When you have an open Bible study with a family, and they come to the knowledge of the truth, and you find out that a previous marriage has taken place earlier in years, and show them the truth of marriage, divorce, and remarriage, and they feel like they are in a scriptural marriage, but you have some doubt or concern pertaining to the fornication, but they insist and believe they are correct after studying Scripture, how much should we find out before they are baptized? I know this sounds confusing, but should we ever refuse someone being baptized to get into Christ for the remission of their sins once we have shown them the truth? Just how far should we “dig” into the details of a past marriage?<\/p>\n\t
If a person is blatantly in sin and refuses to leave his sin, then I would tell him that baptism isn’t going to him any good because the Scriptures requires repentance (Acts 2:38). But in this case, you taught this couple the truth, you thought there might be a problem in one area, so you made sure they understood what the Scriptures state. They told you that this doesn’t apply to their situation. Now either they lied to you or they told you the truth to the best of their knowledge. I don’t recall that God told us to be His gatekeeper. Unlike the Baptists, we don’t judge whether a person is worthy to become a member of the church. All of this is in God’s hands. Accept their word. If facts come up later that indicate a problem, address them with the couple at that time. But if such a problem does arise, and proves to be true, then it indicates there is more than just a problem regarding their marital status. There would also be a problem with truthfulness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: When you have an open Bible study with a family, and they come to the knowledge of the truth, and you find out that a previous marriage has taken place earlier in years, and show them the truth of marriage, divorce, and remarriage, and they feel like they are in a scriptural marriage, but…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[52],"class_list":["post-14597","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-baptism"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":20143,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-we-refuse-to-study-with-someone-who-is-in-an-adulterous-marriage\/","url_meta":{"origin":14597,"position":0},"title":"Should we refuse to study with someone who is in an adulterous marriage?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 12, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: My question is this: When studying with someone who is not in the Lord and they have remarried and their first marriage was ended and not for fornication or death; is it right to refuse that person study unless they leave their present husband since their first marriage wasn't\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":51228,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-i-marry-someone-who-has-not-repented-of-the-sins-we-committed\/","url_meta":{"origin":14597,"position":1},"title":"Should I marry someone who has not repented of the sins we committed?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 30, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Is it okay to marry someone who has not fully given in to salvation and has not repented for the fornication we've done in the past? I have been with him for over ten years. We've had several breakups but we still made up. I decided to give my\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2268,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-does-a-wife-do-when-she-finds-out-her-husband-lied-about-committing-adultery-against-his-former-wife\/","url_meta":{"origin":14597,"position":2},"title":"What does a wife do when she finds out her husband lied about committing adultery against his former wife?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 12, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: This question is in reference to a friend. She grew up in the church, and she was baptized. She entered into a marriage with someone, but her spouse committed adultery against her. My friend remarried sometime later and was under the assumption that she was entering into a scriptural\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":33669,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/will-god-bless-the-marriage-of-someone-who-used-to-be-a-fornicator\/","url_meta":{"origin":14597,"position":3},"title":"Will God bless the marriage of someone who used to be a fornicator?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 7, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I have a question for a very long time and haven't been able to find the answer. This has brought much turmoil and discouragement to my soul. Now, I have heard that if a person commits fornication he or she will not have a blessed marriage. How true\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":35331,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-deal-with-a-member-who-is-in-an-adulterous-marriage\/","url_meta":{"origin":14597,"position":4},"title":"How do I deal with a member who is in an adulterous marriage?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 23, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a question that requires me to go outside of the current congregation where I am a member. If there is a member who is in an unscriptural marriage, which I do have personal knowledge of, and who is being allowed to preach and teach in worship service,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":41423,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-think-my-parents-are-in-an-unscriptural-marriage-how-do-i-handle-this\/","url_meta":{"origin":14597,"position":5},"title":"I think my parents are in an unscriptural marriage. How do I handle this?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 31, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I've been in the Lord's church for 11 years now. My stepfather and mother were baptized a few years after I was. This is my mom's first marriage (I was born out of wedlock) and my stepfather's fourth. 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