20 Consequences of Marrying an Unbeliever

Being a believer isn’t a religion; it isn’t a tradition or just a faith either. Being a believer is life! And maybe that is why this question usually erupts, “What are the consequences of marrying an unbeliever as written in the Bible?” As children of the heavenly father, we don’t want to do anything that disappoints Him or be in the company of someone who doesn’t understand what it means to be in spiritual presence. I mean, what kind of a lifestyle would that be is a question believers keep asking themselves. Here are 20 consequences of marrying an unbeliever as written in the Bible.

It’s not like non-Christians are bad people. A true believer will not even need an explanation as to why lifetime associations with unbelievers could take them far from their path. Although, different kinds of relationships exist in today’s world. But believers prioritize nothing over the word of God, which we only find in our holy scriptures. So let’s understand the consequences of marrying an unbeliever.

30 Heavenly Bible Verses about Marriage

Consequences of Marrying an Unbeliever

It isn’t in God’s will for believers to marry outside their faith, and that’s why the Bible talks about the consequences of marrying an unbeliever. Let’s take a look at 20 such Bible verses that talk about being in love with a non-believer. Some might come across as too direct or scary, but in the end, haven’t we learned to keep God above and beyond everyone? So, let’s understand these with an open mind, heart, and soul.

1. 1 Corinthians 7:15-16 “But if the unbeliever leaves, let it be so. The brother or the sister is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace. How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or, how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?”

This Bible verse about the consequences of marrying an unbeliever clearly indicates that one needn’t be with someone only because they think they can save their partner. Everyone has their own battle to fight on this planet, and one should put their faith in the Lord at the topmost place. There is no guarantee that either partner can save the other.

2. Proverbs 27:17 “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”

And how can you sharpen someone who isn’t one of you? If one of the partners is not on the same page as the other, how will it lead to a happy ending?

3. 2 Corinthians 6:17 “Therefore, ‘Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”

When the Bible says the word “unclean,” it doesn’t mean to demean non-Christians as dirty people. No, that’s not what it is. Believers are purified in their souls in the name of Christ. The Bible suggests disassociating with such people for a lifetime so that we make way for the blessing in our lives. And one of the consequences of marrying an unbeliever remains that we might be blocking the same.

4. 1 Corinthians 5:9-12 “I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people. What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?”

Nothing could be clearer about, “What does the Bible say about marrying a non-believer” than this verse.

5. Hebrews 10:24-25 “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

Yet again, it is very difficult to strike a balance of opinion with someone who only claims to be a believer but isn’t one by their actions. What then would be the consequences of marrying an unbeliever? Probably, the level of encouragement or stirring up one another towards one common goal. You might say, not all unbelievers are like that; the next verse is for you.

6. Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

Walking on the path that our Lord thinks is the best is advisable. Leaning on our understanding of thinking that an unbeliever is also someone with whom we can find our goals would not be the straight path in the longer run, becoming one of the consequences of marrying an unbeliever.

7. Romans 12:1-2 “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

Romans 12:1-2 is one of the best verses that subtly talks about the consequences of marrying an unbeliever. Let’s not live like the world, and give God the beautiful chance of transforming us into a new person and change how we think. An unbeliever could be a distraction.

8. 1 Kings 11:4-6 “As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites. So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord; he did not follow the Lord completely, as David his father had done.”

Not just is the verse in 1 Kings 11:4-6 one of the consequences of marrying an unbeliever, but also the consequence of disobeying God’s word. If only Solomon were more like his father, David, would he also be uplifted in the eyes of the Lord. We don’t one to disobey our heavenly father, do we?

9. 2 Corinthians 6:14-16 “Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever? And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said: “I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

It’s as simple as that. God will be yours and you Gods if you walk and live with believers. Not that all others are wicked, but they’re surely not how God created humans to become. And thus, disobeying this verse could lead to some consequences of marrying an unbeliever.

10. 1 Corinthians 15:33 “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.”

Here’s another one of the consequences of marrying an unbeliever- you may end up defying the good manners owing to worldly communications.

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11. Colossians 3:17 “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

An unbeliever might bow his head before idols and other energies, one that doesn’t go down rightly with believers. A believer will continue giving thanks to God our Father, while a nonbeliever might not. Thus, not being in the company of another believer may not allow one to glorify God, which is one of the most disheartening consequences of marrying an unbeliever.

12. Ephesians 5:22-28 “Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord.

For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.

Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. 

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up

for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,

and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.

In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.”

Will a non-Christian abide by these laws? It isn’t hard to imagine the consequences of marrying an unbeliever anymore.

13. Proverbs 12:15 “Fools think their own way is right, but the wise listen to others.”

Proverbs 12:15 is yet another of those Bible verses that talks about putting our faith in His Word, and not listening to others outside this lifestyle, leading to worldly consequences of marrying an unbeliever.

14. Proverbs 19:20 “Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise.”

This verse and the one after this emphasize following what’s written in the scriptures, so we never have to worry about the consequences of marrying an unbeliever.

15. Proverbs 8:33 “Listen to my instruction and be wise; do not disregard it.”

16. Matthew 26:41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Temptations are part of the world outside, but not the believers. Staying in the company of someone who doesn’t trust in the powers of our heavenly father could lead us to weaknesses and temptations, becoming one of the most detrimental consequences of marrying an unbeliever.

17. Deuteronomy 7:1-4 “When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you and when the Lord your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy. Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, for they will turn your children away from following me to serve other gods, and the Lord’s anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you.”

The words, “Do not intermarry with them” clearly state how we would be going against the Lord’s word about the consequences of marrying an unbeliever.

18. 2 Timothy 4:3-4 “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”

Myths are many, but we should only rely on the truth. And the truth is nowhere else but in the scriptures.

19. Matthew 16:24 “Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

If you want the Lord to bless you, deny what you hear in the world, and follow his life of sacrifices. Taking up his cross means living a life of sacrifice and following the word of God.

20. James 4:17 “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.”

Last but not least of the consequences of marrying an unbeliever includes this verse, which talks about doing something that we already know is a sin.

 

The consequences of marrying an unbeliever are many, but what we can do to fix it is limited- Follow the scriptures and have trust in the Lord to find you someone who loves God as much as you do. Life isn’t as simple as black and white; there are other fifty shades of grey in between, and we’ve to accommodate all those aspects when living a married life. At such times, being with someone who doesn’t understand what it is like to live a faithful life could only be more burdening.

We hope and pray you find a believer to not just live, but also thrive in your life! Here’s wishing you a holy marriage.

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