Question 1

Is there a right or wrong way to date?

Accepted Answer

2 Corinthians 6:14Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers.The Bible warns about the danger of marrying someone who is not a Christian. The issue is not about intolerance or religious superiority. It’s about your first love. The most important priority in our lives as Christians should be our love for and obedience to God. It affects everything we are and do, and it also determines our eternal future. But if the person you marry, the one with whom you will spend most of your life, does not believe in God, it will be difficult to keep God as your first priority. What if your spouse asks you to compromise your faith? It will be hard not to. What if your spouse grows jealous of your loyalty to God? What if your spouse begins strongly opposing your faith? The Bible says that by marrying an unbeliever you set yourself up for being drawn away from God. While it is not necessarily wrong to date someone who is an unbeliever, it is important to understand that steady dating with an unbeliever can begin a serious relationship which can lead to the kind of marriage God warns about.1 Thessalonians 4:3-5God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. Then each of you will control his own body and live in holiness and honor—not in lustful passion.Guard against physical intimacy in a dating relationship. Such intimacy should be reserved only for marriage because it is a picture of the purity and devotion that we strive for in our relationship with God.

Question 2

What kinds of boundaries should I set up in my dating relationships?

Accepted Answer

Hebrews 13:18Pray for us, for our conscience is clear and we want to live honorably in everything we do.It is wise to set boundaries and guidelines for your dating relationships before you get involved. They should be based on the principles for relationships and marriage already created by God and found in the Bible. When you are discussing boundaries with a potential partner, the conversation should include issues like: appropriate physical touch, appropriate topics to discuss, how to treat a friend with respect and honor, purity of speech, and building a spiritual basis to the relationship. When you go into a dating relationship committed to staying within your boundaries, you are building the foundation for a healthy relationship and you can end each date with a clear conscience.Proverbs 31:30Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised.Good judgment is vital to making good decisions. This is especially true when deciding who you will date. Beauty and lust have clouded people’s judgment since the beginning of time. If you are dating someone who is pushing you to engage in activities you know are not in line with God’s desire for relationships, don’t allow your judgment to be dulled. Good judgment calls you to set up clear boundaries (which might include ending the relationship) so that you will not be led to compromise your relationship with God.Proverbs 11:22A beautiful woman who lacks discretion is like a gold ring in a pig’s snout.Just like an expensive ring in a pig’s snout, a person’s outward beauty is worthless if the person is foolish. Wisdom is desirable above beauty.

Question 3

How can I handle someone who is pushing me towards a physical relationship?

Accepted Answer

1 Timothy 4:12Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.It is better to stay pure than to give in to pressure. If the one you are dating is truly a friend who is caring and concerned about you, that person will honor and respect your desire for purity before marriage. If that person doesn’t respect what is important to you before you are married, it is unlikely they will respect what is important to you after you are married.

Dating