Is Sex Before Marriage A Sin?

I've heard a lot of people say that having sex before marriage is a sin. Is this true? How come it's sinful?

It is indeed true that God intended for sex to be something strictly for the confines of a committed, monogamous relationship. It's also true, as it is with many things, that the words “pre-marital sex” or “sex before marriage” are not in the Bible. This doesn't mean it's not talked about, though. For instance, the word Trinity is not anywhere in the Bible either, but it is still the foundation of the Christian belief system.

Look at 1 Corinthians 8:16-20: “Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body."

As you've likely seen on this webpage, the above passage can be used to explain why a variety of different sexual sins are sinful. However, it is often used to explain why pre-marital sex is sinful. When someone engages in sex outside of a committed, monogamous relationship they are not only sinning against their bodies, but the bodies of the people with whom they are engaging in this. God created sex as an expression of love, joining our body with the body of another as a sign of our full and lifelong commitment to one another.

Think of it this way. When you have sex with someone, it is like you are giving them a key that unlocks every part of you; a key that enables them to know you on the most vulnerable of levels. And the same is true of the person you are having sex with. They give a key to you as well. Now, if you have sex with someone you are engaged to, there's a good chance you might proceed and get married and stay together and nothing will change all that much. However, what if you have sex with someone and do not remain with them? They still have that key, as do you. They can't give away the key to another person in the way they did to you, and the same for you. You can't take that back. Another person will never know them absolutely fully and exclusively. Is that really fair to do to someone, or someone to do to you? God calls us to love and respect our bodies. Part of that is recognizing that He created us to be sexual beings, but out of love, not simply physical desire.