28/07/2021
Should A Widow Remarry?
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https://blog.yourrami.com/index.php/2021/07/28/should-a-widow-remarry/
Free to Marry
Remarrying after the death of a spouse is pretty clearly addressed by Paul at least twice and by Jesus as well. In Romans 7:2–3, Paul says this: “A married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage.” So, that is the first statement.
“Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress.” So twice: verse 2, if her husband dies, she is released; verse 3, if her husband dies, she is free.
Then Paul says in 1 Corinthians 7:39, “A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord.” So, Paul simply adds to what he taught in Romans that any marriage of a believer should be “in the Lord,” that is, to another believer.
Are there verses in the Bible that encourage widows to remarry? And the answer is: Yes, there are, like 1 Timothy 5:11–16 where Paul wants younger widows to remarry instead of being on the special widow care ministry that existed, evidently, so that they wouldn’t be a burden on the church and so that they wouldn’t be a victim of Satan’s temptation.
But I would caution to say that what Paul means there is “command to marry.” This is because of 1 Corinthians 7:39, where it says they are free to remarry whom they please, only in the Lord. It is not as though Paul is, I think, providing an absolute here that every widow must remarry, any more than that every person must marry in the first place.
Below, drawing on the social science literature on bereavement reactions of widowhood, I have highlighted some important points that people should consider when deciding to start a new relationship
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https://blog.yourrami.com/index.php/2021/07/28/should-a-widow-remarry/
Free to Marry Remarrying after the death of a spouse is pretty clearly addressed by Paul at least twice and by Jesus as well. In Romans 7:2–3, Paul says this: “A married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage.”…