Bible Verses

With the legalization of same-sex marriage by the Supreme Court in June 2015, quite the battle has been ignited between those seeking religious freedom and the freedoms of same-sex couples. Many religious people feel same-sex marriage interferes with their religion. While there are some verses in the Bible that seem to oppose same-sex relationships, there are also a whole lot of other marriage related things forbidden in the Bible that are pretty normal in today’s day and age. Does this mean the Bible is outdated? Does it mean we need to start paying closer attention to how we are living? Only you can be the judge of what this means, but here is a closer look at some of the things the Bible forbids that take place rather commonly in today’s day and age.

Old Law Versus New Law

Before getting into the forbidden things of the Bible, it’s important to understand the difference between Old Law and New Law. For Christians, the Old Testament is considered to be Old Law. They believe when Jesus came down from heaven (in the New Testament) he gave permission to do many of the things which weren’t previously allowed in that day’s culture. This includes things such as:

• Eating pork and other unclean meats
• Having tattoos on your body
• Coming into contact with the carcass of unclean dead animals

While this was considered to be against the Old Law, the New Law says these things are acceptable. So, you won’t find many Christians who don’t eat pork. However, Jewish people do not believe the Messiah has come yet. Therefore, they only believe what is written in the Old Testament. This is why most Jewish people do not eat what they consider to be unclean meats, and they also do things a little differently, such as celebrating the Sabbath from sundown Friday night to sundown Saturday night. Recognizing this can help you understand why some things which were forbidden in the Old Testament are acceptable today for most Christians. For that reason, we will only draw on references from the New Testament.

Getting Divorced

According to the Bible, God sees marriage as a lifetime commitment. After all, during a wedding, a couple pledges to stay together in sickness and in health, and until death. However, about half of marriages end in divorce. This is a far cry from what we have seen in generations past. Our grandparents typically stayed together no matter what happened. That’s how the Bible would have it, too, providing there isn’t any sexual immorality. The Bible says unless the husband or wife has committed adultery (which means having an affair with another person), then the couple is to remain married until death. Obviously, there are many people who do not listen to this, both Christian and non-Christian alike.

Getting Married to a Non-Believer

The Bible also speaks against getting married to someone who does not have the same beliefs as you. God feels this is only a cause for strife in a marriage and can make things unequal. If someone gets saved during the marriage and the person who does not want to be saved files for divorce, then the couple may get divorced.

Getting Remarried After Divorce

Another thing the Bible says to avoid is getting remarried after getting divorced. In fact, the Bible says that anyone who marries a divorced man or woman is committing adultery. There are plenty of people who are in their second or even third marriage. Yet, they don’t typically face the challenges same-sex couples are facing today.

If you are a Christian, then you believe the Bible speaks of forgiveness and also says to avoid being judgmental. If someone lives in a way you disagree with, hopefully you can choose to pray for them while still loving them.