{"id":30857,"date":"2011-12-06T19:48:00","date_gmt":"2011-12-07T01:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=30857"},"modified":"2021-01-19T19:53:29","modified_gmt":"2021-01-20T01:53:29","slug":"how-can-we-make-things-right-and-be-committed-christians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-we-make-things-right-and-be-committed-christians\/","title":{"rendered":"How can we make things right and be committed Christians?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t

Question:<\/h2>\n

I am a middle-aged woman in a relationship with a middle-aged man for about a year. We have talked of marriage, but I am not sure if this man is the one that God wants me to marry. I am a born again Christian. I’ve been praying to God to give me a sign for assurance that he is the one or not, but I don’t know how God responds. My boyfriend is a believer, but he is not yet saved. He talks about the Lord, but he hasn’t submitted his life to God. I wish he could be saved. I pray for him all the time. Is this man God’s choice or not?<\/p>\n

Another thing: We have been having sex from the start of our relationship, but recently I decided we should stop since it is not right in the eyes of the Lord. This decision seems to be tough, but my boyfriend has accepted that we can stop. But how can we be strong with this decision? I want to follow the Lord righteously. I love my boyfriend so much, and I don’t want to break up. Is there a way to make things right and be committed Christians?<\/p>\n

Your advice will be of great help.<\/p>\n\t

Answer:<\/h2>\n

You act as if God hasn’t told you what to do. “Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge<\/em>” (Hebrews 13:4). Despite knowing that sex outside of marriage is sinful, you did it anyway. Meanwhile, you demand some sign from God about whether you should marry this man or not. Thus, you are indirectly blaming God for why you continue to sin.<\/p>\n

The problem is that God does teach everyone through His Word how to live morally. He gives instructions on how to select a mate. Yet, you, like so many others, don’t believe it is good enough that “His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue<\/em>” (II Peter 1:3).<\/p>\n

It reminds me of the Jews’ demands of Jesus. Immediately after doing miracles, they asked for a sign to prove the miracle was from God. What else is a miracle? “Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah<\/em>” (Matthew 12:38-39).<\/p>\n

In the same way, you want God to tell you again what He has already said. “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God<\/em>” (James 4:3-4).<\/p>\n

A sign is a type of miracle. God doesn’t use miracles to tell people how to make typical life decisions. See:\u00a0Does God send us signs?<\/a>\u00a0Instead, God teaches you how to make decisions and expects you to make good decisions by following His teachings.<\/p>\n

You state that you don’t want to lose this man. Then the answer is very simple — marry him. But this idea that you can sin and claim to be following Christ is degrading the very name of Christ. “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God<\/em>” (I Corinthians 6:9-10). Is it a wonder that your boyfriend hasn’t submitted to Christ when you have not yourself?<\/p>\n\t

Response:<\/h2>\n

Thanks anyway.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Question: I am a middle-aged woman in a relationship with a middle-aged man for about a year. We have talked of marriage, but I am not sure if this man is the one that God wants me to marry. I am a born again Christian. I’ve been praying to God to give me a sign…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[1572],"class_list":["post-30857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-fornication"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":53632,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-cant-figure-out-if-god-wants-me-to-leave-my-boyfriend-for-another-man\/","url_meta":{"origin":30857,"position":0},"title":"I can’t figure out if God wants me to leave my boyfriend for another man","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 8, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I am struggling with knowing what God's will is for my life. I read the Bible, attend daily masses a few times a week, and pray frequently asking God to clearly show me His will for my life. I have a severe anxiety disorder called agoraphobia (fear of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":39920,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-know-god-has-been-keeping-me-with-my-boyfriend-so-am-i-wrong-to-stay\/","url_meta":{"origin":30857,"position":1},"title":"I know God has been keeping me with my boyfriend, so am I wrong to stay?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 23, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Praise the Lord, I'm an 18 years old Christian girl and am dating a Muslim boy who's 22 years old now. We have been in a relationship for two years now. We are deeply in love and are planning to get married after two years when I am done\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":43180,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/my-boyfriend-whom-i-have-been-having-sex-with-became-a-christian-but-we-arent-able-to-stop-having-sex-what-do-i-do\/","url_meta":{"origin":30857,"position":2},"title":"My boyfriend, whom I have been having sex with, became a Christian, but we aren’t able to stop having sex. What do I do?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 8, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, I started dating someone who was not a Christian. Within the first year of the relationship, we fell into habitual fornication. (We were both virgins before this.) There would be months where we would stop and then it would start up again. It was very difficult because he\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":66646,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-i-need-to-break-up-with-my-boyfriend\/","url_meta":{"origin":30857,"position":3},"title":"Do I need to break up with my boyfriend?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 17, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good day, I am writing to seek advice concerning my relationship with my boyfriend. We met two years ago and started as friends. We grew closer but made the decision not to take things further because he had the intention to relocate to the country. Unfortunately, we started having\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":43846,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/am-i-being-selfish-and-covetous-in-marrying-a-woman-who-had-a-child-by-another-man\/","url_meta":{"origin":30857,"position":4},"title":"Am I being selfish and covetous in marrying a woman who had a child by another man?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 6, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Greetings, I met my fianc\u00e9e last year and we became friends. We go to the same church. Later we decided to pray and ask God if we should get married and we did get confirmation. So we went to our pastor and told him of our decision. We are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24946,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-i-tell-my-boyfriend-that-i-had-a-one-night-stand\/","url_meta":{"origin":30857,"position":5},"title":"Do I tell my boyfriend that I had a one-night stand?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 10, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello. Well, first of all, I came across your site by asking the question: \"By not telling my boyfriend about a one night stand am I sinning even though I have cried and prayed to God to ask for forgiveness?\" I have been living with my boyfriend for several\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30857","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30857"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30857\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}