Bible Question:

Is it biblical for a Christian marriage to have a pre-nuptial agreement?

Bible Answer:

The answer to your question is that there are no scriptures in the Bible about pre-nuptial agreements. However, there is a principle that would suggest a couple should not enter into a pre-nuptial agreement. One wonders why a Christian couple would have a pre-nuptial agreement since marriage is supposed to be for life, regardless of how you feel. God tells us that marriage is a covenant or commitment (Mal. 2:14). When a couple says, “I do!” the marriage vow is supposed to be a commitment for life – as long as both of you are alive and not just until trouble comes into the marriage or one becomes disappointed in their partner. Jesus made this point in Matthew 19 when He said, “Let no man separate.” That includes both partners.

And He answered and said, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE, and said, ‘FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE AND SEND her AWAY?” He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.” Matt. 19:4–9 (NASB)

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said that our yes should be yes and our no should be no.

But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of the evil one. Matt. 5:37

Conclusion:

If a bride or groom has any doubts about their potential partner and the future marriage, then they should not marry. The pre-nuptial agreement is like an insurance policy making it easier to leave the marriage. The pre-nuptial agreement is a “just in case” policy, and such a marriage is starting wrong. The pre-nuptial agreement says that either I do not trust my future partner or since so many marriages end in divorce, we will have a fall back guarantee. If doubts exists or the commitment is not very strong, then do not get married. Finally, is money really that important?

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