Is It Inappropriate To Share My Faith in the Workplace?

Is it inappropriate to share my faith in the workplace? You can also spell it out on your phone, 833-THE-CORE. You can also email us your question at questions-at-core-christianity.com. First up today, let's go to Sarah calling in from Las Vegas, Nevada. Sarah, what's your question for Adriel?

Hello. My question today is, what should we do when we realize we've made marriage, or the idea of marriage, an idol? This is often a problem among Christian singles. I myself have a strong desire to be married and I want it to be Christ-centered, but I'd be lying if I said the idea of marriage isn't competing with my relationship with God. And I feel as if I'll never be able to marry because this idol feels so undefeatable. What advice do you have for Christian singles who want to love God more than the idea or the hope for marriage? Hey, Sarah.

Thank you for giving us a call. A lot of times I remember when I was single people saying things to me like, once you reach that point of sanctification where you're really ready for someone, that's when the Lord brings somebody into your life. And it sounded to me when you said, I feel like maybe I'll never get to get married because I have these feelings, this sort of disordered focus on marriage that seems to detract from my love for Jesus, my passion for Jesus. Let me just say, we never reach a point where it's like, okay, now we're totally ready and God is going to bless us now with marriage. You don't want to have that mindset. The fact of the matter is, marriage is a beautiful gift that God gives to us and it's two sinners coming together.

It's not like, okay, I've conquered all these things and now I'm there. Of course, that doesn't mean that there aren't things, issues that we ought to deal with that could pose real problems within marriage if they're not addressed, particular sins. And I think this is where something like premarital counseling is really important, honesty with a couple, this happening all within the context of the local church. But I would just say, look, not overthinking this, realizing that those desires that you have are good. There's nothing wrong with desiring a good and godly marriage. In fact, I think that you should be encouraged in that.

That's a wonderful thing. In that situation, what we're fighting is to have contentment and to trust in the Lord, not to grow impatient and try to force something that isn't meant to be. That's something I see, Sarah, with a lot of Christian singles. They really want to be married and so they're willing to settle, maybe to get into a relationship with someone who isn't a believer. Or maybe they're willing to go to church, but they're not as strong in their faith.

And so I think that's something that you need to watch out for. Just saying, okay, Lord, you know that this is a desire that I have and I'm entrusting it to you. And I'm praying, Lord, that in your timing, as you guide me, that you would bring the right person in my life who loves you and honors you. And in the meantime, help me to be faithful to you in serving you and being a part of your church, in growing in contentment, in patience, not trying to force something or take this into my own hands. But I would just encourage you, sister, and say those are good desires.

You don't need to feel guilty. And I would say continuing to pursue the Lord in the midst of this. Let me just take an opportunity right now to pray for you and to pray for all the singles who are listening and have this desire that the Lord would grant you His peace, would grant you contentment in this season as you continue to seek Him and wait upon Him for the right person. Father, thank you for Sarah. Lord, she wants to honor you and put you first in everything. And Lord, how easy it is for us, even with the good gifts that you give, things like marriage and family, to focus on those things at times and to neglect you. And I know that she wants to have her priorities straight.

She wants to put you first in all things. And so help her to do that, but help her also, Lord, not to be ashamed or feel guilty about these good desires that you've placed in her heart. And as she seeks you, would you provide, Lord, would you bring the right person in her life that loves you, Lord? And may they together, Father, serve you well.

And so just thank you for my sister. Pray for all those who are listening, Lord, who are longing for marriage, for companionship. God, that you would help them to look to you, to trust in you, not to take this into their own hands, but to trust in you and to seek you, Lord, and to experience your peace and your presence as they do that. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. You know, Adriel, I was thinking about something you said earlier about how God doesn't expect us to be fully sanctified before getting married and how God often uses marriage, the marriage relationship, in the sanctification process.

It's that whole iron sharpening iron. And, you know, my friend Gary Thomas, the theologian Gary Thomas, has that book Sacred Marriage, which gets into the fact that God can use marriage to help us grow and to really burr off those rough edges. And so isn't that a beautiful thing to aspire to in a Christian marriage? Yeah. I mean, it's one of the great blessings of Christian marriage is I think you grow together also in the Lord.

Here's the thing. We can get so caught up with our feelings. You know, how much do I really feel like I want God? And do I feel like I want these other things more than God? And there's this great tension we can feel guilty about, even good desires that we have, because we feel like, well, I just don't perfectly long for Jesus like I should. And what we need to realize is this side of eternity, if you will, even our best works, even our best desires are still tainted with indwelling sin.

There's no such thing as a believer in Jesus Christ or for a believer in Jesus Christ as perfect works before God. We can do truly good works and have truly good desires, and that's something that the Spirit of God works in us, but they're never going to be perfect. We're always going to look at them and say, Man, Lord, I still fall short. I still don't long for you and desire you and worship you as I should, as perfectly as I should, in light of who you are. And yet God is gracious and merciful to us, and he receives those longings, those desires as praise in a good sense. And so I just think we have to be careful that we're not so introspective, that we just beat ourselves up, and we're discouraged because we realize how short we fall, and then we just think, Well, what's the point? I'm never going to perfectly love God.

What's the point? Well, actually, one day we will, when we're in the presence of the Lord, perfected in holiness. At that time, we will perfectly obey God's law in following him and loving him. But right now, the Spirit of God is at work in our lives, and I think that's something we should be encouraged by as we continue to pursue him.

So well said. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Let's go to the phones.

Steve is on the line from Independence, Missouri. Steve, what's your question for Adriel? Hey, yeah, I was kind of wondering, it was explained to me several times over the years that gambling is considered a sin. But then I go to the book of Job, and God, who can't sin, is gambling with the devil over Job's soul. I was just wondering what your take was on it.

Thank you. Well, Steve, that's one way of putting it, and I don't know that I would put it that way personally. In fact, I wouldn't. I wouldn't say that God is gambling with the devil, if you will, taking a chance. We know that God knows all things.

He's omniscient. What Job chapter 1 reveals to us, and this is really interesting because I was actually just preaching on Revelation chapter 12 in particular, where you have this great scene where there's a battle in heaven, and Satan is cast out of heaven, the great accuser of the brothers, by the great redemptive work of Jesus Christ, his death and resurrection. But prior to that, Satan would go before the heavenly court and accuse the brothers. He'd do like he did in Job chapter 1, saying, you know, your servant Job, isn't he only following you because of how much you've blessed him? And so the Lord gave the evil one permission to afflict Job, but God knew all along what was going to happen.

There was no gamble there, if you will. And you think about how James talks about this in the New Testament in the context of suffering. James chapter 5 verse 11 says, Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. In other words, God was working in and through that entire situation, even using the evil one for his own sovereign purposes.

It wasn't a coin toss where, you know, God was gambling with Job's life. No, God loves his children. And even though we're afflicted, we experience suffering. God, through that suffering, sanctifies us. And that's exactly what James says at the beginning of his letter in James chapter 1. Really, I think something that's so important for us to think about, he says, Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love him, and let no one say when he is tempted, I am being tempted by God, for God cannot be tempted with evil. And this is why he also says, you know, count it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of various kinds, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. So the Lord was at work in his life, not gambling, but really blessing.

And at the end, right, exhibiting his compassion and mercy to Job. Thank you for your question, Steve. God bless.

Great response. Thanks for that, Adriel. This is Quora Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Just a reminder that we are a listener supported ministry, so we count on people just like you to help us pursue our mission of sharing the gospel, equipping believers and answering the questions of non-believers.

If you'd like to make a gift, you can easily do that by going to quarkristianity.com and clicking on the donate link. And Adriel would like to tell you a little bit about becoming one of our ongoing supporters by joining what we call our inner core. Yes, brothers and sisters, if you've been encouraged by the work that Bill and I do here at Quora Christianity, answering your questions about the faith, really wanting to speak to the heart and get to the, I mean, the heart of the matter really is as questions come in, thinking about assurance, thinking about the issues in culture, how to apply God's word properly, how to understand those difficult passages in scripture, we want to build you up in your faith and in your witness, in your Christian witness. If you've been encouraged by this broadcast, would you consider joining what we call the inner core? It's a monthly donation of $25 or more, and it helps us to continue to produce this broadcast and many of the resources that we give away for free. And as you join the inner core, as a thank you, we'll send you the book, Quora Christianity, written by Dr. Michael Horton, which is a wonderful book diving into the core doctrines of the Christian faith. Thank you for your support. You can learn more about that by going to QuoraChristianity.com forward slash inner core, just one word, QuoraChristianity.com forward slash inner core to learn more about becoming one of those supporters.

And we would perfectly encourage you to go there and check that out. Let's go back to the phones. Gwen is on the line from Oklahoma.

Gwen, what's your question for Adriel? Hello. Hi, Gwen.

Hi. I have a question and a concern. My daughter and I were listening to one of the radio preachers several years ago, and she had had a miscarriage and she was just determined that that was her baby girl. And that preacher said that babies who are miscarried go to hell. And we were both just terribly shocked because wouldn't that be the same as a child not reaching the age of accountability?

Wow, Gwen, I am so sorry to hear. I mean, I've never actually heard a preacher say that. But I don't doubt what you've said one bit and what a terrible thing that must have been to hear in light of this suffering that you and your daughter were experiencing.

That's not true. I don't know where that preacher got that idea. But there's nothing in scripture that says that. This just goes to show why James 3, verse 1 says, Let not many of you be teachers, my brothers, knowing that we will receive a stricter judgment. Because when we claim to speak on behalf of God, when God hasn't said something, that's a scary thing and it leads to pain so often and hurt.

And certainly it sounds like that's what happened here. I think of what the psalmist said in Psalm 139. You formed my inward parts. You knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works. My soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes saw my unformed substance. In your book were written every one of them the days that were formed for me when as yet there was none of them. God loves us and He loves our children. So that raises the question, why miscarriage?

We don't know. We don't know why we entrust ourselves to the Lord as the good God, the merciful God, knowing that He's sovereign, knowing that He's not caught off guard by these things. When we mourn, we lament that we live in a world that is full of sickness and suffering and death. It's a part of the effects of sin, generally speaking, on society. But there is nothing to indicate that a child that's miscarried goes to hell.

In fact, I would say the opposite, frankly. That there's reason to believe, based on the mercy and kindness and goodness of God, that our children, the children of believers, are in the presence of the Lord. David, when he lost his son, what does he say? He's mourning as his son is sick, but then he says, once his child had died, he says, look, he's not going to come to me, but I'm going to go to him.

I take that to mean that there was this hope that he had, not just that he was going to meet his son when he died in the grave, but that there was this hope that he had that he was going to go and be reunited with his child who had died. And so I think passages like that can be a comfort to you and especially to your granddaughter, and I pray that the Lord is with you and continues to comfort you and all of those who have suffered a miscarriage. I know that that's such a difficult thing, and so may the Lord shower you with his mercy, with his grace, with a sense of his presence and comfort, I pray in Jesus' name, amen. Gwen, thanks so much for your call, and we are so sorry that you heard that bad information from that preacher that you mentioned on the radio.

That's just very unfortunate. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. We do receive voicemails here, and you can call us 24 hours a day and leave your question on our voicemail system. Here's the number. It's 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. Here's a voicemail from one of our listeners named Elizabeth. I am a nurse, and I work with people of all cultures and religious backgrounds, mostly of the Jewish population.

Sometimes end-of-life care is necessary, and I've had a question. Do you share your faith with a person of Jewish faith about Jesus Christ being the Messiah, that he died on the cross for my sins? I've always felt like it's an invasion of their privacy and their culture and religion, but I just wonder, should you be driven to just bypass those thoughts? Elizabeth, a great question, a practical question, and especially in our society today where it's like, hey, you believe what you believe.

That's great for you. I believe what I'm going to believe, whatever that is. Don't try to convince me of what you believe or convert me to your religion. There was recently a statistic that came out, I don't know if it was Barna, but it was talking about younger evangelicals and how many of them just say, no, it's wrong to share your faith.

It's wrong to try to convince someone that what they believe is not true and that what you believe is true. Well, that's just not what you see in scripture. Now, of course, let me say, I think in the workplace as a Christian, first and foremost, you want to make sure that you're serving the Lord in such a way that you're working as unto the Lord. You're doing your job, and you're doing your job well representing Jesus, but as God gives you opportunities to talk about your Christian faith, I don't think that you should brush those away.

I think that that's something we ought to pray for and be grateful to the Lord for, and maybe he gives that to you in the context of you're having lunch with a coworker or maybe as you guys get to know each other a little bit better and it's outside of the workspace. Whatever that is, I think we want to remember the words of the Apostle Paul in Romans 1, verse 16. He said, I am not ashamed of the Gospel. Now, why isn't he ashamed of the Gospel? He says, it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For in it, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, the righteous shall live by faith.

You see, Paul says, look, this is why I'm not ashamed of it. I know that these people believe differently than me, these Jews believe differently than I do. The Greeks have all these gods that they worship. I know that they might accept Jesus as just, speaking of the pagans in particular, they might accept Jesus as just another sort of deity to add on to the list of gods and superstitions that they already have. He says, no, actually that's not what Jesus wants.

He wants to be the king of all things. He wants us to recognize him as the one true God, as opposed to worshipping these other things that really are going to lead us astray. He says, the reason I'm not ashamed of this gospel message is because it's the power of God for salvation for these people, that they might know the forgiveness of sins and experience the gracious presence of God in their lives, know the God who sent his son into the world to suffer and die for our sins. I'm not ashamed of that message, Paul said.

I think one of the reasons why, and I think this is something many of us struggle with, you're not alone here. I think one of the reasons we have such a hard time with sharing our faith with others is because we're not gripped by the power of the gospel, even in our own lives. Gospel means good news. It's the good news that all of your sins through Jesus Christ are forgiven, that you have the hope of eternal life, the resurrection of the body. When we're really gripped by that message, that hope that we have, we realize you're not going to find this anywhere else.

Muhammad didn't rise again for your justification. You're not going to get the forgiveness of sins anywhere else except through the once-for-all offering of Jesus Christ. So it's good news, but it's also necessary for us and for the world.

It's for the life of the world. And so God help us to be gripped by that message so that we do share it with others, not from a place of guilt or from a place of, I just need to brush away my fears and concerns, but just overwhelmed with the kindness and generosity of God, with the Spirit of God in our own lives. We say, man, I want you to know this good God who is so merciful, who calls all people everywhere to repent, to come to Him, and He's made a way for us to know Him.

I want you to know Him. And so God help us to be gripped by that good news in our own lives so that we could share it with joy, with the people around us. And this is, again, what the Apostle Paul experienced. I mean, speaking of ministering to the Jews in particular, later in the book of Romans, in Romans chapter 9, he realized that many of his countrymen, if you will, didn't embrace Jesus, didn't embrace the Gospel. But he didn't say, well, you know, whatever suits you, you believe whatever you want as long as you're doing okay and if it makes you happy. No, listen to what he says. He says, I'm speaking the truth in Christ.

I'm not lying. My conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. I wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen, according to the flesh, they are the Israelites. To them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, the promises. To them belong the patriarchs.

And from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ who is God overall, blessed forever. Amen. Paul says, look, my heart is grieved. I want them to know Jesus, the Christ, their Messiah. And so I pray for you as you're in the workspace, having conversations, that God would give you opportunities to get to share from that place of joy, from that place of love, the goodness of the gospel, not just for you, but also for your co-workers. God bless you, Elizabeth. Thank you. 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.