think about this.

dan0488

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Maybe marriage is taking a lesser blessing away from you and god. You could focus all of your attention on Jesus insteads of your husband or wife. You could also give away all of your money except the bare neccessities like jesus commands us to do, and not worry about having to support a wife or kids.

2nd timothy says that a real christian's only focus should be on Jesus, not on marriage and a family.
 

Blank123

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jesus said that it will be esaier for a camel to fit into a needles eye than for a rich man to enter heaven, case and point, material wealth is sinful. 1 corinthians 7, clearly states marriage is borderline sinful.


didn't you get engaged recently? :scratch:

anywho... lets look at those verses in context :)

16 Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good[e] Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”
17 So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good?[f] No one is good but One, that is, God.[g] But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
18 He said to Him, “Which ones?”
Jesus said, “ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ 19 ‘Honor your father and your mother,’[h] and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”[i]
20 The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth.[j] What do I still lack?”
21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
23 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
25 When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?”
26 But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
27 Then Peter answered and said to Him, “See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?”
28 So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife[k] or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first. - Matthew 19

clearly it wasn't because he had possesions that he did not follow Jesus, it was because he worshipped his possessions. God never despised Soloman for his wealth, in fact he was the one that blessed him with his wealth.

1 Now concerning the things of which you wrote to me:
It is good for a man not to touch a woman. 2 Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband. 3 Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband. 4 The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. 5 Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6 But I say this as a concession, not as a commandment. 7 For I wish that all men were even as I myself. But each one has his own gift from God, one in this manner and another in that.
8 But I say to the unmarried and to the widows: It is good for them if they remain even as I am; 9 but if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion....
25 Now concerning virgins: I have no commandment from the Lord; yet I give judgment as one whom the Lord in His mercy has made trustworthy. 26 I suppose therefore that this is good because of the present distress—that it is good for a man to remain as he is: 27 Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be loosed. Are you loosed from a wife? Do not seek a wife. 28 But even if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Nevertheless such will have trouble in the flesh, but I would spare you.
29 But this I say, brethren, the time is short, so that from now on even those who have wives should be as though they had none, 30 those who weep as though they did not weep, those who rejoice as though they did not rejoice, those who buy as though they did not possess, 31 and those who use this world as not misusing it. For the form of this world is passing away.
32 But I want you to be without care. He who is unmarried cares for the things of the Lord—how he may please the Lord. 33 But he who is married cares about the things of the world—how he may please his wife. 34 There is[a] a difference between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman cares about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But she who is married cares about the things of the world—how she may please her husband. 35 And this I say for your own profit, not that I may put a leash on you, but for what is proper, and that you may serve the Lord without distraction.
36 But if any man thinks he is behaving improperly toward his virgin, if she is past the flower of youth, and thus it must be, let him do what he wishes. He does not sin; let them marry. 37 Nevertheless he who stands steadfast in his heart, having no necessity, but has power over his own will, and has so determined in his heart that he will keep his virgin,[b] does well. 38 So then he who gives her[c] in marriage does well, but he who does not give her in marriage does better.
39 A wife is bound by law as long as her husband lives; but if her husband dies, she is at liberty to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord. 40 But she is happier if she remains as she is, according to my judgment—and I think I also have the Spirit of God. - 1 cor 7


Paul is giving his opinion that it would be better to remain single in order to serve the Lord but is very careful to let us know it is not a command. He also makes it clear there is no condemnation for those who choose to marry. Disregarding Paul's opinion on the matter doesn't make it borderline sinful in any case.
 
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DIVA_for_Christ

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i may end it, to better serve Him.

If God has you in a season of singleness then that's the best thing for you to do for both of you.

Marriage is ministry. It's about serving each other and dieing to selfishness. It's putting another person's needs and best interest ahead of your own. For a Chrisitan marriage to work both people have to fully committed to God and each other. They have to be willing to walk together through the test, trials, tribulations and storms of life. God is the foundation of their marriage and they look to Him to lead, guide and instruct.

The man is to love the wife as Christ loves the church just as the women is to respect her husband.

Two can only become one if they first walk together and agree.

God is promarriage; He established the family before the church.

The marriage between and man and woman is symbolic of the marriage between Jesus and His Bride (the Church).
 
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JSGuitarist

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The story about the rich man who walked away sad illustrates a condition of the man's heart, not necessarily the fact that he was wealthy. This man had come running to Jesus saying, "What must I do to gain eternal life?" When Jesus questioned him about the commandments he said, "Yes, I've kept all of them, but I'm missing something!" Jesus said, "There's one thing you lack. Go sell all your possessions, then come follow me." He walked away, as the original Greek indicates, deeply depressed and grieving.

It wasn't that the man had too much stuff, and therefore he was sinning, but those goods were his god. He was not willing to sacrifice them so he could gain eternal life, and it showed the true condition of his heart. That was where the sin lies. Remember that God made Solomon rich by His own will (he actually gave it because He saw how good Solomon's heart was), and made Israel so prosperous that silver became worthless, but what was it that caused Solomon to be rejected by God? He turned away. He allowed his wealth, status and wisdom to corrupt him. It would have been better for him to live in a cave with nothing but sackcloth for clothing and still honor God, as he took God's blessing and provision wrongly.

I do however think you are right that you have the chance to accomplish a lot more as a single person than you do married, though that may change depending on circumstances. I can see why it'd be better for a pastor to be married with children than single, as he has to be able to help deal with circumstances in the home. If I don't end up getting married, I may just end up living like you describe because I don't really acquire material things unless I need to. My exception here is anything musical, which I may decide to acquire just because I can, but I'm finding that classical comes quite cheap and oftentimes free :). Truth be told, foreign missions could really benefit from the wealth that's available in the developed Western world, and my heart most goes out to Voice of the Martyrs. After my breakup a few months back I began increasing the number of activities I've taken on, and I simply couldn't do it all before. It's taken a bit of pain to learn, but you are right that singleness is a time of blessing. I just can't believe I'm actually getting it now.

At the same time though, marriage is part of the human design. Sex is God's own creation, and it's a very powerful drive because it's precisely the way He wanted it to be. For some reason or another our purpose here on Earth is in part to beget, though since sin came into the world, it's a privilege that in some cases may need to be deferred to a later time, or perhaps written off. If this is where God calls you, then I'll rejoice along with you when you receive your reward, as it's no small feat :) At the same time, someone has to beget, otherwise the population will implode!
 
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xXxKristaxXx

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I feel sorry for your significant other.. because from this single thread you really sound like a jerk.


As to myself I look forward to getting married and having my own family one day.

Agreed!!
 
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JSGuitarist

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It takes a rather unique person not to marry, and that's why so few people do it. It's good to cover your bases, but not everyone is meant for singleness. If we followed Paul's advice the way you describe, nobody should get married, contrary to God's design. Read Song of Solomon; there's a strong taste of marriage right there, permitted by God to be in the same book as Paul's opinions.
 
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Markus6

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I love her, and i want to marry her, but god wants to be the only thing we as christians concern ourselves with, it's so hard.
Paul also said
1 Timothy 4 (NASB) said:
1But (A)the Spirit explicitly says that (B)in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to (C)deceitful spirits and (D)doctrines of demons,

2by means of the hypocrisy of liars (E)seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, 3men who (F)forbid marriage and advocate (G)abstaining from foods which (H)God has created to be (I)gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth.
Whilst Paul encourages singleness he makes it crystal clear that there is nothing wrong, at all, with marriage. It is a God created institution and the one responsible for humanities continued existence (or should be). My personal opinion is that the regret you would have and the guilt in the hurt you would cause this poor young lady mean you should get married. You have also given this lady your word you would marry her and the bible is also clear on keeping your word.

However, I agree with others that if you cannot change your mindset you would make your wife horribly unhappy.
 
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