Today’s question is, "Why is living together
before marriage considered living in sin?" In this video I’ll answer that question
from a biblical perspective. Then afterwards, as always, I’ll share some
helpful resources, so stick around until the end. This question could be much more easily answered
if the Bible made a clear proclamation such as “living together before marriage or outside
of marriage is living in sin.” Since the Bible makes no such definitive statement,
many (including some who profess to be Christians) claim that living together outside of marriage
is not living in sin. Perhaps the reason the Bible does not make
a clear statement is that, in Bible times, the arrangement of unmarried people living
as husband and wife was relatively rare, especially among the Jews and Christians. For the purposes of this video, when we refer
to living together, we are referring to living together in the sense of living as husband
and wife, including sexual relations, without being married. We are not referring to a man and woman living
in the same house without sexual relations. While the Bible does not make an explicit
statement about living in sin, that is not to say the Bible is completely silent on this
issue. Rather, we have to put several Scriptures
together and glean from them the principle that any sexuality outside of the marriage
of one man and one woman is sin. There are numerous Scriptures that declare
God’s prohibition of sexual immorality. The Greek word translated “sexual immorality”
or “fornication” in these verses is porneia, and it means literally “unlawful lust.” Since the only form of lawful sexuality is
the marriage of one man and one woman, then anything outside of marriage, whether it is
adultery, premarital sex, homosexuality, or anything else, is unlawful, in other words,
sin. Living together before marriage definitely
falls into the category of fornication—sexual sin. Hebrews 13:4 describes the honorable state
of marriage: “Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, f
or God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.” This verse draws a clear distinction between
that which is pure and honorable—marriage—and that which is sexually immoral—anything
outside of marriage. As living together outside of marriage falls
into this category, it is sin. Anyone living together outside of lawful marriage
invites the displeasure and judgment of God. Want to learn more? Subscribe so you don’t miss the next video! Visit GotQuestions.org for more great content. And check out the details section below this
video, there you’ll find one book I recommend, along with links to several related questions. If you’d like to learn about Bible Munch,
or if you’re interested in Bite-sized devotionals, subscribe to Bible Munch on YouTube, it’s
linked right here. Now remember, Got questions? The Bible has answers, and we’ll help you
find them!
