Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband.For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise, the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

1 Corinthians 7: 1-5

You’ve probably heard the phrase “don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.” Before there was running water in homes, water had to be collected and then discarded. I think we understand that following a bath, the water is pretty much useless, but who would toss the baby out as well?

The phrase paints a picture of how we sometimes overreact to what we are taught. In the passage above, Paul describes just that kind of circumstance. Imagine the Corinthian people who received the teaching that sexual immorality is wrong and then took the message to an unintended extreme. They must have reasoned then, that all sexual activity was impure. Not so, wrote Paul.

Though out the teaching of the Bible, Paul and the other writers communicate that, within the parameters of marriage between and man and a woman, sex was God’s creation and blessing. The writer of Hebrews said as much in that “marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled” (Hebrews 13:4a).

Indirectly, Paul commends monogamy as each has his/her own spouse. No multiple relationships. Notice also, that Paul makes no allowance for superiority in the marriage relationship. Neither the man or the woman has his/her own rights in the marriage relationship.

As followers of Christ, we often mention our reliance Scripture, but the culture around us presents competitive views. How closely does your view of sexuality match the teaching of the Bible?