The Bible offers guidance on matters of purity and self-control, including sexual behavior. Here are verses that emphasize the importance of honoring God with our bodies and exercising self-discipline in matters of sexuality.
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1 Corinthians 6:18 – Flee from Sexual Immorality
“Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.”
Matthew 5:28 – The Sin of Lust
“But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
1 Thessalonians 4:3-4 – God’s Will for Holiness
“It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable.”
Ephesians 5:3-5 – No Sexual Immorality
“But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.”
Galatians 5:19-21 – Works of the Flesh
“The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
Colossians 3:5 – Put to Death Sexual Immorality
“Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.”
Hebrews 13:4 – Honoring the Marriage Bed
“Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.”
1 Corinthians 10:13 – Flee from Temptation
“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”
Colossians 3:9-10 – Put Off Sexual Immorality
“Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.”
Romans 1:26-27 – The Consequence of Unnatural Relations
“Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way, the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.”
1 Timothy 5:2 – Treat Others with Purity
“Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.”
1 Corinthians 7:2 – Flee from Sexual Immorality
“But since sexual immorality is occurring, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband.”
Proverbs 5:18-19 – Rejoice in the Wife of Your Youth
“May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth. A loving doe, a graceful deer—may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be intoxicated with her love.”
Proverbs 6:25-29 – Guard Your Heart Against Lust
“Do not lust in your heart after her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes. For a prostitute can be had for a loaf of bread, but another man’s wife preys on your very life. Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned? Can a man walk on hot coals without his feet being scorched? So is he who sleeps with another man’s wife; no one who touches her will go unpunished.”
Proverbs 7:21-23 – Avoid the Seduction of Temptation
“With persuasive words, she led him astray; she seduced him with her smooth talk. All at once he followed her like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer stepping into a noose till an arrow pierces his liver, like a bird darting into a snare, little knowing it will cost him his life.”
Proverbs 9:17-18 – Stolen Waters
“Stolen water is sweet; food eaten in secret is delicious! But little do they know that the dead are there, that her guests are deep in the realm of the dead.”
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 – The Unrighteous Will Not Inherit the Kingdom
“Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”
Romans 6:12-13 – Do Not Let Sin Reign in Your Body
“Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life.”
Matthew 5:29 – The Radical Call to Cut Off Sin
“If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.”
Psalm 119:9 – Living a Pure Life
“How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word.”
1 Peter 2:11 – Abstain from Passions of the Flesh
“Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.”
2 Timothy 2:22 – Pursue Righteousness and Flee Youthful Passions
“So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.”
James 1:14-15 – The Origin of Temptation
“But each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”
Romans 8:5-8 – Set Your Mind on the Spirit
“Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.”
Proverbs 22:14 – The Mouth of an Immoral Woman
“The mouth of an adulterous woman is a deep pit; a man who is under the LORD’s wrath falls into it.”
Proverbs 5:3-5 – Avoid the Strange Woman
“For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil; but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave.”
Deuteronomy 5:18 – The Seventh Commandment: Do Not Commit Adultery
“You shall not commit adultery.”
Matthew 15:19 – The Source of Impurity
“For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.”
Galatians 5:16-17 – Walk by the Spirit
“So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.”
1 Corinthians 6:13 – The Body is for the Lord
“The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.”
Romans 13:13-14 – Put on the Lord Jesus Christ
“Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.”
Matthew 19:9 – The Exception of Divorce
“I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”
Ephesians 4:19 – Sensuality and Impurity
“They have lost all sensitivity and abandoned themselves to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.”
Hebrews 12:14 – Strive for Holiness
“Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.”
1 Corinthians 6:15-20 – Your Body is a Temple
“Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, ‘The two will become one flesh.’ But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit. Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your bodies.”
Proverbs 7:6-23 – The Crafty Harlot
“At the window of my house I looked down through the lattice. I saw among the simple, I noticed among the young men, a youth who had no sense. He was going down the street near her corner, walking along in the direction of her house at twilight, as the day was fading, as the dark of night set in. Then out came a woman to meet him, dressed like a prostitute and with crafty intent. She is unruly and defiant, her feet never stay at home; now in the street, now in the squares, at every corner she lurks. She took hold of him and kissed him and with a brazen face she said: ‘Today I fulfilled my vows, and I have food from my fellowship offering at home. So I came out to meet you; I looked for you and have found you! I have covered my bed with colored linens from Egypt. I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. Come, let’s drink deeply of love till morning; let’s enjoy ourselves with love! My husband is not at home; he has gone on a long journey. He took his purse filled with money and will not be home until full moon.’ With persuasive words she led him astray; she seduced him with her smooth talk. All at once he followed her like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer stepping into a noose.”
1 Corinthians 7:5 – Temporary Abstinence for Prayer
“Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.”
Titus 1:15-16 – A Defiled Mind and Conscience
“To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. They claim to know God, but by their actions, they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.”
Mark 7:20-23 – The Depravity of the Heart
“He went on: ‘What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance, and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.'”
Romans 1:24-27 – The Vile Passions of Impurity
“Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way, the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.”
Proverbs 5:15-20 – Be Satisfied with Your Own Wife
“Drink water from your own cistern, running water from your own well. Should your springs overflow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares? Let them be yours alone, never to be shared with strangers. May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth. A loving doe, a graceful deer—may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be intoxicated with her love. Why, my son, be intoxicated with another man’s wife? Why embrace the bosom of a wayward woman?”
Proverbs 9:13-18 – The Folly of the Seductive Woman
“The woman Folly is loud; she is undisciplined and without knowledge. She sits at the door of her house, on a seat at the highest point of the city, calling out to those who pass by, who go straight on their way, ‘Let all who are simple come to my house!’ To those who have no sense she says, ‘Stolen water is sweet; food eaten in secret is delicious!’ But little do they know that the dead are there, that her guests are deep in the realm of the dead.”
2 Corinthians 6:14-18 – Do Not Be Unequally Yoked
“Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.’ Therefore, ‘Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.’ And, ‘I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.'”