Chastity is an important virtue emphasized in the Bible. Here is an overview of some key Bible verses about chastity:
Old Testament Verses on Chastity
The Old Testament lays the foundation for God’s desire for His people to live sexually pure lives. Here are some key verses:
- “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.” (Hebrews 13:4 ESV)
- “You shall not commit adultery.” (Exodus 20:14 ESV)
- “But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband.” (1 Corinthians 7:2 ESV)
- “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” (1 Thessalonians 4:3-4 ESV)
These verses establish God’s standard of sexual purity and honor in marriage. Adultery and sexual immorality are strongly condemned.
New Testament Verses on Chastity
Jesus took Old Testament sexual ethics to a new level, emphasizing moral purity of the heart and mind as well as deeds:
- “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27-28 ESV)
- “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.” (Matthew 15:19 ESV)
The New Testament epistles also encourage chastity and warn against sexual sin:
- “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” (Colossians 3:5 ESV)
- “Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.” (1 Corinthians 6:18 ESV)
- “But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.” (Ephesians 5:3 ESV)
Paul urges believers to glorify God with their bodies, which are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Chastity is valued as a way to honor God.
Chastity Allows Devotion to Christ
Chastity clears the mind and heart to be devoted to the Lord without competing affections:
- “The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife.” (1 Corinthians 7:32-33 ESV)
- “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.” (Matthew 19:29 ESV)
Singleness and chastity free people to wholly serve God. Marriage is honorable, but some are called to celibate service.
Chastity as God’s Design
God created sex to unite husband and wife in an exclusive covenant bond. Chastity protects this sacred design:
- “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24 ESV)
- “Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth, a lovely deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight; be intoxicated always in her love.” (Proverbs 5:18-19 ESV)
- “The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.” (1 Corinthians 7:3-4 ESV)
Sexuality is a gift from God meant to bond husband and wife in exclusive intimacy, love and pleasure. Chastity protects that sacred gift.
The Blessings of Chastity
Choosing chastity and purity brings great spiritual blessings:
- “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8 ESV)
- “How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.” (Psalm 119:9 ESV)
- “Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral…nor adulterers…will inherit the kingdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10 ESV)
Chastity clears the conscience, deepens intimacy with Christ, and leads to eternal rewards.
Finding Grace to Live Pure
Through faith in Christ, God gives grace and power to live chaste and upright lives:
- “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.” (Titus 2:11-12 ESV)
- “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.” (1 Corinthians 10:13 ESV)
Believers can draw on Christ’s strength to resist temptation and pursue purity.
Waiting for Marriage
The Bible encourages waiting for marriage to engage in sexual activity:
- “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.” (Romans 13:13-14 ESV)
- “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…” (1 Thessalonians 4:3-4 ESV)
Choosing chastity honors God’s design for sexuality as an expression of marital love and commitment.
Overcoming Sexual Sin
Christ offers forgiveness when we stumble into sexual sin:
- “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9 ESV)
- “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” (John 8:11 ESV)
In Christ we can repent, receive full forgiveness, and walk in new life and freedom.
Conclusion
In summary, the Bible upholds chastity as God’s design for honoring marriage and allowing wholehearted devotion to Him. By God’s grace, single and married believers can walk in purity of heart and body. This brings great spiritual blessings and honors the Lord.