Bible's Top Sexual No-No's

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By Chris Hammond, M.S.

Ever wonder what the Bible says about sex?  It is filled with plenty of practical information about our daily lives including advice on love, money, wisdom, relationships, and work but what about sex?  Surprisingly, there are many verses about the matter and even an entire book called Song of Solomon written about it.  Yet not much is discussed in Christian circles about how God views sex.  There is much discussion about how other people view sex (just look at the titles of magazines at your grocery store), but few if any discuss how God views it.

So after looking over many verses, it all comes down to a couple of basic ideas and here are the top sexual no-no’s in alphabetical order.

  1. Adultery is sex with someone who is not your spouse.  This commandment was given by God through the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:14.  Jesus expanded the definition in Matt. 5:28 to include someone who looks at another with lust in their heart.  This therefore would include any pornography.
  2. Homosexuality is sex with a person of the same sex.  Lev. 18:22 and Rom. 1:26-27 warns against such practices.
  3. Incest is sex with family members or relatives.  Lev. 18:7-18 provides quite a long list of relatives which include immediate family and extended family as far removed as first cousins.
  4. Lustful pleasure is what the Gentiles live for according to Eph. 4:19 and as Christians we are not to act like them.  This means we do not live to have sex, it is part of our lives but it should not occupy the majority of our thoughts.
  5. Obscenity and coarse jokes are inappropriate sexual comments in a public setting.  Eph. 5:4 calls such behavior unfitting of a believer.  This includes sexual harassment.
  6. Orgy is having sex with multiple partners at a time.  1 Cor. 6:16 states that sex is intended to unity two people, not three or four.
  7. Prostitution is paying for sex or receiving payment for sex.  Neither a male nor a female should be a prostitute according to Deu. 23:17.
  8. Rape is forced sex without the consent or permission of one of the parties.  Deu. 22:26-28 calls for death for the person committing the rape.
  9. Sexual immorality as defined by 1 Cor. 5:1 is having sex with a member of your family not biologically related (which is incest).  The example given is a man having sex with his step-mother and would also include abusive sex.
  10. Sexual sin is outlined in 1 Cor. 6:12-20 and it explains that every time a person has sex with someone, they are joined with them becoming one.  By this standard, any sex which is not meant to be part of unifying two people (such as marriage) is sexual sin.
  11. Sodomy is unnatural intercourse such as having sex with an animal.  Lev. 18:23 calls such behavior perverse.



Having said all of this, the Bible also makes it clear through the book of Songs that He intended sex to give you pleasure and within the bonds of marriage, you are free to express yourself and share your bodies with your partner.  After all, He is the creator of sex and intended it for pleasure and procreation.  With the exception of the items listed above, sex should be a natural outpouring of your love, commitment, dedication and intimacy with your partner.


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"Reprinted with permission from the LifeWorks Group weekly eNews, (Copyright, 2004-2011), To subscribe to this valuable counseling and coaching resource visit www.LifeWorksGroup.org or call 407-647-7005"

About the author- Chris Hammond is a Registered Mental Health Counselor Intern at LifeWorks Group w/ over 15 years of experience as a counselor, mentor & teacher for children, teenagers & adults.


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