“I, _____, take thee, _____, to be my wedded wife/husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part, according to God’s holy ordinance; and thereto I pledge thee my faith.”

Matthew 5:33-37 KJV states “Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not for swear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne: Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.”

James 5:12 KJV states “But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.”

We should all have good intentions going into a marriage, intentions nearly consistent with most of the words in the marriage vows; however, you should not take the vow because it’s inconsistent with the teachings of Jesus Christ. Matthew 5:33-37 teaches us that the practice of taking oaths comes from evil. Marriage vows can be snares because you’re taking an oath under God and vowing to be with your spouse for the rest of your life, but that’s a vow you can’t guarantee because you’re only man and not God. Only the word of God is definitive. Humans don’t control the future, so we shouldn’t take such vows. Taking the vow is unwise and can be sinful. The person you marry today may not be the same person tomorrow, people change, and you can’t predict if it will be for better or worse. Furthermore, a person may be able to deceive you today, but the truth may come to light later.

With the marriage vows you’re promising to take your spouse even at their worst and to be with them until separated by death. There is no stipulation in those vows for conditions of a divorce. Divorce would be basically breaking of the vows for both parties regardless of who caused the divorce.

The following is not instructing anyone to get a divorce. Should you stay with your spouse If they repeatedly engage in a sinful act like adultery? The bible teaches that a man and woman are one flesh in marriage, and the bible teaches that we should cut of what can cause us to sin, Matthew 5:30 KJV “And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.” Based on bible verse, I believe Christians should separate themself from a spouse that commits adultery to avoid partaking in their sin and to protect their body. However, separation from your spouse is breaking the marriage vow to be with your spouse for better or worse and to cherish your spouse.

When you take the marriage vows, you can put yourself in a situation that you may be constantly breaking your vows. Christians are made righteous through our faith, and we are not to give sin opportunities to ensnare us. Jesus Christ taught how to be free from sin, so don’t ignore the teachings of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ gave God’s commandment, and by ignoring his teaching, you’re creating an opportunity to be ensnared by sin.

Jesus Christ also stated that anything more than yes or no is from evil, and I believe we should used that lesson as a guide when agreeing to make a commitment. The bride and groom can agree to conditions of a marriage. Marriages should be lifelong commitments between a man and a woman, but there should be no vows, pledges, or oath because you’re not able to guarantee that commitment.

Romans 7:9-14 KJV “For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me. Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful. For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.”