Marriage to a non-Christian

My position is as follows: no Christian should ever marry a non-Christian. My primary argument, which is the strongest support of my position, is found in 2 Corinthians 6:14, “Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness.” Paul, with the Holy Spirit, gives an imperative here. It is plain and simple: “do not be bound together with unbelievers.” Webster’s defines “bound” as “tied or joined, obligated.” That is a pretty good description of marriage as well. Many can recall the words from Genesis 2:24, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh” (emphasis mine). One may ask, “What is the big deal? Why can I not marry whoever I want?” Well, elsewhere Paul warns the Corinthians, “Do not be deceived: Bad company corrupts good morals” (1 Corinthians 15:33). It is so much easier to be brought down than to bring someone else up. Allow me to illustrate, suppose I am standing on a chair, and a lady is standing in front of me. It would be quite easy for her to pull me down from the chair, but on the other hand, it would be very difficult for me to lift her up to my position. Paul uses a language that can be found in the Old Testament where God commanded the Israelites not to yoke together an ox and a donkey (Deuteronomy 22:10). J. Vernon McGee was profound when he wrote, “A clean animal and an unclean animal should not be yoked together to plow. A child of God and a child of the devil cannot be yoked together and pull together in their life goals.”[1]

My secondary argument comes from Old Testament examples. Isaac and Rebekah were grieved to learn that Esau had married out of the faith (Genesis 26:34-35). Before Joshua died, he warned God’s people not to intermarry with foreigners (Joshua 24:12-13). 1 Kings 11 describes how Solomon’s heart was turned after his foreign wives’ idolatry. Verse four provides a sad commentary on his life, “For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been.”

It seems clear to me from Scripture that I should seek a godly wife and avoid getting entangled with an unbelieving woman. Proverbs 19:14 says, “A prudent woman is from the LORD.”

[1] J. Vernon McGee, Second Corinthians, (Thomas Nelson Publishers: Nashville, 1991), 83.