Wednesday, June 28, 2006
1 Corinthians 7:12-16
To the rest I say (I, not the Lord) that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace. For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife? (ESV)
by Maryann Palmer
Today’s text speaks to believers married to unbelievers. The Lord’s command, says Paul, is for the believer to be willing to remain in the marriage for the spiritual good of the spouse and children. If the spouse is agreeable to staying together, fine; if not, also fine. Leave the decision to the unbelieving spouse. I can’t believe that spousal abuse is new to our time. We find Paul’s counsel on dealing with badly behaving people in 2 Timothy 3:1-5: Have nothing to do with them. How does this affect a believer’s marriage to an abusive spouse?
Copyright Information
Daily Bible Meditations are taken from The Helping Hand,a Sabbath School student quarterly for youth and adults. Copyright © 2008, Seventh Day Baptist Board of Christian Education, Inc.
Scripture quotations marked "ESV" are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Text provided by the Crossway Bibles Web Service .
