To marry or not to marry?
For it is possible
for marriages to be without Love, it is also possible to have Love without
marriages.
Leviticus 21:14 He
must not marry a widow, a divorced woman, or a woman defiled by prostitution,
but only a virgin from his own people, 15 so he will not defile his offspring
among his people. I am the LORD, who makes him holy. ' "
MT 19:8 Jesus
replied, "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts
were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. 9 I tell you that anyone
who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another
woman commits adultery."
MT 19:10 The
disciples said to him, "If this is the situation between a husband and
wife, it is better not to marry."
1CO 7:1 Now for the
matters you wrote about: It is good for a man not to marry. 2 But since there
is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her
own husband. 3 The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and
likewise the wife to her husband. 4 The wife's body does not belong to her
alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband's body does not
belong to him alone but also to his wife. 5 Do not deprive each other except by
mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer.
Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack
of self-control. 6 I say this as a concession, not as a command. 7 I wish that
all men were as I am. But each man has his own gift from God; one has this
gift, another has that.
1CO 7:8 Now to the
unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I am.
9 But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to
marry than to burn with passion.
1CO 7:10 To the
married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate
from her husband. 11 But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be
reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.
1CO 7:25 Now about
virgins: I have no command from the Lord, but I give a judgment as one who by
the Lord's mercy is trustworthy. 26 Because of the present crisis, I think that
it is good for you to remain as you are. 27 Are you married? Do not seek a
divorce. Are you unmarried? Do not look for a wife. 28 But if you do marry, you
have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who
marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this.
1CO 7:29 What I
mean, brothers, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives
should live as if they had none; 30 those who mourn, as if they did not; those
who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not
theirs to keep; 31 those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed
in them. For this world in its present form is passing away.
1CO 7:32 I would
like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the
Lord's affairs--how he can please the Lord. 33 But a married man is concerned
about the affairs of this world--how he can please his wife-- 34 and his
interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the
Lord's affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit.
But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world--how she can
please her husband. 35 I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you,
but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord.
1CO 7:36 If anyone
thinks he is acting improperly toward the virgin he is engaged to, and if she
is getting along in years and he feels he ought to marry, he should do as he
wants. He is not sinning. They should get married. 37 But the man who has
settled the matter in his own mind, who is under no compulsion but has control
over his own will, and who has made up his mind not to marry the virgin--this
man also does the right thing. 38 So then, he who marries the virgin does
right, but he who does not marry her does even better.
1CO 7:39 A woman is
bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free
to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord. 40 In my judgment,
she is happier if she stays as she is--and I think that I too have the Spirit
of God.