This Page: Why Wait Till Marriage? Conclusion

Mind Games Survival Course Manual

Conclusion

We have examined some of the major arguments used to justify premarital sex. If these are the strongest defenses of sex outside of marriage, the case is weak. Our brief trek through the wilderness of contemporary sexual ideas has led to some virtual dead ends.

There are good reasons to make a commitment to limit our sexual experience to a time when the sex act can be reinforced in a context of permanent love and care. From this perspective, virginity does not have to be viewed as something that must be eliminated as soon as possible, but as a gift to treasure and save for a special and unique person.

The biblical standard that puts sex within the fidelity and security of marriage is the most responsible code that has ever been developed. You are justified in following it without apology as the best standard for protecting human, moral, and Christian values that has been devised.

Some reading this may have already had sexual experience outside of marriage. The information we have discussed is not intended to condemn or produce guilt.

The good news is that Jesus Christ came for the express purpose of forgiving our sins, sexual and all other. Jesus, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever, will forgive us. The real question now is, What shall we do with the future? Christ can cleanse the past, but He expects us to respond to the light He gives us. We hope this discussion will help you strengthen your convictions with regard to sexual decisions and behavior in the days ahead. As the adage says, today is the first day of the rest of your life.

Notes

1. Erich Fromm, The Art of Loving (New York: Harper & Row, 1956).

2. Robert R. Bell, Premarital Sex in a Changing Society (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1966), 150.

3. Eric L. Dey, Alexander W. Astin, and William S. Korn, The American Freshman: Twenty-Five-Year Trends, 1966-- 1990 (Los Angeles: Higher Education Research Institute, 1991), 21.

4. Evelyn M. Duvall, Why Wait Till Marriage? (New York: Association Press, 1965), 38.

5. William H. Masters, et al., The Pleasure Bond (New York: Bantam, 1976), 113--14.

6. Howard Hendricks, lecture at Dallas Theological Seminary, Christian Home Class, 1978.

7. Michael J. McManus, "Churches: Wedding Factories or Marriage Savers?" National & International Religion Report (1 November 1993), 1.

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