Real love always carries with it commitment. The sexual experience that occurs between two people without commitment is not love but lust, and lust is only a temporary thing.

God's plan is for man and woman to be committed to one another through marriage before they engage in sex. Herein lies the problem with today's society. So many people are living outside of God's plan. All they desire is sex without commitment, but much trouble will come as a result.

One of society's big problems today is illegitimacy. An illegitimate birth doesn't make the child bad, but it puts that child and its mother in an unfavorable situation.

Besides illegitimacy, there is the problem of folks being sexually involved with so many different people. As a result they open themselves up to all kinds of diseases, some of which could be disastrous to their life and health.

God is against sin because He knows sin will kill people. There is a price to be paid for living in sin. It harms anyone who has stepped outside of God's will. God loves the sinner but He hates the sin. He wants His people to be blessed by turning from their wicked ways and seeking His will for their lives. (2 Chron. 7:14.)

Let's read more from First Corinthians, chapter 6: "But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit" (v. 17).

Whether married or single, every believer should be joined unto the Lord.

Flee Fornication!
"Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body" (v. 18).

Flee fornication. The word "flee" means to run away from.

It's interesting to me that the Scripture would use this kind of verbiage. When God's Word says we are to flee fornication, we are being told just how powerful the sex drive is. God created this drive as a healthy act performed between husband and wife. It was never intended as some special occurrence that comes about only once a year. But we can't be fooling around with it, either.

If you happen to be with someone who causes your liver to quiver, don't just say, "Oh, I can handle this." No, the Bible says you are to flee from fornication. That means to run from it! You need to get out of any situation that could lead you off into other problems.

Anytime you go outside the will of God and get over into Satan's domain where sin is, you are putting yourself at risk.

Glorify God With Your Body
"What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's" (1 Cor. 6:19-20).

If you are having difficulty in this area, remember First Corinthians 7:2, which says, "Let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. No man or woman is to be involved in fornication."

Any woman dating a guy who wants to have sex without marriage needs to either get rid of him or tell him, "Sorry, honey. If you want me, let me see that wedding ring."

There is no reason why a man would want to marry a woman when she allows him to enjoy the fruits of marriage without having to commit himself legally or spiritually. There would be no incentive for him to marry her.

Now he may pretend that he will marry her, but why should he? Things are going just fine for him. He is getting all that he wants from her now without marriage. She is taking care of him, fussing over him and cooking his meals. Whenever he wants to go to bed, she's there for him. Until he gets saved, he will have zero incentive to marry her. So it's time for her to wise up.

In the Scripture reference in First Corinthians, God was saying to believers: "If you are not married, glorify Me by constantly joining yourself to Me. Never join yourself sexually to someone unless you are married to that person."

Source: What On Earth Are We Here For? by Keith Butler
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers