Living Together Outside of Marriage - What is God's Will?

Living Together Outside of Marriage  - Its ok - That's what I thought.

Our culture indicates that living together outside of marriage is okay. Satan whispers in our ear, "It's okay, there is nothing wrong with it."  What does God's word say?

Read 1 Corinthians 6:18-20

 Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. ¹⁹ Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, ²⁰ for God bought you with a high price. So, you must honor God with your body.

Living together outside of marriage hurts God because it shows that we prefer following our own desires instead of the leading of the Holy Spirit.

What's wrong with that...it is my life - isn't it?

God wants to protect us from damaging ourselves and others, and He offers to fill us, our loneliness, our desires, with Himself.

In my search for love and acceptance, I followed my own desires. I was conflicted by my desire to be needed, wanted, and resentful for feeling like I had to give something up from myself, to get loved. I felt bound by my performance (what I do) rather then core value and worth (who I am). I accepted the belief that I wasn't "good enough" to committed to in marriage. Over-functioning to be needed, valued, or loved.  Attempting to care for others at the expense of my own self needs; feeling victimized and "used" as a result.

Did you ever feel these feelings?  Did you ever wonder why you would give yourself away "that way"?

Not a New Day

·         Sexual temptations surround our culture, just as in 1 Corinthians, when Paul spoke to a society just like ours today.  You mean...this is not new thinking?

(vs 12) You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything.

(See the page on: Man, those Israelites...can you believe that they did not hear God's message?)

Why is sexual sin outside of marriage so serious?  It always hurts someone.  It hurts God because it shows that we prefer to satisfy our desires our own way instead of according to God's word or to satisfy these desires immediately instead of waiting for His timing.

It hurts others because it violates the commitment so necessary to a relationship.  It hurts us because it often brings disease to our bodies and adversely affects our personalities.

It affects our personality which responds in anguish when we harm ourselves physically and spiritually.

God’s Plan

Christians are free to be all we can be for God, but we are not free from God. God created sex to be a beautiful and essential ingredient in marriage.

God wants to protect us from hurting ourselves and others, and He loves us too much to remove our free will.  Thus, we are to have no part in sexual immorality by turning toward Him, even if our culture accepts it.

• Paul’s message in 1 Corinthians is: 

Live God’s way, one day at a time. He will show us what to do!

Ref: Serenity Prayer (below)

Revelations 2:20 reminds us how those who encourage sexual sin will be dealt with, if they do not repent their actions.

“But I have this complaint against you. You are permitting that woman—that Jezebel who calls herself a prophet—to lead my servants astray. She teaches them to commit sexual sin..."

Jezebel signifies Satan's ways in our lives.  He comes to discourage, destroy, detour, and cause division away from God's way.

Join me in the journey of developing a relationship with God. It takes time and work.  Eternal life is worth some work now...right?

Believe in God

·         Take time to re-evaluate my life to see if I truly believe in God.

(1 Corinthians 6;11) Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

(Chronological Bible, New Living Translation)

The Serenity Prayer

GOD, grant me the serenity
to accept the things
I cannot change,

Courage to change the
things I can, and the
wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardship as the
pathway to peace.

Taking, as He did, this
sinful world as it is,
not as I would have it.

Trusting that He will make
all things right if I
surrender to His Will;

That I may be reasonably happy
in this life, and supremely
happy with Him forever in
the next. 

Amen

NOTE: The full text of the original "Serenity Prayer" written by Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971)

This is the full prayer attributed to Karl Paul Reinhold Niebuhr reportedly written in 1926. Niebuhr was a Lutheran pastor and theologian. Usually his "Serenity Prayer" is quoted using the first 2 verses only.

Rita Shipman, MCC

480-861-4487

Rita is a Christian Counselor who is seeking to grow in understanding and knowledge of God's word, "to be reasonably happy in this life, and supremely happy with Him in the next". (Serenity Prayer).  It is her desire to help others to grow in their relationship with God.