This is the main category of Christian couples. They went through all the religious processes. They observed every doctrine, but the Word of God was not rooted in them. This is the false assurance of salvation. Salvation does not belong to the one who goes to church every day, prays daily, participates in church groups, gives to charity, evangelizes, and so on. If you do all this while living a sinful life, then you have not understood what it means to be “born of water and the Spirit” (John 3:5). You are unrighteous. And the Bible is clear about the fate of the unrighteous:

“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor the perverse, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor the verbally abusive, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)

Every vice—yes, every vice—even an insult or gossip is an open door to hell. Perhaps you are just a disguised pagan. Are you a Christian whitewashed tomb? Know this:

“Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping God’s commandments is what matters.” (1 Corinthians 7:19)

Baptized or not, member of a church or just a believer, committed or not, salvation comes through the observance of God’s commandments. That is one of the reasons why those who start poorly fail: they think being a Christian means living a life without struggles, worries, or temptations.

And as some Jehovah’s Witnesses have preached to me, if you are a Christian living in sin, you are already “saved” through baptism. Abomination! Oh, my God! I will not debate this, for it is the Holy Spirit who convicts. But here is my advice: Flee all false doctrine! For it is easier for a pagan to convert than for a Christian nurtured on false doctrine to repent.

The Christian life is not a fantasy. Do not take the Word of God lightly. Do not marry an unbeliever. Make sure your partner is saved before saying “yes.” Otherwise, you’ll be happy to have had a “nice wedding.” You’ll say, “Oh! I’m so happy. I’m so moved. I’ve found my man. We finally got married in church and at city hall. We’re Christians.” You started well, but you will end badly.

99% of these types of Christian marriages experience infidelity (girlfriends, mistresses, etc.), polygamy, idolatry, and/or divorce. The wedding was merely a religious formality, faithfully followed by both partners.

This category also includes true Christians who forced or persuaded pagans to marry in church without them being truly saved. You were joyful, emotional, but you both lied to yourselves. It was a marriage doomed to fail, built on lies.

And yet, you invested everything in it—your time, your money. You even successfully completed the premarital counseling classes. But one of you was not saved. And you celebrated! And you paraded through town shouting, “Long live the bride and groom!” And you danced to worldly music until dawn. You were happy, but only months or a few years later, your marriage turned into a nightmare. You discovered a painful truth about your partner. You’re facing a challenge that’s shaking your marriage. Your husband has been bewitched. Your wife has returned to the world.

And in the end, you gave up: “What did this church wedding even bring us? We’re active in church, yet we’re always last in everything. Our neighbors are unbelievers, but they get along better and are more successful than us. We might as well do like everyone else.” This is the second category of Christian couples: those who received the seed in rocky places, who hear the word and immediately receive it with joy; but they have no root in themselves and do not endure—when trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away (Matthew 13:21). Yes, I say again, this is the main category of married Christians. God was not rooted in your heart, even though you had the will. You run away from the obstacles of marriage instead of facing them.

What you need first is courage and prayer to face those obstacles. You must seek God in the depth of the Bible and in the depths of your being through fasting and prayer. And if you are responsible for the failure of your marriage, you need to repent. And if your partner is the one responsible, forgive them after they have repented.

When you read “Communing with God”, another part of this Gospel writing project, you will learn how to discern whether your partner has truly repented or not. Do not embrace them again unless you are sure they are saved. Do not divorce—be strong! Your thirst for God will justify you. Do you have that thirst? Do you want to learn how to develop it? Don’t hesitate to confide in an anointed man of God, and you will come out victorious!…

This text is an excerpt from the book “How to Know Who to Marry? For Young Singles” written by Jean-Paul Marie (Pastor Samuel Binyou).

We invite you to read the next article: “PARENTAL BLESSING.”

HOSE WHO START “WELL”. HOSE WHO START “WELL”. HOSE WHO START “WELL”.