Hello brother,<\/p>\n
I have been single for many years, and I have now found someone in the church I\u2019m wanting to marry. But in my past, I was not very faithful to God in my daily living. In my past, I slept with someone who may have been married herself. I\u2019m not totally for sure if she was or not, but either way, my actions were wrong. When I think about what I have done, I wonder if I have the right to marry since I may have committed the act of adultery. It has been many years since that event, but I\u2019m curious if it will destroy my chances of marrying this woman whom I have found. Scripturally, can I marry this girl without jeopardizing my soul and her soul?<\/p>\n
Scripture and personal advice would be helpful.<\/p>\n\t
What prevents a person from getting married is the fact that they are already in a marriage covenant with another person. Having sex does not create a marriage covenant. It requires a formal vow (Malachi 2:14).<\/p>\n
Assuming the person you had sex with was marriage, then her husband might choose to end his marriage with her and he has the option to marry someone else (Matthew 19:9). However, God would continue to hold her to her covenant because she broke it. She cannot marry another man until her first covenant comes to an end (Romans 7:2-3). If she does marry someone else, the relationship is adulterous because she is trying to live under multiple exclusive covenants. The man she marries would also be committing adultery because he is helping her live under multiple exclusive covenants.<\/p>\n
The solution to adultery is to end the sinful relationship, which you have done. Since you are not under a marriage covenant, you can marry anyone who has the right to get married.<\/p>\n
However, before you get married, you do need to talk with your intended about the fact that you are not a virgin. I strongly recommend that you do\u00a0not<\/strong> give details, such as with whom or how many times or how many people. While your intended will likely ask, the problem is that she will constantly wonder how she compares to your prior sex partners. What must be emphasized is that you realized you were in sin and stopped. You left the sin and the one with whom you sinned to lead a godly life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: Hello brother, I have been single for many years, and I have now found someone in the church I\u2019m wanting to marry. But in my past, I was not very faithful to God in my daily living. In my past, I slept with someone who may have been married herself. I\u2019m not totally for…<\/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,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[66,64],"class_list":["post-23529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-adultery","tag-marriage"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":54005,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-i-committed-adultery-in-the-past-does-that-mean-i-can-never-marry\/","url_meta":{"origin":23529,"position":0},"title":"If I committed adultery in the past, does that mean I can never marry?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 26, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello brother, After studying the Bible more, I look back on my life and feel ashamed of the sinful acts I've committed. 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Answer: I don't know what kind of things you think she is\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":67739,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-if-a-person-lied-about-his-past-marriage\/","url_meta":{"origin":23529,"position":2},"title":"What if a person lied about his past marriage?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 21, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Greetings, I have enjoyed reading your studies and answers for many years. I have two questions if you could answer them please. So far I have only been able to find an answer in necessary inference. If a Christian in good standing unknowingly marries a person who lied about\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":28224,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-a-person-who-married-a-person-who-had-no-right-to-marry-divorce-and-marry-someone-else\/","url_meta":{"origin":23529,"position":3},"title":"Can a person who married a person who had no right to marry, divorce, and marry someone else?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 28, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: If a man marries a woman who was not supposed to remarry because she and her husband had committed adultery, can the man in the second marriage divorce her because of her continued adulteries during the second marriage and be able to marry again? Answer: When a person marries\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":27237,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-i-convince-my-girlfriends-parents-that-my-past-doesnt-matter-and-that-i-can-marry-her\/","url_meta":{"origin":23529,"position":4},"title":"How can I convince my girlfriend’s parents that my past doesn’t matter and that I can marry her?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 15, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I hope I can get an answer to a question which is troubling me for many months now. I married a non-believer, but we didn't live together as such since her parents didn't approve of it. We only got married legally but not in church or received the blessing\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":51898,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-a-single-person-who-commits-adultery-prevented-from-getting-married\/","url_meta":{"origin":23529,"position":5},"title":"Is a single person who commits adultery prevented from getting married?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 12, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: There is much discussion and teaching within the church about divorce, adultery, and remarriage, but something I've never heard discussed is what about the person who commits adultery, but who wasn't married? 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