What does the Bible say

What Does the Bible Say About Dating?

The Bible does not describe modern dating, but it gives clear wisdom for how two people should treat one another on the way to marriage: with honour, purity, patience, and love that is not self-seeking. It urges believers to be equally yoked, to flee sexual immorality, and to seek God first, trusting him to guide the relationships we bring under his care.

What Scripture says

Here are real verses on dating, each in the King James Version, with a word on what it means.

Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?2 Corinthians 6:14 (KJV)

Be not unequally yoked warns against binding your life to someone who does not share your faith.

Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,1 Corinthians 13:4 (KJV)

Real love suffers long, is kind, and is not self-seeking, a good measure for any relationship.

For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:1 Thessalonians 4:3 (KJV)

God's will is our purity, that we abstain from sexual immorality.

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.Proverbs 3:5 (KJV)

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, including your decisions about who to love.

Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.Philippians 2:3 (KJV)

Do nothing from selfish ambition, but in humility count the other as more important.

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.Matthew 6:33 (KJV)

Seek first the kingdom of God, and the rest, including relationships, finds its right place.

What this means for you today

Dating is worth doing thoughtfully, because it is how many people move toward the lifelong covenant of marriage. Treating the other person as someone God loves, rather than someone to use, changes everything.

Purity, honesty, and patience are not old-fashioned rules but ways of protecting a person you claim to care about. Bringing God into the relationship, and inviting wise friends to speak into it, is a gift to your future.

The deepest answer is Jesus

The love the Bible holds up as the pattern is the self-giving love of Christ, who put others before himself; that is the love worth building a relationship on.

Every one of these Scriptures points beyond itself to a Person. The deepest answer the Bible gives to any human need is not a rule or a technique but Jesus Christ, who came, lived, died, and rose again so that you could be forgiven and brought home to God. He said, Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Whatever you are carrying, you do not have to carry it alone, and you do not have to make yourself clean first. You can come to him today, just as you are.

This is the good news the whole Bible is telling. We were made for God, we have all turned from him and gone our own way, and none of us can fix that on our own. But God did not leave us there. Out of love he sent his Son to take our place, bearing our wrong on the cross and rising again to open the way back to the Father. Everyone who turns to Jesus and trusts him is forgiven, given new life, and welcomed as a beloved child of God, held by a love that will never let go. That is why the Bible's answer to every topic on this page finally leads here. You can respond right now, in your own words, simply telling God you need him and asking Jesus to be your Saviour and Lord. He hears the honest prayer of anyone who comes.

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