Topical Encyclopedia
Definition and ScopeSexual immorality, as understood within the biblical context, refers to any sexual behavior that deviates from the standards set forth in Scripture. This includes, but is not limited to, adultery, fornication, homosexuality, incest, and bestiality. The term often translates from the Greek word "porneia," which encompasses a wide range of illicit sexual activities.
Old Testament ContextThe Old Testament provides numerous laws and narratives that address sexual immorality. In
Leviticus 18, God outlines various prohibitions against sexual relations with close relatives, adultery, and other forms of sexual misconduct.
Leviticus 18:22 states, "You must not lie with a man as with a woman; that is an abomination." The narrative of Sodom and Gomorrah in
Genesis 19 serves as a stark warning against sexual immorality, illustrating God's judgment upon those cities for their grievous sins.
New Testament TeachingsThe New Testament continues to emphasize the importance of sexual purity. In
1 Corinthians 6:18-20, Paul exhorts believers: "Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a man can commit is outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do 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; you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body." This passage highlights the spiritual significance of maintaining sexual purity, as believers' bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit.
In
Galatians 5:19-21, sexual immorality is listed among the "acts of the flesh," which are in opposition to the fruit of the Spirit. The apostle Paul warns that those who practice such acts "will not inherit the kingdom of God."
Marriage as the Proper Context for Sexual RelationsThe Bible consistently presents marriage as the only appropriate context for sexual relations.
Hebrews 13:4 states, "Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers." This underscores the sanctity of marriage and the expectation that sexual activity be confined within its bounds.
Consequences and RedemptionScripture warns of both temporal and eternal consequences for sexual immorality. In
Romans 1:24-27, Paul describes how God gave people over to their sinful desires as a result of their rejection of Him, leading to various forms of sexual impurity. However, the Bible also offers hope for redemption and forgiveness. In
1 Corinthians 6:9-11, Paul reminds the Corinthians that some of them were once sexually immoral, but they were "washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."
Practical Implications for BelieversBelievers are called to live lives of holiness and purity, avoiding sexual immorality in all its forms.
Ephesians 5:3 instructs, "But among you, as is proper among the saints, there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed." This call to purity is not only a personal mandate but also a communal one, as the church is to be a holy and blameless bride for Christ.
ConclusionWhile the Bible clearly condemns sexual immorality, it also offers a path to forgiveness and restoration through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. Believers are encouraged to uphold the biblical standard of sexual purity, recognizing their bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit and honoring God in their relationships.
Topical Bible Verses
1 Corinthians 6:18Flee fornication. Every sin that a man does is without the body; but he that commits fornication sins against his own body.
Topicalbible.org1 Thessalonians 4:3-5
For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that you should abstain from fornication:
Topicalbible.org
Ephesians 5:3
But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becomes saints;
Topicalbible.org
1 Corinthians 7:2
Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.
Topicalbible.org
1 Corinthians 6:13
Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body.
Topicalbible.org
Matthew 19:9
And I say to you, Whoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, commits adultery: and whoever marries her which is put away does commit adultery.
Topicalbible.org
Galatians 5:19-21
Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
Topicalbible.org
Greek
4202. porneia -- fornication... porneuo Definition fornication NASB Word Usage fornication (4), fornications (2),
immoralities (1),
immorality (16),
sexual immorality (1), unchastity (1).
...4203. porneuo -- to commit fornication
... Cognate: 4203 -- commit fornication (sexual immorality); (figuratively) to be
unfaithful to Christ, while as His true follower. See 4202 ()....
4205. pornos -- a fornicator
... male prostitute. 4205 () is ", 'a male prostitute' (so Xen., etc.); , "
ie anyone engaging insexual immorality. See 4202 ()....
2970. komos -- a village festival, revel
... that took place at the gathering of the grapes, Souter) -- a riotous party (drunken
feast) which hosted unbridledsexual immorality; hence, (debauched "partying...
Library
Ancestors of the Blessed virgin
... They fought particularly againstsexual immorality, and often by mutual consent
lived in continence for long periods, living in huts far removed from their...
The Epistle of Judas
... perversion of our (He is not their) God's grace intoimmorality means that a... freedom
of the Spirit, and that the impulse to promiscuoussexual intercourse was...
The Second Epistle of St. Peter
... is to this at anyrate that the writer turns, to theirimmorality (the charge... doctrine
that spiritual natures could with impunity indulge insexual excesses and...
The Domestic Relation.
... population of the world, or to prevent the lewd, indiscriminatesexual intercourse...
moral derangement of our children the inward tendency toimmorality makes it...
The Sifting Time, 1743-1750.
... topic requiring delicate treatment, it is surely the question ofsexual morality;
and... against the State; some accused them falsely ofimmorality, of gluttony...
Elucidations.
... he represents as Plato's idea of a community of women insexual relations.... the
ordinances of the Creator, their result was the grossestimmorality in practice....
City of God
... Never Took Any Steps to Prevent the Republic from Being Ruined byImmorality.... Though
Applicable to Many Vices, is Specially Appropriated toSexual Uncleanness....
The Seventh Book
... And yet in such a case we have not only an example ofimmorality but a sort of enforced
necessity, since the...Sexual vice has been completely abolished by them....
Attributes of Selfishness.
... alimentiveness or Epicureanism; sometimes it is amativeness orsexual love; sometimes...
that these fundamental truths of morality and ofimmorality should be...
The City of God. Index of Subjects.
... regard for Rome, the Romans should have received good laws from them, [726]31; took
no means to prevent the republic from being ruined byimmorality, [727]36...
Resources
Is it wrong for a Christian to have a sexual fantasy? | GotQuestions.orgWhy is sexual temptation a bigger problem for men than for women? | GotQuestions.orgWhat is sexual ethics? | GotQuestions.orgSexual: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
Bible Dictionary •
Bible Encyclopedia •
Topical Bible •
Bible Thesuarus
