The Bible commands us: "Do not be unequally yoked up with unbelievers - do not make mismatched alliances with them" (2 Cor. 6:14).

The yoke is a very clear symbol of marriage. The picture is of two oxen pulling a plough together - symbolizing a husband and a wife united and working together for the Lord. In the Old Testament, God's people were forbidden to plough with an ox and an ass together (Deut. 22:10), because these two animals had different natures. The believer too has a different nature from the unbeliever. Hence the Bible also says, "How can light and darkness share life together? How can there be harmony between Christ and the Devil? What can a believer have in common with an unbeliever?" (2 Cor. 6:14,15 - JBP).

It is obvious that if you as a child of God marry an unbeliever (who is a child of the Devil-John 8:44; 1 John 3:10), your father-in-law will be the Devil himself! With such a father-in-law, you can be sure of endless trouble for the rest of your life.

Some believers may contend that if one marries an unbeliever, he can thereby save a soul from Hell. But if that argument were a valid one, surely an All-wise God would have urged all believers to marry unbelievers! Why hasn't He done so in His Word? Surely because He never intended marriage to be a method of saving souls. And so, no-one can expect the Lord to back him if he adopts such an un-Scriptural soul-winning scheme! If your partner is not converted prior to marriage, it is unlikely that she/he will be thereafter.

In any case, a believer who marries an unbeliever, does so in clear violation of the command of Scripture and in outright disobedience to his Lord. It would therefore be presumptuous on his part to ask God to bless his wedding.

The Lord can never, under any circumstances, sanction the marriage of a child of His with an unbeliever. (And let me repeat here, lest it be forgotten, that a nominal Christian is as much an unbeliever as a non-Christian or an atheist.) It is pointless quoting the example of some believer whose unconverted partner was converted after marriage, for you are to be governed by the Word of God and not by the example of others. Those who desire God's best should determine that they would rather remain single than be married to an unbeliever.