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Fornication Scriptures: 20 Top Bible Verses about Extramarital Sex

Don’t be deceived; Fornication negatively affects your body, soul, and mind.

It takes away your dignity as a person and set you on the path of destruction.

God hates fornication too and has repeatedly said this through his prophets.

Each time you commit sexual immoralities, God is angry and wishes that you repent. However, if you fail to do so, there are numerous repercussions for sinners.

I have had my own experiences myself. I know, for years before I got married, I had sexual encounters with different women.

Then, I thought it was a good thing as I truly enjoyed the whole process of having girls flock around me.

But God spared me.

My late friend, Peter, was not so fortunate. He had several girlfriends at the very young age of 17. For months, he would sneak out to visit prostitutes until he was diagnosed with HIV.

At this point, it was too late. I never had a chance to see him again, as he passed on a few years later.

Let me share with you the words of Paul

It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable 

1 Thessalonians 4:3-4

This is one bible verse that should inspire you right away. God is a spirit, and if we must serve him, we must worship him in spirit and truth.

Here, Paul is reminding us to be conscious of our bodies. That, at all times, we must run away from all forms of sexual immorality. This involves fornication, adultery, or homosexuality.


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So, what is fornication?

what is fornication

The online English dictionary defines fornication as,

sexual intercourse between people not married to each other

Other similar words that are associated with fornication are extramarital s*x, extramarital relations, adulteryinfidelity, unfaithfulness, or having an affair with someone.

 

Bible verses about fornication in the bible

Bible verses about fornication in the bible

I have compiled bible verses about fornication that will motivate you to stop living in sin.

Here are my top twenty Bible verses against fornication.

1.  1 Corinthians 6:18-20 – fornication is a sin against the body

Fornication Scriptures 20 Top Bible Verses about Extramarital Sex

Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.

Fornication Scriptures 20 Top Bible Verses about Extramarital Sex

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

2.  Galatians 5:19-21 – fornication as a work of the flesh

Fornication Scriptures 20 Top Bible Verses about Extramarital Sex

Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

Fornication Scriptures 20 Top Bible Verses about Extramarital Sex

21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

3.  1 Corinthians 6:9-11 – Fornicators will not inherit God’s kingdom

Fornication Scriptures 20 Top Bible Verses about Extramarital Sex

Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,

Fornication Scriptures 20 Top Bible Verses about Extramarital Sex

10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

4.  1 Corinthians 7:2 – Get married to avoid fornication

Fornication Scriptures 20 Top Bible Verses about Extramarital Sex

Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband

5.  Romans 12:2 – Transform your mind to avoid fornication

Fornication Scriptures 20 Top Bible Verses about Extramarital Sex

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will

6.  1 John 2:3-4

Fornication Scriptures 20 Top Bible Verses about Extramarital Sex

We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands.Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person

7. Jude 1:7-8

Fornication Scriptures 20 Top Bible Verses about Extramarital Sex

In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire. In the very same way, on the strength of their dreams, these ungodly people pollute their own bodies, reject authority and heap abuse on celestial beings.

8.  1 Corinthians 6:13-14

Fornication Scriptures 20 Top Bible Verses about Extramarital Sex

You say, “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.” The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also.

9.  Revelation 22:15

Fornication Scriptures 20 Top Bible Verses about Extramarital Sex

Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood

10.  Matthew 15:19

Fornication Scriptures 20 Top Bible Verses about Extramarital Sex

For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.

11. Colossians 3:5

Bible verses about fornication

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

12.  1 Corinthians 5:1-3

Bible verses about fornication

It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife.

Bible verses about fornication

And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed,

13.  1 Peter 2:11

Bible verses about fornication

Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.

14.  Hebrews 13:4

Bible verses about fornication

Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.

15. Romans 6:12-13

Bible verses about fornication

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.

16. Ephesians 5:3

But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.

17.  2 Timothy 2:22

So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

18.  2 Samuel 11:2-5

One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof, he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.”

Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.) Then she went back home. The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.”

19. 2 Corinthians 12:21

I fear that when I come again my God may humble me before you, and I may have to mourn over many of those who sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual immorality, and sensuality that they have practiced.

20.  1 Corinthians 7:8-9

Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do. But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion


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Fornication in the Bible: More Scriptural Quotes

What the Bible says about fornication and its consequences

1.  1 Corinthians 6:18-20 – fornication is a sin against the body

Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

Fornication is a terrible sin against God. This is because Christ has set us free by dying on the cross.

This may seem difficult to understand, but let me explain. Your body as a Christian comes with a prize. Christ has bought it from you and requests that we carry ourselves in a Godly manner.

This means, if you are sleeping around with the opposite sex, you are definitely going against the instructions of God.

In 1 Corinthians 6:18-20, Paul is reminding us that our body is not ours. The moment we give our lives to Christ, we have become a new creature.

Immediately, Christ sends the holy spirit to live in us. The holy spirit makes us run away from sin. He lets us live according to the way expected as Christians.

The moment the holy spirit comes in, you have no ownership of your body. Christ comes in, and you must live the way he did on earth.

Therefore, we must fight all temptations and resist fornication. Paul said;

 I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified

1 Corinthians 9:27

2.  Galatians 5:19-21 – fornication as a work of the flesh

Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God

Think about the short-term satisfaction you get after sexual intercourse. Your flesh is happy that you have fulfilled your lust. You feel relaxed, but in a few hours or days, you want more again.

You will notice you are never satisfied with your lust. Every day you are controlled by your thoughts. You want more and more and more.

The reason you want more is that your flesh controls you. The flesh connotes the things we naturally tend to accept that are contrary to the commandments of God.

Fornication is well acceptable to the mind because of the short-term pleasure you get from it. First, you get the thoughts, and then the flesh pushes you to sin.

Paul said,

For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want

I’ve not met a Christian that is happy breaking the laws of God. Instead, that guilt comes to your mind after sinning.

Each time you fornicate, you let your flesh overcome the spirit in you. If you do this, remember the consequences. That, you will not be partaker of God’s kingdom.

3.  1 Corinthians 6:9-11 – Fornicators will not inherit God’s kingdom

Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived:

Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God

We already know that there is a prize to be won if we serve God faithfully until the end. This prize is eternal life.

In this bible verse, Paul is reminding us that there is no hope for us if we continue in fornication. That, we will not inherit God’s kingdom.

Therefore, we must repent from our ways. God has given us a choice to choose good from evil. We must, therefore, choose life.

4.  1 Corinthians 7:2 – Get married to avoid fornication

Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband

Controlling your thoughts might be a difficult thing to do. Resisting the flesh may be difficult to do. If you cannot control your passion for sexual intercourse, then you must get married.

Sex, when married, is not a sin. In fact, it is approved by God. Therefore, instead of sinning, get married to your partner.

5.  Romans 12:2 – Transform your mind to avoid fornication

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will

As Christians, our thoughts should be different. We must think and behave as Christ did. We must be obedient to the commandments of God.

Think about the life of Jesus. He was righteous until his death. Christ did not commit fornication. He was sinless.

If we must serve Christ, we already have a yardstick. Christ is an example we must follow.

Therefore, we must change the way we think, the kind of friends we keep, and the places we go to.

Jesus said;

Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect

Matthew 5:48

6.  1 John 2:3-4

We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands.Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person

As Christians, we have laid down rules we must obey. We must shun the things of the flesh at all times.

The things of the flesh included drunkenness, adultery, sexual immoralities, homosexuality, and such likes.

If we claim to know Christ, we must abide by his commandments.

In the first epistle of John, he is reminding us to keep the commandment of God. This includes avoiding temptation at all costs. If you do, God will surely bless you in the end.

Author: Akatakpo DunnDr. Akatakpo Dunn is a dedicated follower of Christ, an active member and speaker, and an ongoing learner of the Scriptures. Passionate about his faith and serving others, he is committed to sharing his spiritual journey and insights to inspire and uplift fellow believers. He has been active in the church for more than 23 years. Through The Faithful Christian Blog, Dr. Dunn combines his love for God, philanthropy, and Scripture, providing a valuable resource for those seeking to grow in their faith. Follow me: on Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Content Disclosure:

At The Faithful Christian Blog, I create authentic and inspiring content. Although I am the main author, I occasionally use AI for minor language enhancements. This minimal AI usage ensures high-quality, trustworthy articles without compromising originality or sincerity, ultimately supporting our shared faith journey.

Warmly,

Dr. Akatakpo Dunn

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