True Love Waits

The Song of Solomon provides a crucial foundational principle for healthy human sexuality, three times giving the exhortation: “Do not stir up nor awaken love until it pleases” (Song 2:7; 3:5; 8:4).

True love demands commitment. Sex is a jewel that must await the right setting — marriage, a lifelong bond between two people who grow together emotionally and spiritually as well as physically. It is perilous to awaken passion outside of that bond. Like all good things, sex can be incredibly destructive in the wrong situation, and the only proper situation for something as powerful as sex is the one human relationship that is strong enough not to be shattered by it — and instead is enriched by it. Scripture encourages all who are unmarried to let sex wait until marriage. 

The Bible’s instruction for Christians is clear — to remain abstinent until marriage. However, it is also important to remember that Christ offers compassion and healing for those who make mistakes but repent and seek His help (1 John 1:9, 10). Furthermore, believers have been charged to help one another overcome sexual misconduct through accountability, forgiveness, and support. Read Matthew 18:15–35, Galatians 6:1–5, and 1 Thessalonians 4:3–8.

Taken from The Modern Life Study Bible