Monday's Message: How far can we go?

How far can we go?

Beginning in the first verse of chapter seven, Paul responds to a whole series of questions that were addressed to him in a letter from some folks of the church in Corinth. They were questions about practical issues such as: marriage, divorce, food offered to idols, spiritual gifts, public worship, what happens to our bodies when we die, and finally, a concern about an offering to be taken for some believers in Jerusalem who were in poverty. Paul devoted the rest of this Epistle to answering these questions.

“How far can we ‘go’ before we are married?” Most dating couples who have a desire to uphold righteous standards will ask a question like this at some point in the development of their relationship. In our text we find this statement, “It is good for a man not to touch a woman.”  Let us define Scripture with Scripture.  James 4:17 "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin."  I have heard this rule defined like this, “Before marriage, you should be involved physically with the person you are dating just as much as you would want your spouse to be involved physically with another person once you are married.”

God wants us to be pure in our minds and in our bodies throughout our entire lives.  Our relationship with Him is the most important relationship in our whole lives.  It is absolutely vital that we please Him above all others, including ourselves.  If you want to remain pure, or stay pure from this day forward, you will need to put some safe guards in place.  The best way to avoid giving in to your carnal desire around the person you are dating is to never put yourself in a situation where you have the option to sin.  If you have nothing to hide, there is no reason that you cannot be where other folks can see you.  Single dating is not wise.  You are creating an opportunity for your flesh to win in this area! Believer, please consider God’s Word on this matter.  I realize that it is not popular, but it could save your life!

 I Corinthians 7:1-2:

1.Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. 2.Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.