Sexual integrity: concepts and implications

Sexual Integrity

If you're confused about sex, you've come to the right place. The Bible, more than any other modern resource, offers clear-cut guidelines for how to deal with sexuality and sexual behavior. In fact, sex is one of the Bible's favorite subjects. Throughout both the Old and New Testaments, the Bible offers advice for young people and old regarding their sexual conduct, sexual morals, and heterosexual relationships. The Bible spells out clearly what behaviors will make you happy and which will cause you problems. Now, you don't need a Bible to realize that improper sexual conduct can lead to problems like disease or to parenthood before you are ready. However, when you are confused, turn to the Bible for inspiration and guidance.

In spite of what you might think, the Bible is pro-sex. The Bible teaches that sex can be a sacred and profoundly spiritual act of union between a man and woman. For example, in I Corinthians 6:13-16 the text states that through sex two people become as one person. Because sex is so profound and so powerful, we are warned not to engage in frivolous or sinful sexual activities. Our culture treats sex as if it were a game. It is not. Sex has the power to transform you and transform your outlook on life. When you marry you will embark on a spiritual path of continual growth. Sex can be fun in the right context, but out of context sex is certainly sinful. The Bible is clear about this. According to scripture, the only right context for sexual relations is marriage. If you have any doubt about this because of what you see on television or in the movies, then you only need to turn to the book.

You are young and curious about sex. Take care to enjoy your chastity while you still have it. You will have a lifetime with which to explore your sexuality with your marriage partner. The Bible asks not that you abstain from sex for your whole life, just until you are married. "If they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion," (I Corinthians 7:9). When you start to feel your body's urges, you will then be able to rationally decide whether or not to act on them, whether or not you want to spend the rest of your life with that partner. If not, you are simply not ready to engage in sexual relations.

You are exposed to countless images of premarital and extramarital sex on television and in the movies. It is up to you to be strong enough to avoid such temptations. Those people you see aren't real, and they aren't your role models. Your role models should come from your Church, from your parents, from the Bible. Look to the Song of Songs for some of the most romantic poetry ever published; the Bible encourages all of you to preserve your chastity so that when you marry you will experience the full joy of marital bliss. If you have sex with partners willy-nilly, before you are married, you may never experience the total, all-encompassing and divine nature of true love. Sex within marriage is a divine experience; sex outside of marriage is meaningless.