Live Now Live Later

A few years ago, a friend of the family came over to visit. She asked if she could gain my viewpoint on a particular situation.
She told me that she was previously in a relationship with a Jehovah’s witness. Although he had not been practicing as an adult and was not regularly attending services, nevertheless he had grown up and been raised as a Jehovah’s witness. Also, he still held strongly to many areas of the doctrine taught by the Jehovah’s witnesses.

She said previously they had been sexually active and knew that was wrong, but because of the duration of the relationship and the fun times they had shared, she had fallen in love with him. She later went on to tell me that she stopped the relationship because of the guilt she sensed and over time has reconsidered beginning to date him again only if they remain abstinent.

Her question then to me was:

“Gavilan, if we remain abstinent, do you feel that it is ok to date and possibly marry a Jehovah’s witness?

Now to say that I was surprised by the question would have been an understatement primarily because she attends a Southern Baptist Church REGULARLY. I myself having spent 8 years attending Southern Baptist American and Hispanic churches, am very familiar with the style of teaching which is labeled by many in Christian circles as “fundamentalism” which is the direct opposite versus “Liberalism”.
Because of this and her background, it was difficult for me to formulate an answer without saying something harsh immediately.
Then on the other hand, I thought about the state of many churches I have been apart of or have seen and can attest to the large amount of women attendee’s in comparison with their men counterpart.

According to USA Today, “Women outnumber men in attendance in every major Christian denomination, and they are 20% to 25% more likely to attend worship at least weekly.” The 2001 U.S. Congregational Life Survey (USCLS) confirms those statistics. Their survey revealed that an average American congregation is roughly 61% female and 39% male.
Finding a Christian man can be challenging for many women, especially a Christian man who is active in his faith with Jesus.

Thinking about these things, I could understand why she was considering this. I mentioned to her certain scriptures that are very straight to the point like for instance 2 Corinthians 6:14-17 (Message Translation)

Don’t become partners with those who reject God. How can you make a partnership out of right and wrong? That’s not partnership; that’s war. Is light best friends with dark? Does Christ go strolling with the Devil? Do trust and mistrust hold hands? Who would think of setting up pagan idols in God’s holy Temple?

She was familiar with the passage, but quickly brought up that he is not a total rejecter of God.

That’s actually not true….

Jehovah’s Witnesses do in fact reject that Jesus was God in flesh.
John 1:1 in every orthodox translation I have ever read, reads something along the lines of:
“In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the Word WAS God”.
Verse 14 ends up revealing that the Word in fact was Jesus.
But in the New World Bible, the Jehovah Witness’s translation, has one changed Word that alters the ENTIRE meaning of “their New Testament”.
Theirs reads:
“In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the Word was A god.
Subtle difference, but huge ramifications…

In the book published by the Watch Tower Tract and Bible Society and distributed by Jehovah’s Witnesses is basically their additional bible which actually lays out all of their teachings. The book is called “What does the Bible REALLY teach?”

On page 41, Jesus is listed as a “Spirit Creature“. On pages 98-100, Satan and other demons are also listed as Spirit Creatures.
On pages 218-219, Jesus is taught to be Michael the Archangel which makes him a Spirit Creature!

This view is totally different from what we read not only in John 1:1, but also other passages of scripture where the divinity of Jesus is so clearly displayed that an Unbeliever could at least agree that that is what the bible is saying.

Scriptures like Philippians 2:5-7:

Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, becoming human!

Talking to religious leaders of his day Jesus said this in John 8,
Your father Abraham rejoiced as he looked forward to my coming. He saw it and was glad”. The people said, “You aren’t even fifty years old. How can you say you have seen Abraham?
Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I AM! At that point they picked up stones to throw at him. But Jesus was hidden from them and left the Temple.”
The writer of the letter to the Hebrews in the New testament rhetorically asked his audience a list of questions in his opening chapter:
For God never said to any angel what he said to Jesus:
“You are my Son.
Today I have become your Father.[a]”
God also said,
“I will be his Father,
and he will be my Son.”[b]
6 And when he brought his supreme[c] Son into the world, God said,[d]
“Let all of God’s angels worship him.”[e]
7 Regarding the angels, he says,
“He sends his angels like the winds,
his servants like flames of fire.”[f]
8 But to the Son he says,
“Your throne, O God (referring to Jesus), endures forever and ever.
You rule with a scepter of justice.
9 You love justice and hate evil.
Therefore, O God, your God has anointed you,
pouring out the oil of joy on you more than on anyone else.”[g]
10 He also says to the Son,
“In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundation of the earth
and made the heavens with your hands.
11 They will perish, but you remain forever.
They will wear out like old clothing.
12 You will fold them up like a cloak
and discard them like old clothing.
But you are always the same;
you will live forever.”[h]
13 And God never said to any of the angels,
“Sit in the place of honor at my right hand
until I humble your enemies,
making them a footstool under your feet.”[i]

From just a few passages it is very clear that Jesus is not portrayed in the bible as some regular individual or just another angel, but in fact the bible REALLY teaches He is the Son of God. This a very big deal.

Although we have focused on Jehovah’s witnesses, God in actuality does not want us marrying anyone whose faith is not in Jesus Christ. We can’t marry people who belong to other religions and expect them to “Change Later”.

Many people have fallen into this trap and think that if they live a godly life, it will cause the man or woman to want Christ. While this is a possibility, you don’t enter into a marriage under God with this in mind. It doesn’t matter how nice, courteous, catering, sweet-talking, how many Abs he can fit into 1 chest, nor her shape and figure, marrying a non-believer is dangerous.
Solomon, the son of David and the Wisest Man to ever live, was given his wisdom by God. People from all over the known world came to see and observe him. His wisdom poured out into the book of proverbs is so mind blowing, I know unbelievers today who read and discuss it!

Yet in 1 Kings 11, the writer records that Solomon had a change in circumstances that not only changed the direction of his life but affected the state of Israel for years to come.

He started marrying women outside of Israel. His first mistake was marrying an Egyptian woman then he married women from Moab, Ammon, Edom, and etc.
You’re probably saying “what’s wrong with Solomon marrying women from nations outside of Israel. Well when you marry someone you don’t just take on the person, but you take on everything that comes along with them. Not only did Solomon receive these wives, but these wives also brought their customs, religions, practices with them.

Solomon may have thought “surely I can be an influence over them and they will serve the God of Israel”, but in actuality according to verse 3 his wives turned his heart away from God.

Solomon would go on to do unfathomable things. He abandoned all the practices that were instituted by Moses and now was fully committed to serving the false idol gods from these other countries. Not just for himself, but he turned Israel on to these practices as well.
All because he thought he could change these women…

See we can’t change people spiritually, only God can do that. A person might be able to conform their actions for a “period of time”, but eventually they will revert back to who they truly are unless the Spirit of the Living God comes in and changes their Stony heart into a Heart of Flesh (Ezekiel 36:26, 2 Corinthians 8:10)

Not only can we not date people from other religions, but we can’t even date every Christian!
Reading this right now you might be thinking what?!?
Let me further explain…

My former pastor Dr. Rick V. Layton about 15 years ago taught a series of messages on Relationships for about a span of 2 months. Two of his messages within that series was dedicated to people who were single titled “21 Questions to ask a potential Spouse”. Now I don’t still have the notes readily accessible, but I will never forget the first 2 questions.

Question #1 was “Are you a Christian”?

I remember him stating that if they say no to this question there is no need to continue with the other 20 questions and this is not a potential mate.

Question #2 “What kind of Christian are you”?

He went on to expound that If you are a Christian who for example studies the word diligently, spends time with God every day, attends church not just on Sunday but during the week, believes in giving a portion of your finances consistently, serves regularly in different capacities within your ministry and etc. and you go marry a person who only reads their bible when directed during the Sunday Sermon by the pastor, doesn’t spend any of their personal time with God, never attends during the week and if they do attend on Sundays they act totally disinterested, sees themselves as the one in need and doesn’t see a need to give anything, goes to their current church because the services are over in about an hour and has no desire to serve in any capacity in the ministry.
This person might be a born-again believer, they might have their name written in the lamb’s book of life, they might already be seated in Heavenly places in Christ Jesus, but much like Solomon they have allowed this fallen World to have more influence on their thinking than the Word of God and because of that, they’re living like a Christian Atheist! Believing in God, but living as if He doesn’t exist!

Marrying somebody who is not on the same level in your walk with Christ or anywhere remotely close is not a good idea. Trust me, this is going to cause problems further down the road. Before marrying, you should want to eliminate as many red flags as possible. Marriage is already challenging because 2 people from different backgrounds have come together and are in the lifelong process of becoming one through the help of the Holy Spirit. Don’t allow their attractiveness to overshadow what Holy Spirit is trying to communicate with you.
You might be saying:

But Brother Gavilan “My options are limited. All the men/women who are dedicated to God are ALREADY MARRIED. My whole life is going to pass away before I find a spouse who meets all the criteria you mentioned”!
Many people today in the body who are single focus on what they do NOT have and don’t focus what they do have:

Having the freedom to serve God in any capacity that they choose.

Paul once wrote in 1 Corinthians 7:32-35:

“I want you to be free from the concerns of this life. An unmarried man can spend his time doing the Lord’s work and thinking how to please him. 33 But a married man has to think about his earthly responsibilities and how to please his wife. 34 His interests are divided. In the same way, a woman who is no longer married or has never been married can be devoted to the Lord and holy in body and in spirit. But a married woman has to think about her earthly responsibilities and how to please her husband. 35 I am saying this for your benefit, not to place restrictions on you. I want you to do whatever will help you serve the Lord best, with as few distractions as possible.”

The Apostle Paul was in no way discouraging Christians from marrying, but he wanted to give them another perspective that sometimes for a duration of our earthly life, it might be best to wait and do all what God has in your heart before the Husband/wife, the 1,2,3,4 children and etc. come along.

Once you get married, there are many responsibilities that come with this union. Your wife isn’t going to be trying to hear
“I got to go to the church because we got X, Y, and Z going on”,
but the electricity off in the house because you aren’t working a job. Likewise, that husband isn’t going to want to hear about you serving at the rescue mission by feeding the homeless and cleaning up their facility and your house is a mess and the words “home cooked meal” is a forgotten phrase.
Be thankful for whatever situation you are currently in and trust God. Jesus told his followers in Matthew 6:33 to
“Seek first the kingdom of God ABOVE everything and everything else you need will be provided for you.”

Trust God that in His timing, He will provide the kind of mate that not only you desire, but one that he desires for you.
If God could make water come forth from a Rock to nourish the Children of Israel while in the desert, then surely, he can provide a spouse that will not only love you, but ABOVE all LOVE his son Jesus.