A Christian must keep his body morally pure, as well as his thoughts. You can read about this in the New Testament - the handbook of every Orthodox believer. However, the morals of modern society are so far from the principles of the Gospel that it is difficult to express in words.
What is fornication that the holy apostles spoke about, and why did they pay such attention to it? Talking to young girls of the Orthodox faith, I had to explain the difference between fornication, adultery and outright fornication. The conversation also touched upon decorum in clothing, which young people do not observe at all. Let's look at what the holy fathers of the church teach us in order to explain to young people the moral principles of Christian morality.
The sanctity of marriage
The Church sanctifies the marriage bond during the wedding ceremony, giving this action a deep sacred meaning. Marriages are made in heaven - everyone has heard about it. However, in the modern understanding, the institution of marriage has acquired a completely different meaning, or even completely depreciated. Now short meetings to satisfy sexual needs are in fashion.
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The Church says that after the marriage ceremony, the husband and wife become one flesh and acquire holiness. Therefore, it is very important to keep yourself clean both during marriage and before marriage. If a person marries after several intimate contacts with different people, he bears the burden of sins for unlawful sexual relations. They can be erased from memory, but it is impossible to become spiritually cleansed.
Fornication defiles the body and soul, giving the evil one a reason to constantly seduce a person and torment him with sinful thoughts. These connections do not give happiness, but only fill them with disappointment and pain of memories.
Fornication and adultery
Fornication and adultery - what is the difference? The New Testament is written in a language that is not entirely understandable for modern people; it is very rare to find a translation into the spoken Russian language familiar to our time. Therefore, people do not always understand what we are talking about. For example, the word “fornication” is not used at all in modern language, and the word “adultery” is not entirely clear.
Fornication in the Gospel is called premarital sexual intercourse between young people. Adultery is called adultery. Fornication can be called all together - fornication and adultery. However, a more subtle gradation of the meaning of the word “fornication” is promiscuity with different partners. This is immoral behavior from the point of view of Christianity, which discredits the good name of a person.
Where do the listed sins come from? The source of the Fall is the heart of man and his thoughts. If in the Old Testament adultery was considered an action that was detected or not detected by witnesses, then in the New Testament even thoughts of unworthy actions are called fornication. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus says:
That is, if a person indulges in his fantasies of sexual contact with the object of his passion, this is already considered fornication or adultery. Jesus categorically forbids indulgence in such fantasies and teaches us to avoid them.
Divorcing a spouse without the guilt of adultery is also considered adultery. In the Gospel, such an action is called fornication: the initiator of the divorce and his other half, forced to seek consolation on the side, commit fornication. In his letter to the Thessalonians, the Apostle Paul says:
For God’s will is that believers should not give in to lustful impulses and should not seek consolation on the side, but should serve Jesus with a pure heart. In his first letter to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul explains why believers should not commit fornication:
Our souls and bodies belong to the Lord, and therefore must be kept pure and pure.
The fornicator defiles the temple of the living God, which is our physical body. By committing fornication, a believer forgets about God and his commandments. And this is a grief and an insult to God.
The fornicator is a haven for demons, voluntarily settling them in his body.
By committing adultery, a person can become so alienated from God that he falls away from the faith altogether. These actions corrupt not only the body and thoughts, but also defile the immortal soul. Those who give in to temptations gradually degrade as a person and will reap the bitter fruits of their actions.
In his letter to the Ephesians, the Apostle Paul says that a fornicator cannot inherit the kingdom of God:
Fornication also includes:
- viewing pornographic films and pictures;
- group sex;
- masturbation (handjob);
- intercourse during menstruation;
- sex with a person of the same sex;
- the idea that you are having sex with another person instead of your legal spouse;
- other types of depraved acts.
Temporary pleasure can cost immortality in eternity. Therefore, one should resist any temptations that come to the mind from the devil. A believer must understand where such thoughts come from and who their initiator is. The devil's task is to seduce people and lead them away from the path of truth. Therefore, do not fall for his tricks, keep your thoughts pure and holy.
Fornication is a mortal sin
If people are afraid of other sins, then they often treat fornication leniently. But sin is sin, it has a destructive effect on the soul, even if you find excuses for yourself or act as is customary. Sin is a special spiritual condition that can be compared to a chronic illness. So, if someone has tuberculosis, without treatment he will sooner or later die, even if he does not consider his disease dangerous. So it is with sins. But in this case, the soul dies, not the body.
Our children grew up in a world where many things are considered normal. If murder and theft are somehow condemned by society, then we begin to get used to fornication. Previously, dissolute, dissolute people were treated with distrust and their integrity was doubted. Now such behavior does not surprise anyone. And, unfortunately, the serious consequences of such a spiritual state also appear.
It’s not for nothing that fornication is one of the deadly sins. It is he, according to John Chrysostom, who makes people ridiculous, despicable, and plunges them into illness and danger. And what’s interesting is that in this case, not only the seducer suffers, that is, the culprit of the sinful act, but also the seduced person who succumbed to temptation. Previously, this sin was punished very strictly. If a man was caught with someone else's wife, they were allowed to be stoned to death. In this case, death often awaited those who sinned; even murderers were shown more leniency. Later, such a person could be weaned from communion for 9-15 years.
Now there is no such attitude towards infidelity, cohabitation before marriage, etc. On the one hand, this is good, because any bullying of people, much less murder, cannot be considered the norm. But the man has already punished himself, because sin has settled in his soul. This is how a person gradually becomes demonized; fornication can drive away the Holy Spirit, and whether he wants it or not, after that he becomes a pagan. Everything good that was is destroyed. Living without God's blessing is very difficult, because troubles, numerous sorrows, all kinds of illnesses and other misfortunes begin.
The consequences of this sin are serious - insensitivity of the soul and its fatness. The soul of a sinful person suffers greatly, often suffers, because it is wounded, sometimes devastated, sin has greatly defiled it. Such a person quickly falls into despair, and, interestingly, his mind often cannot understand the depth of his fall. Even if he did not cheat, did not cohabit, but sinned only in his mind, then his entire spiritual building has already been destroyed to the ground. This paralyzes all his spiritual movements, because because of sin, he does not find the strength for prayer and sincere fasting. Such a soul rushes about, it is upset and in constant anxiety, it trembles, it cannot find shelter for itself. A person can joke or laugh, smile, remain friendly, but in his soul he has despondency and great melancholy, there is no joy, because this sinful passion has killed everything in him.
Reasons for the riot of the flesh
What causes thoughts of fornication? The evil one gradually leads a person to such behavior. It might all start with seemingly harmless things:
- the desire to look beautiful and attractive;
- vanity, the desire to prove one's sexual superiority;
- addiction to prolonged sleep and staying in bed;
- love for an idle life and worldly vanity.
This leads a person to the habit of indulging his whims and momentary desires. And then everything ends with thoughts of fornication and fornication. The Church Fathers teach that one passion leads to a second, a second to a third, and a third to a fourth. This is a whole vicious chain, the links of which firmly cling to one another.
Is it worth reminding that fornication can lead a person not only to spiritual illnesses, but also to physical ones? Sexually transmitted diseases, AIDS and other problems with body systems are the result of fornication. Moral laxity can result in an unplanned pregnancy and serious consequences for the health of a young girl. Many people cannot become mothers after abortions. Therefore, you should listen to the covenants of the apostles and reconsider your behavior.
Carnal intemperance cripples destinies, poisons the soul and can even lead to suicide. Holy Scripture seeks to warn us about this and save the incorruptible soul from decay. Animal passion must be defeated, otherwise it will defeat you. A believer must realize the perniciousness of fornication and repent before the Lord, and in the future not succumb to devilish temptations.
How does sin appear?
In our society, many people pay attention only to words and actions. Thoughts and desires are not visible, and, as many are sure, you can think and want about anything. But even thoughts can destroy a person’s soul, because sin is not only physical betrayal or entering into a relationship without registration, but also any thoughts about it.
Prodigal thoughts can visit anyone, even a child 5-10 years old who does not yet know what it is. But here a person must remember that without our consent it is impossible to fall into sin. God has given people freedom of choice, and they themselves decide whether to succumb to passion or suppress all thoughts about it. As for children, we need to educate them in morality, teach them to pray, and in the future they will choose their own path. Because of the Fall, our nature is prone to sin, and the task of any person in this battle is to win. As for a specific sin, i.e. fornication, a tendency towards it appears most often for the following reasons:
- Unbelief. This is the main cause of any sin. And this applies to both people who are far from the church and those who regularly pray, go to services, but at the same time are drowned in everything worldly, living in these amusements and dreams.
- Gluttony. The Holy Fathers said that fornication is associated with gluttony, when bodily satiety occurs and a person drinks a lot. Hearty, fatty and spicy foods heat up the blood, excite you, hormones begin to play, and then it is much more difficult to resist fornication.
- Immodesty of hands and eyes. You should not stare at a girl or a man, even if the person is not married yet, otherwise it is easy to fall into sin. Of course, many people want to find their soul mate, but if you are destined to meet her on your way, then sooner or later it will happen. Abba Dorotheos taught his disciples to speak with others respectfully and reverently, because this is the image of God. Now, unfortunately, there is practically no such attitude towards each other left. Also, while washing, you should not look at your body or touch your private parts to avoid sin.
