The 16 Disadvantages Of Fornication From The Bible’s Point Of View
It is my body and I am free to do whatever I please with it. This is one of the many wrong perceptions people have in the 21st century. Many people engage in fornication these days and see nothing wrong with it. Little do they know that their bodies are not theirs for they have been bought at a price–the precious blood of Jesus Christ (1 Cor 6:19-20). Today, we shall talk about the 16 disadvantages of Fornication from the Bible point of view. But before we do, let me, first of all, define what fornication is.
What is fornication?
Fornication is any act of intercourse between people not married to each other. It’s a kind of sexual immorality that does not glorify God, be it consensual or not. We are warned by God to abstain from this act (1 Cor 6:9-10,18, Rev 21:8, Gal 5:19-21).
Fornication has a lot of disadvantages that come with it, some of which are:
1) The Loss Of Eternal Life:
One of the requirements for eternal life as a child of God is to live a holy life pleasing to God (1 Pet 1:15). Fornication is a sin against God and a desecration of God’s holy Temple. No one with sin will see God, therefore, if one engages in the shameful act of fornication, he/she loses God’s free gift of eternal life, if such one does not repent and change from his/her evil ways.(Matt 5:8, Rev 21:8, Gal 5:19-20).
2) The Bad Relationship With God:
It is God’s desire that every on earth, be it small or great, communes with Him. When one commits fornication, he/she is estranged from God. Even though the person may long to go back to God, the past memories and guilt brought by the devil in the person’s mind stop him/her from communing confidently with God (Rev 12:10).
3) The Curses It Brings:
Great people with great destinies miss out on God’s blessings due to sins like fornication. David in the Bible, a great man after God’s own heart, missed God’s blessings and he and his family suffered for his sins when he committed adultery (2 Sam 11, 12:10-12). Also, Reuben who was Jacob’s firstborn, lost His rights because he defiled his father’s bed (Gen 49:3-4). When one fornicates, God hides His face from such a person and His manifold blessings for those who serve Him evade that person. Such a person is prone to living a cursed, empty, and unfulfilled life.
4) The Single Parenting Experience:
Imagine being born and all your life you are being told that your father is late only to meet him unexpectedly one day. How would you feel? Such is the painful dilemma of someone who might have, probably, been the product of a sinful act. A person like this has probably lacked the protection, provision, love, and care of his/her parents. Questions of origin would have probably crossed this person’s mind, severally. A parent without answers would be left devastated. It is God’s desire for everyone to have a beautiful, love-filled, and happy home. Fornication ruins this.
5) The Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs):
One of the greatest risks of fornication is the possibility of contracting STDs like gonorrhea, syphilis, HIV/AIDS. If one contracts a disease like HIV/AIDS, such a person’s life is highly reduced and he/she could transmit the disease to his/her family. This is not God’s desire as God wants us to live healthy and fruitful lives but we ruin this when we engage in sinful sexual acts (3 Jn 1:2).
6) The Loss Of Self Worth And Self Esteem:
How one sees oneself is very important. When one fornicates habitually, it reaches a point when that person sees himself/herself as nothing but a sex toy, not capable of making any reasonable impact for himself/herself not to mention for the kingdom of God. Jesus Christ gives purpose and meaning to life but He cannot live in a temple filled with sin for darkness and light cannot co-exist (1 Cor. 6:19, 2 Cor. 6:15-17). Therefore, such a person feels useless, worthless and may even be prone to depression.
7) The Slavery To Sin:
A slave must fulfill his/her master’s desires irrespective of what he/she wants. So it is with someone who is a slave to sin (Rom 6:16, Rom 7:14). When one fornicates, he/she repeatedly continues in this trend and can go at any length to gain satisfaction. They tend to lie and lie more to cover up more lies. They are depraved in their minds and have no control over themselves. In all they do, they just serve their master, the devil. (Jn 8:41).
8) The Loss Of Respect And A Good Name:
No family, no matter its standing in society, will want their children or grandchildren to be products of a shameful act. A good name is better than riches and fornication only ruins this good name (Prov. 22:1). If individuals get married out of wedlock or get impregnated outside marriage, it brings shame and disgrace to not only the individuals involved but their respective families, and these families may even become a reference point for bad examples in society. God will not be pleased with such a person (Prov. 11:29).
9) The Missing Of Right And Godly Partner:
God has a special plan for us all and this plan is also perfect for relationships and marriage (Jer 29:11). Rebecca in the Bible was led to Isaac by God (Gen 24 ff). Abigail was a woman of noble character and David married her (1 Sam 25). Someone who is of promiscuous character may not get the right partner from God. When God blesses someone with a partner, He says, such a person is a good thing from Him. If one is promiscuous, he/she may miss this precious gift from God and may not even be God’s gift to someone (Prov 12:4, Prov 18:22).
10) The Bad Role Model:
Light shines and as children of God, we are called to shine (Matt 5:14-16, Is 60:1). If we continue in sin, we cannot shine, it is impossible. Someone who fornicates sends a bad message to others around, most especially, the younger generation. According to God’s Word, if you cause someone to sin, it is better for a millstone to be tied around your neck (Matt 18:6). Those who engage in fornication set a bad example for others to follow. One cannot even preach the message of purity boldly if one is a fornicator.
11) The Chaos In The Home:
A married man or woman who commits adultery brings a lot of shame and disgrace to the family. To worsen the situation is when there is a case of pregnancy outside the marriage. It will lead to unimaginable chaos in the home and it may even lead to separation, divorce, polygamy, and the like. It may also have a devastating effect on their children. Above all, it goes contrary to God’s will for marriage and so displeases God (Heb 13:4).
12) The Murder And Barrenness:
There are increasing cases of abortions and deaths in our society today. People who engage in fornication may end up with pregnancies and may certainly have no intentions of keeping the children. To this end, they resort to abortion which may lead to death or barrenness. Some others who use contraceptives as an escape route for pregnancies may also lose their ability to conceive in later times. All these terminate lives-innocent or guilty and God has no pleasure in this (Ex 20:13, Ezekiel 18:23).
13) The Ruining Of God’s Perfect Plan For Marriage:
God’s desire is that a man and a woman know each other only in marriage. If one engages in fornication, he/she unites his body, soul, and spirit to someone who is not the right person. God says, “…the two shall become one flesh” (1 Cor.6:16, Gen 2:24). So, if one engages in fornication, he/she has become one with a lot of people instead of the right and perfect one God wants for that person.
14) The Hate It Brings:
Considering the story of Amnon and Tamar in the Bible, we can see that although Amnon desired Tamar madly at first. After he had used her, he hated her much more than he had loved her (2 Sam 13:1-21). In recent times too, one can burn with lust for someone but after sinning against God by fornicating, that desire which is but a farce vanishes, leaving nothing but pure hate. Consequently, revenge is birthed, nursed, and executed as in the case of Absalom (2 Sam 13:22-33).
15) The Wasted Efforts And Wealth
Fornication wastes your efforts and wealth. It causes poverty and loss of financial well-being being (Proverbs 5: 10). This is seen in the life of the prodigal son (luke 15:30). You spend extravagantly in order to please your partner.
16) The Missing Of God’s Will And Not Fulfilling Purpose:
It is God’s pleasant and perfect will that every person on earth should be sanctified and holy (1 Thess 4:3-8, Rom 12:2). God used women and men that kept themselves chaste and holy like Mary for carrying out His assignments (Is 7:14, Lk 1:26-28). We are to be vessels unto honor for God but we dishonor God when we defile His temple making ourselves unavailable for His noble use. (2 Tim 2:21).
People who engage in fornication may have their futures destroyed as in the case when a person gets pregnant out of wedlock and has to leave school. Others may resort to suicide due to shame, stigmatization, and rejection associated with sexual immorality. Also, others may fall prey to ritualists who destroy their lives and they end up not fulfilling God’s beautiful purpose for their lives.
Fornication takes a lot away from us so why must one engage in it? However, if we have fallen, we have a loving Father who is ready to forgive us and enable us to live rightly with the help of the Holy Spirit (1 Jn 1:9). We must also not abuse God’s grace by continuing in sin (Rom 6:15).
Thank you for reading the 16 disadvantages of Fornication. We hope you were blessed.
You may also like to read The Mystery Behind Marrying Right And Maintaining A Godly Home, Pt. 2
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