In a recent survey, people were asked if they had had premarital sex, 95% said yes. Even people who profess to follow Jesus Christ are often among them. It seems we might as well give up the fight to uphold the sanctity of marriage. But giving up ignores a critical fact: God has not changed His mind about the sanctity of sex. In 1 Thessalonians CH. 4, the Apostle Paul gives three reasons we should avoid sex outside of marriage: He says “It is God’s will that we stay away from all sexual sin; that each of us should control our body and live in holiness and honor.” Paul says God chose us to live for his glory, and that means we should stay celibate until we marry. A second reason we should avoid premarital sex is this: God gave us His Holy Spirit to help us live celibate. The apostle says to refuse the Spirit’s help is to reject God’s right to govern our lives. Finally, he says, to ignore God’s call to live a righteous life is to ignore that God will punish us for such sins. When we ignore God’s ageless standards and engage in sex apart from marriage, we deny God’s ability to help us; and we ignore the effects this violation brings in this life and the life to come–consequences that remain even if everybody else is doing it.
Dr. Melvin E. Banks, Sr.
Dr. Melvin E. Banks, Sr. is the founder and chairman of UMI (Urban Ministries, Inc.). Under his direction, UMI has grown to be a leading publisher of Christian education resources for churches in the African American community. Read More
