Should a believer and unbeliever get together? 1 Corinthians 7:12-16

1 Corinthians 7:12-16 (GW)
¹² I (not the Lord) say to the rest of you: If any Christian man is married to a woman who is an unbeliever, and she is willing to live with him, he should not divorce her.
¹³ If any Christian woman is married to a man who is an unbeliever, and he is willing to live with her, she should not divorce her husband.
¹⁴ Actually, the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and an unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise, their children would be unacceptable {to God}, but now they are acceptable to him.
¹⁵ But if the unbelieving partners leave, let them go. Under these circumstances a Christian man or Christian woman is not bound {by a marriage vow}. God has called you to live in peace.
¹⁶ How do you as a wife know whether you will save your husband? How do you as a husband know whether you will save your wife?

I’ve been asked many times what I thought about marriage between a passionate Christian (one who has a vibrant relationship with Christ and who understands God’s purpose for his or her life) and someone who’s lukewarm or even a non-believer.

Ever since God opened my eyes, my vision of love is clear. God meant for a man and woman to come together, and it’s a very beautiful thing. Love is important for God. He gave us the ability to love, so that we might understand how much He loves us. Love is wonderful, it makes life sweet.

1 Corinthians 13:13 (GW)
¹³ So these three things remain: faith, hope, and love. But the best one of these is love.

Obviously, God makes provision for people to love those who differ in their passion or lack of passion for God. We can bring them to a closer relationship with the Lord – or not.  Or they may or may not share our passion – and that can cause issues.

Those who walk closely with God know what they want from life. They know why they were made and they want to grow in their relationship with the Lord. Will they be satisfied to be with someone who cannot share that special bond or have that spiritual maturity? But on the other side of love, those who may not yet know or have a relationship with the Lord can benefit from the love and passion their partner has for the Lord.

The Bible is full of stories of those who married a partner who worshipped other idols/gods. Those relationships caused sorrow for both parties.

This is what God said to the Israelites.

"When the Lord your God shall bring you into the land where you are entering to possess it, and shall clear away many nations before you, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and stronger than you, ² and when the Lord your God shall deliver them before you, and you shall defeat them, then you shall utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them and show no favor to them. ³ Furthermore, you shall not intermarry with them; you shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor shall you take their daughters for your sons. ⁴ For they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods," (Deut. 7:1-4).

Of course, marrying a partner who is a “Christian” doesn’t guarantee a successful relationship. We’re all flawed.

Before you make a commitment, decide how you envision your life. If a devout man who loves God and is a great spiritual leader of his family is important to you, make that choice. If a devout, God-loving woman who loves her husband and family is important to you, make that choice.  

Deciding to marry someone who is not at the same spiritual level changes the dynamics of the life of believers and non-believers.

·       Believers will tire of having to defend their passion.

·       Lukewarm believers and non-believers will get tired of being nagged.

No one but God can help you make that important decision. We may want to compromise.

God never compromises.