What is Sexual Immorality?

What is sexual immorality and what does the Bible say about it?
The word “sexual immorality” in the Bible is derived from the Greek word [porneia] which is a general term for all unlawful sexual intercourse. The word “pornography” is derived from this Greek word.
So Biblically, sexual immorality is defined as any sexual activity that is against God’s Biblical laws or guidelines in relation to how sexual relations should be conducted.

Examples or forms of sexual immorality include the following: Adultery / infidelity, fornication / premarital sex, homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexual, prostitution, pornography, bestiality and many others.

1 Thessalonians 4:3 says: For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 says: Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

1 Corinthians 6:18 says: Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body

Besides the cultural normalization of adultery, fornication and even homosexuality – for several years there has been a major shift happening in the world in relation to sexuality and also gender identity.
We now live in a world where in certain countries people no longer need to identify themselves as being a male or female. We now live in a culture where there is supposedly more than 30 gender options or gender terms which people can choose for themselves, in order to express one’s sexuality or sexual preference.
We also live in a world that is so depraved that even children can now supposedly choose their own gender. Society is now being persuaded to not label anyone as being male or female if they choose not to be labeled as such.
Therefore being naturally born a male or a female is no longer of significance or value in today’s society.
However, it is important to note that any kind of gender deconstruction or gender distortion worryingly adds to the decaying culture of sexual immorality that continues to grow in society.

God is the Creator of sex and not mankind. Therefore God is the one who sets the rules, guidelines and limits regarding sexual relationships and sexual activities.
God created sex for pleasure and for procreation. However sex is to be enjoyed only between married couples.
Biblically, God is the only one who determines the gender of His creation. There are only 2 gender terms which God recognizes. The two genders are male and female – and our genders are not determined by us – but they are determined by God who created us.

In Matthew 19:4-5 Jesus said the following: “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh’?”

Therefore sexual immorality and creating false gender identities both defiles and distorts God’s original intention for marriage. It’s also the reason why God detests same-sex marriages and any other form of sexual immorality; it’s because marriage is only between a male and female and only a male and female can marry and become “one flesh” as the Bible says.

Leviticus 18:22 says: You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.

Hebrews 13:14 says: Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous

A depraved and ungodly sexual culture serves only to increase the levels of sinfulness and sexual immorality to more demonic levels than this world has ever experienced.
It is the type of culture that both grieves God and also invites His anger because of the level of rebellion.

One of the reasons why God’s anger was expressed against Sodom and Gomorrah was because of their sexual culture and their demonic appetite for sexual immorality (Genesis 18:20-33, Genesis 19:1-25).

Therefore throughout the Bible, God takes the issue of sexual immorality so seriously that He says those who practice it (without repentance to Christ) will not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Galatians 5:19-21)

Romans 1:18-29 says: For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth… 24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. 26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. 28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.

Can God Forgive My Sexual Immorality?

Can we be forgiven of our sexual sins? Yes indeed. There is no sin that God cannot forgive. Jesus Christ was crucified for the sins of the whole world. The blood He shed on the cross can wipe away all sin, including the sin of sexual immorality (1 John 2:2).

1 John 1:9 says: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Forgiveness of all sin is found through accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour because of the sacrifice for our sins that He made on the cross.
Therefore it is only through Jesus Christ and because of His righteousness that we can overcome sin and temptation in our life.