“Statistically Appalling”

Friday, October 19, 2012

I hear that 50% of pastors agree with living together before marriage; does that mean living together and being celibate?

Sincerely,
Data Digger

Dear Data Digger,

We cannot speak to what various religious leaders mean by “living together”, but we can say that it is wrong to live together before marriage… celibate or not.  The Bible’s teachings on that subject are very clear.  It is fornication to sleep with someone you aren’t married to (1 Thess 4:3).  Furthermore, it is a sin to do anything that has the appearance of evil – such as living with someone you aren’t married to (1 Thess 5:22).  On top of that, we are taught to flee from fornication; we should never put ourselves in a position that makes it easy to make the wrong choices (1 Cor 6:18).  The Biblical pattern is very clear – marriage is when a man and a woman should start their own household together (Mk 10:7).

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