Dating and Sex

How far is too far? Is sex before marriage wrong? What does the Bible say about sex and dating?

Sex is a gift from God for us to enjoy. Along with giving us sex, God gives us rules. As Christians if we are to enjoy sex the way it was meant for us to then we have to obey these rules.
When should I have sex? How far is too far? What if I already had sex? Is sex before marriage wrong?
What is dating all about? Who should I date?
Dating can be the beginning of your marriage and that is why it is so important to know who you are dating and the consequences of going to far before marriage.

It all starts with the first look. When your eyes meet you sense something different about this person. Your heart starts beating faster and you don't know if you should continue looking at him/her or look away. Before you know it, you are dating. The stage between friendship and marriage. You really love this person and you don't want to lose him/her. As you begin to kiss you feel fingers going through your hair and a sudden energy that makes you feel like you are on top of the world. You realize this is the first time you both have been alone together with nobody home. What should you do? Or a better question to ask would be; What is the right thing to do?

First of all. Do you really know this person you are dating? Why is it so cool these days to see how many people we can sleep with, to see how much we can get away with? Dating is all about getting to know the other person well enough that you can make a wise decision as to whether or not you want to spend the rest of your life with him/her.

Sex is a very poweful force that can drive people to do many sinful acts. Many families and couples have been destroyed because of sex. Sexual desires and activity are not bad and dirty, but good, and even beautiful and wonderful, in the marriage of a believing husband and a believing wife. On the other hand, all sexual activity outside of the marriage bond is described in the Scriptures for what it is - a grievous sin against oneself, against others, and especially against God.
Sometimes we may think that we are stronger than we are. Our will power is strong enough to overcome the temptation of sex. Only seconds later you are overpowered by tempation and you feel like you cannot control it.

God has the answer. He tells us to FLEE sexual temptations (1Cr:6) . To control sexual desires, we must realize the importance of avoiding situations where we know we will be tempted by the devil.

Joseph was sexually tempted by Potifers wife. She asks several times for him to lye with her and he runs out the door. That is exactly what God wants us to do.
One way not to make provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts while dating is to "be alone with others, never all alone." Date along with others. Also stay away from every form of pornography - it is not "harmless."
Another way to fight the temptation of this sin is by making a commitment, before we date, to be pure. This means that you must draw the line as to how far you will go. You need to draw a line before you date, because of how powerful the Bible tells us physical attraction is. We cannot have developing romantic love without having increasing desire for consummation. We are fools to deny this. It is abnormal to become more and more intimate mentally and emotionally and not want to become more and more intimate physically and sexually. You are playing with fire if you keep getting closer and closer together when you are not ready to marry. We need to draw the line before we date, because wavering at the beginning often results in our falling in the end.