© 09 Colin Melbourne
Married or Single and Celibate?
Q: Was the Apostle Paul ever married? Mike
A: I sense a loaded question, so kindly tell me why you ask.
The answer is no, see 1 Co. 7:7 and verses 17, 27 and 28. He confirms that he is unmarried in verse 7, and in the other verses he teaches that it is best to remain as you were when saved, also he warns that marriage brings trouble, and distractions from the call of God.
So you can be sure Paul remained true to his convictions, and to the Spirit of God, right to the end of his life, and did not marry.
1 Co. 7:6-7 makes it clear that neither marriage, nor remaining single, are commanded, but that the latter is preferable.
Contrary to the Roman Catholic cult’s teachings, there’s no prohibition of marriage for ministers in the New Testament, and we know for certain that Peter had a wife, because Christ healed her mother of a fever. (Mtt. 8:14.) In addition, 1 Co. 9:5 strongly implies most of the original Apostles were married.
John Wesley’s Wife
I praise God for the wonderful way he used the Wesley Brothers; they transformed the spiritual landscape of Great Britain, and peeled off many layers of dead religion.
I admire and respect them both enormously as true Christian heroes. However, poor John’s finish was not as good as his start.
It’s interesting to note the effect of an ill-advised marriage on the great English evangelist and co-founder of the Methodists, John Wesley.
He had a private agreement with his brother, Charles Wesley (the hymn writer), that neither would marry without the other’s prior approval.
Charles used a secret shorthand to record confidential thoughts in his personal diary.
Only recently has the code been deciphered, and it reveals tragic despair with his brother.
John broke their agreement, made a disastrous marriage with a shrew of a woman, and it tore at Charles’ heart. In his secret diary he confided how John had ruined his ministry and invoked Heaven’s displeasure.
Here’s how Charles Wesley described the pact:
My brother and I having promised each other that we would neither of us marry, or take any step towards it, without the other’s knowledge and consent.
When John ignored the agreement, Charles’ diary records;
He is insensible of both his own folly and danger, and of the divine goodness in so miraculously saving him.
This John Wesley DVD biography effectively recounts the life and work of the co-founder of the Methodist movement around the world.
Charles wondered if the subsequent stress had caused his own wife to miscarry:
Sally is slowly recovering her strength after her miscarriage last week. How far it was occasioned by our late affliction, I cannot say, but my brother has cast poison into the cup of temporal blessings, and destroyed as far in him lay all future usefulness to the church.
Beware of the potential marriage snare, and of breaking a solemn agreement, they were the downfall of John Wesley.
Witnessing to the SDA Adventist cult
Q: Can you tell me how to talk with someone in the Seventh Day Adventists. What are their unbiblical beliefs? Robin
A: Have a look at these previous answers to questions about joining the SDA Cult.
Life after Divorce
Q: What book is good to read for life after divorce as a Christian?
A: The Holy Bible. God hates divorce, so He gives lots of tips how to avoid it, and how to use your life for His Glory.
Inspiration for women: Wake up Christian women, you’ve already got the Perfect Man. Read about this little woman becoming mighty in God’s Hand.
© 09 Colin Melbourne