Fornication is not limited to sexual activities before marriage, but also all forms of sexual immoralities. Our attention today will be on premarital sex, including copulation, masturbation, and oral sex.
In the Bible, fornication is used interchangeably with immorality; which encompasses adultery, fornication, and idol worship. It can be through physical contact or lustful thoughts. Most of us are fornicators and adulterous in our hearts. Jesus taught that “what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and hence defiles a man. For out of the heart comes evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, and slander.” (Matthew 15:18-19). That’s why it is important to guard your heart.
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Biblical reasons why you should never fornicate.
a) Fornication destroys the lives of your children.
Fornication is not only a sin against your own body, but also affects the children born as a result of it. There was no purity or commitment in the sinful act. This opens a door for the enemy to gain a legal right of operation not only in your life but also in the life of the child born in sexual sin. This is the equivalent of offering your child to the devil.
You are already setting up a stage for the destruction of your kid even before they are born. Hence, jeopardizing his life. David declared that “in iniquity was I conceived.” Meaning he was born with a sinful nature because of the fall of man. Fornication makes it even worse, as it piles iniquities onto iniquity.
We rarely realize that our sinful pleasures may become the misery of our innocent children. Therefore, flee from sexual sin.
b) It destroys the soul.
The Bible declares in proverbs 9:16b-18 that “He who is without senses says ‘stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.’ But he does not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.”
Again, in proverbs 6:32-33, the Bible declares “He who commits adultery has no sense; he who does it destroys his own soul. Wounds and dishonor will he get, and his disgrace will not be wiped away.”
From these verses, it is clear that those who fornicate are foolish as they lack senses. And as a consequence, they destroy their souls.
c) Fornication is a form of witchcraft.
Let’s define witchcraft. It is anything done with the intention of hurting another person, and it is rooted in selfishness, jealousy, envy, and anger. Fornication fits this description as it is an act of self-centeredness to satisfy one’s sinful nature, hence not an act of love. When you sleep with someone who is not your spouse, you are robbing him/ her of their purity and depriving the right person of the opportunity to enjoy the fruit of pure sexual union in marriage. The Bible declares that rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. Fornication is without doubt rebellion against God’s law of sexual purity.
d) Walls are broken.
Sexual sin breaks down the wall of self-control. That’s why Solomon declared that a man without self-control is like a city without a wall (proverbs 25:28). This means you will never regain restraint except by God’s grace. This sin acts as an open door to all forms of sexual perversions in your heart and life.
e) Illegal covenants and attachments.
In 1 Corinthians, Paul taught that “He who joins himself with a prostitute becomes one body with her. Just as it is written, ‘the two shall become one flesh.’ However, he who is united to the Lord becomes one spirit with Him.”
The illegal union cements your body, spirit, and mind to your partner through a blood covenant- which is the strongest covenant as God Himself redeemed us through blood. This covenant becomes a snare and destroys every future relationship you will ever have unless it is broken. In an actual sense, you are already in a marriage covenant with this person, hence he/she has a legal claim over you as his/ her spouse.
f) Defiles your body and spirit.
Sex is spiritual and hence has the capacity to affect your body and spirit. In 1 Corinthians 6:18-20, Paul taught that “every sin which a man commits is outside the body; but the immoral man sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is the temple of The Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body.”
These bodies do not belong to us, Jesus shade His precious blood to redeem our priceless souls for His glory. Fornication is a lack of acknowledgment of the sacrifice of Christ and hence blasphemy before God. As we are taking the sacrifice of His son presumptuously and with contempt.
How to refrain from fornication.
Sexual sin is a heart issue, as it is conceived in your heart and then acted out. Therefore, work on your heart and mind. Refrain from useless relationships which create opportunities for sin. Keep yourself busy and fill your heart and mind with the word and praises to God. Lastly, the Bible exhorts us in 1 Thessalonians 4:3 that “it is the will of God that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own vessel in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God.”
Your love for Christ should exceed your body’s desires and prompt you to work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for God is at work in you both to will and to work for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13).
