25.3 From the Bridegroom: Equally Yoked Between Husband & Wife

Table of Contents

The Text

The Chapter

It is lawful for all sorts of people to marry, who are able with judgment to give their consent; yet it is the duty of Christians to marry in the Lord; and therefore such as profess the true religion, should not marry with infidels, or idolaters; neither should such as are godly, be unequally yoked, by marrying with such as are wicked in their life, or maintain damnable heresy.

The Confession

Hebrews 13:4 (CSB) Marriage is to be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, because God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.

1 Timothy 4:3 (CSB) They forbid marriage and demand abstinence from foods that God created to be received with gratitude by those who believe and know the truth.

yet it is the duty of Christians to marry in the Lord

1 Corinthians 7:39 (CSB) A wife is bound as long as her husband is living. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to anyone she wants—only in the Lord.

and therefore such as profess the true religion, should not marry with infidels, or idolaters; neither should such as are godly, be unequally yoked, by marrying with such as are wicked in their life, or maintain damnable heresy

Nehemiah 13:25–27 (CSB) I rebuked them, cursed them, beat some of their men, and pulled out their hair. I forced them to take an oath before God and said, “You must not give your daughters in marriage to their sons or take their daughters as wives for your sons or yourselves! Didn’t King Solomon of Israel sin in matters like this? There was not a king like him among many nations. He was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel, yet foreign women drew him into sin. Why then should we hear about you doing all this terrible evil and acting unfaithfully against our God by marrying foreign women?”