Bible Reading: Proverbs 5:18-19
Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. Hebrews 13:4
YOU MIGHT GET THE IDEA from listening to some Christians that sex is dirty. That it’s wrong. That God goofed when he created our sex organs-or that sex comes from Satan.
Way wrong. When God created the world, he looked at it and pronounced everything good. Including sex! We know that God planned for sex to be a good, enjoyable part of human life. After all, he devised the idea in the first place. According to Hebrews 13:4, God designed the gift of sex to be enjoyed within marriage. There’s nothing more beautiful than sex between two people committed to one another in marriage, and the Bible’s healthy view of sex is clear in Proverbs 5:18-19.
The vast majority of church people-young and old-think the Bible has a negative view of sex. Yet there’s not a single verse in the Bible that slams sex or makes sex look dirty or wrong.
Now don’t misunderstand. There are many passages in the Bible that speak against the misuse of sex-sexual activity outside the loving commitment of marriage. It’s not sex itself but the wrong use of sex that the Bible labels as immoral.
Two specific passages speak about the sin of sexual immorality, which means voluntary sex between people of the opposite sex who are not married to each other. In 1 Corinthians 7:2, the apostle Paul writes that one reason for marriage-certainly not the only reason, though-is to avoid sexual immorality. When a husband and wife meet each other’s sexual needs, they’re less vulnerable to temptation. Paul offers the same wise advice in 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5.
In both spots, Paul warns unmarried people that immorality is tempting. He’s clear that marriage is God’s great plan. And as long as a Christian is single, he or she is to abstain from sexual activity.
Maybe you read this and wonder, “What happens if I’ve already committed sexual immorality?” Here’s the big question: Have you slipped just once, or is having sex a continuing pattern in your life? It’s always possible for a Christian to sin, and God’s forgiveness is available to us (see 1 John 1:9). But if sexual sin is habitual, it’s time to seriously examine your life. First John 2:4 says that someone who claims to be a Christian but constantly lives like a non-Christian doesn’t live in the truth.
REFLECT: Have you ever made the huge decision that you will live by God’s standards of moral purity? Now is the time.
PRAY: Talk to God today about your desire to keep yourself pure for marriage.
