Copyright 2001 by John MacArthur Jr., All Rights Reserved.

Question

What does the Bible teach about interracial marriages?

Nothing in the New Testament prohibits interracial marriage. Christians are at liberty to marry whomever they wish--as long as the other person is also a Christian (1 Corinthians 7:39).

The Old Testament contained some restrictions on whom the Israelites could marry. These were meant to protect the people of God from pagan influences (Deut. 7:3-4) and to guard the purity of the Aaronic priesthood (Lev. 21:13-14). There were even some strict regulations about inter-tribal marriage, designed to keep the various tribes' inheritance from being lost by intermarriage (Num. 36:3-9). All such restrictions are explicitly annulled by the New Testament (Gal. 3:27-29).

Added to Bible Bulletin Board's "MacArthur’s Questions and Answers" by:

Tony Capoccia
Bible Bulletin Board
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Columbus, New Jersey, USA, 08022
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Email: tony@biblebb.com
Online since 1986