Bronson Taylor

I heart Jesus.

I received an email this morning asking me to write about Christian dating since Valentine’s Day is right around the corner. Good call. Dating itself is a very modern idea in the scheme of things, so looking for a verse from Jesus and company with the words dating, boyfriend, girlfriend, shorty, or boo won’t work. However, the scriptures teach us how to think, not just what to think. With this in mind there are some verses that apply.

Who should a Christian date? First, Christians are not to be yoked with unbelievers (2 Corinthians 6:14-18). A yoke was a device that kept animals attached and going in the same direction, and I’ve yet to see a dating couple that doesn’t have this same quality. Thus, Christians date Christians. But here’s the real question: If Jesus is your Lord, your all consuming passion, if you could say that “to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21) then why would you want to date someone that doesn’t agree? Seriously. I don’t buy it. Read one of Paul’s letters and then try to imagine him dating Ashley, the non-Christian, from down the street.

Assuming you’re a Christian that is dating another Christian, then what kind of physical contact is appropriate? I shouldn’t even have to say this, but I will. Sex is for marriage. The scriptures couldn’t be more clear. A Christian having sex outside of marriage is a reason for not associating with that brother or sister (1 Corinthians 5:11-13), and people living in sexual immorality or sensuality won’t inherit the kingdom of God (Galatians 5:19-21). This sounds harsh, but only because we have grown up in an era where holiness in the church is foreign (1 Peter 1:14-19). Beyond sex, Jesus even taught us to avoid lust, and he followed up that bit of advice with the suggestion that we tear out our eyes if it helps us avoid hell (Matthew 5:27-30). Any situation where you are in lust is inappropriate (dating or not). When I was dating my wife I knew that lust was nearby, so we decided to not kiss until our wedding day. Yes, you read that correctly. You make your own decision about boundaries, just don’t lie to yourself about what you can handle. Beyond the more obvious sex and lust issues, we must also keep our conduct honorable, abstaining from passions of the flesh, to set an example for the world (1 Peter 2:11-12).

Few things have the ability to glorify God more, or tarnish his name more, than the way we approach dating. Act wisely.

What do you do with the Old Testament?

I received an email a few days ago from someone who was wondering what I do with the Old Testament. More specifically, I think they were wondering how I can promote reading the Bible and obeying it when I obviously don’t obey all of the Old Testament (it’s been a while since my last animal sacrifice). Answer: When I encourage people to read and obey that includes understanding which scriptures apply in different situations. Maybe I should add in a middle step for clarity. 1) Read. 2) Understand. 3) Obey.

A great example of this is the dialogue between Jesus and Satan in Matthew 4:1-11. Satan quotes Psalm 91:11-12, but Jesus understood that the scriptures were being used incorrectly, and he in turn quoted Deuteronomy 6:16 to set the record straight. Both read the Bible. Both promoted obeying the Bible (in a weird kind of way). Only Jesus understood the Bible.

Back to the original question, what do I do with the Old Testament? I understand that Hebrews 8:13, and many other similar verses, apply in this situation. We live in a new covenant now and the old one is obsolete. When I canceled my T-Mobile contract and signed up with AT&T I was under no obligation to uphold the old agreement, for it had been canceled. (Side note: this doesn’t mean that we can’t learn from the Old Testament. Just read 1 Corinthians 10:6-11).

1 year. 11 people. 1189 chapters.

11 of us from Gulf Church have decided to read the whole Bible in 2010. Why is this important? This morning at church I shared something that is worth repeating here. The less we read the Bible the more apt we are to remember it incorrectly. The longer we go without the word in our diet the more God is made to fit our image instead of us conforming to his.