Page 55 The only boundary the Lord gives us in relation to marriage has to do with the spiritual state of the potential spouse. Paul says that widows in the church are ,at liberty to be married to whom they will, but only in the Lord. Notice the first part of that sentence: ,She is at liberty to be married to whom she will. That’s the parking space. But ,only in the Lord. That’s the parking lot. A Christian is free to marry anyone as long as that person is a Christian of the opposite sex. (The Scriptures condemn homosexuality–1 Cor. 6:9.) Paul put it another way in 2 Corinthians 6:14ff. He exhorted the Corinthian Christians not to be ,unequally yoked together with unbelievers. Marriage is the heaviest yoke of all. Consequently, when it comes to marriage, the choices of whether or not to marry, when to marry, and who to marry are all parking spaces within God’s moral will. The boundaries of the parking lot are simply that it is God’s will that a believer marry a fellow believer of the opposite sex. What, then, is the criteria for deciding on which parking space is the best choice? The Importance of Wisdom I’m going to write this with red fire in the sky. In making non- moral (but important) decisions, the Lord has given us a criteria by
A day will come when [your children] will see the wisdom of all your training. But in the meantime if you say a thing is right, it must be enough for them – they must believe you, and be content… Use every means to train them to have a habit of faith.
J.C. Ryle