Is it okay—or even possible—for married people to have opposite-sex friends?

Click on the order button below to download this Current Issues Bible Study as a Microsoft Word file.

Overview

MARRIAGE PARTNERSHIP columnists Gary and Carrie Oliver believe that “it’s okay and even valuable to have opposite-sex friends.” Yet they also say “it’s both unwise and dangerous to spend one-on-one time with them after you’re married.”

You may wonder how anyone in the 21st century could hold to such a seemingly impractical standard. After all, men and women go to work and church together and sometimes become close friends. What are the dangers? Does everyone have to follow the same rules? We’ll discuss these questions in the following study.

Table of Contents

SCRIPTURE: Deuteronomy 24:5; Isaiah 43:1–4; Malachi 2:13–16; Matthew 26:41; Mark 10:7–8; 1 Corinthians 7:1–5; 1 Corinthians 10:13; 1 Corinthians 15:33; Ephesians 5:3, 22–33

LEADER'S GUIDE

    • Identify the Current Issue

    • Discover the Eternal Principles

—Teaching point one: Marriage between two people is a mystical union.

—Teaching point two: Marriage is intended to be a permanent and unique relationship.

—Teaching point three: We are all vulnerable to temptation.

—Teaching point four: We need to nurture and strengthen our marriages.

You have permission to make up to 1,000 copies for use in your local church.