May a Christian Have Sex Before Marriage?

Sex is Gods idea, one of His best. He created us male and female and commanded us to go forth and multiply. This is one divine directive that we have no problem obeying, sometimes for wrong reasons. The reality is that sin has perverted Gods design for sex more than any other form of human affection. The sacredness of sex which God reserved for the marriage covenant (Genesis 2:21-25; Hebrews 13:4) is profaned into conquests, cheap thrills and gross perversions in our modern culture (1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Galatians 5:19; Romans 1:24-27).

The Christian is called to a higher standard (1 Thessalonians 4:3-6; 1 Corinthians 6:18). God does not want His people to follow after the ways of the world (Ephesians 5:3). He charges us to abstain from sex until marriage (1 Corinthians 7:1-3) and faithful monogamy in marriage (1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:6). He does this not because he is a cosmic bully that desires to make us suffer, but because he desires what is best for us. Despite living in a culture that views moral purity as prudish and chastity as something perverse, the God who made humans as sexual beings knows more about good sex than Hugh Hefner and Dr. Ruth.

All we have to do is consider all of the heartache caused by the rampant practice of casual sex in our culture. The suspicion that exists between men and women, the broken relationships and the abused or abandoned offspring from one night stands are testimonies that shout from the rooftops against treating sex as a form of personal entertainment.

When Christians fail to remain morally pure, they sin not only against Him, but actually sin against their own body (1 Corinthians 6:18-20). The pandemic of sexually transmitted diseases is proof enough that sex is never casual and that Gods order cannot be broken with impunity.

The defilement of sex outside of marriage can have grave consequences on society when children grow up without a father. Without the stability of a traditional home, millions of children face the future in emotional insecurity and psychological scars. This culture will one day reap the whirlwind of its immorality. The serious Christian must avoid becoming another statistic amid this cultural collapse.