People of all ages are the same when it comes to wanting to know about permitted and forbidden practices. They feel the need to understand how to act in order to please God and not disappoint Him. In this case, it's best for them to read the Bible, as this will clear up any doubts. If they know the Scriptures, they will do the right thing. The Lord will never give wrong advice.

           In this advice, Paul is referring to himself, because later on he says: For I wish that all men were even as I myself. But each one has his own gift from God, one in this manner and another in that. But I say to the unmarried and to the widows: It is good for them if they remain even as I am, but if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion. Now to the married I command, yet not I but the Lord: A wife is not to depart from her husband (1 Corinthians 7:7-10). It is clear from the Word that marriage is holy and everything that takes place in it should be holy. David declared: Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb is a reward (Psalm 127.3). If the saved don't marry or have children, we will never see their offspring.

           We live in a world where eroticism has been used in the media and even in the drafting of laws. Therefore, as the apostle said, every man should have his wife and vice versa, so that it will be more difficult for them to indulge in debauchery. The Word only allows the following: For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh (Ephesians 5.31). Holy union!

           With the strong appeal of sensuality, it is prudent to be married to avoid falling into sin. In addition to consummating an extramarital relationship, Jesus said that anyone who looks at a woman or a man and lusts after them is an adulterer and will be excluded from the Kingdom of God: But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Matthew 5.28). However, the Lord can deliver us from temptation!

           Those who don't know God's Word and can't control their desires, especially if they're not married, are prone to fornication. The letter to the Corinthians informs us of the harm done to adulterers (1 Corinthians 6:10). The apostle John declares that fornicators - single people or widows who engage in sexual relations - will taste the second death, eternal damnation (Revelation 21:8). If Jesus came back today, how many would be lost?

           Imagine those who don't understand God's plan and choose not to marry. Some, in a situation of sexual abstinence, because their minds are already perverted, go so far as to commit crimes of this nature. What will become of them? In the next lessons, referring to chapter 7 of the letter to the Corinthians, we will study more verses about this and conclude that it is better to choose marriage than to fight against God's purposes.

           I hope you'll follow the messages in which we'll address the importance of men and women coming together in marriage and being faithful. Remember: we will all appear before the Lord's judgment seat: For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad (2 Corinthians 5:10). Get ready to live at the highest level!

           In Christ, with love,

           R. R. Soares