TEXT: "You shall not commit adultery" (Exodus 20:24)

IDEA: When Christians marry, they are in a covenant relationship with one another.

PURPOSE: To help listeners understand why Christian marriage is significantly different from marriage of non-Christians.

I. Let me describe two situations I faced when I was a pastor in Oregon. What would you have done if you were in my place?

A young woman from a strong family and a leader in my youth group wanted to marry a moral young man from a good family. He wasn’t a Christian, but they loved each other. Should I have performed the ceremony?

Two non-Christian young people asked me to marry them because they “wanted to be married in a church.”

Should I have married them?

Should the wedding I performed have differed much from a wedding for two Christians? If so, how?

II. Are the marriages of Christians and non-Christians essentially or incidentally different from each other?

There are hard questions that thoughtful Christians need to consider about marriage.

Are non-Christians really married in the eyes of God?

Can two non-Christians be happy with each other even though they have left God out of the arrangement?

Are two non-Christians more liable to commit adultery than two Christians?