"To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.
25 Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids.
26 For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life."

these are great..

References, please?


And also, my question was not about consorting with "whorish women." My question was about two adult, mature, consenting, loving Seventh-day Adventists who, save for some external circumstances preventing them, would be entering into a lawful marriage.

Most are in Proverbs. Forgive me, I assumed each of us had a software Bible.


og

While most of us do, indeed, have a software Bible*, it is much easier to look these verses up in context with the proper documentation of where they are located. Else, each of these has to be searched with word parameters. It can be very frustrating. Please, cite the verses as you post them.

*For those without a software Bible, this link can be very helpful: BibleGateway.com.

Also, if you are interested in an online KJV Bible with Strong's reference numbers and Greek lexicon, try [url=http://www.e-sword.net/[/url]. You must download this, but it is well worth the time and effort. I have it on 3 separate computers and it works well!

Hi, Olger, I have to agree with Jeannie, that your verses do not fit this situation. This is not a man wanting to be sexual with a "strange woman", but a couple in love, but not married, and living in circumstances where apparently marriage is not possible.

I do not have an answer, and can only suggest that they, together, need to find God's answer to THEM in their circumstances.

Beryl

I picked this up the is morning on the internet..for what it's worth..

"Fornication is voluntary sexual intercourse between a man and woman who are not married to each other. Adultery is one type of fornication.

In every form, fornication was sternly condemned by the Mosaic law among God's people, the Israelites (Lev. 21:9; 19:29; Deut. 22:20-11, 23-29; 23:18; Ex. 22:16). (See ADULTERY.)

Fornication is also mentioned many times in the New Testament (Matt. 5:32; 19:9; John 8:41; Acts 15:20, 29; 21:25; Rom. 1:29; 1 Cor 5:1, 6:13, 18, 7:2; 10:8; 2 Cor 12:21; Gal 5:19; Eph 5:3; Col 3:5; 1 Thess. 4:3; Jude 1:7; Rev. 2:14, 20-21; 9:21; 14:8; 17:2,4).

"The Greek word for 'fornication' (porneia) could include any sexual sin committed after the betrothal contract. …In Biblical usage, 'fornication' can mean any sexual congress outside monogamous marriage. It thus includes not only premarital sex, but also adultery, homosexual acts, incest, remarriage after un-Biblical divorce, and sexual acts with animals, all of which are explicitly forbidden in the law as given through Moses (Leviticus 20:10-21). Christ expanded the prohibition against adultery to include even sexual lusting (Matthew 5:28)." (Dr. Henry M. Morris)

The word "fornication" is sometimes used in a symbolic sense in the Bible, for example, meaning a forsaking of God or a following after idols (Isa. 1:2; Jer. 2:20; Ezek. 16; Hos. 1:2; 2:1-5; Jer. 3:8-9)."

* 1 month ago

Source(s):
http://www.christiananswers.net/dictiona...

If they want to get married, what is stopping them?

They should remain celebate until married (delayed gratification is a divine principle).

Couples who are sexually involved prior to marriage bring ALL KINDS of problems into the marriage. It seriously damages the foundation of their marriage, and programs them all wrong.

Sorry if I misunderstood your earlier question.


oG

Jeannie:

Two comments:

1) The ancient Hebrew people made a distinction between adultery and fornication. They are not the same. It may be that one may commit the sin of fornication without committing the sin of adultery.

2) A few years back the REVIEW published an article by a Conference President (I Believe Norway, but may be wrong.) in which he stated that pastors in his Confernce allowed people living together (sexually involved) before marriage to join the SDA Church.

3) The Biblical issues of human sexuality are complex. This, in my thinking is partly due to the failure to distinguish between adultery and fornication. This failure may lead peole to decide that if it is not adultery it is not sin. In addition, the complexity stems in part from the issues that society faces in regard to human sexuality. These issues are reflected in the lives of our members.

Gladusee:

You said:

Taken quite literally, your statement is correct. However, I belive it might be misunderstood.

In the ancient Hebrew society engagement (betrothal) was very close to marriage. To break that engagement was considered to almost be what we would call a divorce today. From that standpont for an engaged couple to live together, and be sexually involved, was in my understanding not considered to be sinfull.

The plumbline for human morality is not Hebrew experience or custom, but rather the revealed will of God in His Word.

We are designed by God with a sexual capacity. That capacity is also designed to function exclusively in marriage. The union of man & wife illustrate the relationship between God and humanity. And, Jesus is not coming back to the earth for a harlot.

Our world has it wrong, and so do many of us when we argue for that which leads to death. There are three kinds of intimacy: Spiritual, Emotional, and Physical. The world has it backwards. It places the physical aspect first. It is paramount in literature, entertainment, advertising, music, and most of all, in the lives of those around us. God’s list is different. Spiritual, Emotional, Physical. In this order, the physical fulfillment is 10x better. Maybe 100x. May I invite you each of us to experience this order?

Sex outside of marriage is the same sin as adultery. In both cases, you are damaging your heart (the very center of your life) and the heart of the other person. You are wounding their spirit, and they yours. This damage will begin destroying the relationships that you have been given in your life. Unresolved moral failure, when brought into a marriage will eventually destroy that marriage from within. I can provide a whole series of living examples. (I had this to resolve in my own life, things prior to marriage). Immediately following moral failure, people will automatically experience consequences of guilt, shame and fear.

Another thing to consider, is that arousing each other on dates is very damaging. Why? Because you are teaching your spouse-to-be how to commit adultery. You are actually showing them how to do it. This also applies to couples who live together prior to marriage. They are teaching their partner HOW to commit adultery, by engaging in sex outside of marriage. Look around you. There are wounded lives on every street. When two damaged people marry, the only way they can get love is through the physical aspect. This leaves both of them unfulfilled spiritually & emotionally. Ask you wife (or husband) if she feels loved by you, 0-100% tonite. You may get some surprising answers. This will indicate a starvation in the emotional intimacy area. Don’t worry if you get some low answers. Email me and I will show you what to work on next.

There is hope!

There are at least nine ways that Satan attempts to destroy God’s purpose for sexuality in our lives:

Lust (pornography & fantasy)
Incest
Homosexuality
Rape
Adultery
Prostitution
Defrauding (arousing another’s sexual desires outside of a marriage relationship)
Fornication (general term for sexual promiscuity)
Bestiality

Violating these moral guidelines always brings negative consequences. This will lead to guilt, conflict, feelings of rejection, inability to show sympathy, lack of respect, lying, distrust, inability to communicate, and financial loss.

Emotional intimacy in a marriage cannot occur if there is unresolved moral failure from the past. Whatever it has been, it will affect one’s ability to love & respond to one’s spouse. For example, if a husband has not resolved his involvement with pornography he will be unable to emotionally love his wife above a 3% level, and she will feel unloved, used, and dirty, whenever they come together physically. However, when a husband resolves his moral sins and focuses every thought & desire upon his wife, they will experience oneness, and her negative feelings will disappear.

Moral failure is a spiritual sin. It is important to spiritually resolve each area of moral failure in order to be free from the consequences of past sin. When each area is acknowledged, and genuine repentance occurs in the heart, the result is that a person becomes free to live & love perhaps for the first time. Most couples go through marriage never knowing the joy & fulfillment that could be theirs if they were clean from the consequences of moral failure.


olger