why should your gf/bf husband/wife be christian too?
Posted : 7 Aug, 2012 01:30 PM
Im assuming your friend is a Christian. If he/she had a bf/gf/spouse who wasnt a Christian, it would lead to strife. Imagine that they are married to someone of another religion or, worse yet, an athiest. God tells us to live the life He had chosen for us. How can we do this if we are unequally yoke to someone of another faith or no faith at all. God tells us to raise children in His light. How can we do this if our spouse does not believe the same as us (Buddhist, Taoist, Hindu, etc) or is telling the children that there is no God. A house divided can not stand and we must be on a solid foundation with God.
why should your gf/bf husband/wife be christian too?
Posted : 15 Aug, 2012 06:43 AM
Cowgirl,
Have your friend read the following,
It explains well, that without the presence of Christ within someone, there is nothing to be attracted to in them, nor is there anything within them capable of loving you back, since without Christ, even the most attractive man or woman is actually dead, and void of true life.
Our Views of Men, Women and Pornography,
�Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your �inner self�, the �unfading beauty� of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God�s sight (I Peter 3:3-4).
What a beautiful thing it would be to spiritually love our wives! To understand our wives in light of their spiritual reality! What significance might our wives� bodies have spiritually? How can we come to see our wives in this way? How can we come to love our wives in Spirit and in Truth? The way they deserve to be seen, loved and appreciated as bearers of the image of God.
Anyone is able to love someone in the physical, focusing only on the physical reality of the person they are with; completely unaware that the person they�re focusing on may be in a state of spiritual death and decay.
In John 6:63, Jesus says that it is the Spirit of God that gives life and that the flesh counts for nothing. In light of this, when Jesus calls us to love one another, is He calling us to do so merely in our flesh? Is He calling us to love and focus upon the flesh of others? To focus upon that which �profits nothing�?
Husbands,
When you come together with your wives, are you to be focused on and enjoying that in your wives which counts for nothing? That which will not last, but will eventually perish (the flesh)? It is appropriate to enjoy the physical aspects of our wives, but the emphasis needs to be placed on Christ within them. HE needs to be the focus of our affections, otherwise we set ourselves up to be able to enjoy the physical aspects of anyone and anything whether Christ is a part of those things or not. We set our wives up as well to respond favorably to these types of affection - which can come from anyone.
How many mothers focus only on the physical aspects of their children in the name of love and do exceptional jobs of raising seemingly healthy children who are spiritually starving and in a state of spiritual decay? How many husbands focus only on the physical aspects of their wives in the name of love and do exceptional jobs of leading seemingly healthy women who are spiritually starving and in a state of spiritual decay?
When most mothers raise their children they are focused only on the physical aspects of their children instead of their children�s spiritual reality. When most couples engage in physical intimacy they are focused only on the physical aspects of their intimacy (themselves) instead of each others spiritual reality (Christ within each of them). When people view pornography, they too are focused on the physical and not on Christ in themselves or in the people or persons they are viewing � and yes, this would include �mental images� one may think of while fantasizing (mental pornography is what it is). And whenever anyone focuses only on the physical, they are able to enjoy the person they are focusing on regardless of that person�s spiritual condition (reality). They are able to �in the name of love� show no concern whatsoever (true love) for the starving spiritual state / condition of the person they are essentially using. We do not mean to do this to ourselves or to others. Adam and Eve did not mean to do this to each other either. Nonetheless, in both cases it is what it is. Somehow we are disconnected from the truth (reality) of what we are to be focused on.
Are we attracted to physically dead, decaying people? Not at all. Have you ever seen a coke commercial use a rotting corpse? Probably not. How can we become reconnected to the �meaning� that is truly around us, someone or something�s spiritual reality, remembering that the flesh counts for nothing?
It was Jehovah God who the Israelites were to enjoy in the richness of the Promised Land (the spiritual). Not merely the Promised Land itself (the physical). But, because the Israelites failed to see this, they failed completely.
If attraction, arousal and intimacy were seen for what they are, for what they must be, for someone�s spiritual condition, and we weren�t so focused on what counts for nothing (the flesh), then it would not be so easy to be tempted by things such as pornography. Adultery would be seen for what it is. Countless television shows would lose their appeal and be canceled, and on and on�
We are viewing each other with eyes that will one day rot and decay. We are not viewing the reality of what is around us, which can only be seen with our minds while illuminated by the Holy Spirit. And because of this, we are being deceived. Appearance seldom equals reality; just because someone is nice or physically appealing does not mean they are good.
Why would someone want to have children with a dead person? Why would someone want a dead person to kiss them, be intimate with them, raise and teach their children? Are people who are spiritually dead able to draw near to God? Are they able to please God and make Him feel good? Should that which is spiritually dead be able to draw near to us? Should that which is spiritually dead be able to please us and make us feel good - in movies, music, as friends and even family? Who were Christ's mothers, brothers and sisters? Which reality was HE focused on? Remember, that it is HIS image we bear.
All of the above has everything to do with the "soil" of untruth that enables lust, adultery, pornography and pornographic thoughts to take root and grow.
There are basic untruths needed in order for these types of sinful thoughts, images and ideas to be enticing to anyone. As we come to know the �truth� of our own sexuality and of God's original blueprints for intimacy, these forms of sexual immorality (major untruths) will automatically begin to lose their grip in a person's life as they are renewed with the mind of Christ.
As we come to know God's truth (Light), the untruth within us (darkness) is automatically driven back, and we begin to be set free.
God bless,
(The person who wrote this is still working on the following notes. They are not completely finished yet, but I've included them anyways.)
Notes N1,
I Samuel 13:14 says, Samuel says to Saul, �But now your kingdom shall not endure. The Lord has sought out for Himself a man after His own heart [in reference to David], and the Lord has appointed him as ruler over His people.�
Notice the emphasis here is placed upon David�s heart � his inward spiritual condition. In contrast, Saul�s heart is never mentioned a single time from the beginning of his story till its end. Sadly, all that is mentioned of Saul is his outward appearance, quickly followed by his failures and eventual rejection by God. Sadder yet, is the fact that Saul�s true spiritual reality was never seen by the people who could and should have reached him�people like Samuel. That�s right. Samuel.
Listen to God�s correction of Samuel before sending him to anoint David as king. I Samuel 16:1, "Now the Lord said to Samuel, �How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel?�
Because of Samuel�s focus on the physical (outward appearance), his heart is unable to align itself with God�s desires and will.
And finally,
I Samuel 16:6-7, "When they entered, [Samuel] looked at Eliab and thought, �Surely the Lord�s anointed is before Him.�
Notice Samuel�s focus on the outward appearance of man. Notice also that because of this, Samuel�s focus continues to be �out of alignment� with God�s Focus and God�s Will.
"But the Lord said to Samuel, �Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart�
God has not called us to shepherd the appearance of our friends, families, congregations and marriages. Instead, He has called us all to be shepherds of men's hearts, beginning with our own.
Missing God�s will and blessings because of our focus on the physical is one of the main themes of scripture.
�Are people who are spiritually dead able to draw near to God? Are they able to please God and make Him feel good?�
Hebrews 11:6 says �And without faith it is impossible to please God.�
1 Corinthians 13:6 says, �[love] does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth.�
***It should be pointed out that whatever the focus of our affections is in ourselves or loved ones, we will automatically encourage and reinforce. If our focus is our flesh or the flesh of someone else, we�ll encourage more flesh. If our focus is Christ within ourselves and our loved ones we�ll encourage more of the Spirit. Notice�in this way our flesh gives birth to more flesh in ourselves and in others, and Christ gives birth to the growth of the Spirit of God within us and in those around us.
This message and its notes were written by another member of CDFF, and used here with his permission.
