God's Wedding Gift Series

At the end of their first date, a young man in a bygone era took his favorite girl home. He decided to try for that important first kiss. With an air of confidence, he leaned his hand against the wall, smiled, and said, “How about a good night kiss?”

“Are you crazy?” she said. “My parents will see us!”

“Oh, come on! Who's gonna see us at this hour?”

“No, please. Can you imagine if we get caught?”

“Come on, they're all sleeping!”

“No way. It's too risky!”

“Please, please, please. I like you so much.”

“No, no, no. I like you too, but I just can't!”

“Oh yes you can. Please?”

“No, no. I just can't.”

“Pleeeeease?. . .”

Then to their surprise, the porch light went on, the door opened, and there stood the girl's sister, hair disheveled, in her pajamas. In a sleepy voice she said, “Dad says to go ahead and give him a kiss. Or I can do it. If need be, dad will come down himself and do it. Whatever you do, tell your date to take his hand off the intercom button.” (Keith Todd, www.sermonfodder.com; source: sem-joke@yahoogroups.com)

There was a time when just a kiss on a date was considered “risky”. Now, couples are expected to jump into bed together, if not on their first date, at least by the time they get serious with each other. So-called virgins are laughed at. They are considered weird, and sex outside of marriage has become the norm in our society, even among Christians singles.

In a recent study conducted by ChristianMingle.com, Christian singles between the ages of 18 to 59 were asked, “Would you have sex before marriage?” The response? 63% of the single Christian respondents indicated yes.

Kenny Luck, in response to the survey, said, “[Christian young adults have become] sexual atheists. In other words, God has nothing to say to them on that subject of any consequence or, at least, anything meaningful enough to dissuade them from following their own course of conduct. It is the ultimate oxymoron. A person who at once believes in a wise, sovereign and loving God… can also believe simultaneously he should not, cannot or will [let Him] inform their thinking [about their] sexually. (Kenny Luck, “Sexual Atheism: Christian Dating Data Reveals a Deeper Malaise,” The Christian Post, 4-14-14; www.PreachingToday.com)

That’s sad, because study after study after study has clearly demonstrated that cohabitation is directly correlated with higher levels of unhappiness and domestic violence. And if a cohabiting couple ultimately marries, they have a higher propensity to divorce. (Jennifer Roback Morse, “Why not Take Her for a Test Drive,” Boundless, 12-19-12; www.PreachingToday.com)

The sexual revolution of the 60’s was supposed to bring us real enlightenment, freedom from our sexual hang-ups, and barrels of fun. Instead, we got an AID’s epidemic, dozens of sexually transmitted diseases, and millions of broken homes.

There’s got to be a better way! And there is. If you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Exodus 20, Exodus 20, where in just one short sentence God tells us how to have fun, fantastic sex without all the hang-ups.

Exodus 20:14 You shall not commit adultery. (ESV)

There you have it. Keep sex exclusively within the marriage relationship and you will enjoy true intimacy.

You see, God is the one who created sex; and when He did, He called it “VERY GOOD” in Genesis 1:31. Sex is not some “dirty little secret” of every married couple. It’s a beautiful creation of God. The pastor who performed our wedding ceremony called it, “God’s Wedding Gift!”

The point is, “Don’t spoil the gift!” Don’t take what God created as good and beautiful and ruin it by taking it outside the context of marriage.

You say, “Phil, what’s the harm? A little fun on the side can’t be all that bad. Why should I care about sexual purity?” Well, if you turn with me to 1 Thessalonians 4, 1 Thessalonians 4, we’ll find five good reasons to keep sex within the confines of marriage.

1 Thessalonians 4:1-3 Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality… (ESV)

God wants you to be holy (or sanctified) in all your behavior. That means He wants you to be set apart, different, special, not like most of the rest of the world, which has cheapened sex. Specifically, God wants you to abstain from sexual immorality – i.e., any kind of sex outside of marriage. Why? Well, first of all, because…