1 Corinthians 8:9-13 9 But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak. 10 For if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the idol's temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols; 11 And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? 12 But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ. 13 Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend.
Do we see how this Scripture has a place in this thread? Basically anything that would cause a brother to be offended isn't worth doing. I believe that includes living together. For instance, let's say a couple has been living together for years. They visit a church and decide to join it. Because they're living together, the pastor or elders tell them they cannot join the church until they're married. What should they do?
What if they're allowed to join the church, but cannot hold a leadership position because of their situation? What should they do?
What if they're allowed to join the church, and allowed to hold positions, yet living together causes conflict in the church and hurts the feelings some of the members. What should they do?
What if this couple witnesses to some people to get saved, or counsels with someone in the church, only to find out their counsel was made useless because the people found out they were living together? What should they do?
To me, if anything I do stands in the way of my witness or hurts the reputation of Christ, then I need to change that. Anything that hurts my ministry or changes how other people look negatively at my church should be put aside at all costs. I see already in this thread it has hurt the witness of some.
Hebrews 12:1 1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,