S. Michael Houdmann Supporter Got Questions Ministries

The phrase "unequally yoked" comes from 2 Corinthians 6:14 in the King James Version: "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousne...

Login or Sign Up to view the rest of this answer.

July 01 2013 • 5 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Singapore Moses Supporter Messenger of God, CEO in IT industry, Astronaut, Scientist

"Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers" (2 Cor 6:14)

Many a young Christian has ruined his life because of unholy alliance in marriage. Marriage is a yoke. The Bible forbids unequal yoke (2 Cor 6:14). "You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together" (Dt 22:10).

Both the Old and the New Testaments strongly condemn intermarriage with unbelievers. Intermingling the "holy seed" with the unconverted is called as "trespass, transgression, iniquity and guilt" (Ezra 9:1-6). Even a widow who is a believer is not permitted to marry an unbeliever. "She is at liberty to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord" (1 Cor 7:39).

Even if your parents press you to marry an unbeliever, for whatever reason, you can firmly refuse. Obedience to parents also must be "in the Lord" (Eph 6:1). If you have fallen in love with an unbeliever, break the affair unless your fiance or fiancee gets genuinely converted. Beware of baptisms just for the sake of marriage!

True in some cases the unbelieving spouse gets converted after marriage. But no truth can be established from this. The Bible challenges, "How do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife?" (1 Cor 7:16). Marriage is too serious a matter to take risk. If you have already made the mistake of marrying an unbeliever, you can now do nothing but pray and believe God for his or her salvation.

When young people from non-Christian background embrace the Gospel, they find it extremely difficult to find suitable believing partners. Casteism is prevalent even among Christians in India. Christian leaders and pastors must voluntarily take sincere efforts to settle marriages for the non-Christian converts. Believing young people from Christian families should come forward to marry non-Christian converts. Why not? Sometimes the families of these converts may throw them out of their community. The Church should support such with all sensitivity.

July 08 2014 • 3 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Oluniyi Fagbenro Supporter Christian husband father

2Cor 6:14
When a person is converted and receives salvation. They are often cut off from certain lifestyles and friends because there is no more common ground for the lifestyle or the relationship.

Now, being unequally yoked with unbelievers is equated to living a life with a company of those that work opposite the new life you have received. If you continue these relationships, it will slow you down in your growth process in this new life and eventually lead you back to where you were saved from by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

July 26 2014 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

James Kraft Supporter 74 year old retired pipeline worker

Even Christians can be unequally yoked together. If one comes from a very wealthy family, and the other comes from a poor family, it can cause problems. Not always, but their is potential for it. And then both should also have some of the same desires for their life together.

But if both are Christians, not just in name only, but true believers, then Love is the most important ingredient. Because if you do not love that person with all your heart, no matter what else, it will not last.

I can tell you that when my wife and I started out we were not living for the Lord at all. We were both believers though. But as we grew together we began to grow in grace and learned that our so called friends were on a downward path into trouble.

I will say that after 57 years of marriage that neither one of us has been unfaithful to each other, and because the love we had when we started out grew in to what it is today. We can hardly stand to be apart.

Sometimes people get married thinking the other person is a believer, and then find out it was in name only. That they had never really trusted Jesus as their savior, but just acted like a Christian. There are lots of those.

They go to church, read their bible, pray and do good works, but have never trusted Jesus to save them. They will always be finding fault with what ever the spouse does because they are not living up to their false pride and self righteousness. 

So marriage should be a life long partnership, and even if you find you are married to an unbeliever, you should stay married and only divorce as a last resort. God has called us to peace. But their are cases where divorce is the lessor of two evils. Pray for an answer.

May 13 2017 • 2 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Joshua Eicher Supporter

Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Also, how can two walk together unless they be agreed? 

This is all very true. In fact, is it so true, it can be scary. Who's to say that this reality is limited to marriage? What about all the other areas of life that we are bound with unbelievers? 

We have put our daily lives and entire well being in the control of the companies we work for, the public school system, the healthcare system, the tax system, and the financial system, that all defiantly disobeys God. We comply and agree to their terms and conditions with our signatures. When the Bible, God's Holy Word, tells us not to be bound with unbelievers, it is not limited to marriage. 

The very first step we need to take, is to realize and admit the bondage we are in. The second step is to diligently seek the Lord for answers to freeing ourselves from this bondage.

February 16 2018 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report