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“Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do…

5 years ago • May 16, 2021 • by ourCOG

“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?” (2 Cor. 6:14-15).

First of all let’s fine out what a ‘yoke’ is. In the literal sense, a ‘yoke’ is a bar or frame of wood by which two oxen are joined at the neck for working together. Farmers usually fix it on the necks of animals for ploughing and for other form works. So, when two animals are yoked together, it means a bar (yoke) is placed at their necks so as to pull a load to plough a land or achieve the intended purpose.

Now, when a Christian is yoked together with a non-Christian in marriage, the imagery is like a donkey sharing a yoke with cattle. That is an error because a donkey and cattle are two different animals with different interests. As a result they will be working against each other instead of pulling the load together to achieve the intended purpose.

It is incompatible for a Christian to yoke himself with a non-Christian in marriage. That is unconcord because they are two different people with different interests. As a result they will be working against each other, arguing and fighting here and there instead of working together to glorify God. A Christian can marry from his Church or other Christian Churches with common faith, but for a Christian to move from his Church, the whole of Christianity and marry a non-Christian is a deadly choice.

Dear brethren, marriage can make or un-make you. If you are a Christian and want a happy marriage that won’t hinder your Christian life, then marrying a non-Christian is not an option. Christians are called to evangelize the non-Christians and not to be intimate with them in marriage. Who you marry is as important as who you want to become. Follow God’s word and prayer to make the right choice. God bless you!

– Francis Botwe

Categories: #ourCOG

Discussion

23 comments

  1. Fernando Hernandez says:
    April 28, 2020 at 2:23 am

    They can, should they? No

    Reply
  2. Michael Taylor says:
    April 28, 2020 at 2:30 am

    Let’s take it a step further. Should believers marry someone outside their faith?

    Genesis 2:24 tells us God created man and woman to become “one flesh” when they marry, not two separate beings who go their own separate ways. There is a unity in marriage that is unique and holy. Moreover, marriage is the picture of Christ and His church (believers) as described in Ephesians 5:31-32. The marriage covenant between a man and a woman is symbolic of the covenant between Christ and those for whom He died. His is an everlasting covenant and one that is holy and sacred, just as marriage is to be holy, sacred and unbroken. This unity of two people into one reaches its most sacred in the spiritual realm, where the two are to be of one mind regarding the basic doctrines of Christianity – God, Christ, sin, salvation, heaven/hell, etc. This unity of understanding through the ministry of the Holy Spirit unites a husband and wife in a bond unlike any other on earth.

    While it’s possible for a husband and wife to have differing tastes as far as music, preaching or worship styles, children’s programs, etc., none of these things are significant enough to break up the family into two parts so they can attend different churches based on tastes. It is clear that if both churches are Bible-based and Christ-honoring, there is no reason why one spouse can’t bend a little and put his/her personal preferences aside. An even better alternative is for the couple to join together to seek a church where the Word of God is preached as the only guide for faith and practice, where the entire family can learn the true gospel of Jesus Christ, and where the family can fellowship with like-minded believers. In this, the husband, as the spiritual head of the family, should take the lead and make the final decision, lovingly taking his wife’s input into consideration.

    Sadly, the two-church family most often crops up in marriages where one spouse was raised Roman Catholic and the other was raised in a Protestant denomination. In situations such as these, it would have been wise for the couple not to marry. Please read the following article: Should Christians of different denominations date or marry? If a marriage has already taken place, the couple should strive for spiritual unity. Two people entrenched in their different doctrinal positions often find it very difficult to compromise and reconcile, but with God, all things are possible. A couple in such a situation may be forced to attend different churches, especially if one or both spouses consider the other spouse’s beliefs to be unbiblical. In such a situation, both spouses should commit to praying that truth be revealed and spiritual unity be achieved.

    These doctrinal conflicts must be resolved in a family before true unity can be achieved. A couple attending different churches must be willing to hold everything they are taught up to the light of Scripture and be ready to discard anything that is contradicted by the Bible. They must “test all things and hold fast to that which is true” (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

    Reply
  3. Stuart Voce says:
    April 28, 2020 at 2:30 am

    I’m a Anglican, church of England, married to a baptized catholic.

    Reply
  4. John Balich says:
    April 28, 2020 at 2:35 am

    it can be done…..but there will always be a price to pay

    Reply
  5. Dick Paquette says:
    April 28, 2020 at 2:40 am

    Not God’s plan for you

    Reply
  6. John Phillips says:
    April 28, 2020 at 2:49 am

    It’s a terrible idea

    Reply
  7. Roxy Wade says:
    April 28, 2020 at 3:56 am

    Yes, but only if they’re IGNORANT!

    Reply
  8. Kennedy Ohiaeri says:
    April 28, 2020 at 4:43 am

    No. But if u make the mistake of marrying one u can’t divorce he or she.

    Reply
  9. Elroy Abquina says:
    April 28, 2020 at 4:50 am

    That is the principle back then in the old testament time why God Forbid Israel to marry israelites, you see what happen to Samson and you will see what happened to most marriage nowadays to non-chriatian.

    Reply
  10. Robin James Greer says:
    April 28, 2020 at 5:56 am

    Sure they can. It happens all the time. But whether they should or no is another question altogether !

    Reply
  11. Maxwell Cast says:
    April 28, 2020 at 6:36 am

    OF COURSE NOT..ITS A BIG PROBLEM,MAJOR ISSUE IN MARRIAGE. DO NOT EQUALLY YOKE WITH THE UNBELIEVER..

    Reply
  12. Thomas W. Peck says:
    April 28, 2020 at 7:17 am

    The question is not CAN but SHOULD. Remember, marriage is a difficult way to evangelize.

    Reply
  13. JuanitoandKeri Martin Lim says:
    April 28, 2020 at 7:32 am

    Can and should are 2 different things. God’s will vs free will.

    Reply
  14. Olivrr Pajela says:
    April 28, 2020 at 8:25 am

    Yes they can…

    Reply
  15. Mary Myer Myers says:
    April 28, 2020 at 8:50 am

    Shouldn’t. There will be trouble and the unsaved will probably bring the saved down. You re not gonna change him or her.

    Reply
  16. Scott Strange says:
    April 28, 2020 at 9:14 am

    Not a great plan, no.

    Reply
  17. Rick Guido says:
    April 28, 2020 at 9:37 am

    Christians can do what ever the hell they want. Hell being the pejorative word.

    Reply
  18. Jim Maxwell says:
    April 28, 2020 at 4:19 pm

    Run em thru the test… john 3:3. 2cor13:5 mt7:21-23

    Reply
  19. Alex Wong says:
    April 28, 2020 at 5:02 pm

    I did… she eventually 10 years later converted to christianity but it was an interesting ride until then.

    Reply
  20. Rick Holtsclaw says:
    April 28, 2020 at 6:38 pm

    A Christian “can” marry a non-Christian but it’s contrary to Scripture and you’re setting yourself up for failure and misery.

    Reply
  21. Francis Botwe says:
    April 30, 2020 at 2:13 am

    Now let’s consider the story of Sampson. The parents of Samson asked him; “Isnt there an acceptable woman among your relatives or among all our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines to get a wife?” But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me. She’s the right one for me” (Judges 14:3).

    Now the Philistines were generally idol worshippers and for an Israelite to marry a Philistine was not an option. It was therefore a grave mistake for Samson to see a Philistine woman as the “right one” to marry.

    Samson could have married from his tribe or even go outside his tribe to other tribes of Israelite. But for him to move from his tribe, the whole of Israel and marry a Philistine woman was a deadly error. In the same way a Christian can marry from his Church or other Christian Churches with common faith, but for a Christian to move from his Church, the whole of Christianity and marry a non-Christian is a deadly choice.

    Dear brethren, marriage can make or un-make you. If you are a Christian and want a happy marriage that won’t hinder your Christian life, then marrying a non-Christian is not an option. Christians are called to evangelize the non-Christians and not to be intimate with them in marriage. Who you marry is as important as who you want to become. Follow God’s word and prayer to make the right choice. God bless you!

    Reply
  22. Elroy Abquina says:
    April 30, 2020 at 7:28 am

    The 2 out of 10 commandments given to israelites is the behind reason after saving them for Egypt (or symbol of bondage of sin in our days) not to marry foreign pagan woman, the law was reiterated and interpreted by God Himself. please read EXODUS 34:10-17. So do not marry not chosen children of God.

    Reply
  23. “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do… #ourCOG – ourcog says:
    May 16, 2021 at 12:00 am

    […] “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do… […]

    Reply

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