"Now concerning the things about which you wrote to me: "It is good for a man not to touch a woman." Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. Let the husband render to the wife due affection, and likewise the wife to the husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise, the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does." – 1 Corinthians 7:1-4 (MEV)
Marriage is a sacred thing, one that requires both the man and the woman to forsake all others. Yet, there are many Christians who can't seem to understand that when they marry, they cannot take their friends with them into the relationship – it's only between the husband and the wife.
Having your own partner
While friends are a great source of support and encouragement, it is imperative for husbands and wives to develop their relationship with each other so that both will see one another as a primary source of comfort, encouragement, and love, next only to God. Paul expressly said in 1 Corinthians 7 that this is "because of sexual immorality" – the very reason why adulterous affairs happen.
This brings me to the question posed in this article's title: is it OK to be a married Christian man and be close friends with another woman, and vice versa? Before I answer it straight, let's go over some important things to consider.
Due affection
Before we all got married, we've had all sorts of friends from both sexes. Some of the young men had at least one girl who was "one of the boys" in their group. There are some women, on the other hand, who have close relationships with men who are not their boyfriends but simple friends who they can trust.
These friends give affection to the opposite sex. And let's face it: God designed men to be naturally attracted and drawn towards women, and vice-versa.
Paul, however, stressed that husbands and wives are the ones who would render due affection to one another simply because they're a married couple. The wife owns her husband's affection, attention, even his body, and the husband also to his wife. God designed this.
A God-given privilege
Knowing this, it would be good to know that as husbands and wives develop their relationships with each other, both of them will find the "close friend" that they need in one another. I personally discourage married people from having a close relationship with the opposite sex if their own relationship with their respective spouses aren't as close. Why?
Your spouse should be the closest person of the opposite sex to you, both literally and figuratively, and we must all be relentless in keeping our marriages strong.
"Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards, for our vineyards are in blossom." (Song of Solomon 2:15)
