Bible Question: This might sound like an easy question to answer, but I'm confused. I am a single male (never been married) dating a single female (never been married). Would having sex be a sin? The Ten Commandments don't address this issue (see Exodus 20:3-17) nor is it addressed in the two commandments on which the whole Law and the Prophets depend on (see Matt 22:36-40). |
Bible Answer: Greetings JMR! I am also a single male (never been married). Yes, I believe that pre-marital sex is a sin. You mentioned the Ten Commandments and Matthew 22:36-40, but let me go at this at a "different angle." God created human beings as sexual beings. But God intended sexual activity to be confined to the marriage relationship. Unfortunately, as is true with so many other things, many people have taken that which God intended for good and have perverted its use. The result? Sexual Enslavement. Scripture has a lot to say about human sexuality. For example: 1) Scripture is consistent in its emphasis that a sexual relationship can only be engaged in within the confines of marriage (1 Corinthians 7:2). 2) The apostles urged all Christians to abstain from fornication (Acts 15:20). Paul said that the body is not for fornication and that a man should flee from it (1 Corinthians 6:13,18). 3) Adultery is condemned in Scripture (Exodus 20:14). In the Old Testament adulterers were to be put to death (Leviticus 20:10). Jesus pronounced adultery wrong even in its basic motives (Matthew 5:27,28). Paul called adultery an evil work of the flesh (Galatians 5:19). John envisioned in the lake of fire some of those who practiced adultery (Revelation 21:8). Sex within marriage, however, is good (see Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:5). Sex was a part of God's "good" creation. Indeed, God created sex and "everything created by God is good" (1 Timothy 4:4). But it is good only within the confines of the marriage relationship, which He Himself ordained (see Hebrews 13:4). I write this note to only inspire you to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, my friend! To this day, the Lord has kept me pure from defiling myself with any woman before the proper time! I write this to encourage you, so that you will know that it is possible to keep yourself totally and completely pure from any sexual contact before marriage, my friend. I am living proof! Please do not rob the gift of sexual purity that is solely for your wife from yourself or from the woman that you are dating! You will also be robbing the woman's future husband (and your future wife) of this great gift! As Christians, we must consider these things together and act prayerfully and with wholesomeness in everything that we do. Your Brother in Christ, Nolan |