it. I guess I just disagree with you. You are ignorning free will. You have the choice to satisfy your own fleshly desires outside of the will of God. I am not implying that you are having sex with her, but I am implying that you may be with her because you want to be, and God may or MAY NOT be involved in that.

Dating a non-christian is simply unwise. If you want someone to know Christ, then drop your self interest and just witness to her, don't romance her. Surely we are to make the gospel appealing, but I doubt Paul would have instructed to you romance a woman so she can get saved. Just because your Dad got away with it does not mean it was right. Look to the word of God instead of your father's benchmark. You seem to do that a lot, your father is not God. If you think that missionary dating is wise, then you got a lot to think about.

 

[hugnluvable]

Dave Dave Dave! You're certainly back! Missed you! Where have you been??

DrFeelGood,

Can I get married to an unbeliever and trust that God had me marry her for a reason? NO. The bottom line is that God does not operate in ways that are contrary to his word. God has said that lightness and darnkess have nothing in common, yet you are claiming that simply because you know her and like her, it means God intended it.

True, I know my boyfriend and like my boyfriend and would love to think that God intended it! Maybe He did! Maybe He didnt! But who are we to decide that? God doesnt operate in ways that are contrary to His word - no He doesnt... and going against his word can cause great consequences! I do feel though that God lets us make our own choices and out of them helps us to grow in Him as we realise what mistakes we have made and what we need to do to rectify what we've done!

I guess I just disagree with you. You are ignorning free will. You have the choice to satisfy your own fleshly desires outside of the will of God. I am not implying that you are having sex with her, but I am implying that you may be with her because you want to be, and God may or MAY NOT be involved in that.

You do indeed have the choice to satisfy your own fleshly desires, but then there WILL BE consequences for that should you want to turn away from them and follow God again!

Dating a non-christian is simply unwise. If you want someone to know Christ, then drop your self interest and just witness to her, don't romance her. Surely we are to make the gospel appealing, but I doubt Paul would have instructed to you romance a woman so she can get saved. If you think that missionary dating is wise, then you got a lot to think about.

Amen to that brother! Missionary dating is so not the way!


Some great points guys! Thank you!

Love, hugs n prayers
Erica
xxx

 

[John the Engineer]

Honestly, none of our life will ever fit the perfect mold.

Let's get back to the beginning of where this all started.

Erica:

You're in a relationship with a man who is not Christian. Let God work. Don't run from it and don't cling to it, but surrender it to him and let him work. If he tells you it's not where you're supposed to be then be ready to follow him, if he tells you that he's going to move in your situation then be ready for him to move and be available to do his work. That's all it comes down to.

For those who have seen or been in relationships that it worked out, praise God! If you're not in one, I'd recommend not getting unequally yoked.

That's my simple run of it.

God Bless!

 

[SirKenin]

DrFeelGood,

Can I get married to an unbeliever and trust that God had me marry her for a reason? NO. The bottom line is that God does not operate in ways that are contrary to his word. God has said that lightness and darnkess have nothing in common, yet you are claiming that simply because you know her and like her, it means God intended it. I guess I just disagree with you. You are ignorning free will. You have the choice to satisfy your own fleshly desires outside of the will of God. I am not implying that you are having sex with her, but I am implying that you may be with her because you want to be, and God may or MAY NOT be involved in that.

Dating a non-christian is simply unwise. If you want someone to know Christ, then drop your self interest and just witness to her, don't romance her. Surely we are to make the gospel appealing, but I doubt Paul would have instructed to you romance a woman so she can get saved. Just because your Dad got away with it does not mean it was right. Look to the word of God instead of your father's benchmark. You seem to do that a lot, your father is not God. If you think that missionary dating is wise, then you got a lot to think about.

I'm not talking about getting married to her and assuming God had me marry her for a reason. Read what it is I'm saying to you.

Also, I'm not dating her for her to know Christ, as I don't see hugn doing either.

Incidentally, God does bless unequally yoked marriages. Paul speaks to that in 1 Corinthians 7:14:

For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.

Paul goes on to say:

How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or, how do you know, husban, whether you will save your wife? (1 Cor 7:16)

It will be a difficult road to follow, but if you do, God will bless it and work it into His plan for you. (Eph 1:11, Romans 8:28)

I think you are too much of a legalist. Again, you remind me of a Pharisee, and you are out to try and corner me, just as they did in Jesus' time. It's obvious that you are after me in more than one thread. Please see this article for more information of the proper context of 2 Corinthians 6:14.

In particular, I bring your attention to the last paragraph:

"Of course, the next question will be, "But what does that mean today?" We want a single answer to this question, a list of rules to follow. And we too often either fall in love with the list of rules we make (legalism), or we revert back to the Corinthian view and think that there really are no rules (postmodern relativism). Yet what Paul calls us to in Corinthians is a lifestyle that is governed by love (cf. 1 Cor 13). That is really what separates us from the "unclean" things around us. And Paul notes in another writing that it is often up to us to decide how we should practice that love as Christians (cf. Phil 2:12-23: "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure."). That simply places a great deal of emphasis on Christian ethics, not as law, but as the outworking of the "royal law of love" as John Wesley was so fond of quoting (James 2:8; see James and the Law). And that principle is precisely what Paul is using in the letters to the church at Corinth (e.g., 1 Cor 13)."

http://www.cresourcei.org/yoked.html

As you can see from the article, it's not the strict legal interpretation that you are giving it at all. You try and fit everything into a nice, tight legal package, misquoting and taking out of context as you go, but the Bible doesn't work that way.

Drop the legalism and work out your own faith.

 

[hugnluvable]

Erica:

You're in a relationship with a man who is not Christian. Let God work. Don't run from it and don't cling to it, but surrender it to him and let him work. If he tells you it's not where you're supposed to be then be ready to follow him, if he tells you that he's going to move in your situation then be ready for him to move and be available to do his work. That's all it comes down to.

For those who have seen or been in relationships that it worked out, praise God! If you're not in one, I'd recommend not getting unequally yoked.

That's my simple run of it.

God Bless!

Thanks John! I am letting God work in this! Its hard! VERY hard let me tell you! And I always get to thinking sometimes - what would life be like without my boyfriend and just single with God for however long I'm meant to be! I only spent 2 months single after I broke up with my fiance and looking back at it now I dont know if that was right or wrong... all I know is that I'm now in this situation, praying for these things because of my decisions that some will say (and they have every right!) were not wise!

Is that wrong of me to think these things sometimes? Its not a constant fantasy or anything... just sometimes when things get me down cus they're hard and I feel that the burdens too heavy! I love my boyfriend to pieces dont get me wrong... and it would be soooo wrong of me to break up because of these circumstances wouldnt it?

It is really worrying me at the moment, and I dont need the stress because I have sooooooh much work to do its unbelieveable! I cant seem to get it off my mind though... I know God's convicting me on this one - at the moment I dont know how

Love, hugs n prayers
Erica
xxx

 

[DaveKerwin]

God does bless unequally yoked marriages. It will be a difficult road to follow, but if you do, God will bless it and work it into His plan for you.

I think you are too much of a legalist. Again, you remind me of a Pharisee, and you are out to try and corner me, just as they did in Jesus' time.

God may work out a relationship that was already started BEFORE PROPER INSTRUCTION WAS GIVEN. Guess what, you have foreknowledge, and God will judge you for it. I do not believe that God will bless you if you decide to marry a non-believer. You can manipulate your world so you have a good relationship, but God will not bless you for doing something against his instruction.

You are justifying your actions. This is obvious to me and everyone else. You seem to get off on being mister smarty pants, yet you are "kinda engaged" to a non-christian. Um... am I missing something here!? Don't give me that bullcrap about how I am a pharisee. You explain away every part of the bible that you don't want to follow. If I am a pharisee, then you are a bible abuser. You are teaching false doctrine and you should be ashamed of yourself.

 

[SirKenin]

God may work out a relationship that was already started BEFORE PROPER INSTRUCTION WAS GIVEN. Guess what, you have foreknowledge, and God will judge you for it. I do not believe that God will bless you if you decide to marry a non-believer. You can manipulate your world so you have a good relationship, but God will not bless you for doing something against his instruction.

You are justifying your actions. This is obvious to me and everyone else. You seem to get off on being mister smarty pants, yet you are "kinda engaged" to a non-christian. Um... am I missing something here!? Don't give me that bullcrap about how I am a pharisee. You explain away every part of the bible that you don't want to follow. If I am a pharisee, then you are a bible abuser. You are teaching false doctrine and you should be ashamed of yourself.

I don't have to justify anything and it doesn't matter to me what you believe. I gave you the passages. Go back to the Greek if you like and interpret them. Look at commentaries and case studies. Like Paul said, work out your own salvation. I'm not a legalist as you are, made even worse by your quoting out of context. You are so entwined in legalism you are missing the overall picture of what unequally yoked actually means to the Corinthians, and what 2 Cor 6:14 is trying to say. Did you even read the article? It wasn't my words. I'll reprint it here, just for you.

Unequally Yoked:
A Study in Context (2 Cor 6:14)

Dennis Bratcher​

What does "do not be yoked with unbelievers" mean? (2 Cor 6:14) I have always heard that it meant a Christian should not marry someone who is not a Christian.

Here is the entire passage from which this question is taken (2 Cor 6:14-18):

14 Do not be mismatched with unbelievers. For what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness? Or what fellowship is there between light and darkness? 15 What agreement does Christ have with Beliar? Or what does a believer share with an unbeliever? 16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, "I will live in them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 17 Therefore come out from them, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch nothing unclean; then I will welcome you, 18 and I will be your father, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty."



​

The background of this verse comes from an Old Testament instruction in Deuteronomy:

22:10 You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together.



​

This occurs between two similar commands about mixing things.

22:9 You shall not sow your vineyard with a second kind of seed . . . 22:11 You shall not wear clothes made of wool and linen woven together.



​

These religious laws are connected to the creation account in Genesis 1 in which God established an order in the world that is part of creation itself. The idea of separating and setting boundaries, even among plants and animals ("each after its kind"), expresses the idea that there is a certain way God's world should work, that there are certain boundaries and limits within which creation can exist (see God and Boundaries). Theologically, this was understood to mean that some things should not be mixed in order to preserve the proper working of God's world (even reflected in later Jewish restrictions concerning hybrid animals like mules). The Israelites then applied this ethically, for example, in laws governing sexual relations that banned bestiality and homosexuality. Religiously, it was extended to things like using two different kinds of animals yoked together for plowing. It was not just a legalism, but an attempt to live out in all aspects of life what they understood to be God's purposes for his world that he had created.


Paul, trained Pharisee that he was, no doubt well understood all this and applied this principle in addressing the church at Corinth (2 Cor 6:14). In many evangelical churches, this verse from Corinthians has been used very narrowly as a warning against marrying non-Christians. But in the situation at Corinth, it had much broader implications. Corinth was well known for its wild lifestyle. It was a major seaport (nearby at Lechaion) and a crossroads of the northern Mediterranean. The Middle Eastern practice of sacred prostitution in pagan temples was readily accepted in such a climate, as well as in the context of some of the Greek temples that stood there in the first century.

One of the major problems Paul faced in Corinth was the difficulty new converts there had in living out Christianity ethically in everyday actions. This concept of boundaries and order in terms of everyday living was a good way to illustrate the ethical demands of relationship with God without resorting to legalism.

A second major problem that Paul is addressing in both Corinthian letters is the problem of spiritual pride that had led some in the community to pervert Paul's teaching about spiritual freedom. Paul maintained that we have freedom in Christ, that relationship with God is not a matter of obeying law but of the motivation of love from the heart. Yet some Corinthians had taken that to the point of maintaining that nothing they did mattered since they were free from the law (cf. 1 Cor 6:12). This was easier to do in the environment of Corinthian Greek culture that, following Plato, assumed that the physical world was irrelevant and unimportant since the only true reality was spirit, the "inner" person (see Body and Soul: Greek and Hebraic Tensions in Scripture). So, they concluded, what their body did had nothing to do with their relationship with God since that was a "spiritual" matter. Paul had already addressed this issue quite strongly throughout the first letter, especially the implications of their libertine views in sexual matters that included sacred prostitution (1 Cor 6:9-20).

The passage in 2 Corinthians 6 seems to be against the background of this problem. Both the tendency toward spiritual pride resulting from how they conceptualized human beings and the lack of clearly conceived Christian ethics worked together to allow a lifestyle that Paul felt did not represent in practice what it meant to bear the name Christian. The reference to temples and idols suggests that Paul is still addressing the Corinthians' tendency to try to blend the worship of God with the activities that went on the pagan temples. In other words, the people wanted to be Christian while still partaking of all the activities that marked the worship of the Greek gods. The attitude seemed to be that they could be spiritually Christian "inside" while the physical body could still enjoy the wild pagan lifestyle of Corinth. To this, Paul simply answers that they cannot be mixed, that God's people must be marked by a different kind of lifestyle than others, and that lifestyle cannot be mixed with a pagan lifestyle. Using the OT principle of preserving boundaries between things that should not be mixed, Paul simply says that being Christian means that the Corinthians can no longer practice the activities of pagan worship or pagan ethics, since those are things that should not be mixed with the worship of God. In other words, what they did ethically mattered a great deal if they were claiming to be Christians.

Practically, this could apply to a lot of areas of life, but not as a rigid law. It is a matter of ethics that must come from the freedom in Christ that Paul makes clear. But that freedom does not mean, Paul contends, that we are not compelled by love of both God and neighbor. So, it might, indeed, have some practical ethical application in the case of a Christian dating a non-Christian. Again, it is not a matter of law. But it is a matter of allowing God to be God, and recognizing that when we are his people, his sons and daughters (2 Cor 6:18), that means we are in a relationship of love that constrains our freedom for the sake of that love (1 Cor 13). The result is a lifestyle that is "cleansed" from such contamination with pagan practices as visiting temple prostitutes (2 Cor 7:1), because someone who truly loves God as a son or daughter would not contaminate themselves with such practices. In others words, Paul is simply answering that it does, indeed, make a difference what the body does since that cannot be separated from who we are as sons and daughters of God.

Of course, the next question will be, "But what does that mean today?" We want a single answer to this question, a list of rules to follow. And we too often either fall in love with the list of rules we make (legalism), or we revert back to the Corinthian view and think that there really are no rules (postmodern relativism). Yet what Paul calls us to in Corinthians is a lifestyle that is governed by love (cf. 1 Cor 13). That is really what separates us from the "unclean" things around us. And Paul notes in another writing that it is often up to us to decide how we should practice that love as Christians (cf. Phil 2:12-23: "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure."). That simply places a great deal of emphasis on Christian ethics, not as law, but as the outworking of the "royal law of love" as John Wesley was so fond of quoting (James 2:8; see James and the Law). And that principle is precisely what Paul is using in the letters to the church at Corinth (e.g., 1 Cor 13).

 

[hugnluvable]

You try and fit everything into a nice, tight legal package, misquoting and taking out of context as you go, but the Bible doesn't work that way.

Drop the legalism and work out your own faith.

Oooooooooh FeelGood, I'm sorry... I know that I've mentioned to you something about legalism etc... but I feel that God's word is indeed God's word and we should follow by that. The gospel of Jesus Christ is just as relevant as it was in Paul's day...

Now, thinking about it after a while I've come to the conclusion that legalism = religion = doing things not in faith but because they're acts that should be done because its tradition and it says so etc! But any Christian will know - Jesus took that away from us! He took the religion out and gave us a new relationship with God - one that gave us forgiveness for what we have done. One that has given us a choice as to how to go about our lives and acknowledge that we do mess up and God knows we do! HE MADE US THE WAY WE ARE! HE KNOWS OUR FRAILTY!

But we should strive to stick to God's word - else none of His will will be done. We really need to read it and ask ourselves how does is actually affect our life? And that - we need to do on our own accord - but with guidance from elders. I dont feel Dave is following legalist views actually - more a "faith style" that he feels comfortable having with God and if He feels personally strong and protected in Christ because of it then all credit to him!

Love, hugs and prayers
Erica
xxx

 

[katelyn]

Whoa! Might I suggest that you two step back and take a deep breath before continuing this conversation? We're Christians here - let's speak the truth in love.

 

[SirKenin]

Oooooooooh FeelGood, I'm sorry... I know that I've mentioned to you something about legalism etc... but I feel that God's word is indeed God's word and we should follow by that. The gospel of Jesus Christ is just as relevant as it was in Paul's day...

Now, thinking about it after a while I've come to the conclusion that legalism = religion = doing things not in faith but because they're acts that should be done because its tradition and it says so etc! But any Christian will know - Jesus took that away from us! He took the religion out and gave us a new relationship with God - one that gave us forgiveness for what we have done. One that has given us a choice as to how to go about our lives and acknowledge that we do mess up and God knows we do! HE MADE US THE WAY WE ARE! HE KNOWS OUR FRAILTY!

But we should strive to stick to God's word - else none of His will will be done. We really need to read it and ask ourselves how does is actually affect our life? And that - we need to do on our own accord - but with guidance from elders. I dont feel Dave is following legalist views actually - more a "faith style" that he feels comfortable having with God and if He feels personally strong and protected in Christ because of it then all credit to him!

Love, hugs and prayers
Erica
xxx

God's Word is indeed God's Word, but the fatal mistake is misquoting and not knowing the context, followed by strict adherence to a faulty understanding. That's where Dave is falling into the trap, no doubt fed from the pulpits of organized religion.

There is so much more to it than prattling off Bible Bullets. That's why Paul told us to work out our own salvation.

 

[DaveKerwin]

FeelGood, all that article said was blah blah blah, justify justify justify. That little article is just some random guy's opinion, which I think is garbage.

Instead, let us read what GOD says on the issue. 2 Cor 6: 14-18

Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people."
"Therefore come out from them
and be separate, says the Lord.
Touch no unclean thing,
and I will receive you."
"I will be a Father to you,
and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty."


I have some tough news for you. Your "fiancee" is wicked because she is without the saving Grace of Jesus Christ. Uniting with her is not only wise, but against God's word.

If I am the accused legalist, then someone please confirm his accusation against me. I will put myself out on the line here, because I am confident that I am not what he is accusing me of. If I am anything, I may be rude, but a legalist I am not. Go dance naked while listening to steven curtis chapman if you want, thats your business.

 

[KLLM82]

Um, I guess some people didn't have a good day at work today? come on guys, let's keep it peaceful here

~Katia~

 

[SirKenin]

FeelGood, all that article said was blah blah blah, justify justify justify. That little article is just some random guy's opinion, which I think is garbage.

Instead, let us read what GOD says on the issue. 2 Cor 6: 14-18

Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people."
"Therefore come out from them
and be separate, says the Lord.
Touch no unclean thing,
and I will receive you."
"I will be a Father to you,
and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty."


I have some tough news for you. Your "fiancee" is wicked because she is without the saving Grace of Jesus Christ. Uniting with her is not only wise, but against God's word.

If I am the accused legalist, then someone please confirm his accusation against me. I will put myself out on the line here, because I am confident that I am not what he is accusing me of. If I am anything, I may be rude, but a legalist I am not. Go dance naked while listening to steven curtis chapman if you want, thats your business.

All I'm going to say to you is read the context around those verses. That could very well be why you're misinterpreting them and missing the whole point. That's exactly what the article has tried pointing out to you and why I took the time to quote it for you.

You have chosen to brush it away with one stroke, yet with no valid argument, because you don't have one. Whether you think it's garbage or not is irrelevant, really. That doesn't discredit the author. You don't want to believe it, because it's against the right-wing fundamentalist dogma that's been fed to you. I know. I recognize patterns in you that I once saw in myself, and patterns I've seen in others.

I would encourage you to open your eyes, that you might see.

 

[hugnluvable]

Oh no! I'm so sorry for causing this argument!

FeelGood, all that article said was blah blah blah, justify justify justify. That little article is just some random guy's opinion, which I think is garbage.

Instead, let us read what GOD says on the issue. 2 Cor 6: 14-18

Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people."
"Therefore come out from them
and be separate, says the Lord.
Touch no unclean thing,
and I will receive you."
"I will be a Father to you,
and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty."


I have some tough news for you. Your "fiancee" is wicked because she is without the saving Grace of Jesus Christ. Uniting with her is not only wise, but against God's word.

If I am the accused legalist, then someone please confirm his accusation against me. I will put myself out on the line here, because I am confident that I am not what he is accusing me of. If I am anything, I may be rude, but a legalist I am not. Go dance naked while listening to steven curtis chapman if you want, thats your business.

Dave.... "All have fallen before the Lord!" How can you say that non-Christians are wicked? Do you tell people that? Thats not a good thing to do! Ok, he/she hasnt recieved the saving grace of our Lord, but then again when we dont repent or ask for forgiveness that makes us just as bad... maybe worse!

Thank you for the verse... I'll pray over it as soon as my works done and get something constructive out of it... its the one verse that I have so been avoiding! Will have to face it sometime!

All I'm going to say to you is read the context around those verses. That could very well be why you're misinterpreting them and missing the whole point. That's exactly what the article has tried pointing out to you and why I took the time to quote it for you.

You have chosen to brush it away with one stroke, yet with no valid argument, because you don't have one. Whether you think it's garbage or not is irrelevant, really. That doesn't discredit the author. You don't want to believe it, because it's against the right-wing fundamentalist dogma that's been fed to you. I know. I recognize patterns in you that I once saw in myself, and patterns I've seen in others.

Open your eyes, that you might see.

And DrFeelGood:

Read the context AROUND the verses? Right, I shall try and do that... but to be fair when looking at it it does seem pretty straight forward - its not in God's interests for us to marry a non-believer... because when there are struggles and misunderstandings and yep! arguments (I hear even Christian relationships have those!) what is there that you both can stand on? One can stand on the rock of Jesus but the other... hmmmm... doesnt have the same beliefs/principles and you'll be forever repelling and falling more and more away from God and your partner...... unless you do things right!


Make sense?

Thanks guys for you ops though... and seriously challenge me if you think I'm wrong - I really do need it at the moment!
Love, hugs and prayers
Erica
xxx

 

[SirKenin]

And DrFeelGood:

Read the context AROUND the verses? Right, I shall try and do that... but to be fair when looking at it it does seem pretty straight forward - its not in God's interests for us to marry a non-believer... because when there are struggles and misunderstandings and yep! arguments (I hear even Christian relationships have those!) what is there that you both can stand on? One can stand on the rock of Jesus but the other... hmmmm... doesnt have the same beliefs/principles and you'll be forever repelling and falling more and more away from God and your partner...... unless you do things right!


Make sense?

Yes, read the context the verses are placed in. There is a whole story there. There is a reason Paul wrote those verses, and the context tells the tale. Well, part of it anyways. Knowledge of ancient history and Greek will tell you the rest.

Nobody said it was going to be easy to be in a marriage that is unequally yoked. No, quite the opposite. You will have to be really strong in your faith. It will be an uphill battle. God willing, your partner will also become a believer, but don't go into the marriage holding to that hope. It may not happen and then what are you going to do?

What the article is saying, and I am reiterating, is that there is no law that you can't marry a nonbeliever. You have to make a choice based on ethics and out of love. The verse that Dave quoted is being taken out of context, without regards to the circumstances around it and Pauls other teachings in the Bible. In particular what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 7 that God will bless an unequally yoked marriage.

This is what I'm saying about legalism. Legalism wants to package everything up into a convenient list of rules. We have seen Dave do that over and over again in this forum, made ever deadlier by quoting out of context and then firing Bible Bullets at people that may not otherwise know any better. What I am challenging him to do is "look outside the box". I'm not being mean in any way, or at least trying not to be. Just encouraging him to open his eyes. What I have found in my own life, as I mature, is that there is a whole new way to look at things. I have decided to pursue knowledge, to do research, to "find my own salvation". It's called growing up.

If I can help just one person along the way, then it was all worth it. It's up to you to choose whether to believe me or not, but I'll be certain to provide you with plenty of evidence, as opposed to relying on my opinions.

 

[SirKenin]

Incidentally, in the original Greek, the word for unequally yoked together is heterozugeo (Strong's 2086)

It means


1) to come under an unequal or different yoke, to be unequally yoked a) to have fellowship with one who is not an equal: 2Cor 6:14, where the apostle is forbidding Christians to have intercourse with idolaters

The idolaters is what is pointed out by reading the context around 2 Cor 6:14.

 

[SirKenin]

I'm going to quote another article for you that further backs up what I am saying about this passage.

http://www.biblequestions.org/Archives/BQAR347.htm

Question: What is unequally yoked?

Answer: Our question has reference to Paul's teaching to the Corinthians. Paul wrote: "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers…" (2 Cor. 6: 14). Unequally yoked in 2 Corinthians 6: 14 is translated from the Greek heterozugountes. Heterozugountes is a compound word made up of heteros, another of a different sort and zugos, a yoke, serving to couple two things.​

​

The unequal yoke, an application. The text in which the unequal yoke prohibition is found is generally discussing a yoking of opposites, such as the temple of God and idols; righteousness and unrighteousness; light and darkness (vs. 16, 14). Notice that Paul is not simply forbidding a yoking together, but the yoking of two things that are severely opposite and incongruous. It is important to notice that the "unbeliever" of the First Century was usually a pagan who aggressively worshipped idols and sought to convert others to his idols. Many Christians have learned too late as to why they should not form business yokes with the dishonest and morally deprived.


​

​

The unequal yoke and marriage. One common view of 2 Corinthians 6: 14 is that Paul is teaching that it is inherently a sin for a Christian to be married to a non-Christian. However, the passage does not mention marriage. In addressing marriages between the Christian and the content unbeliever, Paul instructed the marriage to continue (I Cor. 7: 12-16). If such a union had automatically been a sin, Paul would have required the dissolution of all such marriages. Nonetheless, it is not recommended for the Christian to marry a non-Christian.


​

The paramount lesson of the prohibition against the unequal yoke is that God must be put first in the life of the Christian (Matt. 6: 33). Regarding the yoking together of extremely dissimilar animals, the Law of Moses condemned such (Deut. 22: 10). One cannot serve two dissimilar masters (Matt. 6: 24).​

 

[SirKenin]

Here's one more.. This one delves a little bit into the context in which I was encouraging you to look at. Here we go...

http://theshovel.net/questions/dig.asp?TID=283&PN=1

<< Hey Jim,What does the term or what was meant by "do not be unequally yoked"? What was intended by this statement and why was it said? I would like to hear about what you say on this. Adam >>

Hello Adam!!

Sorry about not getting back to some of your other stuff, but I've been on a slow down in some things for a while, but able to make headway on other things ... like, playing my guitar again, and writing a few extremely long posts, for example.
Unequally yoked, huh? Well, keep in mind how both of the Corinthian letters were securely established in the distinction between flesh and spirit, the natural mind and the spiritual mind, the wisdom of the world and the wisdom of God, the old creation and the new creation, death and life, the mind of man and the mind of Christ, unbeliever and believer, etc, etc. This is the reality upon which Paul also brought this "unequally yoked" idea into the picture.

Now, they would have immediately grasped the allusion to the yoking together of unequal animals, such as the donkey and the oxen, to pull a plow (there's even an OT scripture telling Israel not to do that). I'm sure many had yoked such animals together, and they most likely discovered that it was not a good idea since it probably did some damage to one or both of the animals, to the one who struggled to keep them straight, and may have made a mess of the rows to be planted. The Jews among the group probably heard it spoken more than once in their life, since it was a written law, and may have even been scolded when they had tried it. Anyhow, I'm sure they were all familiar with the concept behind what Paul alluded to.

Okay, here's a portion of that chapter:

"O ye Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you, our heart is enlarged. Ye are not straitened in us, but ye are straitened in your own bowels. Now for a recompence in the same, (I speak as unto my children,) be ye also enlarged. Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, 'I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate', saith the Lord, 'and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters', saith the Lord Almighty." 2 Corinthians 6:11-18

Now, I'm not going to give you all the background information because I've already written tons on it and you can read it in the Shoveletter section (in "the Judgment Seat of Christ", beginning with the 2nd in that series, and in the "Giving" series, beginning with "The Giving of Grace"). The background is incredibly important in understanding Paul's intent regarding "not unequally yoked", especially since we've learned most of what we know about that verse from the perspective of the natural mind!! You see, when Paul told those believers not to "yoke" themselves together with unbelievers he was referring to the same people he had been referring to all the way through: the false leaders who had been preaching condemnation.

I mean, this had been Paul's main contention with the Corinthians as they had been falling for the comparing of one against another under the influence of those who had no truth of Christ in them. They had come to despise and judge one another based upon those became highly esteemed among them. They had been trying to copy the methods and attitudes of those who thought highly of themselves, but had been cloaking their words with "authority of God" BS.

This was Paul's consistent push all the way through both letters as he demanded the night and day difference between life and death! As a matter of fact, this verse about "unequally yoked" comes shortly after that so memorable section in 2 Corithians 5 where Paul wrote of not recognizing any man according to fleshly distinctions but only in view of the new creation. Many have established themselves as authorities of God according to their fleshly deeds and wisdom, but this has nothing, nothing, nothing to do with God.

There is no compromise between the wisdom of the world and the wisdom of God for one is diametrically opposed to the other. To "yoke" ourselves together with religious unbelievers in "standing for the truth of Christ" is nothing but bogus, but this is exactly what many believers are trying to accomplish. Such attempts will only force the believer to disregard the one and only distinction between life and death. And this is what has happened over and over again down through the centuries so that we find it very rare to hear the simple truth of Christ.

"And working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain," (2 Cor.6:1) That's what they had been doing because they had been listening to the BS of the self-righteous, self-endorsing, self-promoting, self-important religious leaders who had imposed another Jesus, a different gospel, and a different Spirit upon them.

"I wish that you would bear with me in a little foolishness; but indeed you are bearing with me. For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin. But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully." (2 Corinthians 11:1-4)

The "foolishness" to which Paul referred is the fleshly perception based on the lies they had been listening to regarding the truth of Christ he demanded. Paul pleaded to the Corinthians as one who accepted the idea of his own weakness, and this came across as incredibly foolish in view of the sense of superiority they received from the more "important" among them.

"Be ye not unequally yoked together" was not a general purpose demand from Paul to remove themselves from their world, but to remove themselves from the bogus partnerships they had accepted with those who knew nothing of Christ but only knew of their own self-promoting religion. It didn't even mean they shouldn't talk with those people, but that they not think they could somehow "bridge" the two opposing wisdoms.