Why would you want to live together before getting married?

I am sure some people will wonder whether I am from the dark ages when I ask this question; "Why would you want to live together before getting married?" Today, this is a common pattern among people in the Western world.

It is even inferred from the movies nowadays that there is nothing wrong with a girl moving into a guy's place while they are dating or even thinking of getting married. Sometimes this act shows that they may be getting serious about marriage. Nowadays, instead of speaking of husbands, wives, and spouses, we hear about partners, companions, significant others, and meaningful relationships.

Recent research from 2011 by the Pew Research Center has found that the number of couples that cohabit before marriage has increased. 44% of adults (and more than half of 30- to 49-year-olds) say they have cohabited at some point. Nearly two-thirds of adults who ever cohabited (64%) say they thought about it as a step toward marriage. The report also notes a trend toward rising public acceptance of cohabiting couples over the years.

According to Wikipedia, Cohabitation is an arrangement where two people who are not married live together in an emotionally and/or sexually intimate relationship on a long-term or permanent basis.

Interestingly, some people believe that Co-habitation necessarily comes before marriage. " How Do I know I am compatible if we don't live together under the roof?" "What if he snores? I can't stand anyone who snores." What if she is not good in bed; How do I find out? What if we don't have the money to get married but we love each other. People will give so many reasons to legitimize co-habitation.

Let's consider this issue from the biblical point of view. Co-habitation is simply legalising premarital sex before marriage - fornication. The Bible says in 1 Thessalonians 4: 3-8

For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. 

I think as Christians, we should NOT entertain Co-habitation for whatever reason. You may come across research studies for and against Cohabitation. I want us to stick to what God's Word says about this. 

Be rest assured that if you have found the right person, prayed about it, done your premarital counselling, don't try co-habitation. Just get married if you are ready for marriage. If you are not ready for marriage, wait a while till you ready.  Be confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion.