How Should Christians Think About Online Dating?

Should Christians use online dating websites?

And if so, what's the best way to meet people when using them? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of Core Christianity. Hi, this is Bill Meyer, along with Pastor Adriel Sanchez, and this is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day. You can call us right now with your question at 833-THE-CORE.

Make a note of that number, 1-833-843-2673. You can also post your question on our Facebook, Instagram or Twitter accounts. You can watch us on YouTube and you can email us with your question at questions at corechristianity.com. First up today, we have a question from NS in Cherokee, Iowa. NS, welcome to Core Christianity. Thank you very much. I love you guys and I love your program. Hey, thanks for the encouragement, NS.

What's your question? Why are end-time prophecies a topic that the great majority of pastors and churches don't want to teach on or even talk about? End-time conversations don't hardly even exist. Shouldn't we be spread in the reality of it all, especially when seeing the things happening all around us? What does it take to convince people to even consider the urgency of our days? The number one response I get from believers and non-believers is we've heard it for hundreds of years. Well, NS, what I would say to that, I mean, I think one of the issues is a lot of pastors are concerned when they approach apocalyptic literature in the Bible, because it's just, for many people it's just hard to understand what's going on.

How do we interpret these symbols that we're getting in places like the book of Daniel and in the book of Ezekiel, in the book of Revelation? It is important for us as pastors to preach the whole counsel of God's Word. We don't just pick what we want to preach and then avoid things that we don't want to touch. We have to preach all of scripture. All scripture, Paul said in 2 Timothy chapter 3 verse 16, is given by inspiration.

It's God-breathed. It's profitable for instruction, for training us up in righteousness. I think specifically when we're looking at this question related to prophecy, we have to look at Revelation chapter 1 verses 1 through 3, because listen to what John said there. He said, the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him, to show to his servants the things that must soon take place.

He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the Word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. And then John adds this, blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near. In other words, there's this blessing that's attached to reading and understanding the Word of God, and in particular, the words of prophecy here described in the book of Revelation. There are a lot of abuses out there. There are people who approach biblical prophecy in a way that twists scripture and really has people living in fear.

It can be really confusing. You know, they're trying to apply these symbolic passages of scripture to things that are happening around us today, and I think there are a lot of misapplications. And that's one reason I think that other pastors just avoid the topic altogether, because they're afraid that they're going to misapply the Word of God. It's so important for us to understand the Bible in its context and to understand biblical prophecy in its context. In particular, a book like the book of Revelation was written for first-century Christians who were being persecuted, and it was meant to be an encouragement to them.

John, over and over again, is talking about how the believer conquers through faith in Christ and persevering by the blood of Jesus Christ, essentially. And so I would say to you, Enes, we can't avoid these topics, but we need to make sure that as we're talking about biblical prophecy, we're doing so in a way that's faithful to scripture, understanding it in its context, and not twisting it, and not reading or trying to read our present day into every verse of the Bible. I think that's one area where people can get really lost, is they're trying to apply what's happening in the Middle East today to what Ezekiel said thousands of years ago. And that's an area where we have to be really careful. That's not the proper way to approach scripture.

We understand it in its context, and then from there, we glean for ourselves what it means. So thank you, and may the Lord bless you. And of course, historically, there have been so many times in the church's history where people have been convinced that the Lord is going to return right now, and have prepared for it, and then it didn't happen. Yeah, I mean, Jesus said it very clearly. No one knows the day or the hour. I remember some years ago, there was this book that was published, I think it was 88 Reasons Why the Rapture is going to be in 1988 or something like that.

Well, of course, that didn't happen. And over and over again, you have people, again, misapplying passages of scripture to biblical prophecy, misapplying passages of scripture about prophecy to the present day. And it really can cause people to shipwreck in their faith, because they put their confidence in these teachers, and eventually, it just goes south.

And so we need to understand the Bible in its context. Amen. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Let's go to Jim from Barstow, California. Jim, welcome to Core Christianity.

Thank you very much, gentlemen. I have heard you pastor say on this program a number of times, of course, that we all sin and we all fall short of God's expectations. But yet, Jesus isn't going to say I give up on you and I've had it with you. But what about King Saul? He was a person who God departed from. And how can one avoid whatever King Saul did? God would just give up on a person. He was a king.

And what about us mere mortals who weren't kings? How can one avoid ever reaching that point? Jim, I really appreciate your question, brother. And I know that there are many Christians who that is their greatest fear. Am I ever going to do something that's going to cause the Lord to give up on me?

Just being honest with you, I remember as a newer believer, I mean, that was my greatest concern personally was, hey, this is wonderful that I know Jesus now. I've been forgiven. I'm saved, quote, unquote. But you know, you know yourself, you know that you're not perfect. You know that you still sin.

Am I going to do something that's going to cause the Lord to abandon me? And so over and over again, as you noted, we stress on this program, salvation is of the Lord from start to finish. That's where our confidence is in the work of God through his son, Jesus Christ, and by the power of the Holy Spirit. That's what gives us hope.

That's what gives us confidence. And this idea that God isn't going to abandon us, I mean, we're not making that up. That comes from Hebrews chapter 13. Listen to what the author to the Hebrews said. Hebrews 13, verse five, keep your life free from the love of money and be content with what you have for he has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. So we can confidently say the Lord is my helper. I will not fear.

What can man do to me? It's really a, uh, one of the most wonderful promises I think in all of scripture that we're meant to take for ourselves as individuals and, and just embrace that truth. He has said to us, to you, Jim, I will never leave you or forsake you. And so then what do we do with the story of Saul in first Samuel? Well I think it's clear that what Saul did essentially was commit apostasy. That is he turned his back on the living God, this, this sort of continual turning away from the Lord and actually doing the opposite of everything that the Lord had commanded him to do. Um, now it's clear that in his lifetime, the spirit of God worked in and through him in mighty ways.

Now you see this over and over again. In fact, he even prophesied. And yet I think we see the tragedy of, of the reality that individuals can even be mightily used by the Lord and still lack, I think, saving faith. I think of, you know, the, the false prophets that Jesus rebukes in Matthew chapter seven, you know, they say to him, Lord, Lord, but they do not do what he says. And on the day of judgment, he's going to say to them, depart from me. I never knew you, you who practice lawlessness, not depart from me. I used to know you and we used to be in a good relationship, but you lost your salvation or I'm abandoning you.

No, I never knew you. There are people who can be very religious, who, who can do, you know, mighty things. So it seems, and yet who don't really know the Lord, who don't have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ.

And I think that was, I think that was Saul. And so the Lord for his children will never abandon us. He'll never leave us or forsake us. And that's a promise in the word of God that you can take to the bank. May the Lord bless you, Jim.

Amen. This is core Christianity with pastor Adriel Sanchez, by the way, here at core Christianity, we aren't supported by a particular church or denomination. We rely on people just like you to make donations, to keep us on the air.

And if you find this program helpful, we'd ask you to prayerfully consider making a gift of any amount. You can do that on our website at core Christianity.com. We'd also love to invite you to consider joining what we call our inner core.

These are faithful supporters who make a donation every month. And as a core member, you receive some special resources of us on a monthly basis and a special video devotional from pastor Adriel. So consider signing up for the inner core. Let's go to Jade from Quebec, Canada. Jade, welcome to core Christianity. Hey guys, thank you for taking my question. I'm sure you guys have heard of pastors in Edmonton.

But for me, where I'm at, my church isn't opening up and I wish they do, but what can sheep members of the church do when their leadership doesn't want to open up their church full capacity? Something like that. Thanks. Yeah.

Jade, well, you know, this is a very difficult but a very important question, sister. And gathering together with the people of God is so important for us as Christians. It's what we're called to. I mean, the book of Hebrews makes it very clear that we're not to forsake the assembling of ourselves with one another.

The author of the Hebrew says this in Hebrews chapter 10. And yet at the same time, I know that many churches in different places and pastors are seeking to be faithful to the Lord and to shepherd the sheep, preaching the word of God, while at the same time wanting to make sure that we're keeping people safe, that we're being good stewards of the people that are put before us. And so every pastor right now in their particular context, they have difficult decisions to make.

I don't know specifically what the context is like there in Quebec. I can tell you, you know, speaking for myself as a pastor here in San Diego, what we've continued to do is still have worship services. We're meeting outside, and we're preaching the word of God. We're administering the ordinances that Jesus gave us to administer.

It's different circumstantially. You know, the circumstances of our worship are different. But the essence of what Christian worship is is still there, because what makes a worship service a worship service, Jade? The faithful preaching of the word of God, the administration of what we might call the sacraments, the sacraments, those ordinances that Jesus gave to us, prayer, singing to the Lord. I mean, that's what makes a worship service, not whether we're inside or outside or how close we're seated to one another.

Those things are all circumstantial. And so I think one thing I've noticed, Jade, is that there's a lot of confusion out there about the essence or the elements of Christian worship. There are people who have said, oh, well, you know, if we're not open and meeting inside, well, then we really can't worship. But that's not true, because nowhere has the Lord said you have to meet inside or you have to meet outside. He's called us to preach the word of God faithfully. And for you, sister, I just so appreciate you calling in to the core. I would say, talk to your pastor. And, you know, I don't know specifically what's going on in your local congregation, but with humility, go to him and say, look, we are struggling.

We need the word of God. I do want to ask you, Jade, are you guys meeting at all? Is it just that you're not meeting inside?

Are you guys trying to do outdoor things? Oh, hi. It's like there's a maximum of people, like 10 people. Ooh, yeah. Yeah. For meeting inside. And I'm guessing it's probably too cold to meet outside, right? Yeah, it's pretty cold.

Yeah. Well, and again, I want to be so careful, because I want to respect the pastors who are called to shepherd their local congregations and recognizing that, look, we all need wisdom. And I would say, talk to them with humility. Ask questions.

Figure out, you know, essentially what their thought process is here. We do, though. I mean, it is so important for us to be gathered together as believers, and I love the fact, Jade, that that's something that you long for. That's something that you want. I think that should be the heart of every Christian. What a blessing it is to gather together with God's people. And so we need to take that very seriously, and we need to do everything that we can to continue to gather together in ways that are safe and ultimately faithful to what God calls us to do. So, Lord, bless you, Jade, and thank you for that question.

So nice to hear from Jade there in Quebec, and we appreciate all of our listeners in Canada and the U.S. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez, and many Christians today aren't particularly comfortable defending the Christian faith when talking to unbelievers. So today we are offering an excellent book that will equip you to do just that.

Yeah, we're offering Josh McDowell's book, Josh and Sean McDowell, More Than a Carpenter. I mean, really a wonderful resource that's going to sort of take you through a lot of those difficult conversations that we've all had. You know, somebody comes to you and they ask you that question, why do you believe that Jesus is the way, or that he rose from the dead, or doesn't science disprove the Bible?

I mean, these are conversations that we have with friends and family members, coworkers. This book is going to help you answer those questions for yourself and also for others. It's so important not just that we know what we believe, but that we're also able to defend it. And so we want to get this resource in your hands.

You know, with Easter coming up, this is really a fantastic time to read this book and prepare yourself for some of the conversations you may have with friends or family members who don't believe in Jesus or who have questions about the Christian faith, even people that you might be inviting to church on Easter. You can get your copy of More Than a Carpenter today for a donation of any amount at corechristianity.com forward slash offers. That's corechristianity.com forward slash offers, or you can call us for this offer. Any one of our offers at 833-843-2673.

That's 833 the core. Well, let's go to a voicemail question that came in from Maria. Hi, Pastor Adriel. My question is, what do you think about online Christian dating?

I am single and have been single for quite some time. And it's been really challenging to meet godly men, especially because most of them at my church are married. So during this Christian dating, how does a single godly woman is being pursued when a man doesn't even communicate with you or don't know how to? For instance, shall the woman click on the like or not or just wait upon them? So they could.

So we as a woman can be pursued. I'd like your thoughts on that biblically. Thank you for your time. God bless. Tammy, thank you so much for, excuse me, Maria, thank you so much for that message that you left us. And I think that there's nothing wrong with Christians using online dating services.

That's totally okay. I like that you brought up the fact that you were looking in the church, but everybody there was married. I think one of the first places we should look is in the local church. I mean, you want to find someone who's committed to the body of Christ, who loves Jesus, and it's clear from the fact that they're a part of a worshiping community, and under the word, serving the Lord.

So I don't think that there's anything wrong with Christian online dating services. Let me just give you some of the wisdom that Paul gives us in 1 Corinthians 7, beginning in verse 32. He said, I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord, but the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife.

And his interests, Paul said, are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit, but the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband. I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord. And then he goes on to say, just a few verses later in 1 Corinthians 7, verse 39, a wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives, but if her husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes only in the Lord.

Yet in my judgment, she is happier if she remains as she is. And I think that I too have the Spirit of God, Paul, giving his own two cents there. But he says, you know, you're free to be married to whoever you wish only in the Lord. That is, are they a believer? And I think one of the things, you know, with the online dating thing is it's, yeah, even if somebody signs up for a Christian dating website, that doesn't necessarily mean that they're a part of a church, that they truly know and love Jesus. And so I think it takes time to get to know someone.

I think, you know, expressing that you like or are interested in someone by clicking like, that's okay, that's totally fine. But ultimately you want to make sure that the person that you're with is committed to a church, that they are going to pursue you, and more than anything that they're pursuing Jesus, and that that shows in their life. And Paul also says in the book of 2 Corinthians, in 2 Corinthians chapter 6, that we're not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers. And so it's really important that the person who you're considering for dating is a Christian, that they know the Lord. And let me just say this, as a pastor I've seen this time and time again, where someone's single, they really want to be married, they want to meet someone who is a believer but they feel like they're not finding anyone and so they just settle. And they tell themselves, oh well the person's willing to go to church with me, they're willing to talk about the Bible and about God, but you don't want that. What you want is someone who is going to challenge you to love Jesus more already. Someone who's going to encourage you in your walk with the Lord.

And I've heard of believers meeting people just like that over, you know, online Christian dating services, and so I think that that's a legitimate option, and I would just encourage you to find someone who's a part of a good church and who is pursuing the Lord and will pursue you as well. Thank you for that question, Maria. Great counsel, Adriel, thanks for that. This is CORE Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Here's the number to call if you have a question.

It's 833-THE-CORE. Let's go to Tammy from Nashville, Tennessee. Tammy, welcome to CORE Christianity.

Hi, yes, thank you for taking my call. I was just wondering, do you think that we can ever, you know, like when we give our heart to the Lord and we get saved, but do you think we can ever go to a place where we turn from the Lord and lose our salvation? Yeah, we were talking about this a little bit earlier, right, when we had that question about Saul and his departure from the Lord, if you will, and some people will say, you know, if you sin too much, you can lose your salvation or you can walk away from your salvation, you know, so you were saved, but now you're not saved anymore, you abandoned it.

I don't believe that that's the case. I think that if somebody turns away from the Lord, if they walk away from the church and they walk away from Jesus, well, John says, I believe it's in 1 John 2, he makes it very clear that people who do that, John says, they were not of us because if they would have been of us, they would have continued with us. In other words, what happens a lot of times is people can be in the church and experience, even in some powerful ways, I think the ministry of the word and Christian community, and yet it never really sticks. They never really trust in Jesus by faith, lay hold of him by faith because when we do, guess what, Tammy, Jesus himself keeps us. And this is what Jesus said in John chapter 10. I love this verse, John chapter 10, verse 27, let's start there.

He said, my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they will never perish. And no one will snatch them out of my hand. My father who has given them to me is greater than all. And no one is able to snatch them out of the father's hand.

I and the father are one. What a wonderful promise that we have there. Jesus says, I give you my sheep, eternal life, and you're in my hands. Now that doesn't mean we're not going to suffer. That doesn't mean we're not going to struggle at times with sin. I mean, you just read what the apostle Paul said in Romans chapter seven, we experienced this real day by day battle with the flesh, Tammy, but the good news is God himself, Jesus himself keeps his sheep. We can't lose our salvation. We're not going to walk away from it because we're in the hands of the Lord and he is day by day by the Holy Spirit, sanctifying us, making us more and more into the image of Jesus. And so I think you can take comfort from those words, Tammy, and may the Lord bless you. Great words of reassurance.

Thank you so much for that, Adriel. This is Core Christianity. Let's go to Liz who is calling in from Garner, Iowa. Liz, welcome to Core Christianity. Hi, how are you guys? Going well, Liz, what's your question?

Great. So my question is, knowing there is a strong movement in the church for one-to-one disciple making, I've often heard that we all should have a Paul and a Timothy, so someone who disciples us and someone whom we disciple. And my question is, is this the way all Christians should participate in the Great Commission?

Why or why not? Yeah, I think that's one way that we can participate in it, but I think that there are multiple ways. And ultimately, discipleship isn't an individual thing. That is, I as an individual, even as a pastor, don't make disciples of myself. We're all together in the context of the body of Christ, making disciples with the gifts that God gives us individually. Now, that gift might be teaching or it might be hospitality or helps or any number of things, but I think we have to move away from this idea that discipleship looks like just a one-on-one meeting with someone else and I'm making a disciple and someone is, you know, making me as a disciple. No, it's the Word, the ministry of the Word, as we're under it together and as we're a part of healthy churches, we're building each other up in the context of community.

So I think it's great to meet with people and to do that kind of thing, but just to recognize that it's not all on your shoulders. Ultimately, Jesus makes disciples by His Word and by His Spirit. Thanks for listening to CORE Christianity. To request your copy of today's special offer, visit us at corechristianity.com and click on offers in the menu bar or call us at 1-833-843-2673. That's 833, the CORE. When you contact us, please let us know how you've been encouraged by this program and be sure to join us next time as we explore the truth of God's Word together.