Sex is sacred within the context of marriage. "Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral." (Hebrews 13:4) When God created Adam and Eve, they were spiritual beings as well as sexual beings. They were commanded to procreate, and fill the earth. Sexual relationship is a sacred relationship between a husband and his wife.

When God created the first human couple, He said that they would be one flesh or one body. "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh." (Genesis 2:24) Though they are two individual personalities, marriage covenant makes them one flesh or one body. It is becoming one in mind, emotions and body. Sexual union is physical oneness and is done under the sacred cover of a marriage covenant.

A covenant always has conditions and privileges. The conditions for a marriage covenant are acceptance as equal partners, affirming, providing dignity and fulfilling the needs of each other. The sexual desires within a marriage covenant relationship and its fulfillment is spiritually, morally and legally valid. The covenant between husband and wife is based on loyalty, love and commitment. Sex is certainly the privilege access to one another in this covenant.

Sex is not only sacred, it is responsibility or duty of both. "The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. The wife’s body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband’s body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife. Do not deprive each other except 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." (I Cor. 7: 3-5)

The concept of sexual abstinence is alien to the biblical truths. Some religions teach sexual abstinence of married persons as having greatest value and achievement. A married couple cannot practice sexual abstinence for long durations.

In the Old Testament patriarchs like Abraham and Jacob had more than one wife. This is not ideal. They sinned, even though Mosaic Law was not given yet. They were following the cultural practices of people around them. First, some cultural practices like polygamy in certain regions have social reasons. Men die in wars in large numbers. At such times, the women outnumber men and polygamy was practiced. The second reason was for rich or powerful men to show their prestige and power by marrying more women. The third reason is to marry other tribal chief’s or king’s daughters for political alliances. The children of Israel also blindly followed the cultural world view instead of obeying the Law of Moses. So, these Old Testament leaders can neither be considered role models in the area of family life nor justification for deliberate polygamy out of lust.

Marriage is a heterosexual union of one male and one female. "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:27) The Bible clearly teaches that God created male and female; and He created the institution of family as union of one male and female. The first couple was Adam and Eve. If marriage union of two men were possible, God need not have created Eve at all.

Sexual relationship without a marriage covenant is sin. It is not a physical exercise done by two people; as some young people think and feel. It is intimate and ultimate relationship between a man and woman. It is based on love and loyalty and can not be done casually without application of mind.

There are three aberrations: pre-marital sex, live-in relationships and extra-marital sex. Before marriage, if a person is involved sexually with a friend or fiancée, that is termed as pre-marital sexual relationship. A person by doing so looses his/her virginity. The sacred has been trampled upon and the most beautiful gift to a marriage partner’s virginity is lost forever. In this, girls tend to suffer more, for there is a possibility of pregnancy. By aborting the foetus, a girl becomes a murderess in addition to an adulteress. The boy loses his innocence, and many times denies such relationship and tries to escape responsibility. With DNA tests, boys cannot escape any more.

Some couples live together without getting married legally. On many occasions they have children also. Living together is considered as experimentation. But, marriage is not trial and error methodology and the world is not a laboratory.

Extra-marital sex is when a married man or woman is sexually involved with a third person. That means the person betrays, cheats the married partner, violates the covenant of marriage, defiles his/her body and makes sacred sex a sinful, bitter experience. "Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple 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 body." (I Cor 6: 18-20) David, the King, got involved with Bathsheba and ended up as an adulterer and a murderer.

There are people who promote safe sex outside marriage by using safety norms to avoid pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. In that idea, people are encouraged to be immoral but to minimize the after-effect or consequences by using some tools. But, the Bible teaches us to be holy, not to be criminally smart.

God had to destroy the two cities for sexual perversion. The wicked men in the city wanted to have sex with the guests of Lot. (Genesis 19:5) Unnatural sex between man and man or woman and woman is termed as homosexual relationship. The union of man and man is now popularly called ‘gay’ while a woman and woman relationship is called a ‘lesbian’ relationship. God’s judgment came on Sodom and Gomorrah for this sexual perversion. Paul writes that they were corrupt in their mind and God allowed them to wallow in sexual impurity (Romans 1:14). Now the Western countries are becoming like Sodom and Gomorrah by legalizing homosexual marriage.

Some people are physically women in feature but feel like they are males and vice versa. They resort to ‘correct’ by surgery. For others, there is no cure yet. Some are made eunuchs by some criminals and in olden times, by kings for managing the palaces. They also need the love of Christ. They can respond to the Gospel and be saved just as the Ethiopian eunuch. (Acts 8).

God created sex and it is beautiful. It is sacred only within the context of marriage. Any violation of this is sin in the eyes of God. No justification or excuses are valid against principles of the Scripture. As Christians we have to value family, honour women and nurture children. There is a need for more role models of Christian families for the world to see and learn.