Biblical Courtship
Courtship (just so we’re on the same page) is the modern revival of a young man asking a young woman’s father or guardian for permission to woo her.
Intention: Marriage
Proviso: Relationship can be terminated “if it doesn’t work out.”
There’s nothing inherently wrong with courtship.
But there’s nothing inherently right with it either.
The Thoughts & Intents of the Heart
Courtship tends to:
- Encourage relational attachment (“courting”)
- Delay relational commitment (“engagement”)
This is why courtship makes me nervous. Raising false hopes and having vain imaginations are both contrary to the Spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ, as revealed in the Bible.
Courtships very often build up hopes and dreams that are left unfulfilled.
Love Does Not Experiment
True Christian love:
- seeks the Lord,
- follows the Lord,
- obeys the Lord.
We who love the Lord:
- honor our parents,
- remain faithful and pure,
- do not defraud (deceive) one another.
We live in a fallen world, so mistakes and offenses are inevitable, even among believers. But wisdom will look for ways to avoid giving offense to others.
Below are a few articles I’ve written on avoiding what I call “experimental relationships” and how to stay pure in heart.
Bring these ideas to the Word of God, and be led by the Spirit of God. Gently correct me where I am wrong.
Courtship Practices
Here Comes the Groom
The very first essay I wrote about courtship, way back in 2003. Funny. My perspective hasn’t changed a bit.
I Kissed Courtship Goodbye
This little gift went further than I intended. In 2007 I printed some of my courtship essays in a book for my Mom. She showed the book to her friends and they asked where to buy it. I self-published a “limited first edition” in May 2008. There’s still a handful of copies left. First come, first served.
Ideally Speaking
A look at what happens when your Biblical ideal is impossible for you to live
Being Unmarried
A Single Eye
Outlining seven Biblical principles that give me purpose, hope, and trust in the Lord for as long as I remain unmarried … and beyond
You Say Label, I Say Libel
I’m tired of being labeled a “single”—but not for the reasons you may imagine
My Hope Chest
Is that bright wooden box a blessing to hopeful teens? or is it the cruelest joke ever perpetrated upon susceptible young maidens in our modern culture of delayed marriages?
I Just Want to Get Married
How to murmur and complain against God just like the faithless Israelites in the wilderness. (Note: It’s not a good idea, if you want to enter the Promised Land.)
That’s Blasphemy!
Do you joke about marriage and other sacred things?