Second Thoughts about Living Together

Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. (Hebrews 13:4 ESV)

If there is one thing that all parish pastors have in common that proves time and again to be a persistent and vexing problem, it is the challenge of couples who present themselves for marriage but who are already living together.

In response to frequent requests for a concise, faithfully biblical resource to help couples reflect on the issues raised by living together, and to help pastors minister in such situations, we have prepared the resource entitled Second Thoughts about Living Together.
 
What is marriage?Who regulates marriage: church or state?What is the purpose of marriage?What's so important about a piece of paper?What about so-called common-law marriages?Is living together such a great offense?