Abstinence is the practice of refraining from indulging in something, often referring specifically to abstaining from sexual intercourse outside of marriage. The Bible has much to say about abstinence and keeping oneself pure. Here are some key Bible verses about abstinence:
1 Thessalonians 4:3-5
For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God.
This passage emphasizes that abstaining from sexual immorality is God’s will for believers. We are called to exercise self-control and honor God with our bodies.
1 Corinthians 6:18-20
Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
These verses instruct believers to flee from sexual immorality because it is a sin against one’s own body. Our bodies belong to God and are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, so we should honor God by being sexually pure.
1 Corinthians 7:1-2
Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband.
Paul endorses abstinence for a time, but within the context of marriage between a man and a woman. Marital fidelity helps avoid the temptation to sexual immorality.
Proverbs 5:3-6
For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil, but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps follow the path to Sheol; she does not ponder the path of life; her ways wander, and she does not know it.
This passage poetically depicts the enticement of sexual immorality as sweet at first but ultimately leading to pain and destruction. It emphasizes the importance of avoiding such temptation.
1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
While sexual temptation is a common struggle, God promises to give us a way out so that we can stand up under it. Relying on Him provides strength to abstain.
Colossians 3:5-6
Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming.
Giving in to sexual immorality and impure desires is sinful and invites God’s judgment. As believers we are called to put such things to death by avoiding compromise and clinging to Christ.
Job 31:1
“I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin?
Job determined in his heart to avoid lustful looks, knowing where they can lead. We must be proactive in guarding our eyes and rejecting temptation.
1 Peter 2:11
Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.
Giving in to fleshly desires hampers our spiritual health. Temporary pleasure is not worth sacrificing our eternal well-being. Abstinence affirms our true identity in Christ.
2 Timothy 2:22
So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.
Rather than indulging sinful desires, this verse instructs us to intentionally pursue virtuous qualities and like-minded friendships that will strengthen our commitment to sexual purity.
Titus 2:11-12
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age.
God’s grace empowers believers to say no to fleshly lusts and to live holy lives that please Him. His Spirit enables self-control.
Ephesians 5:3
But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.
As God’s holy people, sexual sin should have no place in our lives. Our conduct should be completely set apart from such practices.
Romans 13:13-14
Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
Believers are instructed to avoid wild living and sexually immoral behavior. We must purposefully clothe ourselves in Christ’s character and avoid compromising situations.
Romans 6:12-14
Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
With God’s empowering grace we can choose not to let sin rule over our bodies. Our physical desires no longer have to enslave us now that we belong to Christ.
Romans 8:5-6
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
Abstinence requires rejecting fleshly impulses and intentionally fixing our thoughts on that which pleases and honors God. This brings spiritual life and peace.
Romans 12:1-2
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Choosing abstinence is an act of worship and spiritual devotion, requiring a transformed mind-set that discerns and obeys God’s perfect will.
1 Corinthians 6:13
“Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food”—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.
While food is for the stomach, our bodies are designed for greater purposes – to honor the Lord. So we must flee sexual sin and glorify God with our bodies.
Proverbs 6:20-29
My son, keep your father’s commandment, and forsake not your mother’s teaching…For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life, to preserve you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress. Do not desire her beauty in your heart, and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes; for the price of a prostitute is only a loaf of bread, but a married woman hunts down a precious life. Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned? Or can one walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched? So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife; none who touches her will go unpunished.
Parental wisdom warns about the temptation of sexual immorality, urging us not to even entertain lustful thoughts. The enticement leads only to pain and judgment. Stay far away!
Proverbs 7:24-27
And now, O sons, listen to me, and be attentive to the words of my mouth. Let not your heart turn aside to her ways; do not stray into her paths, for many a victim has she laid low, and all her slain are a mighty throng. Her house is the way to Sheol, going down to the chambers of death.
The forbidden woman’s invitation leads down a pathway ending in death. Wisdom shouts a warning to avoid this deadly entrapment at all costs by not even setting foot on that path.
1 Corinthians 10:8
We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day.
Referring to Israel’s struggle with idolatry and immorality, Paul warns New Testament believers not to make the same mistakes that brought God’s severe discipline.
In summary, these verses emphasize that abstinence until marriage and fidelity within marriage are God’s plan for sexual purity. Temptation is a reality, but God always provides grace and a way of escape. As believers, we are called to honor God with our bodies by avoiding sexual immorality and living holy lives that align with Scripture and the Spirit’s leading.