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| Q: "Some Christian churches preach sexual abstinence before marriage. I don't think there is anything specifically in the Bible that teaches this. Am I right?" A: Actually, the Bible is pretty specific about abstinence before marriage. The word "fornication," so often used in Biblical translations, literally means "voluntary sexual intercourse between an unmarried woman and a man, especially an unmarried man." (Webster's New Universal Unabridged Dictionary, Dorset & Baber, 1979. Click here for an online dictionary definition.) Here are a few examples of what the Bible says about fornication (from the New American Standard translation): In 1 Corinthians 6:9�10, the Bible states "Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, not adulterers...shall inherit the kingdom of God." Hebrews 13:4 states "Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge." Acts 15:29 says "...that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood...and from fornication..." In Matthew 15:19, Jesus says "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness,slanders." In addition, as you read the Old Testament, it becomes evident that sex and marriage went hand�in�hand; to have sex outside of marriage was considered a sin. An example: In Israel, the law states that if a man has sex with a woman, he must marry her (Deuteronomy 22:28�29). Jesus' comments in Matthew 5:27�30 follow up on this. He said: "I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart." Notice he said anyone, not just a married person. Later, Paul wrote: "Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I am. But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion." (1 Corinthians 7:8�9) This does not specifically say that premarital sex is bad�but it does say that the desire for pre�marital sex is not a good thing. And if the desire for premarital sex is a sin, then the act itself must also be. In Matthew 19:4-6, Jesus is quoted: "'Haven't you read,' he replied, `that at the beginning the Creator made them male and female, and said `For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh?' So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore, what God has joined together, let man not separate.'" Therefore, sex makes men and women "one" spiritually. In other words, if a man and woman have sex, they are married in the eyes of God. Therefore, if they have multiple sex partners, they commit adultery�something that's clearly prohibited throughout the Old and New Testament. So, churches who "preach sexual abstinence before marriage" are teaching straight out of the Bible. GOT A QUESTION? I invite you to ask it. What stumps you? I'll do my best to find an answer! To ask a question, email me at [email protected]. MORE from the May 26th issue ~~~> (c) copyright 2003 by Kristina Seleshanko. |
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