Unbeliever is Nothing..

Sometimes it not very easy for me to teach these things, it is not very easy for me to teach that God does not want us to yoke with unbelievers in marriage, folks who have no relationship with Him. Most times it sounds like we are making it up, but honestly we ain't.

God has showed us a million times all over scriptures why we should stick to our kind when making a marriage decision. Let me show you one more tonight, one powerful instance where God Himself couldn't compromise on His own word, even though in His heart He wanted to.

It's in Luke 16:19, the amazing story of our friends Lazarus and the rich man. In a second let me show you one of God's strongest standards in that story that you might not have seen before....

I will read briefly from verse 22:

“The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’

“But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us."

Who else can see this with me?

The rich man was asking permission from Abraham for Lazarus to dip his finger in water and let the drop quench his taste, but Abraham denied him. Not because he wasn't interested or willing to help his torment, he couldn't give his permission because a great wall separates their fellowship.

Abraham said "besides the fact that you didn't live a good life on earth, even if I want to help you now I can't, because it is forbidden for anyone, or ANYTHING, or any CONVENANT to cross from where we are to where you are."

The rich man didn't want Lazarus to come meet him in his place of torment with water, that would have been a big ask. All he wanted was for Lazarus to dip his hand in water right where he is and direct the drops to fall in his mouth, still Abraham said no. Meaning nothing can cross over to that side, not man, not water, not marriage, nothing.

If God feels this way about the sharing of water drops between light and darkness, imagine how He feels when we cross over with our spirit, soul and body to yoke with an unbeliever in marriage?

Don't get me wrong, God is not asking us to despise or run away from our unbelieving friends who have no relationship with Him. In fact He wants us to love and pray for them. Even more He wants us to win them over to our side by our words and actions. Abraham and Lazarus could chat with the rich man from where they are, there was no barrier in communication, they chatted like they were in the same location, but when it came to sharing a fellowship, Abraham quickly reminded them of the standard. No one can cross over to that side, he said.

I want you to think about this the next time you start finding darkness attractive. The next time you start thinking about tuning down your light to fit into the darkness of someone you are eager to marry. I want you to think about this carefully. It is not because we like to teach it, but because it is God's truth. Love everyone equally, win them over by the light of Christ shining through you, but marry your own kind, that is God's will for our marriage, that we are not nequally yoked.

God wants to you to share more than a drop of water with your spouse, He has given you the whole ocean, even more, He wants you to enjoy living water overflowing in your marriage, but fortunately, He doesn't work in darkness,

"let there be Light." He said.