MARRIAGE BELIEFS
At Redemption, we believe marriage is established by God as a covenantal union between a man and a woman that is intended to be life-long, exclusive, and reflective of Christ’s relationship to the Church.
(Genesis 1:26-28; Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:2-9; Hebrews 13:4; Ephesians 5:21-33; 1 Corinthians 7:1-40)
The following are our convictions about marrying couples within the church.
(Genesis 1:26-28; Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:2-9; Hebrews 13:4; Ephesians 5:21-33; 1 Corinthians 7:1-40)
The following are our convictions about marrying couples within the church.
Equally Yoked Marriage
Pastors of Redemption will not marry a couple if they do not share the same faith in Christ. In 2 Corinthians 6:14, God tells us not to be unequally yoked. In good conscience, we will not perform the wedding for a couple if one person is a believer in Christ and the other is not, consistent with the unequally yoked guidelines.
Sexual integrity
In preparation for a Christ-centered marriage we ask that you and your fiancé not live nor sleep together prior to your wedding, and that you agree to strive for sexual integrity (i.e. remain celibate). Ephesians 5:1-3
Divorce & Remarriage
- Divorce is something that God allows under certain conditions. Each case will be reviewed by the Redemption pastoral staff. Divorced persons may be considered for marriage by Redemption pastoral staff if they meet at least one of these biblical criteria:
- Divorce occurred prior to conversion (2 Corinthians 5:17)
- The divorce occurred because of sexual unfaithfulness by former spouse (Matt. 19-3-9)
- An unbelieving former spouse initiated the divorce (1 Corinthians 5:17)
- A believing former spouse initiated the divorce without biblical grounds and against the will and desire of the other spouse (1 Corinthians 7:12-15
- Desertion by an unbelieving former spouse (1 Corinthians 7:15)
- The former spouse is deceased (Romans 7:2, 1 Corinthians 7:39)
- The former spouse has remarried
- Remarriage to a former spouse who has not been married to another person since your divorce of that spouse (Deut. 24:1-4)
- Since divorce is such a traumatic experience, if either person seeking to be married has been divorced for less than one year, it will be important to have a conversation with one of the pastoral team members to discuss your readiness to remarry.
Redemption is committed to fostering strong Christian marriages that last. That’s why we offer pre-marriage counseling to engaged couples. We want to support you as you prepare for marriage. Please feel free to speak with any of our pastoral team to learn more.