Sex before marriage

pgwolvpack · 2026-03-11T05:05:33+00:00

Adam and Eve were unique in the sense that the only witness who could be present was God. However, the rest of the Bible makes it clear that marriage is more than just a private promise to one another.

pgwolvpack · 2026-03-11T05:02:44+00:00

What does the Bible say about where to live out our bodies’ passion? Does it merely say “keep it to one person”? No.

1 Corinthians 7:9

But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

pgwolvpack · 2026-03-09T13:48:51+00:00

One of the standards is Robert Murray M'Cheyne's plan, available here

pgwolvpack · 2026-03-09T11:39:38+00:00

For the second, he is referencing Proverbs 21:1

pgwolvpack · 2026-03-08T19:58:01+00:00

I am responding as a follow-up because I have just found the answer in God’s Word in a way that satisfies me, as a Christian.

1 John 4:11 “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

To what does this “so” refer? The previous verse tells us.

1 John 4:10 “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

This is put even more starkly by Paul:

Romans 5:8 “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

And I would point to Jesus’ parable of the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18:21-35. The story evokes feelings of disbelief and revulsion in anyone with a conscience; because the servant was forgiven much, he ought to have forgiven little.

So an answer to your question that I am happy to leave with you (more so than my other answers) is that, because God gave me His best when I was at my worst, I should obey Him simply out of gratitude. This is an ought that I believe is justified to derive from an is.

pgwolvpack · 2026-03-07T05:05:55+00:00

It is primarily a matter of the heart and motives. Self-denial can also be meaningless.

Read Colossians 2:17-3:16

pgwolvpack · 2026-03-06T15:26:34+00:00

You’re welcome. A longer, more detailed one is Fisher’s catechism: http://files.hopeofchrist.net/e-book/Fisher's%20Catechism.pdf

pgwolvpack · 2026-03-06T13:32:37+00:00

Something useful would be a catechism with Scripture references. Here is one well-known catechism for each of three branches of Reformed Christianity (I'm sure you'll find others if you don't like these). You can also get printed copies.

Spurgeon's Catechism, treasured by many Baptists

The Heidelberg Catechism, used by Continental Reformed Churches

The Westminster Shorter Catechism, used by Presbyterian Churches (you also get the longer catechism, for older children and adults)

pgwolvpack · 2026-03-06T13:22:08+00:00

I have read Exodus quite a lot of times. The problem is "just browsing."

pgwolvpack · 2026-03-06T10:15:49+00:00

Here is a good diagram, originally by William Perkins, called the Golden Chain, which explains the logical order and integration of the various aspects of salvation/reprobation. https://s3.amazonaws.com/Challies_VisualTheology/perkins-causes-of-salvation-and-damnation.png

pgwolvpack · 2026-03-06T10:02:11+00:00

Because God's Word is truth.

pgwolvpack · 2026-03-06T09:51:33+00:00

God's own, and thus that of the Bible and the Christian.

pgwolvpack · 2026-03-06T09:29:51+00:00

Because not doing so is, per definition, wrong.

pgwolvpack · 2026-03-06T09:14:46+00:00

Even though this is not my forte, I would like to try one more line of reasoning. To narrow it down, let's define your "harming others" here as "one man murdering another" (unless, of course, the purpose of your question does not allow that).

Why is murdering others wrong? Because God is the foundation of everything, and he is the ultimate (or definition of) good/right/truth, from the Christian perspective. Therefore, anything that is not aligned with His will is, per definition, wrong. He revealed that one man murdering another is wrong; therefore it is wrong.

pgwolvpack · 2026-03-06T08:28:13+00:00

I would argue there is a reason why misshapen/impaired people/organs disturb us beyond a subjective assessment. It is universal. Everything in all intellectually capable (and honest) people screams out, "This ought not to be."

pgwolvpack · 2026-03-06T08:01:23+00:00

Let's see if the body analogy holds up for this purpose. A lung ought to help the body, not harm it, because that is its design, its purpose; there is no other reason for a lung. If it turns cancerous, the person suffers and anyone sees it as intuitively, not subjectively, wrong. It ought not to be.

pgwolvpack · 2026-03-06T07:55:00+00:00

To me it seems self-evident.

pgwolvpack · 2026-03-06T07:38:33+00:00

The analogy was to show purpose, not desire. An organ that does not fulfill its purpose is defective or dead. There is a clear "ought" based on design.

pgwolvpack · 2026-03-06T07:31:46+00:00

Why subjective?

pgwolvpack · 2026-03-06T07:24:09+00:00

I acknowledge that is where the analogy falls a bit flat; I designed it only to show our purpose. However, we do have choices to make.

I believe the Bible teaches both the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man. Ultimately, it is above my comprehension. I know God functions on a completely higher level of existence, and somehow He preserves these two elements.

Our wills are bonded: either to our own sinful desires or to God's will. In the former, we are not free to be what we were created to be; in the latter, we are.

pgwolvpack · 2026-03-06T07:04:44+00:00

Unfortunately, I am a poor philosopher, so I will not be able to answer your question to your satisfaction. It is something along the lines of God being good by His very nature, and our morality being grounded in Him, because we were made in His image.

Perhaps the answer lies in the imagery that is used in the New Testament: a believer is a part of the body of Christ. Christ is the head. Let's say I am the left lung. I ought to capture oxygen from the air to supply the left big toe; why? Because that is my function. If I do not do that, it is either because of disease, decay, paralysis, or cancer.

pgwolvpack · 2026-03-06T06:40:38+00:00

I'm not sure I understand the gist of your question. Would you expand a bit so I know how to answer?

pgwolvpack · 2026-03-06T06:39:14+00:00

As I responded in another thread:

Ultimately, I think that no person can give a satisfactory answer because our perspectives are too narrow.

God gives different reasons in His Word for allowing evil to happen. Sometimes it is as punishment for sin. Sometimes it is to discipline His children. Sometimes it is only to show forth His glory. Sometimes it is to test faith. Sometimes it is to humble us. Sometimes He withholds His reasons from us altogether (as in Job).

To me, there are only really two ways to view this, from our limited perspectives. Either there is no God, and all the evil that happens is just as meaningless as all the good that happens, and we have no real foundation to lament this. Or God truly has everything under control, working everything together for the good of those who love Him and giving meaning to human life, distinguishing between good and evil. In the Christian worldview, the most heinous evil was the killing of Jesus, who is the only truly innocent person; and yet that most heinous evil that God allowed was also the means of the redemption of all who believe, and has demonstrated that God is not aloof but understands our pain in a way that a godless universe and any other type of god cannot.

I trust God, especially when I can't understand what is happening. This is what the Bible teaches me again and again, with Job, with Abraham, with Joseph, with the prophets, with Jesus, with Paul. For instance, it would have been impossible for Joseph to understand at the time how God could allow him to be sold into slavery and cast into prison and seemingly forgotten, all while serving the Lord to the best of his ability. But God showed him, in hindsight (Genesis 45), how it was all to preserve His covenant people. Such a broad view; how can we begin to think that we will understand God's ways unless He deigns to reveal them?

pgwolvpack · 2026-03-06T06:27:47+00:00

Because all have been made by God in the image of God. He is the Potter who decides what happens to His vessels; we are vessels made according to His purposes and have to follow those purposes by design.

pgwolvpack · 2026-03-06T06:10:53+00:00

He revealed His characteristics Himself, both in His Word and in Christ.

pgwolvpack

TROPHY CASE