It is no longer a hypothetical question. People in your church are using AI at work to write reports, at school to finish homework, and at home to plan meals and answer questions they used to bring to a friend. Some church staff are using it to draft newsletters or brainstorm sermon illustrations. The question isn’t whether AI has entered the Christian life. It already has.
So the real question is: should Christians use AI, and if so, how?
My short answer is yes, with discernment. Christians can use AI tools, including those built by people who reject God, because God distributes real gifts to all people through what theologians call common grace. But “it works” is not enough. Scripture calls us to ask not only “Can we?” but “Should we?”, and to keep our trust in God rather than in the tool.
In this article I want to show where that answer comes from and give you a practical way to apply it.
Two reactions, and why both fall short
When AI enters a Christian’s life, it usually draws one of two reactions.
Uncritical adoption says, “It works, so it’s fine.” This reaction treats technology as neutral and judges tools only by what they can do. But the tools we use always carry values that shape the people who use them. As Jacob Shatzer observes, “Humans are far better at inventing tools than using them wisely.”
Fearful rejection says, “This is dangerous, so stay away.” This reaction often comes from a good instinct, a desire to protect our families and our faith. But it overlooks something Scripture makes plain: God gives genuine gifts even through people who do not know Him. Rejecting every tool built by unbelievers would mean rejecting most of modern medicine, too.
Both reactions skip the question that actually matters: what does faithfulness look like here?
Start with God, not the machine
It is tempting to start a conversation about AI with the technology itself. But Scripture starts somewhere else.
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him” (Genesis 1:27). We are makers because we were made by a Maker. Human creativity, including the creativity that builds computers and writes software, is not an accident of evolution. It flows from being made in the image of a God who creates with sovereignty, wisdom, and goodness. And before the Fall, God gave humanity a job: “fill the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1:28). Developing creation’s potential was part of God’s original design. Technology is one of the ways human beings carry out that calling.
The Fall complicates this, but it does not cancel it. Our hearts now bend toward using our gifts for self-glory. So we approach technology with both confidence and caution: confident because making is good, cautious because we are not.
That foundation changes the question. We are no longer asking “Is AI good or evil?” We are asking “How do image-bearers steward this tool for the glory of God and the good of their neighbor?”
Common grace: why Christians can use AI
Genesis 4 records the first great innovations in human history: tents, musical instruments, and metalworking. All of them came from the line of Cain, a family that had turned its back on God. Yet God recorded their contributions, and later Noah used that same craft to build the ark.
That is common grace: God’s non-saving favor to all people, restraining sin, sustaining order, and distributing gifts to believers and unbelievers alike. It is the reason a Christian can gladly benefit from tools built by people who do not share our faith. (I explain the doctrine in more depth in What Is Common Grace?)
So the fact that a particular AI company is led by people who reject Christ does not, by itself, settle the question. (Some of those leaders do hold a worldview worth understanding; see Transhumanism and the Bible.) The gifts of unbelievers still come from God.
Wisdom: why Christians must use AI carefully
Common grace opens the door. Wisdom tells us how to walk through it.
The world asks one question of every new technology: Can we? Can we build it, scale it, ship it? Scripture presses a second: Should we? That question moves us past capability to purpose. What are we actually trying to accomplish? Who is served? What is lost?
“Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God” (Psalm 20:7). Chariots were not evil. They were the most advanced military technology of the day. The danger was trusting in them. Technology is a gift to be stewarded, not a god to be served, but gifts can quietly become idols.
Here are five warning signs that a tool has moved from servant to master:
- You feel anxious without access to it.
- It is the first thing you turn to in difficulty.
- You trust its output more than Scripture or wise counsel.
- It shapes your identity or your sense of worth.
- You sacrifice relationships, health, or spiritual disciplines for it.
If any of those describe your relationship with AI, or with your phone more broadly, that is worth bringing before the Lord.
David and Saul’s armor
One of the most helpful passages for thinking about technology is a short scene in 1 Samuel 17. Before David faces Goliath, King Saul dresses him in his own armor, the most advanced equipment in Israel.
“And David strapped his sword over his armor. And he tried in vain to go, for he had not tested them. Then David said to Saul, ‘I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.’ So David put them off.” (1 Samuel 17:39)
Notice three things about David’s decision:
- He evaluated the tool honestly. He didn’t dismiss Saul’s armor out of pride or fear. He tried it on.
- He chose what he could wield faithfully. The sling wasn’t primitive. It was the right tool in the hands of someone who had practiced with it.
- His confidence was in the Lord, not the tool. “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts” (v. 45).
That is the posture Christians should bring to AI: evaluate honestly, choose what you can use faithfully, and keep your trust in God.
A traffic-light framework for your home
For families, a simple framework turns that posture into practice:
- Green: use freely, with awareness. Tools with clear, bounded purposes, like GPS, weather apps, spell-check, or using AI to summarize a long document for work.
- Yellow: use with caution and boundaries. Tools that invite overuse or dependency, like social media, AI homework helpers, or chatbots you find yourself turning to for advice.
- Red: avoid or reject. Tools that simulate real relationships or undermine truth, like AI “companions” for children or deepfake generators.
The categories aren’t rigid. The same tool might be green for an adult and yellow or red for a child. The point is to give your family a shared vocabulary, and to talk through the categories with your children rather than simply imposing rules.
Where AI does not belong in the church
In ministry, one principle governs everything: all use of AI in ministry should promote the health and vitality of the body of Christ. Not efficiency. Not innovation. Not keeping up with the culture.
By that measure, AI can reasonably help with tasks that don’t require presence, discernment, or relationship: scheduling, transcription, translation, and first drafts of announcements. But there are things it cannot do, and should not be asked to do:
- It cannot provide pastoral care. A chatbot can generate compassionate-sounding words, but it cannot weep with those who weep (Romans 12:15).
- It cannot preach. A sermon is meant to come from a minister who has wrestled with the text and been changed by it.
- It cannot replace gathering. “Not neglecting to meet together” (Hebrews 10:25) is a call to embodied fellowship.
- It cannot pray. Prayer is the overflow of a human heart communing with the living God.
AI is not your friend, and it is not your pastor. It is a tool, and a remarkable one. Keep it in its place.
The bottom line
Should Christians use AI? Yes, with discernment rooted in biblical wisdom, not mere pragmatism. For the biblical texts behind that answer, see What Does the Bible Say About AI? Receive it with thanksgiving, because God gives good gifts through unlikely hands. Evaluate it with wisdom, because no technology is neutral. Use it with discernment, because the heart that trusts in chariots can just as easily trust in chatbots.
If you want to work through these questions with your small group, Sunday school class, or leadership team, that is exactly what God, AI, and the Future of the Church is built for. It is six sessions with a full Leader’s Guide. You can also start with the free guide, What Does the Bible Say About AI?
Frequently asked questions
Is it a sin for Christians to use AI?
No. Using AI is not sinful in itself. Like any tool, it can be used well or poorly. The question is whether it serves God's purposes and your neighbor, or whether it becomes something you trust in place of God.
Should pastors use AI to write sermons?
AI can help with research and administrative tasks, but a sermon should come from a minister who has wrestled with the text and been changed by it. Fully AI-generated sermons lack that authenticity.
How should Christian parents think about AI?
A traffic-light framework helps: green for bounded, useful tools; yellow for tools that invite dependency and need boundaries; red for tools that simulate relationships or undermine truth, such as AI companions for children.
Should Christians use ChatGPT?
Christians can use ChatGPT and similar tools for bounded tasks like summarizing, drafting, or research, receiving them as gifts of common grace. But they should verify its output, be transparent about using it, and never let it replace Scripture, prayer, wise counsel, or real relationships.
What does the Bible say about using AI?
The Bible doesn't mention AI by name, but it teaches that we create because we bear God's image (Genesis 1:27), that God gives gifts through unbelievers (common grace), that tools can become idols (Psalm 20:7), and that truth-telling is commanded (Exodus 20:16).
About the author: Ryan Shelley
Founder of Common Grace Institute. Ryan holds a Master of Arts in Theological Studies from Westminster Theological Seminary and is a candidate for the MPhil in Artificial Intelligence at Capital Technology University.