The bible teaches us the ways of God as believers; the ways of holiness and purity. God is holy and does not condone any acts or forms of unholiness or uncleanness.
God is not only holy, but he is the source and personification of holiness, so whenever men do things that are not holy, it is the reason why God cannot stand it, because it is a contradiction of who he is.
“For I am the LORD your God; ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy…” – Leviticus 11:44 KJV
Holiness is who God the LORD is, therefore he expects the character of his holiness working in us since we are his people.
The Consequences of Fornication
The bible teaches us that there are many things which are not holy and lead us into. Sin is a violation of God’s word and is not only punishable by God, but is also not good for us.
For when we sin, the devil has been given an ignition to the rest of the damages and shame he brings with him.
The bible says about the things that are unholy:
“Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I told you in the past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. – Galatians 5:19-20 NKJV
The bible calls them the works of the flesh, and the bible says that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. This is a profound warning for all who want to inherit the kingdom of God to desist from such acts as listed above.
We will however pay special attention to the subject of “fornication”. It is one of the listed characters that can make even a believer lose the kingdom. Don’t forget that Paul was writing this letter to so-called already “believers”, so it is a warning not just to the unbeliever, but to the believer as well.
What is Fornication?
Fornication as defined by the English dictionary means sexual intercourse by people who are not married, or which is considered illicit in another way.
This is what the Bible also teaches us to mean fornication. It is an act of sexual intercourse that a male and a female have consensually embarked on. This is sin against God.
The bible tells us:
“Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.” – 1 Corinthians 6:18 NKJV
We are advised and warned to flee from this sin, because it is not only sin against God, but we are also putting our bodies at risk.
Even physically, there are diseases that people have come to contract by reason of having multiple sexual partners outside of marriage.
The plan of God is not for man to have intimacy outside of marriage, but his will is that a man and a woman would come together and become one; in one spirit and one body in operation.
“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” – Genesis 2:24 NKJV
This was how God planned it, and it is still his plan; one man to one woman.
This is what brings the blessings of God upon a couple. Any one who decides to do things outside of the plan of God cannot succeed in some areas of life. There will be obstacles that will be birthed for disobeying God, and they will surely hamper a man’s progress.
Stopping Fornication
The sin of fornication is one that we find mostly among youths, and God is not ignorant of this, so the bible says:
“Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” – 2 Timothy 2:22 NKJV
So we are aware of the dangers and the reality that fornication is a sin, but how do we overcome this kind of temptation when it comes?
The passage we just read in 2 Timothy 2:22 above, not only states a problem, but in it also a solution is found.
The passage says “but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” It means that while this temptation is real, don’t focus on it, but look to pursuing righteousness instead. When we tune our hearts to the things of God, it makes it extremely difficult for the flesh to gain access and make us fall.
We must pursue righteousness; the things of God like studying the word, praying, fellowshipping with the brethren, and taking the presence of God and his work seriously.
You don’t leave yourself exposed and not expect to be a target. For we are not ignorant of the devil’s devices, and one of them is to make us lukewarm as in the book of Revelation says, so he can have us whenever he wants.
Therefore, we must seek that pure love of Christ, our hearts must be filled with faith that God can keep us from falling, and we also not forget the place of fellowship with those who call on the Lord with a pure heart; that is the brethren.
