is co-habitation is a sin..

[mumnotarobot]

i am a born again christian. I should know the answer to this question but im confused. I am not in a cohabiting relationship but would like to know if it is a sin. And is it a sin because you are praticsing pre-matiral sex or is it justa sin because you live with someone you arent married to? I am not practising sex and neither do i intend to. But is the sin part of it due to the tempatations that may occur if cohabiting??

please help me get a clearer understanding.
Thanks in advance

Cargirl - I think Ruty is asking you to give specific examples of what Jesus said about sexual immorality.

The only one I can think of offhand is the woman caught in adultery - and Jesus' response to that was "let whoever of you is without sin cast the first stone", which personally I would take to mean "sexual sin is certainly no worse than all the sins which the rest of you are guilty of".

thanks MIS - yes I was asking for examples of what Christ himself said. He was definitely clear about adultery and promiscuity, I don't think he was explicit about anything else.

all sin is sin they are not graded but if the holy spirit is dwelling in you and commit sexual sin you are opening yourself up to consequences.

i also think it is a bit of a leap to conclued 'sexual immorality' is referring to premarital sex in a faithful, loving relationship. Sexual immorality refers to promiscuity - heterosexual or gay. What the church has chosen to define it as [premarital sex/ gay relationships] is a different thing. But lets not get started on gay relationships!

If you follow through what the other person wrote I think it is quite clear that in God's eyes sexual immorality does include premarital sex. These are God's rules not ours, he is Holy and want Holy people. In Matthew 5 Jesus has plenty to say!

I think as people we automatically grade stuff like fornification is not as bad as adultery but we're judging it on our standards not God's.

It's the same as believing lying is not as bad murder - well in God's eyes they are the same it falls far short of his standard which is perfection.

Yes it was much easier in a culture when you married off by the time your hormones had you stir crazy!

off to watch TV with dh now.

i don't base my theology on one bloke on one forum cargirl

Matthew 5 -Are you talking about the beatitudes? Only references there are to adultery.

I don't think every sin is equal for one minute! How can destroying anther person- created in God's image- bethe same as loving someone physically?

However this is one of those you will believe what is right for you things perhaps; I find I can't be argues down on what i find is God's truth, and know that's fairly universal.

Has no-one mentioned Jesus' encounter with the adulterous woman? He was the only person who didn't want to condemn and stone her. I realise the OP was not about adultery, but this still speaks volumes about Jesus' attitudes to 'sexual sin'.

Cargirl - can I ask if you have actually read through and understood the logic of what you cut & pasted there?

Because all it shows is that Americans believe that pre-marital sex is a type of sexual immorality, or rather that enough of them believe it for that to be included in a dictionary of American English.

It does not show that New Testament scholars, who compiled the Greek Lexicon mentioned, believe it. If they did believe it, they could very easily have included it in their definition or "porneia".

You cannot take two definitions, written by two separate groups of people, and reach a conclusion from the combination about what either group believed.

Mumnotarobot - you'll probably have realised from the different responses on this thread that the issue of pre-marital sex is not one which is universally agreed on by all Christians.

From your OP it sounds like you are quite new to faith, and at this stage you are probably looking to your church leaders for clear and definite guidance about this type of issue. That's not a bad thing at this stage, but it's worth remembering that as you mature in your faith, you can and should start thinking through what you believe is important, not just what your church leaders or others tell you.

I hope this doesn't sound too patronising, but I think of it like the difference between being "spoon-fed" with easy-to-digest mush, and learning to chew your own food. When you're still new, spoon-feeding works well, and makes sure you get nourishment, but as you grow you need to move onto things which you have to work at.

In Christian terms, that means moving from believing what other people tell you the Bible says, to reading it for yourself and looking at it in the light of your relationship with God. Some parts of it will require you to think about the kinds of people who wrote it, and the situations they were in, before you can decide reasonably surely what they were trying to say.

Jesus summerized the 10 commandments roughly as

"Love God"

"Love your neighbour as yourself".

Prehaps if you think of your partner/ family as your neighbour then would it be right to hurt his feelings by having casual sex or commiting adultery? In the past there was no contraception and your children would be hurt by having parents who were not committed to each other.

I think that some christians are bit obcessed about sex. They forget that there are many ways of sinning that do not involve sex.

Hi all, ive just had a quick read thorugh all the comments etc. Hear hear Really tired!!

Its interesting how many of the replies seem to focus on sex when infact my OP was not directly speaking about sex but more trying to find out what the views out there were on co-habitation.

I guess the general feelings are cohabiting will lead to sexual sin. I would like to just add and say sin will happen at every given hour or minute, and that is why it is so vtially important to remain in christ and him in us. And for the holy spirit to help us through our daily walk.

(A mum in scotland) thanks for your comments. However i dont seel my church leaders for guidance, i seek God. And only God and i know when i seek him he will direct my path always. And he will give me the discernment i need to have wisdom and understanding. I know we also need 'man' but i think for me it is better to know that i know the direction has come from my father in heaven.

Again...thanks for all the comments. My man of God would say co-habitation allows someone to try before they buy. And denies oneself of true commitment.

Cargirl, Jesus Christ's teachings supercede those of the Old Testament. For example, Jesus Christ said that previously it was said an eye for an eye, now I say turn the other cheek.

You also mention don't commit adultery(fornication) as one of the 10 commandments. However, Jesus's teachings superceded the 10 commandment and he gave the two great commandments - love thy god with all your might and love your neighbour. If you do all those things, everything good flows from them. Jesus Christ came to save the imperfect, not the perfect and I believe we will be judged by what is in our heart and how we treat others.

There are many people who are sanctimonious about sexual sin but at the same time they are dishonest in their dealings with others.