Acts 15: 19-20 (NAS) “Therefore it is my judgment that we do not trouble those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles, but that we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols and from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood.”
Practice abstinence before marriage to help increase marriage success
Why Do I Need a To Take a Vow?
I Corinthians 6: 9-11 and 15-20 (NAS) “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.” “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take away the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? May it never be! Or do you not know that the one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her? For He says, “The two shall become one flesh.” But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him. Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.”
I Corinthians 7: 1-9 (KJV) “Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband. The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife. Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency. But I speak this by permission, and not of commandment. For I would that all men were even as I myself. But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that. I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I. But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn. ”
Revelation 2: 20-23 (KJV) “Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.”
Marriage vs Cohabiting and Fornication: Marriage has benefits
- Married couples spend less time in poverty, find jobs more quickly when the other spouse becomes unemployed and accumulate more wealth in their lifetime than singles do.
- Married couples are known to have more satisfaction with sex and report to feeling more love with their spouse than a single person does with a partner. Married couples have more sex more often (around 75 times per year) than singles. Mutually faithful couples have virtually no chance of contracting an STD.
- Cohabiting men are four times more likely and cohabiting women are eight times more likely to cheat on their partners than couples who are married.
- Married men live up to five years longer than a divorced or single man. A single woman is 50% more likely to die than a married woman of the same age. Married couples have lower rates of heart disease and cancer.
- According to the Justice Department, only 9% of the cases of intimate violence are committed by husbands.
God didn’t say to get married and not to fornicate because He doesn’t want you to have any fun. He set that advice into motion to protect you from the disaster sin will bring into your life. He created you, He knows how you should live in order to prosper and be in health. Following the owner’s manual (the Bible) is a smart way to live.
Marriage greatly effects children as well.
Here are some statistics.
Children born to married parents:
- Have higher birth weight
- Suffer less childhood diseases
- Experience less child abuse and sexual abuse
- Make better grades, are less likely to drop out of school, and more likely to go to college
- Spend less time under the poverty level if the family income drops
- Less likely to have a teen pregnancy, be arrested, use drugs or abuse alcohol
Increase Marriage Success
Here is a list of tips for increasing your success when you get married
- Marry a friend
- Share interests
- Refine communication skills
- Plan a church/ temple wedding ceremony
- Participate in marriage covenant counseling
- Attend premarital support classes
- Include family in decisions
- Don’t cohabitate
- Practice abstinence, even before you meet your spouse
- Talk and do activities with parents and family
- Stay connected at school
- Consider courtship
- Learn important personal relationship skills
- Commit to fidelity and no divorce
- Plan for on-going support, classes, and counseling to improve the marriage
- Build friendships with other couples
God wants you to succeed at being married. That is why it is important to remain abstinent, take marriage classes, and learn a few things before you get married, not after, when troubles come. And troubles will come. When you take two people and make them one, there are bound to be conflicts. If you learn how to deal with those conflicts before you get married, then you are more likely to resolve them quickly and
without the threat of divorce after you get married.
Here are some things to look out for or to avoid when choosing a mate. Remember, you will be spending the rest of your life with this person!
- Are they a Christian? The Bible says not to be unequally yoked with a non-believer
- Are they a tither? Money is one of the route causes of divorce, so if you believe in tithing, then make sure your mate does as well
- Are they a giver? You do not want to be married to a greedy person, they will be greedy and selfish where you are concerned
- Do you go to the same church? “The family that prays together, stays together.”
- Avoid getting married too soon. A charming person can hide his charm for only so long before the truth comes out. I’d
give it at least a year before committing for life. This way you’ll most likely see how they handle conflict and how they
treat you when you’ve had a fight - Take note as to how they interact with their family. This will most likely be how they will be with you and your children
Don’t Get Married If:
- You spend most of your time together disagreeing or quarreling
- One of you is constantly asking, “Do you really love me?”
- You get bored spending a day together without watching T.V.
- He or she makes promises like, “Don’t worry, when we get married I’ll stop drinking; or fooling around; or i’ll get a job.
- Your prospective mate insists that you drop all of your old friends
- Your prospective seems just like one of your parents that you don’t get along with
- You do some soul-searching and discover that you’re marrying a sex-object
- You disagree on whether or no to have children
- You are being influenced by the wealth or flattery of the in-laws
- You can’t agree on the roles a husband and wife are to play
- You are of different religions
- You don’t plan to give your marriage priority over your work, hobbies, friends, and parents
- One or both of you have massive debt problems
- One or both of you have frequent job changes
“If a man has recently married, he must not be sent to war or have any other duty laid on him. For one year he is to be free to stay at home and bring happiness to the wife he has married.”
For Every Great Battle, There is a Great Victory!!