1 Corinthians 7:12-16
12 “But to the rest I say, not the Lord, that if any brother has an unbelieving wife, and she consents to live with him, he must not divorce her. 13 And if any woman has an unbelieving husband, and he consents to live with her, she must not divorce her husband. 14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband; for otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are holy. 15 Yet if the unbelieving one is leaving, let him leave; the brother or the sister is not under bondage in such cases, but God has called us in peace. 16 For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?”
Unbelieving wife: A spouse being an unbeliever is not a good enough reason for divorce. Rather, the spouse is to stay married to the unbeliever unless the unbelieving spouse leaves. In this case, Paul encourages the believer to move forward.
Sanctified: Paul is not speaking of some form of household salvation existing simply because one spouse is a believer. Instead, Paul is speaking of the possibility of the believing spouse to influence the unbelieving members of the family. There is not much room to influence the unbelieving members of the family if they are kicked out of the house.
