A GODLY VIEW OF MORAL CLEANNESS

Divine Restraints

While sexuality is a gift from God, it is not to be expressed without restraint.  This principle applies even within the marriage arrangement.  (Ephesians 5:28-30; 1 Peter 3:1, 7) Outside of marriage, sexual relations are forbidden.  The Bible is quite specific on this matter.  In the Law that God gave to the nation of Israel, it was stated: "You must not commit adultery."  (Exodus 20:14) Later, Jesus included "fornications" and "adulteries" with  the  "injurious reasonings"  that originate in the heart and defile a person.  (Mark 7:21, 22) The apostle Paul was inspired to admonish the Christians in Corinth:  "Flee from fornication."  (1 Corinthians 6:18) And in his letter to the Hebrews, Paul wrote:  "Let marriage be honorable among all, and the marriage bed be without defilement, for God will judge fornicators and adulterers." - Hebrews 13:4.

What is meant by the word "fornication"?  It comes from the Greek word por-nei'a, which is sometimes used to apply to sexual relations between unmarried people.  (1 Corinthians 6:9) Elsewhere, such as at Matthew 5:32 and Matthew 19:9, the term is broader in meaning and refers additionally to adultery,incest and bestiality.  Other sexual practices between individuals not married to each other, such as oral and anal sex and the sexual manipulation of another person's genitalia can also be designated as por-nei'a.  All such practices are condemned - either explicitly or by implication-in God's Word. -Leviticus 20:10, 13, 15, 16; Romans 1:24, 26, 27, 32.

Benefiting From God's Moral Laws

Watchtower, 2000