Does Being a Christian Mean Staying Married, No Matter What? | Ep. 540
Awesome Marriage Podcast
Dr. Kim Kimberling
4.9 • 813 Ratings
🗓️ 24 January 2023
⏱️ 30 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Today Dr. Kim answers the question, "Do Christians have to stay married, no matter what?" We have heard from several listeners who are in difficult, painful and even abusive marriages. Some said their spouse takes advantage of knowing they will continue to stay as a rationale for continuing harmful patterns.
This topic is complicated and nuanced, but there are some clear biblical principles about marriage that can help to navigate a response to these painful situations. Listen to learn more.
Episode highlights include:
- Does Scripture support staying with a spouse no matter what
- Dr. Kim shares why and how he recommends separation
- Advice to a spouse whose abuser has been enabled by a church or pastor
- What a loving marriage looks like, just so no one has to wonder!
We pray this episode is helpful to you and your marriage.
*Music for this podcast is created by Noah Copeland. Check him out here!
RESOURCES
- We mentioned some Scriptures in the episode that reveal God's heart for the marriage relationship and his standard of love. This is only a very short partial list.
- Even in a difficult marriage, there is no place for violence or any kind of abuse. If you are unsafe in your marriage, please contact https://www.thehotline.org/ or 800.799.SAFE
- Dr. David E Clarke returns to the podcast next week for help dealing with an abuser. For help more helpful content on the topic, please see Dr. Clarke's books:
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the awesome marriage podcast, a place for honest conversations and practical advice on how to build an awesome marriage. |
| 0:09.9 | I am your podcast producer and co-host, Lindsay Few. |
| 0:13.4 | On the show will be our host, Dr. Kim Kimberly. |
| 0:17.0 | Dr. Kim is a marriage counselor and has been married for over 50 years. His passion is to help you |
| 0:23.4 | strengthen your most intimate relationship. We get a lot of questions about staying in a really |
| 0:32.0 | tough marriage. And recently several people have asked specifically about their unbelieving spouse being unrepentant because they know that a Christian spouse will stay in the marriage no matter what. |
| 0:44.5 | So today we're talking about the question, does being a Christian mean staying married no matter what? |
| 0:50.5 | One person recently asked us, do you believe that God wants me to stay in an unhappy and sometimes abusive relationship? |
| 0:58.3 | So Dr. Kim, what would you say to this person? |
| 1:00.5 | Yeah, I would say, I think the key word for me and what that person ask is the word abusive. |
| 1:05.3 | And I just feel from counseling couples and people for all the years, no one should stay in an environment that is unsafe for them. |
| 1:11.9 | Abuses against the law, and there's nothing unbiblical that I see about separating from an abuser. |
| 1:18.9 | I was looking through the law on it. |
| 1:21.6 | And just to quote a little bit, it said, when spouses use physical violence, threats, emotional abuse, harassment, |
| 1:27.7 | or stalking to control the behavior of the partners they are committing domestic violence so it is |
| 1:34.4 | if no one has the right goes on and said no one has the right to hit or threaten you with violence if |
| 1:38.8 | they if they do they're breaking the law and so i think they're also the deal about you know |
| 1:44.1 | the laws are there in place for a |
| 1:46.8 | reason. |
| 1:47.6 | And I think God's clear that he wants us to honor the laws of the land. |
| 1:51.4 | And I think it's just, I think people get confused sometimes and think that they're just |
| 1:57.4 | supposed to stay in no matter what. |
... |
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