Be Faithful to Your Calling

If you're looking at our text, this is really part of the text we looked at last week, but I wanted to separate this out to really lean in on what I think is a very important topic for us as a church. The last time we talked about this was back in 2012 when Ben preached through 1 Corinthians 7. And so I believe this is such an important topic, how to think about singleness. I wanted to separate this out to think about it together. I am going to look at the greater text so that we can see what it is in the context.

Three points this morning, the call to a faithful marriage, And that's where I'll give us somewhat of a review from verses three to nine. But much of our time is going to be the next two points, the weight of a good marriage, and then the call to faithful singleness. So the call to faithful marriage, the weight of a good marriage, and the call to faithful singleness. First, the call to a faithful marriage.

The call to a faithful marriage

Three basic truths we need to make sure we understand. As Jesus is answering a question from the Pharisees, he goes back to creation. God designed marriage for our good. Marriage is a gift of God. It is a creation design provided for us. Sin corrupts marriage. Sin corrupts everything that God creates as good. And the more important it is, the more our sin can pervert it and twist it. The more Satan wants to promote lies about it.

And the gospel restores us to that which is good. The gospel restores us as image bearers. The gospel restores us in our marriages. So when Jesus asked about divorce, and the Pharisees are testing him. They're trying to trick him. It isn't a good faith question. He goes back to creation. He goes back to Genesis 2 when it was good. And he makes it very clear.

God created male and female. He declared that they would enter into a covenant of one flesh, a new kind of identity. Marriage was given so that they would be blessed, they would be a blessing to each other, and they would multiply their blessings as image bearers to this world. And of course, in their fallen state and our fallen state, sin is also multiplied in marriage. God unites a husband and a wife in the covenant of marriage.

You see that very clearly. Verse six,

so that they are no longer two but one flesh, what therefore God has joined together.

What God unites, let not man separate. You say I do in your wedding covenant, but it's actually God who ultimately is bringing the two together in this covenant.

The Pharisees then continue to ask, they first ask, is there any cause for divorce? Jesus makes it very clear, let not man separate what God has united. Then they ask, well, what about Moses' certificate of divorce? Is there any reason, it's still at the forefront, is there any reason for divorce? And Jesus answers, it's not that Moses commanded a certificate. Notice Jesus, he tells them, why did Moses even provide a certificate? the cause of the hardness of your hearts. It's because of our sin that corrupts that good covenant that God permits or allows divorce. Again, we step back and we see the bigger picture that the gospel restores us. It restores us in his image, it restores us to love God, to think God's thoughts after him, it restores us in relationships, most importantly here, marriage. Key focus.

The Pharisees can amend divorce for any reason. Jesus says, only for sexual morality. If you think about here, again, the Pharisees are testing him. Is it for any reason? Because they want to see if he's going to answer wrong. And then they wrongly say something of Moses commanding a certificate, where they have a broad explanation of what Deuteronomy 24 is. Because I think indecency in Deuteronomy 24 has a direct tie to sexual morality in what Jesus is saying here.

There's something about Jesus' interactions with the Pharisees that I think is helpful for us to grasp here. The Pharisees wanted to bind our consciences to their rules and traditions. Jesus wants to bind our consciences to him and his word. The Pharisees want to loosen us from what God's word clearly says, but bind us tightly to their traditions.

We need to be careful here as we hear, Jesus isn't loosing us from any and all teaching and any and all law. The goodness of what Christ gives us is himself, his word. His truth sets us free to actually flourish as human beings. Christ is promoting what is good about marriage, what is good in that relationship. There's something dangerous about if every interpretation of the Bible is always benefiting what you've already concluded, you're probably not doing it right. We come to God's word to trust it's authoritative, that it's correcting my wrong assumptions It's correcting my own behaviors and beliefs. Oh, it's good news as Christ is teaching us the goodness of marriage and the limitations of divorce. He speaks authoritatively for our good. Marriage is given to us for our good. Be faithful in it. Again, I spoke more of that last week We're now gonna drop into verse 10, our primary text here. The Pharisees wanna trick Jesus. Is there any cause? Can there be a divorce for anything? Jesus limits it just to sexual morality.

The weight of a good marriage

And then verse 10, we see the disciples weigh in. So we have a little bit of a different setting, because it's a different people, but it's the same conversation. Here, our second point, the weight of a good marriage. The disciples respond to Jesus' teaching and say,

if such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.

If such is the case of a man with his wife, that he is bound in covenant with her unless their sexuality, then it is better not to marry.

That's quite a conclusion. We need to wrestle with this, and we are gonna ask, is that true? Why are they saying this, and does Jesus affirm it? Jesus just tightened up the standard of marriage. He's made it clear it is a real, serious commitment and promise. Till death do we part, you're really supposed to mean that.

Now, the disciples have entered the teaching here. In a typical way, the Pharisees, they're trying to undermine Jesus. They're not asking good faith questions. When the disciples say something, you kind of have to ask it, what are they getting and what are they not getting? They hear that divorce is permitted only because of our hard hearts, and on the case of sexual morality, Jesus is helping them see the reality of the way to the covenant, and their response is, it's better not to marry. I think we hear some hear their innocent ignorance.

They engage in the discussion. They're actually showing how they're aware of at least their sin and how weighty the commitment is. They're seeing that if this is the clear commitment of the covenant, is it better to marry because they're realizing how fickle their loves might be. Now let's just pause here for a second. The apostles are the foundation of the church.

We just read Acts 2.42, the church was devoted to their teaching. And they see their own hearts as so fickle, they're gonna conclude that if this is the highest standard of marriage, it's better not to marry. This is significant. Jesus is a cornerstone, he's a living stone of the church, but the apostles have a clear foundational role as the ones who teach what he taught them.

Their thought after this is it's better not to marry at all. They get the weight of marriage. They've not appreciated the importance of marriage, but they get the weight of it. They have already heard,

let your yes be yes and your no be no.

They get that it's a heavy, weighty, covenant, promise relationship. Now, is it better not to marry? That's a key question.

I do not believe what Jesus says next affirms that they've made a proper statement. There's nothing in what Jesus says next that says he's confirming that conclusion. Now, he has made it very clear when they said something right, right? When Jesus asked,

who do you say that I am? You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Blessed are you, the Father revealed this to you.

He does not give this kind of affirmation here. But we do need to wrestle with what he says.

The disciples affirm it's better to marry because I think they feel the weight of it. But Jesus also doesn't say everyone should be married. If we look at that next section, he is going to declare there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom. And that's the next point, but there is a calling to singleness. I'm going to do something I don't normally do, but we're going to take a little detour here to Paul. Because if we're going to ask the question, is it better not to marry? Well, that's what the disciples have said, and I don't think Jesus affirms it, but I don't think he denies it either. He also says there are those who will be single for the sake of the kingdom.

Your interest is divided

If you go to 1 Corinthians 7, Paul gives a pretty detailed instruction on this. It's a longer section, and just one verse. 1 Corinthians 7, verse 7,

I wish that all were as I myself am,

that is single,

but each has his own gift from God, one of one kind and one of another.

He makes it clear there's two ways to live in the kingdom, at least here, whether they're single and married. And it's each to their own gift. But later he does clarify, he believes it's better to remain single. And he talks about the temporary passing of this world and the pressure of this world. I don't think he's talking about temporary famine or a war, I believe he's talking about this world and the problems and the difficulties.

The weight of what Paul instructs is that you will have your interest divided if you're married. That's real counsel to weigh. If you're married, your interest is divided. I see this regularly. I feel this regularly. When you're focused, you're living in the kingdom, and you have this new responsibility, because that is what marriage is. You're taking on a new responsibility. You're living for the well-being and interest of a spouse and of that household.

To give an example of this, I get asked to teach overseas, enough to where I say no most of the time. If I weren't married, I'd say yes much more often. only going to be gone for so long. I have a commitment that I cannot do everything for the kingdom that I would like to do because I want to make sure I'm taking care of what I consider a first order priority, my family, who's also part of the kingdom. There's undivided interest.

You're free from certain anxieties. Now, let's be very clear. Paul is not saying you either love God and do gospel ministry or you love your family. Family is gospel ministry. This isn't love God or money. This is two priorities that are both good. They're both God-ordained institutions.

The home is a significant sacred space that requires your time if you're going to be faithful to God. The church is also a significant sacred space that requires your time if you're going to be faithful to God. What Paul, I believe, is instructing is that those who are married, they're able to focus more on what the church is doing in gospel ministries. If not married, there's more single-mindedness of the one space and the time commitment. This is a real issue. We all have only so many hours in a day. We only have so much time. We only have so much energy. affection and dedication.

When you're married, it means you're rightly loving your spouse and whatever family God provides you with, and you're loving the church. It's not supposed to be an either-or, but there is a divided interest. If married, Paul says be faithful. If single, he says be faithful.

I think the most startling thing I want to draw out from 1 Corinthians 7 is twice He has to tell the Corinthians it's not a sin to marry. They have some serious confusion. The questions they ask throughout Corinthians and the things they're involved in are showing some confusion. What an interesting culture we think about if he had to assure them it's not a sin to marry.

I fear in our culture we have the opposite tendency. We tend to treat those who aren't married as if they're in sin. We think about those who aren't married as if there's a problem to fix. Paul says it's good to be single. I don't know if we wanna say the word better as the disciples are saying it, because they're afraid of the covenant commitment, but there's a way in which Paul is making it clear you're able to be single-minded on just the things of God in the church without the distraction of the things of God in a home. Again, not sinful, but it's not a sin to be married I think church we need to make sure we don't treat singleness as a problem that we need to fix in somebody else.

I'm really expecting an amen right there. Important, this decision is a wisdom issue. It's not righteousness. It's not faithfulness. It's a wisdom to marry or not. Paul sets it up as a simple wisdom issue. It doesn't make you more faithful or less faithful if you're married. You can be faithful married, you can be faithful single. Again, the challenge is those who have so much focus on the home, they're not able to focus as much on the church, and there's different seasons. Marriage and singleness are both good if content in pursuing faithfulness. We need to be careful pitting these two things against each other. So let's go back. Is it better not to marry? I think we need to look at Genesis 2 again.

God told Adam,

it's not good to be alone.

I will bind you in a one flesh covenant. We're going to uphold that marriage is good, but not necessary for everybody. Not the calling for everybody. God created us and designed us to desire a covenant union. That covenant communion can be the family you have in your home, that covenant union could be your family as a church, or it could be both. We make sure we don't look down upon marriage. We also want to make sure we don't think it is the solution and the calling for everybody.

Marriage has a wonderful role in the Christian life, even if not married, because we look back and we see Jesus' first miracles at a wedding. It points to the final wedding. The Bible begins and ends with a wedding as we ourselves are the bride of Christ. It's a wonderful picture of God's love for us. Marriages are important for society and the health of the church. It is a first order priority. Marriage is a regular pattern from creation. Marriage was designed for our good.

Marriage was corrupted, but the gospel redeems it. And marriage takes a bigger step forward in the importance of that gospel picture in Jesus Christ. So if you're wrestling with, should I have gotten married? If you're married, the answer is yes. Marriage is good.

It's the only proper way to procreate image bearers, which is an incredible blessing, multiplying God's glory on this earth. Marriage determines a definite way for you to order your loves. How you will love first is already determined with your family. Marriage gives you a sense of God's love and that you're close to sinners and the closer you are to sinners, the more you see your own sin and a need for forgiveness. Marriage provides partnership in life. Marriage strengthens your faithfulness and commitment. Something marriage doesn't do, it doesn't complete you.

The call to faithful singleness

Only Christ and his spirit do that. So is it better to marry? Paul says, for some, yes. There's a call to singleness. So let's look at the call to faithful singleness. Jesus said to them, in response to it is better not to marry, first notice he bookends what he's saying.

Not everyone can receive this saying.

The saying is in the middle.

but only those to whom it is given."

So there's something uniquely given to some who will receive it. And then he ends this declaration about eunuchs,

let the one who is able to receive this, receive it.

He's setting apart this as a very specific, unique teaching already. Not everybody can receive it, but to those whom it is given, they will receive it and let those who are able to receive it, receive it.

I have an open-handedness that there are times that Jesus says,

let everyone who has ears, let them hear.

They're saying that he says universally for all believers. I think here we're starting to see what Paul seems to allude to as a unique call to singleness. Jesus responds to his disciples, so-called logical conclusion, it's better not to marry.

And he responds by giving three teachings on eunuchs. Now, as our tradition is at home, I go through the sermon and I ask them, what's the best way to define a eunuch for those who don't know? You can go to Deuteronomy 23 and we'll just use what God's word says.

A eunuch is someone with crushed man parts. The other definition that I asked, a man lacking all the operational equipment. You can tell me later which one you think I should have gone with. Those are both my simple explanations. Jesus lists three kinds of eunuchs.

First, someone who is a eunuch from birth. Verse 12,

for there are eunuchs who have been so from birth.

Now here it's somebody who is single, not married, they're not going to be married. They're born a eunuch. Here we have to do some theology by birth. We're going to make the absolute claim God doesn't make mistakes. So how would somebody be born this way?

I believe here we just see the consequence of the fall. Sin has corrupted not just our minds, our hearts, but our bodies. There are significant birth defects. The closed womb is a consequence of the fall, not caused by a specific sin of some body, but just a consequence of the fall, just like cancer. Somebody being born blind, being born deaf. Somebody being born as a eunuch is a consequence of the fall.

Jesus tells a story in the Gospel of John where he makes it clear, it isn't that it was this man's sin or his parents' sin that he was born blind, no, it's for the glory of God. There are simple birth defects, this one being born a eunuch, that are simply consequences of us being born in original sin and the consequences of sin on our bodies. Now, I do want to take a moment here. God doesn't make mistakes.

We recognize that there's a psychologization, I think I just said that word right, where there's a lot of confusion about what kind of body you're supposed to be in our culture. And here there's a way in which we know folks are born in confusing physical states, but the over-psychology of our culture is preying on folks in the middle of puberty and adolescence. And we could take a straw poll, that was a confusing time. Puberty and adolescence, it's a confusing time. No amens this morning, okay. But to introduce the idea that you're born in the wrong body, there are folks who have real physical difficulties born in following conditions that we need to have sympathy for.

There's folks who have real confusion from what they're being taught, and we need to have sympathy for. But we're also gonna make it clear, as Jesus taught in verse four of our text, God created us male and female. There are physical problems that cause some confusion for some people, but the rule is God's design is male and female. where a body and a soul and God's design was that he created us male and female, the design is what is the rule. We must seek to be conformed to what is true and what is right and submit to God's word as an authority and that God makes us male and female, both body and soul. We need to be careful that we know how to care for that kind of confusion.

The second kind of eunuch is one who's made by men.

There are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men.

These are usually folks who work in a palace, kingdom officials. Probably what the Ethiopian eunuch was, somebody who was made a eunuch so that he is not a threat to the castle, so that his whole devotion is to that kingdom and that palace. It's someone who is involuntarily made a eunuch in order to serve.

This is where we can step out and go back to that Isaiah 56 passage earlier and Steve's prayer. Eunuchs in the Old Testament, they could not draw near in the temple. They were in the outer gates. And what's amazing in the New Covenant is nothing but your sin keeps you out of the presence of God. This is why we rejoice in declarations that male, female, barbarian, Scythian, married, single, all have the same access to God in the Son by the Holy Spirit. Those who have any kind of limitation that would have kept them further away from the temple and the old, that's abolished now on the cross. All are brought near.

For the sake of the kingdom

The one that is most likely going to apply to more of our folks, the third category.

There are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. There are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.

And I believe here we might say Jesus saying it is better for some not to marry. It is better for those who have made themselves eunuchs, those who have committed themselves to a single unmarried life for the sake of the kingdom.

Now, I don't believe he's actually saying that there are going to be Christians who mutilate themselves. Origen did this. He believed this. I don't believe, I believe the Bible is very clear against self-mutilation. I believe he's speaking metaphorically now.

He's changing the way he's speaking of a eunuch as somebody who has committed themselves to not pursuing a family for the sake of the kingdom. That's the key qualifier. Someone who is called to forego the ministry of the home to be single-minded on the family of God and his church. This person is someone who is called to forego the ministry of the home to be single-minded on the family of God and his church.

This is what Paul says is better. It is a Christian denying themselves something more than sin. We're all supposed to deny our sin. But this eunuch for the sake of the kingdom denies themselves the goodness of a partner. They're embracing a certain kind of loneliness. They're denying themselves the delight of sex in a marriage. They're denying themselves the hope of their own children.

So there are three things that you would be committing to if you're going to be a eunuch who makes themselves a eunuch for the sake of the kingdom. Again, it's important. It's not denying yourself these things for the purpose of simple denial. These are good. You're denying these things for the sake of the kingdom.

A mission, a ministry, orphan care, evangelism, a school. There are those throughout Christian history who have committed themselves not to their own home, but to a specific Christian mission for the kingdom of God. Now, Jesus seems to be setting out, this is a certain way for some disciples to live.

Those who are able to hear it, let them receive it. Those who are able to receive it, let them obey it. Let me back out here for a second. There's one calling here at Jefferson Park Baptist Church. We hear the gospel, we believe the gospel, we grew up in the gospel.

We're all being conformed to the same image, Jesus Christ. What we're all bound to is to deny ourselves sin, carry our cross, follow Jesus. That looks the same for everyone because it's one and the same Jesus. Discipleship is supposed to look the same in that we're all being conformed Not to each other's visions and ideals and expectations, but to Christ and his. We're all supposed to be speaking God's word and truth, his truth, in love, so that we're all growing up to the same head and the same image, Jesus Christ. But it looks different if you're single, married, a student, in a vocation. It can look different, but we're all growing up to the same image, being conformed to Christ.

Called to singleness

Some are called to singleness. Well, I wanted to ask a question. Maybe this is helpful. How do you know if you're called to singleness? I came up with four ingredients, and they all have to be present in order for you to be called to singleness. First, you're single. If you're married, You're not called to singleness, so don't entertain it. And I have to say that for a reason, but here we are. I try to be simple as much as possible. You might be called to singleness or you are called to singleness right now if you are single. The key question is, is it temporary?

So if you're single, the second ingredient, you're content. And that's really the weight of what 1 Corinthians 7 is at. Because the whole section, If you're a slave, be content and be faithful where you are, but be free if you can be. And if you're married, be faithful as married. If you're single and you can remain single and you're content, be faithful as a single. Are you content? There's a different sense of loneliness if you're single. Are you content with it? There's a certain kind of contentment you need because certain desires are not going to be met.

Paul's exhortation in 1 Corinthians 7 is if somebody burns with passion, they should marry. I don't like how this has often been taught, I think, in that it's somebody who's just out of control sexually. They lack self-control. I believe it's somebody who has a God-given desire for what God created us for. I actually found that passage very helpful in a lot of pastoral counsel that this is why we shouldn't have long dating and long engagements.

If there's a desire that is good and you're practicing godliness in a self-controlled way, that is a good desire that you should pursue, I believe is what Paul is saying. But if you're going to be single, there's a contentment. with a loneliness. And I want to be real there, there is a different kind of loneliness. There's a contentment in the sexual desire. It's a single content.

Third, and this is really leaning in on what Jesus said specifically, it's for the sake of the kingdom. Third, you have a passion for a ministry and a desire to be focused on that ministry. You're not doing this, you're not avoiding marriage in order to be self-entertained or pursue some kind of ambition. No, it's for the sake of the kingdom. That would be the main focus. Paul says, so that your desires are not divided. Those who are called to be eunuchs in the way Jesus is speaking of are doing so for the sake of the kingdom, to spend that extra time, that energy, that resource to build up his church, the body.

So single, content, you have a passion for a ministry and a commitment to a ministry. And then fourth, I would say like all callings, it's not merely private, it's public. You've spoken to others and you've got others input. There is no calling. that is merely private, I am convinced of this calling. I once heard a pastor say,

if somebody thinks they're called to be a pastor, but nobody else agrees, that person might need to be locked up because they're insane.

Not everybody's called to be a deacon or an elder.

We believe that this particular kind of idea, should you be married? That's a conversation you should be having with not just the person you want to marry, but other Christians. Are you called to be single? I believe that's another conversation you should have with others. And church, the reason I mentioned earlier that being single isn't a problem to be fixed, we wanna make sure we're actually inviting good conversations and not always trying to fix that as if it's a problem. There is a right desire for singleness. There's a faithful way to be single.

As we think about what that might look like, I want to give you two ways to think about it, if you're a male or a female. God gave you this wonderful picture of what the church is as the bride of Christ. So it's two really families, right? The family at home or the family at church.

You're thinking about how can I fully invest in the bride of Christ? How can I fully invest in that being loved by Christ and entering that family where I'm going to enjoy a certain kind of love that is supposed to be family-like? committed a fellowship and prayer. Man, you can think about how you can more fully invest in the adopted sons of God. How can you be more fully invested in helping others rejoice all the more and how God has called us near him as sons? Well, some wrong reasons for desiring to be single. One, you would wrongly be designed to be single because you want to be selfish with your time.

We live in a Peter Pan culture where we're not supposed to want to grow up. You want to be consumed and committed to your own personal interest and ambition. You don't want the burden and care of others, not for the sake of the kingdom, but for your own selfish and most likely self-destructive ways. Let's just be very clear, our university students are gone, University is designed to make you a narcissist.

You just do whatever you want to do all the time. No, as a human being, you're designed by God to be responsible and to know how to carry weight. The church, I want it to be a place where we're teaching young adults how to carry weight. That's what the summer internship hopes to do. That's why I love telling young men what to do, like Ethan, who seems to always do it so well. I'm thankful for you, brother.

The second wrong reason to desire being single is that you're seeking satisfaction that only a marriage should provide outside of marriage. You're so wrapped in porn and sexual morality that you don't have that proper desire. Realize how twisted that is and how fake, how warping and enslaving that is. Another wrong reason I think many are pursuing singleness is unrealistic expectations for what you should be or what your spouse should be.

Two simple things, you should be attracted by their face and their faith. That was me being cute, no amens today, all right. So many conversations that Lisa and I have had, and with other married folks who I'm thankful are invested in our young adults who are single, the things that folks are prioritizing sometimes, we're like, that's good, but it ain't what's going to carry your marriage for decades. There's nothing wrong with prioritizing these things, but just to be very clear, you want to be thinking, what can actually carry a marriage for decades?

That is simply a fear of man. It's incredible. It's a big weighty promise. The disciples are responding to this. Is it better to marry because it's a serious commitment? There's lots to be anxious about. But you're ultimately trusting the Lord as you're seeking to marry only in the Lord. The last one would be like the first one that I need to get to this personal financial goal. The lie that says I need to find me and be me and then get married. Now the beauty of becoming one flesh is that you're growing up together to be a new kind of covenant identity.

Loving them and caring for them

We need to make sure that if we're thinking about what it means to be single, we're encouraging, promoting what that looks like to be called to singleness for the sake of the kingdom. We should expect that there are some who are called to singleness for the kingdom. It could be temporary. It could be longer than you like.

A call to singleness doesn't seem to be the absolute norm because God's word gives us clear instructions for what it means to be married. So we do pursue marriage and we promote marriage and Paul gives clear instruction as to why that should happen. But we should expect it. We see singleness is a good It's good in that you have this time and energy to focus on the family of God. Church, we also need to recognize there's a different kind of loneliness for those who are single that we should seek to make sure we care for as we invite them into our own homes and make sure we're here loving them and caring for them as the family of God.

So if you want to talk to the married folks for a second, commit that singleness is not a problem for us to fix. We rejoice together. Being married does not make you more human. Second, we do often think if somebody's not married, they're not mature. It's a weird thing. Yes, marriage has a unique way of sanctifying you, but many are growing and maturing in their own devotion and disciplines of Christ.

Some dating advice

And if you have a role to play, church, it's being hospitable, opening your home, inviting people to your dinner table. It's an incredible way to love our singles. All right, here's where I'm gonna swing for the fences. I'm gonna give you some dating advice. First, if you're single but you desire to be married, First, be clear about your desire to be married. I was so blessed. A few months ago, somebody, as we're praying for the membership, said,

pray I find a wife I want to be married.

That was wonderful. Been praying for that dude ever since, for that particular way.

It needs to be something we're free to talk about. Be clear about your desire to be married. Make sure that desire is expressed and make sure you're presenting yourself as somebody who either wants to pursue others or will pursue others. Second, and this is what I've gathered in conversations with many, be respectful of others' privacy. We live in a world where everything goes public real quick because of technology.

We should not be gossiping about who's asking who or going out with who. The chatterbox is a real reason some guys won't ask girls. So if you want more guys asking girls, stop talking about guys asking girls. Three, be open to dating, and let's define dating.

Dating is intentionally getting to know someone to see if you like them. Now, when I say dating, let me be very clear. Dating does not include kissy face. Dating is two Christians who simply want to know each other, learn something about themselves, learn something about the other person, and maybe see if they would like to then enter into what the world or somebody else calls courting. I come under the pressure of like, I was saved the first, the same year, I guess, Dating Goodbye came out. I knew I needed to take a step back to figure out a lot of things after being in my freshman year of college.

But that book is confusing. Calls great confusion. It makes it sound like if you ask a girl out, then you wanna marry her. No, you're wanting to know her. There needs to be a freedom where a guy can talk to a girl to get to know her that it's not pursuing marriage. But there's that moment when you are going to start courting and, well, you're going to talk to an elder or a dad. There is a time where you start using more significant words and more commitment. I kind of want to call this going steady, just because I think that's fun. Like you give her your letterman jacket, make her a mixtape.

We're the household of God. We're the temple of God. All stones built on the same living stone. All seeking to be built up to the same image of Christ. And there's a single route and there's a marriage route. We make sure we see these two as good. We want to promote both in their goodness. We want to see single folks and if you're single and you want to be seen and pursued or you want to know who to pursue, who's actively serving and caring for others? Who's actively serving? And caring for others in this family for the sake of the kingdom. Is it better not to marry?

It could be. If God has called you to that. Be faithful. Be content. Will you pray with me? Father, we thank You for Your kingdom. We thank You that You have given us clear either-ors. You cannot love God and love money. But thank You, Lord, You've given us ways in which to live inside of that kingdom that are good. We thank You for homes and families. We thank You for faithful, godly men who seek to lead those homes. We thank you, Lord, for our singles. We thank you for the way they seek to use their time to study more, to teach and serve more. We pray that we would promote both of these and their goodness. We would see our church growing in both ways for your glory. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.