“My son, keep my words, and treasure my commands within you.  Keep my commands and live, and my law as the apple of your eye.  Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.  Say to wisdom, ‘You are my sister,’ and call understanding your nearest kin, that they may keep you from the immoral woman, from the seductress who flatters with her words.  For at the window of my house I looked through my lattice, and saw among the simple, I perceived among the youths, a young man devoid of understanding, passing along the street near her corner; and he took the path to her house in the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night.  And there a woman met him, with the attire of a harlot and a crafty heart. . .she caught him and kissed him. . .I came out to meet you, diligently to seek your face, and I have found you.  I have spread my bed with tapestry, colored coverings of Egyptian linen.  I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.  Come, let us take our fill of love until morning; let us delight ourselves with love. . .With her enticing speech she caused him to yield, with her flattering lips she seduced him.  Immediately he went after her, as an ox goes to the slaughter. . .” (Prov. 7:1-10, 13, 15-18, 21, 22).

 

Unfortunately, many make the same decision as the young man and woman whom Solomon peered at through his window that night.  Likewise, God looks down through heaven’s window upon the sons of men and sees a world that is obsessed with and seemingly fanatical over sexual gratification.  One can see the marks of this craze through nearly every outlet of society.  Look at the advertising community; it is overwhelmingly obsessed with exploiting the woman’s body for sales. Television sitcoms frequently aim the blunt of their jokes in the area of a sexual nature. One cannot pass through the supermarkets without easily seeing magazines of nearly nude women on display.  Many movies thrive on such to sell. Imagine if they would make a sensor that would automatically cut out all the filthy language with all the sexual situations? Many movies would probably be cut in half!

 

When we talk about the danger of fornication, it is essential that we define what we mean.  By “danger” we mean the pitfalls and consequences of such a sin.  By “fornication” we mean unlawful sexual intercourse (i.e. premarital, extra-marital, homosexual, etc.). It should be understood that lawful sexual relations are honorable only between a man and woman who are lawfully married.  Any other scenario is sinful.

“Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge” (Heb. 13:4).

The marriage bed is not a bed of defilement but is honorable. Scripture informs us of a way to avoid sexual immorality—in honorable marriage (see 1 Cor. 7:1-5). Also notice that the spouse is to render the “affection,” or give one’s body to the other marriage partner, and not “deprive” the other of this right. The book of God considers depriving one another of this sacred right as sin. Husbands and wives need to remember that they promised to “have” and to “hold” one another, and then they should actually have and hold one another (cf. Prov. 5:15-20). An unlawful marriage, on the other hand, always results in an unlawful sexual union, fornication (Matt. 5:32; 19:9).  Like-wise people who are unmarried and practice sexual relations are in a state of rebellion against God’s word (1 Cor. 6:16-18). Society condones it; scripture condemns it. Though our world is sex crazy, the eternal Word says, “Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord. . .” (1 Cor. 6:13).

 

The dangers of fornication are real.

Too often a young man or woman who have promising careers throw it all away because they are in love with love rather than each other. Likewise parents who have more dollars than sense force their daughters to have an innocent and pure life brutally aborted simply for appearance’s sake. Fornication also wrecks families when husbands and wives throw their family’s welfare aside to follow the lust of their heart for a fleeting moment of passion with another. Such scandals seem commonplace today. Even churches may be left in shambles when a leader is found out for being sexually involved with another member. Reputations and good examples are shattered; godly influence is lost in the muck of such scenes. The Biblical sage correctly penned,

“For by means of a harlot a man is reduced to a crust of bread . . . Can a man take fire to his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? Can one walk on hot coals, and his feet not be seared? So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife; whoever touches her shall not be innocent” (Prov. 6:26-29).

Do you know one who has burned up their household by taking such a flame into their bosom?

 

Fornication imprisons the strong (Prov. 7:26)! One can simply ponder on David, king of Israel, a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22), a man of faith (Heb. 11:32), and one who valiantly opposed and victoriously overcame the enemies of God. Yet David fell to this sin with his neighbor’s wife. His actions gave Jehovah’s enemies reason to blaspheme (2 Samuel 11:1-12:15). While David repented and was forgiven, the rest of his days dripped with affliction.

 

Do not be deceived, dear reader, fornication is dangerous. The mere physical consequences are not what make it so dangerous; however, its real peril lies in the fact that it results in a disjointed relationship with God. It creates disunion from God Almighty. Fornication is not “alternative” or “wise.” It is sinful rebellion against God’s holy word. It leads to death,

“For the lips of an immoral woman drip honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil; but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death, and her steps lay hold of hell” (Prov. 5:3-5).

Harlotry abrasively erodes the foundational reason for woman's existence.  She is commissioned to be a helper for man, not his destroyer (Gen. 2:18). The soul caught up in it is addicted and the doom that it brings is often ignored until it is too late.

“Harlotry, wine, and new wine enslave the heart” (Hos. 4:11).

While many of the physical and emotional consequences that come with it cannot be removed, the sin can be forgiven by submission to God and repentance. Without such, one stands eternally lost (Gal. 5:19-21; 1 Cor. 6:9-11).

 

How to evade this sin.

What can one do to avoid the tragedies of walking down such a pathway of doom? First one should seek to watch over their heart. Solomon wrote,

“Keep [watch over, NAS] your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life . . . Let your eyes look straight ahead, and your eyelids look right before you. Ponder the path of your feet. . .” (Prov. 4:23, 25, 26a).

When inflamed with evil passion, stop and ponder on where you are going. It is not that we are born with a perverse heart, but rather we train our heart to become what it is.  The apostle wrote of some as having their “. . . heart trained in covetous practices, and are accursed children” (2 Pet. 2:14). Likewise a pure heart must be trained in purity (Phil. 4:8).  What do you look at; what do you meditate on?

 

Second, we must live soberly, righteously and godly in the present age (Titus 2:11-12). It is one thing to train our heart for righteousness, but we must become practitioners of godliness. This means we must give some diligent study of the right book, the Bible, and be an active member of the right church, the church of God’s choice. This places you in an environment that is right and good for growth. We must utilize some discretion about the environment which we subject ourselves to. Recognize that dance halls, and “parking” with a date are breeding grounds for all sorts of sexual immorality. Men and women need to acknowledge that suggestive or immodest dress portrays a statement. Often we are creatures of desire. When we see something that we like and it looks good, we seek ways to get it (Gen. 3:6). When you dress in a suggestive way, you are laying a stumbling block for others; yes, there is such a thing as the “attire of a harlot” (Prov. 7:10). How do you dress? You should also concern yourself with your bodily movement and speech. The Bible takes note of the way that a woman can tempt a male.

“Her mouth is smoother than oil. . .the flattering tongue of a seductress. . .Nor let her allure you with her eyelids. . .the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with outstretched necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, making a jingling with their feet” (Proverbs 5:3; 6:24, 25; Is. 3:16). 

Third and finally, just “flee fornication” (1 Cor. 6:18). If such a situation ever presents itself to you, don’t linger around and try to reason with it, just flee! Run for your life and escape! Joseph in Genesis 39 gives an example of taking flight away from such a situation. Emulate it!

 

Fornication is sin that is destructive to the soul. Don’t lead a double life. Get out of it and become the kind of person God would have you to be. If Jesus peers through the window of your heart, what does He see, one void of understanding or one who seeks His great counsel?

“A wise son heeds his father’s instruction, but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke . . . Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies” (Prov. 13:1; 31:10).