Sacred Sexuality: A Warning to the Unmarried

When the Song of Solomon is mentioned in church, flushed faces and quiet laughter typically ensue. This book of the Bible intimately portrays the love relationship between the Shulamite woman and her beloved.

It lays a foundation of how love, romance, and desire ought to be between husband and wife. The two lovers express their affection for one another with vivid imagery.

Even though the subject matter depicts intimacy of that which should only exist within the biblical context of marriage, the content therein is not to be locked up and kept away from singles.

As with all Scripture, there is something to be gleaned for everyone. In the second chapter, the Shulamite woman speaks of the wonderful intimacy of her husband to her friends saying,

"... I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,

by the gazelles or the does of the field,

that you not stir up or awaken love

until it pleases."

After telling the young virgins of the beauty of sexual intimacy, she issues a warning to not seek it outside of the boundaries of marriage.

This warning is then repeated twice throughout the book, once in chapter 3 verse 5 and again in chapter 8 verse 4. This repitition signals to us that it is of utmost importance.

Often in Christian circles we emphasize the importance of saving sex for marriage - but sexual intimacy encompasses so much more than that.

Professor Iain Duguid from Westminister Theological Seminary wrote in an article for DesiringGod.org that sexual purity is,

"... not simply about actual physical sexual intercourse;

 it is about protecting your mind from habitual lust, romantic fantasy,

 and pornography, all of which can have long-term damaging effects."

So Christians must be vigilant to be holy as God is holy (1 Peter 1:16) in the realm of sexual intimacy as in other aspects of life.

It is God's will for His people that we abstain from sexual immorality and that we control ourselves in holiness and honor, not in passion of lust like those who do not know God.

But how can we, wretched sinners, possibly do anything more than our fleshly desires? By the grace of God, for His power is made perfect in our weakness.

Thank God for His Holy Word. Paul writes in Romans 12,

"Do not be conformed to this world, 

but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, 

that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, 

what is good and acceptable and perfect."

Brothers and sisters, we MUST renew our minds daily with the Scripture. Read it. Memorize it. Meditate in His law day and night. And finally,

"Flee from sexual immorality. 

Every other sin a person commits is outside the body,

 but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body."