Why is sexual purity so important?

Matthew 19:4-6“Haven’t you read the Scriptures?” Jesus replied. “They record that from the beginning ‘God made them male and female.’” And he said, “‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’ Since they are no longer two but one, let no one split apart what God has joined together.”

God designed marriage to be between one man and one woman. When we live a life of sexual purity, we build habits of self-control that equip us to be a faithful husband or wife, and we help others to do the same.

1 Corinthians 6:15Don’t you realize that your bodies are actually parts of Christ? Should a man take his body, which is part of Christ, and join it to a prostitute? Never!

1 Corinthians 6:18-19Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God?

All sin is sin, and equally deserving of punishment. However, Scripture singles out sexual sin as having a particularly dangerous impact on our lives. Sex is an emotional and physical experience. In the context of a marriage, sex strengthens a healthy emotional bond. Outside of marriage, it encourages self-seeking pleasure without commitment—and even worse, it can undermine marriages. Our bodies should be used for God’s glory. When we disobey God’s clear commands to use them selfishly, we dishonor the name of Christ.

Psalm 51:1-3Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Luke 7:47“I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love.”

Sexual purity is not a scorecard—it’s a lifestyle. Many Christians have been taught that their virginity is what matters, and if they lose that before marriage, they are broken and dirty, forever impure. This is not consistent with the teaching of Scripture. It is true that sexual sin has a lasting impact on us and others. It is true that it can affect a present or future marriage. But our past sexual sin has no power over our decision to follow Jesus here and now. Throughout Scripture (and throughout history), we see examples of people who sinned sexually but who repented and served God joyfully: Rahab the prostitute, King David, the woman at the well, the Corinthians, and many more. Their purity did not come from a history of perfect behavior. It came from complete and wholehearted devotion to their Savior and from faith in his sacrifice.