[Renee]

WE ARE NOT YOKED TOGETHER

Matthew 19:3 The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?

Mathew 19:4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,

Matthew 19:5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?

Mathew 19:6Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

Mark 10:7 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife;

Mark 10:8 And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh.

Genesis 2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

Ephesians 5:31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.

I find it very enlightening that when the Bible speaks of yoking two things together it is to work or a burden I am not yoked to George, and he is not yoked to me. We have been joined by God and we are one flesh.

Perhaps one of the many reasons many marriages don’t work is because they are yoked! When you are yoked and do not agree it is impossible to walk together. When you are yoked it is easy to unyoke, you just take off the harness. When you are one, you are only half of a person and think of the other person as the one who makes you whole. I have said to George, “you complete me”. We are not a team, When God looks upon us He sees George as my head. George will be responsible and answer to God for anything he may have made me do wrong, (remember Abraham and Sarah?). And I will be responsible for all the times I have not been submissive to him. I am his help meet, not just a helpmate, I try to meet his every need, for that is the purpose that God has made me for.

Genesis 2:18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

We are one flesh in many ways. We have been married now for 48 years, and The Lord has truly blessed us. We are not only one flesh, but one heart and one mind. One cannot truly understand one flesh until they have lived many years with a person. It takes a lot of work and a lot prayer and a lot of faith in God and His Word, and His written word.

I am trying to figure out what race I belong to, or for that matter what race does George belong to? I have 3 different bloods running in my veins, and he has 7, that gives our children 10. What part of their body is Chinese, Spanish, Filipino, Swedish, Indian, French Canadian, Scottish, and what have you. I can’t even count the different types of blood our Grandchildren have. Ham, Shem, Japheth, we have them all! What is race now days? You are either a saved soul or a lost soul, all God sees is the Blood of Christ.

I have seen many divorces between saved people, and don’t tell me it takes two to tango. It takes two to make a marriage work, but only one to destroy it.

I’ve seen a marriage where the guy was saved and married an unsaved idol worshiper steeped in Catholicism and they are still married today after many, many years. God sanctified their marriage and their Children. The wife was saved a few years into their marriage and all seven children made professions of faith, granted the way of the world has claimed some of them for a season. Where is the condemnation? 8 souls were saved through that joining.

Mark 10:4 and they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away.

Mark 10:5And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.

Like the divorce issue; because of the hardness of our heart, God provided a way of not condemning interfaith marriages. It is not His will or His way, but His permissive will. He knows the deceitful heart of men and made a way by which the unsaved is sanctified. The saved cannot become unclean so God sanctifies the unsaved because they are one.

There are marriages that we would not condone today that in the beginning were allowed. The only wife for Seth was his sister, a big no no today.

In the Love of Chrirst,
Renee

[greenbear]

Renee:

Like the divorce issue; because of the hardness of our heart, God provided a way of not condemning interfaith marriages. It is not His will or His way, but His permissive will. He knows the deceitful heart of men and made a way by which the unsaved is sanctified. The saved cannot become unclean so God sanctifies the unsaved because they are one.

Now that is the answer I've been looking for! Thank you, Renee.
Romans 11:33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!

Grace and peace,

Jennifer

[Jassy]

I've been reading the exchanges here and I have learned much.

Originally Posted by Renee

WE ARE NOT YOKED TOGETHER

Genesis 2:18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

We are one flesh in many ways. We have been married now for 48 years, and The Lord has truly blessed us. We are not only one flesh, but one heart and one mind. One cannot truly understand one flesh until they have lived many years with a person. It takes a lot of work and a lot prayer and a lot of faith in God and His Word, and His written word.

What a lovely example for all of us here.

Originally Posted by Renee

I am trying to figure out what race I belong to, or for that matter what race does George belong to? I have 3 different bloods running in my veins, and he has 7, that gives our children 10. What part of their body is Chinese, Spanish, Filipino, Swedish, Indian, French Canadian, Scottish, and what have you. I can’t even count the different types of blood our Grandchildren have. Ham, Shem, Japheth, we have them all! What is race now days? You are either a saved soul or a lost soul, all God sees is the Blood of Christ.

I can understand that - what difference does it make? We are all ONE MIND in Christ... if we are in the Body of Christ. I personally love:

1 Corinthians 1:10 - "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment."

Originally Posted by Renee

I have seen many divorces between saved people, and don’t tell me it takes two to tango. It takes two to make a marriage work, but only one to destroy it.

Yes, I've also seen this. I know of a Christian friend whose brother was married to a woman that left him and their children, to run into the arms of a MINISTER that she had met at a Christian conference out of state!! The husband was devastated. And their children were very confused and I'm sure that the result of it is yet to come - as the children are growing up and they're angry with things.

I loved your true story about the saved man and his unsaved wife, who was later saved and all 7 of their children made a profession of faith! What a LOVELY and encouraging example of what faith can accomplish! Indeed, where is the condemnation? Thank you for your post.

Jassy

[Brother Tim]

I must interject a comment here:

Anecdotal illustrations are always dangerous to establish facts. There are likely as many and possibly many more stories of Christians who became mates of unsaved persons, who later greatly regretted that decision.

One of my sisters got married to an unsaved catholic who had pursued her for years. During that time, she had lost her fiance and his parents in a traffic accident while they were travelling to Florida for the wedding. After a period of time, she married the catholic. Much later (17+ years) after a rough marriage, she finally consented to a divorce. She later confided with my mother that she knew 3 weeks into the marriage that she had made a mistake.

I would tend to say that the story told above was a very minority exception to the rule.

While the "yoke" reference and argument are on target regarding marriage, the rest of the passage uses obvious disconnects as back-up evidences for the mandate: "what fellowship", "what communion", "what concord", "what part"... All of these are evidences that there will be discord in any type of relationship. There is also the admonition about walking together in agreement (Amos 3:3).

I could never counsel a believer to marry or even court a non-believer.

[custer]

Originally Posted by Brother Tim

I must interject a comment here:

Anecdotal illustrations are always dangerous to establish facts. There are likely as many and possibly many more stories of Christians who became mates of unsaved persons, who later greatly regretted that decision.

One of my sisters got married to an unsaved catholic who had pursued her for years. During that time, she had lost her fiance and his parents in a traffic accident while they were travelling to Florida for the wedding. After a period of time, she married the catholic. Much later (17+ years) after a rough marriage, she finally consented to a divorce. She later confided with my mother that she knew 3 weeks into the marriage that she had made a mistake.

I would tend to say that the story told above was a very minority exception to the rule.

While the "yoke" reference and argument are on target regarding marriage, the rest of the passage uses obvious disconnects as back-up evidences for the mandate: "what fellowship", "what communion", "what concord", "what part"... All of these are evidences that there will be discord in any type of relationship. There is also the admonition about walking together in agreement (Amos 3:3).

I could never counsel a believer to marry or even court a non-believer.

and

[Renee]

Hi Brother Tim,

I could never counsel a believer to marry or even court a non-believer

Neither would I Brother Tim. I'm only saying it is possible for that kind of marriage to work.

I would tend to say that the story told above was a very minority exception to the rule

There is hardly any difference in the divorce rate between two saved souls and two unsaved. I don't know the number of one saved soul and one lost soul so I cannot comment on that. Yes Brother Tim, our marriage may be in the minority, I know it has survived; "But by the grace of God".

There has been, like you said "many discords in this type of relationships" Our marriage has been through many of these discords and I thank God that He is able give us the grace and faith necessary to carry us through them. His Grace has been sufficient and I thank Him for it. I thank Him for Giving me a saved husband through whom I was sanctified, and the children given us that are also saved.

I do admit that it is easier in a household if it is the man that is saved, and the women is thought by example from her youth that he (the husband) is the head of the woman.

In Christian Love,
Renee

[Brother Tim]

I do admit that it is easier in a household if it is the man that is saved, and the women is thought by example from her youth that he (the husband) is the head of the woman.

Sadly, this is becoming a very rare circumstance.

[George]

Originally Posted by Brother Tim

"I must interject a comment here:

Anecdotal illustrations are always dangerous to establish facts. There are likely as many and possibly many more stories of Christians who became mates of unsaved persons, who later greatly regretted that decision.

One of my sisters got married to an unsaved catholic who had pursued her for years. During that time, she had lost her fiance and his parents in a traffic accident while they were travelling to Florida for the wedding. After a period of time, she married the catholic. Much later (17+ years) after a rough marriage, she finally consented to a divorce. She later confided with my mother that she knew 3 weeks into the marriage that she had made a mistake.

I would tend to say that the story told above was a very minority exception to the rule.

While the "yoke" reference and argument are on target regarding marriage, the rest of the passage uses obvious disconnects as back-up evidences for the mandate: "what fellowship", "what communion", "what concord", "what part"... All of these are evidences that there will be discord in any type of relationship. There is also the admonition about walking together in agreement (Amos 3:3).

I could never counsel a believer to marry or even court a non-believer ."

Aloha brother Tim,

You said: "I could never counsel a believer to marry or even court a non-believer." To which all genuine Bible believers would agree. But WHY "must" you have to "interject a comment here"? WHY would you post a Post that only encourages the naysayers and gnat strainers (see Pam's Post following yours)? WHAT "Profit" was there in your Post? Has either my wife, Renee, or myself EVER "encouraged" a saved person to marry a lost person?

By the Posts that I have made here and on the Thread "Love and Race", haven't I made it perfectly "clear" that I am in complete agreement with you when it comes to: "I could never counsel a believer to marry or even court a non-believer".? BUT what happens WHEN a believer DOES MARRY a non-believer? Hmmm? (It happens you know) Do we SHUN that believer? Do we SEPARATE ourselves from that believer? Do we treat this couple (that are "married") any DIFFERENTLY than a saved couple that are married? Hmmm?

Your Post is disconcerting because it took away from my wife's "testimony" and then ENCOURAGED Pam to throw her two cents in (once again).

Where is the "EDIFICATION"? WHERE is the "PROFIT"? WHY "must" you "interject a comment here"? NO ONE was encouraging ANYONE to marry a lost person! You took away from a "personal testimony" (that blessed some of the brethren), and substituted an "anecdotal" story that PROVED NOTHING!

If the DIVORCE RATE for "Christians" is only 5% less than the DIVORCE RATE for the lost, could we not substitute literally thousands of "anecdotal stories" of two "Christians" that got married and later on got divorced? Would that PROVE that two "Christians" SHOULDN'T MARRY? Hmmm?

I am trying to figure out WHY you just had to comment??? WHAT were you trying to accomplish? I don't pretend to know your motive, but what I do know is that you diminished my wife's "personal testimony" and "ENCOURAGED" a naysayer!

I have tried to be fair with you - when at times you have "joked" or "made light" of a serious issue that I have presented in the past, but this tops it!

The following are some of my quotes from the Thread "Love and Race":

"Let's be absolutely clear - I have never recommended (on the AV1611 Bible Forums) that a saved person marry a lost person. I do not recommend it; but IF a saved person IS MARRIED to a lost person I DO NOT CONDEMN them or their "Marriage", and neither does God - and neither should you!"

"I am going to say this for the last time: "I always recommend that a Christian marry "in the Lord". And "I DO NOT RECOMMEND marrying a lost person". Did you get that? Is that CLEAR NOW?"

Could I be more clear? Your dismissal of my wife's "personal testimony" (as just an anecdotal story) is a personal affront to her and uncalled for. You offended my wife, and personally I do not appreciate it one little bit!

[custer]

George,
Why must you be so contentious? The exchange between you and Tim is none of my business, but I AM involved because Tim brought up the Amos 3:3 thing again...

Why do you only go on ranting about supposed "naysayers" instead of discussing that (and other) clear scripture?

Tim did NOT say or imply that you actually counsel saved people to marry lost people...

Pam
www.custerfamilyfarm.com

[greenbear]

I believe that regardless of any possible wrong motives or missteps on the part of anyone involved in this thread, God has been glorified because the truth of the matter is this:

Renee

Like the divorce issue; because of the hardness of our heart, God provided a way of not condemning interfaith marriages. It is not His will or His way, but His permissive will. He knows the deceitful heart of men and made a way by which the unsaved is sanctified. The saved cannot become unclean so God sanctifies the unsaved because they are one.

Romans 11:33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!

Jennifer