The apostle Paul, when writing to the church in Corinth, spoke of marriage in the 7th chapter of the New Testament book of 1 Corinthians.  In it he wrote, "A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives.  But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord."¹  Why would the apostle Paul write this? The answer is found in what he, also, wrote to the same church some time later.

In (2 Corinthians), the apostle Paul wrote that a believer is not to be yoked (joined together) with an unbeliever.  In support of this statement, he asks the question, "What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?"²  The answer is, "A believer and an unbeliever have nothing of deep importance in common with each other.  One desires to live a life which is pleasing to Christ Jesus, and the other doesn't.  Things might be OK in the beginning, but eventually there will be tension between the two."

One might, also, ask the question, "Since there is the possibility that a non-Christian, who marries a Christian, might eventually become a believer, wouldn't it be OK for the two to marry with this hope in mind?"  The answer, according to what is written in the Bible, is that a Christian and a non-Christian are not to marry one another.³  If a believer is married to a non-believer, however, and the non-believer is willing to be married to them, then the believer is not to divorce them.⁴

Also, due to the fact that the eventual goal of dating is marriage, it would not be wise for a believer and an unbeliever to date on a steady basis.

Bible References:

¹ (1 Corinthians 7:39)

² (2 Corinthians 6:14-15)

³ (1 Corinthians 7:39)

⁴ (1 Corinthians 7:12-13)