I have a question. In general in the church they believe sex before marrage is a sin. Now, I've been doing some research on this, yet I can't seem to find any evidence for this. Often verses talking about adultery are quoted, and they say this counts for sex before marrage too. yet, when I look at the hebrew/greek meaning of the words it doesn't say that. I can't find anywhere in the bible that sex before marrage is a sin. Now, it is stupid to have sex before marrage, unwise... And I believe that if you do have sex with a woman, you are essentially married to her. However, thats the furthest I've come. Can anyone tell me then why we believe it is a sin? or show me some verses in the bible I might have missed?

Romans 13
12 (1) The night is almost gone, and (2) the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside (3) the deeds of darkness and put on (4) the armor of light.
13 Let us (5) behave properly as in the day, (6) not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy.
14 But (7) put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh (8) in regard to its lusts.

1 Corinthians 6
8 On the contrary, you yourselves wrong and defraud. You do this even to your (1) brethren.
9 Or (2) do you not know that the unrighteous will not (3) inherit the kingdom of God? (4) Do not be deceived; (5) neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor [1] effeminate, nor homosexuals,
10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will (6) inherit the kingdom of God.

1 Thessalonians 4
2 For you know what commandments we gave you [2] by the authority of the Lord Jesus.
3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you (6) abstain from sexual immorality;
4 that (7) each of you know how to possess his own [3] (8) vessel in sanctification and (9) honor,
5 not in (10) lustful passion, like the Gentiles who (11) do not know God;
6 and that no man transgress and (12) defraud his brother (13) in the matter because (14) the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also (15) told you before and solemnly warned you.
7 For (16) God has not called us for (17) the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification.

Matthew 15
18 "But (1) the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man.
19 "(2) For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.
20 "These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man."

Acts 15
19 "Therefore it is (1) my judgment that we do not trouble those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles,
20 but that we write to them that they abstain from (2) things contaminated by idols and from (3) fornication and from (4) what is strangled and from blood.

Hebrews 13
4 (1) Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; (2) for fornicators and adulterers God will judge.

Deuteronomy 22
27 "When he found her in the field, the engaged girl cried out, but there was no one to save her.
28 "(1) If a man finds a girl who is a virgin, who is not engaged, and seizes her and lies with her and they are discovered,
29 then the man who lay with her shall give to the girl's father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall become his wife because he has violated her; he cannot divorce her all his days.

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A must read: http://www.christiancoders.com/cgi-bin/articles/show_article.pl?f=christiancaleb01112002.html

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

quote:

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12"Everything is permissible for me"--but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible for me"--but I will not be mastered by anything. 13"Food for the stomach and the stomach for food"--but God will destroy them both. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. 15Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! 16Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, "The two will become one flesh." 17But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit.
18Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. 19Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

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I agree it's stupid to have sex outside marriage. I think our population could've reduced the number of cases of AIDS and other STDs to almost nothing a long time ago if they kept sex inside marriage.

[This message has been edited by CobraA1 (edited December 27, 2002).]

quote:

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Originally posted by vincent:
And I believe that if you do have sex with a woman, you are essentially married to her. However, thats the furthest I've come. Can anyone tell me then why we believe it is a sin? or show me some verses in the bible I might have missed?

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Look up "fornicate" (and variations, like "fornication", "fornicator", etc.) in a concordance. It appears 44 times in the KJV, and is listed many times as a sinful activity. According to my dictionary, "fornication" means "Sexual intercourse between partners who are not married to each other."

So not only does that show that sex before marriage is a sin, it also shows that having sex is not equivalent to being married (because if that were the case, there could not be such a thing as fornication, by definition).

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But, to note, don't read scripture like that. Just because there is not verse *directly* stating "Thou shalt not have sex before marriage" doesn't mean it's not a sin.

The Bible doesn't say "Thou shalt not be addictied to video games", and yet, video game addiction is a sinful lifestyle.

blah blah blah....

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"I find myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world!"
-C. S. Lewis

With what I meant was that if two become one they are essentially married, is that I read that kinda in the scriptures. You're right though, fornication wouldn't exist. But then having sex with more then one person... 'dating' I guess, would be fornication and adultery. If I look though at the original words used in the bible fornication is usually meant I think as illicit, overdone, ulgy sex.. I might be wrong.. but anyway. I'll come back to this when I've done some more research (I love www.blueletterbible.org does anyone else know something simular)

it is true that sleeping with someone is like you are marrying them, but its not marriage.. and also as christians i wouldn't want to consider it a marriage - not even the state considers it a marriage.. there is also another issue, if it is with a non-christian, you don't want to be equally yoked, and even though its difficult, its something you need to sever from your life (if that is the case)...

i don't want to judge, but i do want to say things clearly, so that nothing can get in the way of your walk with God, and a pure sexuality as a gift from God..

also getting married is more than just having sex (of course), you are one in flesh and in other areas.. and its best to do it right.. for many reasons, you want to build your relationship/marriage on the right foundation (Christ) and you also want to enter into a blessed marriage.. with God's blessing, and also blessings from your families, physical and spiritual..

some friends of ours just got married. She was a christian, but he wasn't ... and they were fornicating... But we accepted them as our friends, we wouldn't want to tell them otherwise without showing first our love , and not out of relationship.. but anyway he became a christian, and they decided to get married, however they got some good 6 months of marriage counselling, getting the foundation right, and centered on Christ, and they also did not sleep together during that time.. they choose not to..

and it pays off... the old selfish sinful relationship that didn't care about God, didn't just merge, or change into marriage.. instead.. the old house (figuratively) was torn down, and submitted at the foot of the Cross, and they decided to build a new house God's way, with His blessing and I believe in years their marriage will be a testimony to others...

Karl

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Karl /GODCENTRIC
Visionary Media
the creative submitted to the divine.
Husband of my amazing wife Aleshia
Klumsy@xtra.co.nz

Later!

Amazingly, I recently found an online forum of 'christian' people willing to argue that sex outside marriage is not always a sin after I pointed out this verse.

They need a little back-handed slap. (emphasis on back-handed... total disrespect)

ya know, one that wakes you up to reality.

Later!

I just stick with the Bible instead of making my own rules.

It's better that way.

Not that I claim to be perfect, but the one I follow is, and I do my best to keep to His example.