Before bed, I listen to a sermon. Last night, I listened to Pastor James Know preach on fornication. (They were having trouble with the microphone, so some of it is not too clear, but most of it is!) It’s an excellent sermon. He taught that when the lists of sin are given in the New Testament, fornication is always the first one listed, and it’s the only sin that God commands us to flee from. Why?

Because it is a sin against our own body. “Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.” (1 Corinthians 6:18) It can affect the emotions, mind, and physical health. It can lead to STDs, guilt, infertility, abortions, lack of ability to bond with one man in marriage, comparing and discontentment in marriage, divorce, committing adultery when married, and a host of other issues. God says to flee it because it’s harmful, so we must trust Him.

Many women in this nation are on SSRIs and claim mental illness. These have skyrocketed in the past few generations. I’m sure a large part is due to fornication and the consequences. Bishop Fulton Sheen said this half a century ago: “Just think, my dear ladies, of how many mentally disturbed women we are going to have in the United States in the next 10 or 15 years when the guilt of abortion begins to attack the mind and soul.”

One insight Pastor Knox taught is that women have brakes. Men don’t. We are the gatekeepers of sex. We must be willing to say, “No.” Don’t let it even begin! No making out. No spending time alone. Put a lot of boundaries in place with men. “It is good for a man to not touch a woman” (1 Corinthians 7:1). This is why the next verse tells us to marry! Wait for all of these good things until marriage. You will never regret it!

I’m thankful my mom told me when I was young that I would one day want to stand in front of the man I wanted to marry and tell him that I had saved myself for him. That’s all the sex talk she gave me, but it worked! I so badly wanted to marry and have children that this struck a deep chord within me. Both of us saved ourselves, and it’s a huge blessing in our marriage. We’ve never had a desire to commit adultery. Sexual purity is a safeguard for a committed marriage. You must teach this to your children early and often in this highly sexualized culture.

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