I had a friend ask me an interesting question on Friday. I’m glad she asked me on Friday, it gave me the weekend to think about it. She asked me my opinion on pre-marital sex. My initial response required no thought at all: “No.” I directed her to passages in Scripture that talk about fornication. She asked me if I meant sex with a prostitute. I said fornication means sex outside of marriage. She told me she doesn’t think that’s a proper definition. Really? She explained her reasoning to me, but, basically, the term fornication comes from the Latin fornicare, which meant to have sex with a prostitute. If ‘fornication’ comes from this Latin word, then it is certainly possible that, at one time at least, fornication meant prostitution. I must admit, that’s a new one. I’ve heard lots of excuses, I mean reasons, not to believe what the Bible says, but I’ve never heard that one before. I have to consider, what did the word fornication mean in 1611? Interestingly enough, a quick trip to dictionary.com verified the current meaning, and the etymology, but also indicated that Easton’s Bible Dictionary said that, in Biblical usage, the term fornication means what the modern dictionary says, essentially, pre-marital sex. Is that right? I haven’t yet found a reason not to trust Easton’s, but, you never know. Of course, the idea that it is talking about prostitution certainly would tie in to the idea that the love of money is the root of all evil…Let’s consider other ways in which Scripture may address the topic. Pre-marital sex would be an act of lust, rather than love, wouldn’t it? Some might argue that point, but, just for the sake, let’s look at what the Scripture says about lust: In 1 John 2:15-16, we are told to love not the world, and it goes on to warn us about the lust of the flesh. In Galatians 5:16, it tells us that the flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh. Further on, it even lists fornication as a work of the flesh (is that fornication as in buying a hooker?) Clearly, in our spirits, we would want to please God, but if the flesh is contrary to the spirit, then the flesh is going to get us into trouble if we let it have its way. Romans 8:1-13 talks extensively about flesh vs. spirit (particularly 8:6-9). In Matthew 5:28, Jesus expressly warns us that to look at a woman (or for a woman to look at a man—because Jesus is an equal-opportunity savior) in lust, is the same, in God’s eyes, as committing adultery. Wait, do you mean that if I look at a woman with the thought in mind that I would like to sleep with her that’s a serious sin, but if I actually sleep with her, maybe that’s okay with God (as long as I’m not giving her money)?
But, what if two people really feel strongly about each other, and want to take their relationship to a more intimate level? Then they should get married. That may sound a little melodramatic, but, honestly, if you want to take your relationship to the next level, the next level is marriage. If you respect your significant other, then show it. To everybody. Try not to treat marriage as a disposable thing, either. I know that has become common. Some people refuse to even consider marriage, because so many marriages end up in divorce. That is not how it should be, but it is a consequence of people not putting God first. But marriage is Biblical; there’s a reason why our grandparents referred to the alternative as ‘living in sin.’ Notice also that Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 7:37 that there are really two options: Get married, or stay a virgin.
Perhaps the best thing to do is to look at the Greek word that was translated as fornication. After all, it makes a lot less difference what the translators meant when they translated the Bible, as opposed to what the original authors meant when they wrote the Bible (or what God meant when He dictated the Bible). The Greek word is ‘porneia’ (which I’m guessing is the root word for pornography), and no, it does not mean sex with a prostitute, it means illicit sex (that is, with someone outside of marriage), or it means idolatry (in the sense that the church is the bride of Christ, and to dally with some other god or gods is ‘cheating’ on our beloved).
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