Monday, September 22, 2008

Should Christian ministers officiate unbelievers' weddings?

http://www.bpnews.net/BPFirstPerson.asp?ID=28972

[Baptist Press News] 22 Sep 2008--Early in my ministry, I found myself staring at the ceiling for hours each night, night after night. I had a decision to make, and I didn't know what to do.

A couple, both of whom I cared about, asked me to officiate at their wedding. Neither of them were followers of Jesus. It was a torturous quandary because I wanted an ongoing relationship with them, as an inroad to the Gospel.

This couple wasn't in disobedience to the Word of God. This wasn't the "unequal yoking" of a believer to an unbeliever. That would have been an easy decision, since the Scripture forbids it as sin. Marriage though, unlike baptism and the Lord's table, is a creation ordinance, given to all people (Genesis 2:23-24). It is good for unbelievers to marry rather than to live in immorality. It's good for them, for their children and for society as a whole.

If I'd been in another Christian communion, I guess I could have called my bishop. I'm a Baptist, though. I was the bishop.

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