Why missionary dating is wrong

Because you are restricting yourself from loving God and glorifying Him with your whole heart. While your relationship with God is personal, the person you are going to marry should constantly be pointing you back to Jesus.

But are you truly accepting your boyfriend or girlfriend and loving them for who they are if your hidden intentions are to convert them over to Christianity? Dating to convert someone is built on false intentions, which is extremely harmful to your relationship. Dating a non-believer restricts you in your personal relationship with God and could inhibit your faith from growing further.

Getting to encourage someone in their walk with God is a blessing, but that should be done in an equally yoked relationship—where both of you are pursuing God actively and building each other up in Christ.

Relationships are a beautiful and complicated part of life. We are relational beings who long to be known for who we are. God gave us the desire to love and be loved, and even as we are fully known and fully loved by God, we still seek after romance and fantasies—looking for things to fill up the empty black hole of loneliness.

As humans, we will always battle against the desires of our flesh. Today, Christian guys and girls are finding it harder to find someone who is pursuing Jesus passionately and shares the same dreams and ambitions as they do. Relational ties Relational ties happen when we share our heart with someone and become really comfortable and close to them.

It starts with small conversations and goes deeper with each text you send. Sharing testimonies, late night conversations, and praying together leads you into a confused state if they are truly just a friend or wanting to be something more. Spiritual, mental, emotional, and sometimes physical bonds develop into relational ties which are difficult to break off when dating a person.

When we attach ourselves to someone who is not being renewed by constant fellowship with the Lord, we start to take those burdens upon ourselves. God made us to walk in freedom before Him. Romans Here is the problem. God warns us when we join ourselves with those not walking with God, those who don't believe, those who might even say they believe but their lives show otherwise , we take the risk that they may pull us away from God and the purpose he has for our lives.

It's much easier to pull someone down from up high than it is for us to pull someone up from lower down. It is for our protection that God commands us to not be unequally yoked. Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial. What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?

What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people. The goal should always be to be equally yoked.

By having Christ as the center of our relationships, He becomes the model for our lives. He gives us our direction and our purpose. He teaches us to love each other unconditionally. When things go wrong, we can go to Christ together to get help. If you are the only believer in your relationship, how can you both work toward Christ's purpose in your lives?

Of course not; it is through our relationships with the lost that we might help lead them to Christ. But when we start dating the lost, our emotions get all tied up, distracting us and we easily fall into temptation.

On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. Matthew And it doesn't mean that there aren't some people out there who got married when one was not a believer, then after several years the spouse became a Christian. And because this happened, that we shouldn't rejoice.

But just think of the years they missed serving the Lord together by not being equally yoked. It's is God's purpose for us to reach others for Christ. Some guys are going to church, reading their Bibles and even growing, however, they may still be very young in their walks with God. Come along side them and help them, pray for them, care for them, encourage friendships with other men and help lead them to Christ before you attempt to date.

And even then, take the time necessary to watch for growth and see fruit. Allow God to tell you the next step. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

I believe as we truly seek God's will in our lives, in our friendships and relationships — becoming the right person before we meet the right person — we will be given what we need. We just need to trust God that He knows what we need. NOTE : Men, take extra caution.

In general, males feel the need to rescue women. What is better than to meet a woman who needs you to lead her? However, God's Word is the same for us all: be equally yoked. Many singles are Christians who wonder if God will ever bring a mate their way or if they should just stop focusing on a future with a marriage partner and live their single life to the fullest.

Kris Swiatocho and Dick Purnell offer solid biblical answers for singles in this newest title in Dick's popular "Day Experiment" Bible study. During a month-long study, readers will learn how to cultivate friendships in general and with potential mates, and they will discover how to deepen their most important intimate friendship with their heavenly Father. Click here for more information. You can come to the cross and—right now—the blood of Christ can wash away all that sin.

Dennis: Okay, I want to say a word to the women—single women who are being pressured right now. Listen to me. Deepak has given you some great advice. The nature of the cross of Jesus Christ is surrender—it is death to self. And you know what? That is the key to a great marriage.

I think one of the needs is to be able to present a standard, with compassion—talking about the forgiveness of Christ—that we are washed clean by Him. If nothing else, someday your kids may ask. Deepak: Can we say to encouragement for the single women who are living by the standard and fighting for it. Deepak: Because all the pressure of the culture is pressing in on you right now to actually give up that standard. Dennis: And I think the daddies of the daughters and the daddies of the guys need to get a copy of the book and go over it with your son or the young man who is dating your daughter.

Go to FamilyLifeToday. Again, our website is FamilyLifeToday. By the way, when you go to our website, FamilyLifeToday. The movie is now available for purchase as a DVD. Like Arrows is in Christian retailers. Our goal is to provide practical biblical help and hope for marriages and families.

And you make all of that possible when you donate to support the ministry of FamilyLife Today. You can donate online at FamilyLifeToday. Just ask for the book by Crawford and Karen Loritts when you get in touch with us. Thanks again for your partnership with us in the ministry of FamilyLife Today. We always love hearing from you.

Deepak Reju will be with us again tomorrow. Hope you can be with us as well. I want to thank our engineer today, Keith Lynch, along with our entire broadcast production team.

Help for today. Hope for tomorrow. We are so happy to provide these transcripts to you. However, there is a cost to produce them for our website. Deepak Reju explains why young women settle for less when it comes to their relationships with the opposite sex. Reju talks about what it looks like to be a lady-in-waiting on God. Deepak Reju talks about what happens when Christian women date men who aren't believers.

Deepak and his wife Sarah have five children. MP3 Download Transcript. With Deepak Reju. Thanks for joining us. It was a big deal. Bob: You do have to be careful, yes. We threw you some really tough hot potatoes. Deepak: Well, glad to do it. Dennis: Settle. Dennis: Right. Instead of her answering all of his questions, she helped him get into a relationship with a man in the church who started mentoring him— Dennis: Great. Bob: Right. Dennis: I just want to say half decent is not a reason to get married.