Does God honor all marriages?
Question:
Good morning,
I would like to know if God honors all marriages. I was recently in a study and they brought up Hebrews 13:4. I was told this verse God applies to Christians who are in the church. God does not honor marriages outside of Christ. For example, if I am a Baptist and my spouse is also Baptist; does God honor our marriage? I do understand God does not honor same-sex marriages! But what about non-believers outside of Christ and those who worship in different denominations?
Thank you.
Answer:
Some passages discuss marriages between believers and non-believers.
"But to the rest I say, not the Lord, that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he must not divorce her. And a woman who has an unbelieving husband, and he consents to live with her, she must not send her husband away. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband; for otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are holy. Yet if the unbelieving one leaves, let him leave; the brother or the sister is not under bondage in such cases, but God has called us to peace. For 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?" (I Corinthians 7:12-16).
"In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives, as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior" (I Peter 3:1-2).
God states that mixed marriages are to remain intact. Just because one partner becomes a Christian doesn't mean the marriage must end. Therefore, we conclude that God recognizes marriages involving non-Christians. While we have numerous examples of people being converted, there is no mention of any of them having to reaffirm their marriage vows. If they were married before becoming a Christian, they remain married. (See: Does God join all marriages or only some?)
"Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge" (Hebrews 13:4).
The use of "among all" is not restricted to only Christians. God's teachings apply to everyone. If they did not, there would be no sin for non-Christians. (See: Who is Amenable to God's Laws?)
In addition, marriage is not a church ordinance. A couple does not have to be married in a church building or by church officials to have a marriage. The commands to marry are to individuals. Other than the requirement that a marriage takes place by covenant (Malachi 2:14), there are no rules regarding who is to establish the covenant or where the covenant ceremony must take place.
