Interested Singles?

In todays society ones level of success is often measured by their ability to freely indulge their desires without worry or recompense. With this mentality as the norm it is no small wonder the practice of abstaining from sexual intercourse until marriage is thought of by many to be unnecessary and by yet others as fanatical. Many of the worlds cultures practice this lifestyle only until ones loss of virginity occurs through marriage consummation. Then abstinence is no longer necessary as it is served its purpose as a tool to preserve the status of untouched or virgin until marriage. However the Christian faith is Bible based and teaches this type of abstinence, unless both partners are legally wed to each other. Any other scenario where sexual intercourse is indulged is called fornication, and it is sin. It should be noted for sake of clarity, that adultery is sexual intercourse between a married person and another who is not their spouse. This also is sin. For the single person who indulges in this scenario, they are fornicators, while the married person is an adulterer.

Throughout the epistles (or letters) of Paul, which consist of several books in the New Testament, he deals with this subject more than once. (In my opinion, that is a red flag showing this may be a subject people might have difficulty dealing with.) In the epistle to the church of Corinth, Paul speaks quite extensively on this subject along with setting and clarifying some standards for the social interactions between men and women. These matters are covered in detail in the fifth, sixth and seventh chapters. I urge all to read these passages in detail when time allows, but I will share scripture I think is pertinent to this ongoing discussion.

1 Corinthians 6:18-20, Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that commits fornication sins against his own body. 6:19 Or know ye not that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have from God? And ye are not your own; 6:20 for ye were bought with a price: glorify God therefore in your body.

In these scriptures it is made clear to us that this particular sin is unique in that it involves the whole body, where other sin may not. For instance, when one liesthe tongue is involved but not the bodymurder may involve the hands but not the bodyhowever fornication cannot exist except through blending of human bodies. The scripture further acknowledges the body as the Temple of the Holy Spirit and advises us to remember that we (along with our body) are not our own, but are bought by a pricethat price being the blood of Jesus shed on the cross. Therefore it instructs us further to glorify or honor God in our bodyfornication is sin and God finds no glory in sin.

Now that we have established the mechanics of understanding what the subject is and how it is defined both naturally and spiritually, let us go a step further and answer the questionwhy?

Why should one abstain from fornication? I mean after all, isnt it natural to desire physical intimacy with someone you care about? Everyone knows God gave us these sexual organs, and sexual desireHe knows we are only humanright? Another point often questioned iswhy does every one pick on fornication as the subject of choice. Isnt all sin the same? Jesus shed His blood for us that we might be forgiven, right? Since this is true, then why all the fuss about fornication?

Lets take these questions one by one. First, why should we abstain from fornication? Because the Scripture shown above says in the first line, Flee fornication. To flee means to run away, or to pass swiftly away from, to vanish. As Christians we seek to obey scripture as much as we can. That is one of our goals. We can look at other versions, and it will be the same, just a point blank statement. A statement of fact, not a question with multiple choice answers. An order of instruction as it was given to the members of the Corinthian church in this particular letter. Basically it says to Do this. We believe the writer, Paul, was an apostle who taught and instructed under the direct anointing of God. With this in mind, then this command is a method used to glorify God in our bodies.

Secondly, why all the fuss about fornication? Isnt all sin the same? Well, I will answer the these questions by referring to a portion of a previous scripture (1Cor 6:18) which says, he that commits fornication sins against his own body. It is a sin of the flesh. This is the spiritual reason. The natural reason is one who fornicates also involves another in their sin. In the sins of lying, stealing, coveting, even murder, the one who commits the act is a sinner and the one acted upon is a victim. However in this particular sin, both parties sin equally. A conscious choice is made by both parties to commit this act. No matter how we convince ourselves we were tempted or manipulated, we make a choice to participate and thereby sin. As a sin of the flesh it weakens our control over ourselves when we succumb to the call of our flesh. We battle constantly to discipline our flesh. This fleshly body appeals to us through our senses, and continually compels us to take measures to appease and/or pacify these sensory demands. Abstinence is an exercise in discipline of our bodies. Sexual intercourse is an act sanctified by the marriage bed, and in that scenario is honorable. (Hebrew 13:4) However, if indulged without the benefit of marriage, it is sin, and weakens the resolve, naturally and spiritually.

Now I must stop here and say it is not my intention to beat anyone over the head with condemnation. By no means am I saying or insinuating that anyone who does not follow a lifestyle of abstinence is beyond redemption. We all sin one way or another. This article is written purely for information and knowledge. The more we know the better our choices. The better choices we make, the more successful we are in our lives, naturally and spiritually. The more successful we are in our lives, the more we can accomplish in helping others and ourselves in the building up of Gods kingdom here on earth.

In Part One we covered what and why of Abstinence as a lifestyle until marriage. In Part two we will discuss whom, when and where does this lifestyle affect us, and how to practice Abstinence with confidence, knowing it is Gods will for the unmarried. May you know His perfect peace through understanding.