The New Testament and Premarital Sex

Question:

What I am having a hard time deciphering is the New Testament’s interpretation of premarital sex. If you could provide some examples of Scripture pertaining to that subject and an interpretation of the Scripture, I would appreciate it. I am referring to relations between two people who are committed/love to each other and working towards a permanent lifetime relationship.

Comment:

As I suspect you've already learned, this is not as simple a question as it might seem. There is no specific, absolute New Testament statement that one can either choose to obey or disobey. It's rather a question of understanding the message of unconditional love that underlies the entire ministry of Jesus Christ, and then trusting your own guidance in applying it to any specific situation. That said, let me make a couple of points that may help.   It's rather ironic, I think, that in any matters concerning sex the traditional church tends to turn more to Paul than to Jesus. Paul had issues with all sorts of sexual behavior, even within marriage. Even so, his underlying point is pretty clear in, for one example, Romans 1:18-25. That point is that God must always come first. Our spiritual purpose must be more important to us than our human relationships or pleasures. A loving relationship is one that enhances our spiritual path and purpose, not one that distracts us from them.   As for Jesus himself, I frequently turn to the story of the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4. He makes it clear that he well knows her history—she has had five husbands, and she's presently living with a man who is not her husband. But he doesn't condemn her. He doesn't even demand that she end the relationship and change her behavior. He simply sees how eager she is for spiritual understanding, and he shares with her one of his most important lessons: God is Spirit. Jesus was never concerned with the letter of the law, but with how fully we are expressing our spiritual Truth. A marriage license is a governmental construct—important, of course, but not expressive of any spiritual energy. A truly loving relationship is enhanced by the legal formality of marriage, but it's not created by it. It's created by the Christ energy of the two persons involved—and that, as Jesus pointed out, can neither be made or broken by man-made forms.   Blessings!

Rev. Ed