Bible Reading: Deuteronomy 10:12-16
What does the Lord your God require of you? He requires you. .. to obey the Lord’s commands and laws that I am giving you today for your own good. Deuteronomy 10:12-13
DO YOU EVER wonder why God takes such a tough stance against premarital sex? You feel those urges. And the opportunities to answer those urges are certainly available. But the Bible says no. Is God just some spoiler of all things fun?
Any time God warns you not to do something; he’s trying to take care of you. He wants to protect you from the negative consequences of your actions. He also wants to make sure you can enjoy the huge benefits that come from obedience.
Physically, God wants to protect you from a dangerous run-in with more than fifty different kinds of sexually transmitted diseases. More than a million teenage girls get pregnant every year. He doesn’t want you to be one of them. Babies are beautiful things, but he doesn’t want you to have to live with the heartache and problems that pregnancy creates outside of marriage.
Emotionally, God wants to guard you from the negative emotions that plague a person involved in sex before marriage, fears like: “What if my parents find out?” “What if we break up?” “What if we get caught?” He wants to spare you the guilt that comes the morning after, the shame from being known as “easy” or “cheap,” and the doubt about your self-image, your relationship with God, and whether you’re being loved for yourself or used for your body.
Relationally, God wants to protect you from breakdowns in communication. If you’re sleeping with your boyfriend or girlfriend, often your relationship focuses on your sexual involvement instead of on each other as persons. Although most people don’t realize it, you carry all your past experiences and relationships into your future marriage. That can create problems. Your spouse may feel super-insecure, always wondering if you are comparing him or her to your past partners.
Spiritually, God wants to protect you from feeling far from him. Not only can premarital sex blow your testimony for Christ among your non-Christian friends, but you can also feel like God is a million miles away from you. You have damaged your fellowship with him and with other Christians because you feel like a hypocrite. God loves you, and he doesn’t want you to experience that pain.
God wants to make sure you get the best. By waiting you guarantee your physical health, emotional maturity, relational happiness, and spiritual growth. And you can’t lose when you follow God’s ways, which he gives you “for your own good.”
REFLECT: What good reasons does God give you to wait until marriage for sex?
PRAY: Talk to God about how you are dealing with your sexual desires.
