Fornication is commonly understood in the Bible as sexual immorality outside the bounds of marriage. Here are some key references that address this topic:
1. **1 Corinthians 6:18-20**: “Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
2. **Hebrews 13:4**: “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.”
3. **1 Thessalonians 4:3-5**: “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God.”
4. **Galatians 5:19-21**: “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
5. **Exodus 20:14**: “You shall not commit adultery.” This commandment reinforces the sanctity of marriage and sexual relations within that covenant.
6. **Matthew 5:27-28**: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
These passages illustrate the biblical perspective on fornication, emphasizing the importance of sexual purity and the sanctity of marriage. The overarching message encourages believers to avoid sexual immorality and to honor God with their bodies and relationships.