Equally Yoked Dating
Should a Christian date a non-Christian? This question is considered by most, if not all, single Christians at some point. The term "equally yoked" comes from 2 Corinthians 6:14:
"Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?" (NASB)
The concept goes all the way back to Deuteronomy 22:10:
"You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together." (NASB)
Two different animals shouldn't be yoked together on the plow. In Judaism, the ox was considered clean, whereas the donkey was considered unclean. Not only that, but these animals have different natures and different strengths and abilities1. If you put them together, the plow will probably go in a circle instead of straight, because they are not equally matched. The passage in 2 Corinthians 6 is not a marriage passage. Paul is writing to the Corinthian Christians and exhorting them to not be bound together with non-Christians. This includes marriage, but it also includes business and other relationships as well. He is not saying we should have nothing to do with non-believers; he is saying we should not be "bound" to them in ways that can affect our walk with the Lord adversely.
Do you get the point? A Christian and a non-Christian have different natures, and they are not equally matched spiritually. After our relationship with the Lord, marriage is the most significant relationship in our lives, and God doesn't want us in that relationship with a non-Christian.
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