What God’s Word has to say about sexual purity

It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit. (1 Thessalonians 4:3-8)

I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean...I am the LORD who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy. (Leviticus 11:44-45)

Dear friends, now we are children of God...But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure. (I John 3:2-3)

Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body....You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. (1 Corinthians 6:18, 20)

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1-2)

Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned? Can a man walk on hot coals without his feet being scorched? So is he who sleeps with another man’s wife; no one who touches her will go unpunished. (Proverbs 6:27-29)

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. (1 Peter 3:3-5)

The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death. (Proverbs 14:27)

A man’s harvest in life will depend entirely on what he sows. If he sows for his own lower nature his harvest will be the decay and death of his own nature. But if he sows for the Spirit he will reap the harvest of everlasting life by the Spirit. (Galatians 6:7-8, Phillips)

Why be captivated, my son, by an adulteress? Why embrace the bosom of another man’s wife? For a man’s ways are in full view of the Lord, and he examines all his paths. The evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him; the cords of his sin hold him fast. He will die for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly. (Proverbs 5:20-23)

You may be sure that your sin will find you out. (Numbers 32:23)

The man of integrity walks securely, but the man who takes crooked paths will be found out. (Proverbs 10:9)

Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor...the greedy nor drunkards...will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, [but] you were sanctified, [but] you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)

For the grace of God that brings salvation...teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age. (Titus 2:11-12)

Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. (Proverbs 16:18)

So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! (1 Corinthians 10:12)

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8)

When [Satan] lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. (John 8:44)

We are not unaware of Satan’s schemes. (2 Corinthians 2:11)

The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. (1 John 4:4)

Resist the devil and he will flee from you. (James 4:7)

For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality...(Matthew 15:19-20)

I have hidden your Word in my heart that I might not sin against you. (Psalm 119:11)

But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away.... And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. (Jesus, Matthew 5:28-30)

But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity...because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place. (Ephesians 5:3-4)

To fear the LORD is to hate evil. (Proverbs 8:13)

Make no provision for the flesh. (Romans 13:14)

Above all else, guard your heart [mind, inner being], for it is the wellspring of life. (Proverbs 4:23)

I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl. (Job 31:1)

Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your Word. (Psalm 119:37)

Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure...think about such things. (Philippians 4:8)

We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Corinthians10:5)

Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evil men. Avoid it, do not travel on it; turn from it and go on your way. (Proverbs 4:14-15)

Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” (1 Corinthians 15:33)

He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm. (Proverbs 13:20)

He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy. (Proverbs 28:13)

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve. (Jeremiah 17:10)

Related Resources

• The Purity Principle by Randy Alcorn
• Sexual Temptation Booklet: Establishing Guardrails and Winning the Battle by Randy Alcorn
• The Look: Does God Really Care What I Wear? by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth
• For Young Women Only: What You Need to Know About How Guys Think by Shaunti Feldhahn and Lisa A. Rice

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