Sexual Purity By Arlo Moehlenpah

First read the following article on "Sexual Purity" and the endnotes. After that you should take the quiz.

It was God’s plan from the beginning of creation for a man to leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife and the two become one flesh.1 One man with one woman for life. Sex within the bounds of marriage is a beautiful thing.2 It was designed for procreation 3 and pleasure.4 The writer of Proverbs encouraged a man to rejoice with the wife of his youth and to always be enraptured with her love.5 However, sexual relations outside of marriage were forbidden.

It is the will of God that you abstain from sexual immorality.6 Sexual immorality can take several forms.

Adultery is voluntary sexual relations of a married person with any other than the lawful mate. "You shall not commit adultery” was one of the Ten Commandments given to Moses.7 Perhaps the most infamous example of adultery in the Bible was when David committed adultery with Bathsheba.8 Whereas David was forgiven, the child that was conceived died, the enemies of the Lord were given a great occasion to blaspheme 9, and David suffered many other calamities.

Fornication is a sexual act between unmarried persons. Paul told the Corinthian church to flee fornication and that he who commits fornication sins against his own body. 10 Paul was so against fornication that he said it should not even be named among the Ephesian church.11

Incest is sexual intercourse between persons so closely related that their marriage is prohibited by law. The Lord spoke to Moses that a person should not have sexual relations with people such as their father, mother, step-mother, sister, step-sister, granddaughter, aunt, uncle, daughter in law, or sister in law.12 Curses and even death were pronounced on those involved in incest.13

Bestiality is sexual relations with an animal and the man or woman involved was put to death as well as the animal.14

Homosexuality is manifesting sexual feelings for one of the same sex. It is an abomination for a man to lie with another man like he does with a woman and both were put to death under the law.15 The men from Sodom were guilty of this sin and God destroyed the city with fire and brimstone.16 Afterwards those who committed this sin were known as sodomites. It is also sinful for a woman to exchange the natural use for that which is against nature.17

Rape is the crime of having sexual intercourse with a woman or girl forcibly and against her will. Amnon raped Absolom’s sister and two years later Absolom had him killed.18

Realize it is a sin against God. Joseph refused to yield to the sexual advances of Potiphar’s wife because he realized it was a sin against God.19

Make a pledge to God to remain sexually pure. Job made a covenant with his eyes that he would not look upon a young woman.20 Jesus said that a man who looks on a woman to lust for her commits adultery with her in his heart. 21

Dress modestly. If you do not want to attract ungodly men then do not wear the attire of a harlot.22

Realize there is a price you will pay for immorality. Some of the consequences could be sickness,23 loss of reputation, death,24 loss of wealth,25 and forfeiture of inheriting the kingdom of God.26

Don’t keep company with sexually immoral people especially those who claim to be in the church.28

Sexual immorality can be forgiven. Jesus told the woman taken in adultery “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.”33 After Paul wrote to the Corinthian that neither fornicators, adulterers, effeminate nor abusers of themselves with mankind shall inherit the kingdom of God, he said that such were (past tense) some of them but now (present tense) they were washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of God.34 Thank God for His mercy.

Quiz on sexual purity

1 Genesis 2:24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. NKJV

2 Hebrews 13:4 Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge. NKJV

3 Genesis 1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply…KJV

4 1 Corinthians 7:3-5

5 Proverbs 5:15,18-20 Drink water from your own cistern, and running water from your own well. Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice with the wife of your youth. …Let her breasts satisfy you at all times; and always be enraptured with her love. NKJV

6 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God; NKJV

7 Exodus 20:14 "You shall not commit adultery.

8 2 Samuel 11

9 2 Samuel 12:14 However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die."

NKJV

10 1 Corinthians 6:18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that commiteth fornication sinneth against his own body. KJV

11 Ephesians 5:3 But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, NKJV

12 Leviticus 18:6-18

13 Leviticus 20:11-21

14 Leviticus 20:15-16 If a man mates with an animal, he shall surely be put to death, and you shall kill the animal. If a woman approaches any animal and mates with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal. They shall surely be put to death. NKJV

15 Leviticus 20:13 If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. NKJV

16 Genesis 19:1-25

17 Romans 1:26-27 For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. 27 Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. NKJV

18 2 Samuel 13

19 Genesis 39:7-12 And it came to pass after these things that his master's wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, "Lie with me." But he refused and said to his master's wife, "Look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand. There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" So it was, as she spoke to Joseph day by day, that he did not heed her, to lie with her or to be with her. But it happened about this time, when Joseph went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house was inside, that she caught him by his garment, saying, "Lie with me." But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside. NKJV

20 Job 31:1 "I have made a covenant with my eyes; why then should I look upon a young woman? NKJV

21 Matthew 5:28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. NKJV

22 Proverbs 7:10 And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart. KJV

23 Proverbs 5:11 And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed,

KJV Proverbs 7:22-23 Immediately he went after her, as an ox goes to the slaughter, Or as a fool to the correction of the stocks, 23 Till an arrow struck his liver. As a bird hastens to the snare, He did not know it would cost his life. NKJV

24 Proverbs 9:16-18 "Whoever is simple, let him turn in here"; and as for him who lacks understanding, she says to him, 17 "Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant." 18 But he does not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of hell. NKJV

25 Proverbs 29:3 Whoever loves wisdom makes his father rejoice, but a companion of harlots wastes his wealth. NKJV

26 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. NKJV

Galatians 5:18-21 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. NKJV

Ephesians 5:5 For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. NKJV

27 1 Corinthians 7:1-2 Now concerning the things of which you wrote to me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband. NKJV

28 1 Corinthians 5:9 I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. NKJV

29 1 Corinthians 6:13-20 Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For "the two," He says, "shall become one flesh." But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. …Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? NKJV

30 Matthew 15:19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. NKJV

31 Proverbs 5:8 Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house: KJV

32 Psalms 119:11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. KJV

33 John 8:11 Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. KJV

34 1 Corinthians 6:9-11