Everywhere you look today, the world is telling you that it's okay to have sex outside of marriage. The idea is widely promoted that if you love someone, it's okay to have sex with him or her.
But the Bible doesn't say that! God says that sex is for marriage. The reason that God tells you to wait isn't because He wants to torture you and cause you to be unhappy. As a matter of fact, I have known many people whose lives are in turmoil because they didn't wait until they were married.
It's not important what we believe about sex before marriage; it's what God believes. You and I must base our believing on God's Word.
A Word About Fornication
"Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body" (1 Cor. 6:18).
This Scripture makes it clear that we are to wait until marriage to have sex. The Lord also gives you a tip in this verse by saying, "Flee...." To flee means "...to run away..."! In other words, get out of there! Go home! Take a cold shower!
I'm going to give you some things that will really help you to stay strong in this area, so keep reading.
In case you are not familiar with Bible terminology, the word fornication basically means sex outside marriage. References to it appear over forty times in the Bible. The word adultery means that you're already married, and you have sex with someone other than your spouse.
God addresses this topic more than most others in the New Testament. For example, references to:
- Pride are mentioned three times
- Jealousy, five times
- Strife, 12 times
- Murder, 22 times
- Envy, 17 times
- Drunk or drunkard, 18 times
- Lying, 15 times
- Stealing and thieves, 30 times
- Adultery, 35 times
Obviously, this issue must be important to God. He has reasons for telling you to wait. For one thing, it messes you up emotionally, because sex is more than just a physical act.
And just look at all the diseases that people can get from sex outside of marriage. Those are just a couple reasons why God says it's important to wait.
Most people never even think of the consequences; they just give way to the flesh. It would be a good idea to continually remind yourself of these things so you can keep yourself sharp and strong in the face of temptation.
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers