Mixed Marriages

Mixed Marriage is Spiritual, Not Natural

· The only mixed marriage is between a believer and an unbeliever

· A married couple can look the same on the outside but be different on the inside.

· Conversely, a married couple can look differently on the outside but be the same on the inside.

Exclusivity – Selection Brings Protection

· OT History of HOLY matrimony

· God’s Warning Against intermarrying with unbelievers

· Holy matrimony keeps holy people pure – the church comes from a royal bloodline

God promises to go with Israel to the Promised Land as long as they remain loyal to Him, but He also warned His people about contamination by the heathen:

Exodus 23:32–33 NLT

32 “Make no treaties with them or their gods. 33 They must not live in your land, or they will cause you to sin against me. If you serve their gods, you will be caught in the trap of idolatry.”

· the trap of idolatry = H4170 – mowqesh – bait, lure, snare, trap

o (implied – of putting other people or things before God)

· obviously not a blatant, outward attack, but a subtle process over time.

· Initially, God’s people said yes, but eventually did the opposite.

Stage 1 = Unmarried – Stay Single or Marry a Believer

Reconcile Jewish and Gentile marriages

· The Jews were told to marry their own countrymen, so what about the rest of the world?

· There is no contradiction, because there is only one Jewish nation but billions of Gentiles!

· Believers are to marry other believers

· Unbelievers pull down believers – just like in the OT.

2 Corinthians 6:14 NLT

14 Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness?

Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers.

Team up = Unequally yoked

· Allied with an opposing force

· one person’s conduct and direction of life strongly influences or controls the other’s.[1]

1 – hitched up with two different animals –

Deuteronomy 22:10 NLT

10 “You must not plow with an ox and a donkey harnessed together.

2 – crossbred with two different kinds of animals – Leviticus 19:19

Unbelievers – G571 apistois – faithless, infidel, cannot be trusted, without trust in God

How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness?

Righteousness – G1343 – dikaiosune –

· a state approved of God

· integrity, virtue, purity of life, rightness, correctness of thinking feeling, and acting[2]

Partner – G3352 – metoche – fellowship, sharing, communion

Wickedness – G458 – anomia – unrighteousness, iniquity, transgressor of the law, without law

How can light live with darkness?

Light – G5457 – phos – heavenly light, fire, understanding of spiritual truth

Live – G2842 – koinonia – communion, communication, association, joint participation, intercourse, share, intimacy, contribution

Darkness – G4655 – blindness – ignorance of respecting divine things

2 Corinthians 6:15 NLT

15 What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever?

What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil?

Harmony – G4857 – sumphonesis – agreement

Christ – G5547 – Christos – anointed

Devil – G955 – Belial = worthless, destruction

How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever?

Believer – G4103 – pistos – trusty, faithful, reliable

Partner – G3310 – meris – partaker, assigned part, share

Unbeliever – G571 -apistou – faithless

2 Corinthians 6:16 NLT

16 And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said: “I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

Union – G4783 – sugkatathesis – agreement, putting together, joint deposit, approval

God’s temple – G3485 – naos – shrine, holy place (body)

Idols – G1497 – eidolon – false god

For we are the temple of the living God. As God said: “I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

Dangers of Spiritually Mixed Marriages:

Outside Influence - what’s on them will get on you

· whether through sympathy (give them special attention because they have a sad story - or outright desire (overlook inside ugliness for the outside beauty.

· Your soul and body (emotions and flesh) will eventually override your spirit

Negative Influence – bad pulls down good

“When I marry him – I’ll get him saved” – NOT

Most Christians backslide when in a serious relationship with an unbeliever

Intermarried Lives Become Intertwined – Financial, Sexual, Marital

Financial – now the unbeliever has control on the finances that God blessed you with. God’s blessings can now be used to support the enemy’s work.

Sexual – if the two have sexual relations (which is common today, even in the church) the two have now become one flesh, regardless of their actual marital status – whether they are married or not – (such as cohabitation, living together, friends with benefits, hooking up). Sexual relations form a soul tie between the sexual partners. Soul ties are multiplied by the number of sexual partners during one’s lifetime, multiplied by each partner’s partner. In a spiritually mixed marriage, the soul tie gives the unbeliever even more influence over the believer in the form of emotional manipulation. Soul ties can only be broken through repentance and by the blood of Jesus.

Marital – most couples in America living together are not married. This adds fornication to the list of sins in the life of the believer, further separating them from the protection and blessings of God, while simultaneously exposing them more to the dangers of the enemy.

God wants to bless His people with the ultimate joy in all areas of life – including relationships and especially in marriage! He is dedicated to us, so let’s be dedicated to Him through faithfulness!

Stage 2 = Already Married - Unsaved spouse free to stay or leave

Unsaved Spouse is Free to Stay or Leave

1 Corinthians 7:12 NLT

12 Now, I will speak to the rest of you, though I do not have a direct command from the Lord. If a fellow believer has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to continue living with him, he must not leave her.

Believer – G80 – adelphos – Christian

Wife – G1135 – gune – wife

Not a believer – G571 – apistos – faithless, without trust in God

Leave her – G863 – aphiemi – forsake, let alone, send away, let go, divorce, abandon, desert wrongfully, go away

1 Corinthians 7:13 NLT

13 And if a believing woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to continue living with her, she must not leave him.

Same Greek words as verse 12

1 Corinthians 7:14 NLT

14 For the believing wife brings holiness to her marriage, and the believing husband brings holiness to his marriage. Otherwise, your children would not be holy, but now they are holy.

1 Corinthians 7:15 NLT

15 (But if the husband or wife who isn’t a believer insists on leaving, let them go. In such cases the believing husband or wife is no longer bound to the other, for God has called you to live in peace.)

Spiritual not Natural emphasized

· None of these scriptures mention anything about the physical attributes of the spouse, only the heart.

Solution = Separation – from the World

2 Corinthians 6:17 NLT

17 Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the Lord. Don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you.

2 Corinthians 6:18 NLT

18 And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”

Personal Inventory - Are You Equally Yoked?

· Are you and your spouse equally yoked?

· Are you and your spouse both saved?

· Are you walking in agreement?

· Are you both walking in the same direction? Have the same vision (or at least compatible/ complimentary visions)

Closing – Strong Families are United in Christ

· As is today, the issue is not about the color of the skin on the outside, but the focus of the heart on the inside.

· Let’s believe for household salvations! – spouses and children both loving and serving the Lord