Fornication, which is sexual intercourse between two people who are not married to each other, is repeatedly condemned in the Bible. Here is an overview of some key Bible passages about fornication:
Old Testament Verses About Fornication
In the Old Testament law given to Israel, God commanded that there must be no sexual intercourse outside of marriage:
“You shall not commit adultery.” (Exodus 20:14)
“If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.” (Leviticus 20:10)
God warned Israel not to prostitute themselves by having sexual relations with the pagan nations around them:
“Do not prostitute your daughter, to cause her to be a whore, lest the land fall into whoredom and the land become full of wickedness.” (Leviticus 19:29)
Sexual immorality in general was prohibited:
“None of you shall approach any one of his close relatives to uncover nakedness. I am the Lord.” (Leviticus 18:6)
“You shall not lie sexually with your neighbor’s wife and so make yourself unclean with her.” (Leviticus 18:20)
“But you shall keep my statutes and my rules and do none of these abominations… Defile not yourselves in any of these ways, for by all these practices the nations I am driving out before you have defiled themselves.” (Leviticus 18:26, 24)
Premarital sex was considered to make both people unclean:
“If a man lies sexually with a woman who is a slave, assigned to another man and not yet ransomed or given her freedom, a distinction shall be made. They shall not be put to death, because she was not free; but he shall bring his compensation to the Lord, to the entrance of the tent of meeting, a ram for a guilt offering.” (Leviticus 19:20-21)
So the Old Testament makes it very clear that any sexual relations outside of the marriage covenant between a man and woman were sinful and against God’s law.
New Testament Verses About Fornication
The New Testament affirms the prohibition on fornication first given in the Old Testament. Here are some key passages:
In Matthew 15:19, Jesus teaches:
“For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.”
“Sexual immorality” here is translated from the Greek “porneia,” which refers to any sexual activity outside of marriage.
The apostle Paul, writing to the church in Corinth where sexual immorality was commonplace, strongly warned against it:
“It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife. And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you.” (1 Corinthians 5:1-2)
“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)
“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 prostitute? Never!” (1 Corinthians 6:15)
Again, “sexual immorality” translates the Greek “porneia,” covering all sexual activity outside of marriage.
Paul reminds believers that God’s judgment comes against those who practice sexual immorality:
“For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure…has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.” (Ephesians 5:5-6)
In 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5, Paul writes:
“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.”
Again, “sexual immorality” here translates “porneia,” referring to any sexual activity outside of the marriage covenant.
The author of Hebrews declares that “the sexually immoral” will be judged by God:
“Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.” (Hebrews 13:4)
So from Matthew to Revelation, the New Testament uniformly condemns any sexual activity outside of marriage as sinful.
Fornication is Linked to Idolatry and Covetousness
Interestingly, the New Testament often connects the sin of fornication to the sins of idolatry and covetousness.
For example, in Colossians 3:5, Paul instructs:
“Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.”
And again in Ephesians 5:3-5:
“But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints…For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.”
This connection implies that when we engage in sexual activity outside of God’s design in marriage, we are essentially worshipping our own lusts rather than God. Fornication is idolatry because it puts our sinful physical appetites in the place that only God deserves.
The coveting involved in fornication is failing to be content with God’s boundaries for our sexuality, and wrongfully desiring sexual intimacy He has forbidden outside of marriage. Covetousness and sexual lusts never satisfy but always leave us empty and destitute before God.
Examples of Biblical Characters Engaging in Fornication
Unfortunately, there are several examples in the Bible of sexual immorality leading people into great sin:
– Samson’s relationship with Delilah ultimately betrayed him into the hands of the Philistines (Judges 16).
– David’s affair with Bathsheba led to the destructive consequences of murder, loss of a child, and rebellion in David’s own family (2 Samuel 11).
– Solomon’s many foreign wives led the wisest man on earth away from wholehearted devotion to God (1 Kings 11:1-3).
– The Israelites joining themselves to the cult prostitutes of Moab led to God’s judgment (Numbers 25).
– The Corinthian man’s affair with his father’s wife was condemned by Paul and required disciplinary action from the church (1 Corinthians 5).
So time after time in Scripture, fornication proved to be spiritually destructive and damaging. God’s commands against sexual immorality are given for our protection and flourishing, not to harm us.
Fornication Destroys Intimacy and Communion
The Bible presents sexual intimacy as a profoundly spiritual experience that joins two people together as “one flesh” in a unique way (Genesis 2:24). It is meant to picture the intimacy and communion we have with God through faith (Ephesians 5:31-32).
Fornication warps and perverts this symbol. Casual sex disconnected from the exclusive lifetime commitment of marriage cannot truly join people spiritually and soulfully. Instead, it ends up destroying intimacy, communion, trust, vulnerability, and wholeness.
This is why Scripture warns that sexual sin uniquely damages people in ways other sins do not (1 Corinthians 6:18-20). Fornication deeply wounds people made in God’s image. It also hurts children born outside of stable family structures God intended for their nurturing.
Finding Forgiveness and Healing from Past Fornication
Many people engaging in sexual immorality do not realize the damage and consequences until much pain is caused. But there is always hope for complete forgiveness and healing in Jesus Christ.
Paul reminds believers in 1 Corinthians 6:11:
“And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
Some Christians in the church in Corinth had engaged in fornication and other sexual sins before coming to genuine faith in Jesus. But they were completely washed from the guilt and shame of this sin through God’s amazing grace.
No matter what sexual brokenness we have experienced in the past, Jesus offers total redemption and a new beginning when we confess our sins and receive His forgiveness (1 John 1:9). As we walk with Him daily in obedience and repentance, He progressively heals all wounds and makes us increasingly whole.
We were all sinners when Christ redeemed us, and sexual sin does not put people outside the bounds of God’s redeeming love. Christians struggling with sexual sin should seek counseling and accountability within the church for support in resisting temptation. But they do not need to live under condemnation, since “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).
With humility and God’s enabling grace, believers can overcome habitual sexual sin and find freedom in obeying God’s design for intimate relationships. When fornication is confessed and forsaken, God remembers it no more.
God’s Grace Empowers Believers to Avoid Fornication
Avoiding fornication requires dependence on the Holy Spirit to develop God-honoring relationships and self-control over lustful desires warped by the Fall. But Scripture promises believers that in Christ we have everything needed to resist sexual immorality:
“His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.” (2 Peter 1:3)
“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)
“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)
Rather than following our lusts into fornication, as those with “fleshly hearts devoid of the Spirit” do (Jude verse 19), Christians can walk by the Spirit and “not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16).
God makes this possible as weyield to Him each day, fill our minds with Scripture, reject sexual temptation immediately, and draw near to God through prayer when enticed. Christ living in believers empowers us to honor God with our bodies, pursuing holiness and purity in all relationships.
Marriage as God’s Provision for Sexual Desires
Scripture makes it clear that God deliberately designed marriage as the sole legitimate outlet for the powerful sexual desires He has implanted in humanity.
As Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 7:2, 9:
“But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband…But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.”
Hebrews 13:4 declares, “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled.” God intended exclusive marital intimacy to be kept sexually pure as a picture of Christ’s relationship with His church.
So God makes provision for sexual desires in marriage, while firmly prohibiting their fulfillment between unmarried people, no matter how sincere their intentions or affections may be. His commands are for our good.
Waiting for Marriage by God’s Grace Despite Temptations
What about believers who are not yet married? How can they navigate sexual desires while honoring God’s commands to abstain from fornication?
They can recognize that obeying God, no matter how difficult it seems, is always better than following sinful lusts that promise happiness but deliver misery.
Joseph resisted seductive temptation from Potiphar’s wife by saying, “How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” (Genesis 39:9). We must make that same choice when enticed.
Single believers should also remember that Jesus was unmarried while living on earth, yet remained “one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). Following Christ’s example, we can be single yet maintain sexual purity in God’s strength. His grace is enough.
Mature Christian singles can also redeem their sexual desires by channeling them into service for the Lord and relationships fostering spiritual intimacy rather than physical connection. Self-control is a fruit of God’s Spirit available to believers in Christ (Galatians 5:23).
Fleeing Immorality and Pursuing Christ
Fornication is always devastating, never satisfying what it promises. But by God’s power and grace, believers can gain victory over sexual temptation and walk in joyful purity, honoring Christ with their bodies.
Scripture directs us to “abstain from every form of evil” while recognizing “that the Lord is at hand.” (1 Thessalonians 5:22-23). The nearness of Christ helps us flee fornication and run toward intimate fellowship with Him through the Spirit.
As we fix our eyes on Jesus through immersing ourselves in Scripture, the allure of sexual sin diminishes in the radiance of His glory and grace. We discover that only Christ can satisfy our deepest longings. The more we know Him, the less attractive fornication becomes.
Walking closely with Jesus, we can trust Him for grace to avoid sexual immorality. He promises His presence when we obey Him: “Let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.” (2 Corinthians 7:1)
Though fornication’s temptations are strong, God’s grace is far stronger for believers abiding in Christ. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we can glorify God through moral purity as we await the consummation of all things in Christ.