Let me ask you a simple question: If you married this woman, what church would your children attend?<\/p>\n
Most people are willing to compromise their faith enough to marry someone who does not believe the same as they do, but when it comes to the future of their children — well, that is an entirely different matter. Children raised in a home where the parents do not agree about religion are very likely to decide against all religion when they grow up.<\/p>\n
The reason for dating a person is to find a suitable mate for marriage. The reason for marrying a person is to find a lifetime companion to whom you are committed (Genesis 2:18). Yet at this time when the two of you ought to be putting your best foot forward to impress one another, you tell me that you already have irreconcilable differences. How will this create a foundation for a peaceful and loving home? Will you be able to honor your wife if you believe that she is going against the will of God (I Peter 3:7)?<\/p>\n
Too often people allow themselves to be deceived into thinking that the difference that can’t be worked out now will somehow be worked out after marriage. Such almost never happens. If you don’t respect her and love her as she is today, then you are chasing after the wrong woman. Yes, some times people do make changes in their life, but how do you know she will be one of them? Are you willing to risk the happiness of the rest of your life for the hopes that she\u00a0might<\/em>\u00a0change?<\/p>\n In I Corinthians 6, Paul scolds some members for seeing prostitutes. He points out that a sexual relationship binds people together, but Christians are already bound to the Lord (I Corinthians 6:15-17). While your friend is much more honorable than a harlot, still the point remains. You have dedicated your life to the Lord when you took on the name Christian and followed Him into the watery grave. Your friend isn’t so committed to the Lord and wants to argue about many of the Lord’s commands. Should the two of you be bound together?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: I am involved with a young lady who is of a different denomination (AME). We’ve had a relationship for four years and have yet to make any decision on our future. She is convinced she saved but does not want to attend the Church of Christ because it is boring or does not appeal…<\/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,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[149],"class_list":["post-4913","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-dating"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":92373,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-a-church-have-the-right-to-remove-from-its-roll-a-member-who-no-longer-lives-in-the-area\/","url_meta":{"origin":4913,"position":0},"title":"Does a church have the right to remove from its roll a member who no longer lives in the area?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 28, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Dear Sir, I have been reading your articles and learning a lot from your Bible teachings. Thank you for all you do and for your heart to spread the Truth. Here's my question: There's a sister in our Church who was reached out while working as a house helper\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":82283,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-i-attend-my-husbands-church-as-a-goodwill-gesture\/","url_meta":{"origin":4913,"position":1},"title":"Should I attend my husband’s church as a goodwill gesture?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 21, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello! I have a question related to my current situation. My new husband and I have differing religious foundations. He is a Baptist, and I attend a church of Christ. We are in the military, and in our current area, he has been willing to come to church with\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":36562,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-want-to-marry-a-christian-but-there-is-a-girl-who-attends-a-different-religion-whom-im-interested-in-what-do-i-do\/","url_meta":{"origin":4913,"position":2},"title":"I want to marry a Christian, but there is a girl who attends a different religion whom I’m interested in. What do I do?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 19, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I grew up in the church my entire life. My dad is a preacher. I say all of that to give you a quick background. I have been dating a girl for about a month now and have really started to like her. The thing is, when she was\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":33209,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/while-my-parents-call-themselves-christian-they-dont-go-to-a-church-how-can-i-do\/","url_meta":{"origin":4913,"position":3},"title":"While my parents call themselves Christian, they don’t go to a church. How can I do?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 9, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: My parents both identify as Christians, Mom more so than Dad, but neither has been to church in years. I have attended independently since high school. While my father and younger brother were away, my mother confided in me that she would like to find a local church to\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":17140,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/my-girlfriend-isnt-a-christian-and-i-dont-know-what-to-do\/","url_meta":{"origin":4913,"position":4},"title":"My girlfriend isn’t a Christian and I don’t know what to do","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 1, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have been dating my girlfriend for almost two months. We have now run into some problems with each other. I will admit that she is not a Christian. I wanted to try and bring her to Christ. Her parents are divorced and her mom has a man living\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":42381,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/my-mother-threatens-not-to-attend-my-wedding-if-i-marry-my-catholic-boyfriend\/","url_meta":{"origin":4913,"position":5},"title":"My mother threatens not to attend my wedding if I marry my Catholic boyfriend","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 29, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, I am a 20-year-old daughter and student, currently living with my mother. I have a brother whose age isn't far different than mine. My parents divorced when we were little, and my mother gained custody of both of us. We've been living together since. She is a proud\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\/4913","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=4913"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4913\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4913"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}