Topical Sermons - Executable Outlines

Cohabitation Before Marriage
Mark A. Copeland
INTRODUCTION
1. A practice acceptable to many people today is that of cohabitation before marriage...
a. Where a couple who intend to get married decide to live together first
b. In a poll on religion and the family conducted for Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, 49% of
Americans said that cohabitation was acceptable
2. Yet in the August 2005 issue of Psychology Today, there was an interesting article...
a. “The Cohabitation Trap: When ‘Just Living Together’ Sabotages Love” by Nancy Wartik
b. A blurb advertising the article: “Living together before marriage seems like a smart way to road
test the relationship. But cohabitation may lead you to wed for all the wrong reasons--or turn
into a one-way trip to splitsville.”
3. The article first described the general reasoning behind cohabitation...
a. That many see cohabitation as sort of future laboratory for marriage
b. That living together will help them make informed decisions regarding marriage
[Yet the research suggests something different. There is a very real danger in cohabitation before
marriage. Before we consider that danger, let’s first make clear what the Bible teaches about...]
I. THE SIN OF COHABITATION
A. MARRIAGE IS HONORABLE...
1. The Bible speaks of the honor of marriage - He 13:4
2. Of course, marriage was first instituted by God - cf. Mt 19:4-6
3. It symbolizes the relationship between Christ and His church - cf. Ep 5:22-33
4. It also serves as a deterrent to fornication (sexual immorality) - cf. 1 Co 7:2,8-9
B. COHABITATION IS FORNICATION...
1. Fornication is sex outside of the marriage bond
2. The Greek word porneia includes “adultery, fornication, homosexuality, lesbianism,
intercourse with animals etc.” - Thayer
3. Thus cohabitation falls under the condemnation described earlier - cf. He 13:4
4. It can keep one out of the kingdom of God - 1 Co 6:9-10; Ga 5:19-21
[For those who respect the authority of the Scriptures, cohabitation before marriage is rejected on moral
grounds. But as illustrated in the above referenced article, there other reasons to reject it...]
II. THE FOLLY OF COHABITATION
A. COHABITATION UNDERMINES COMMITMENT...
1. Wartik’s summary of the research:
a. “Couples who move in together before marriage have up to two times the odds of
divorce, as compared with couples who marry before living together.”
b. “Moreover, married couples who have lived together before exchanging vows tend to
have poorer-quality marriages than couples who moved in after the wedding.”
Topical Sermons 76