Relationships

The views and convictions that a Christian need to have when living in the modern world. Other denominations have different opinions from those presented here, thus it’s wise to find out what your church thinks about these matters.

Marriage

Getting married is a lifelong commitment. Rituals and symbols used in marriage serve to illustrate the essence and purpose of the marriage. Commitment is the primary importance of the marriage ceremony. Marriage should be between 2 people who have the same faith (Christianity).

Ephesians 5:25: “Husbands, love your wives.”
Titus 2:4: “Teach the young women … to love their husbands.”
Genesis 2:24: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”

Considering marriage

Hebrews 13:4. ⁴Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.
Matthew 19:4-6. ⁴“Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ ⁵and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh^]? ⁶So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
1 Corinthians 7:1-11. 1 Now for the matters you wrote about: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” ²But since sexual immorality is occurring, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband. ³The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. ⁴The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife. ⁵Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. ⁶I say this as a concession, not as a command. ⁷I wish that all of you were as I am. But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.⁸Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do. ⁹But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.¹⁰To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. ¹¹But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.

Adultery

Is a married person choosing to have sex with someone they are not married to. Adultery is forbidden because sexual interactions are seen to be sacred and special. Adultery breaks the declared marital vows. Adultery can lead to family dissolution and may be harmful to all members of the family, including children.

Exodus 20:14. 14 “You shall not commit adultery.
Matthew 5:27-28. 27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’[a] 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Cohabitation

Living together, abstaining from sex, because sexual interactions are seen to be sacred and special. Cohabitation in committed partnerships is accepted by some Anglicans; Baptist churches can refuse cohabiting couples from getting married.

1 Corinthians 6:18. 18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.
Hebrews 13:4. ⁴Marriage should be honoured by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.

Commitment

Promises and wedding vows.

Genesis 2:24. a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, becoming one flesh,
Ephesians 5:25. husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.
Colossians 3:14. above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
1 Corinthians 13:7. love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Sexual relationships

Various perspectives on contraception within the same religion might be interpreted differently based on religious teachings, tradition, and readings of the Bible. This may also apply to relationships between people of the same sex. Sex should only take place between a couple in a committed relationship, like marriage. It is believed that casual sex devalues individuals. Many Christians believe that contraception is appropriate, but the couple must agree.

Sex outside of a relationship

Hebrews 13:4. “Let marriage be held in honour among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.”
1 Corinthians 7:9. “It is better to marry than to burn with passion”.
1 Corinthians 7:36–38. “The strong desire for sexual intimacy should only be fulfilled within the bonds of marriage between a man and woman”.
Deuteronomy 22:13–21. Sex before marriage is considered the same as prostitution.

Same-sex relationships

Based on scripture, many Christians are against same-sex partnerships and marriage. While certain denominations and faiths will allow same-sex weddings, while some other denominations others will not.

Leviticus 20:13. 13 “‘If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.
1 Timothy 1:8-10. 8 We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. 9 We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, 10 for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine.

Divorce

Marriage is a lifelong commitment, but sometimes a couple reaches a point where divorcing is the only choice. If it’s safe and feasible, think about separating before proceeding on. Although it is not preferred, divorce is a recognised legal way to dissolve a marriage.

Mark 10:9. 9 “Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
Matthew 5:31-32. ³¹“It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ ³²But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Mark 10:1-12. 1 Jesus then left that place and went into the region of Judea and across the Jordan. Again crowds of people came to him, and as was his custom, he taught them.²Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” ³“What did Moses command you?” he replied. ⁴They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.”⁵“It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied. ⁶“But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ ⁷‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, ⁸and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. ⁹Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” ¹⁰When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this. ¹¹He answered, “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. ¹²And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.”

1 Corinthians 13:1-13. 1 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ²If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.⁴Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.⁸Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. ¹¹When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. ¹²For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.¹³And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Remarriage

It is up to the ministers, priests, pastors, and vicars to decide whether to remarry. In Matthew 19:9 Jesus teaches about remarrying. ⁹I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”