1 Corinthian 7:12-16
12 To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any
brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing
to live with him, he must not divorce her. 13 And if a woman
has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to
live with her, she must not divorce him. 14 For the
unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife,
and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her
believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean,
but as it is, they are holy.
15 But if the unbeliever leaves, let him do so. A believing
man or woman is not bound in such circumstances; God has
called us to live in peace. 16 How do you know, wife,
whether you will save your husband? Or, how do you know,
husband, whether you will save your wife?
Analysis
In 2 Corinthians 6:14 Paul clearly states that a
believer should not marry an unbeliever. "Do not be
yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness
and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light
have with darkness?" However there are often times
when a person becomes a believer after marriage and the
spouse does not share the newfound faith. This is the
situation that Paul addresses in 1 Corinthians 7.
A believer should continue in marriage with an unbeliever
as long as the unbeliever desires to remain married. A
Christian should not initiate a divorce. Even though
there may be difficult circumstances, a Christian is still a
witness to their spouse as long as they are married.
Likewise, the children of the family are sanctified by
the believing parent. This does not mean that they are
saved because they have a parent who is a Christian.
Instead it means that they are exposed to Christianity and
have a greater chance of becoming a Christian because of the
influence of the parent.
If the unbelieving spouse wants a divorce, the Christian
should let them go. This does not mean that everything
possible shouldn't be done to first save the marriage.
The reconciliation of a husband and wife is always the first
goal.
After every resource has been used to save a marriage and
an unbelieving spouse still wants to leave, the Christian
should let them leave without the guilt of divorce upon
them. They have no control over the decision of an
unbelieving spouse. Likewise, they should not remain
in the marriage because of the chance to witness to their
spouse. While this was a viable reason when the spouse
wanted to stay, it is not a reason to maintain the marriage.
As Paul says, there is no way to know if a person will lead
their spouse to the Lord.
As to whether a believing spouse
can and should get remarried, this is a much more difficult
question that will be discussed in the article, "Should
I Get Remarried?"
