Abstinence is an act of self-control, discipline and purity, embodying how individuals should uphold their moral and spiritual values. This summary delves into different areas of Bible teachings about abstinence, including its implications on personal behavior, relationships, spiritual growth, and societal norms.
What Does the Bible Teach About Personal Behavior and Abstinence?
The Bible’s teachings about abstinence predominantly relate to personal behavior. The concept of abstinence implies refraining from specific activities or behaviors considered unfulfilling, harmful, or ethically wrong. It outlines the importance of self-discipline, urging individuals to control their actions, desires, and thoughts. The concept of moderation is emphasized, suggesting that self-restraint in one’s conduct notably contributes to a fulfilling and virtuous lifestyle. The Bible advises against indulging in excesses and encourages a balanced approach in executing daily activities.
Why Does the Bible Advocate for Abstinence in Relationships?
Furthermore, the Bible places significant emphasis on the role of abstinence in relationships and matrimony. It emphasizes the sanctity of marriage and the importance of abstinence before marriage. The Bible argues that abstaining from intimate relations prior to marriage allows individuals to maintain purity, indicating a commitment to the chosen life partner. It also suggests that abstinence can strengthen relationships by fostering better understanding, communication, and respect between partners. The Bible promotes abstinence as a form of respect to one’s body and partner, contributing to healthier and more fulfilling relations.
How Does Abstinence Influence Spiritual Growth According to the Bible?
Abstinence in the Bible is often associated with spiritual growth and development. It emphasizes the idea that practicing self-control aids in spiritual maturity and closeness with divinity. This denial of earthly pleasures and behaviors signifies a higher level of devotion to spiritual obligations and commitments. The Bible teaches that through abstaining from negative behaviors, individuals can attain self-purification leading to spiritual growth. Therefore, abstinence serves a significant role in enhancing spiritual awareness, maturity, and dedication.
Where Does the Bible Stand on Societal Norms and Abstinence?
The Bible’s teachings extend even to societal norms and expectations concerning abstinence. Providing guidelines for community cohabitation, the Bible encourages individuals to abstain from various social vices such as falsehood, slander, and backbiting. It extols the virtues of honesty, kindness, and respect towards others within societal fabric. People are advised to uphold these virtues by abstaining from actions that disrupt societal peace and harmony. The Bible, thus, advocates for abstinence as a means to create a more empathetic, considerate, and peaceful society.
When Should Abstinence be Practiced According to the Bible?
According to the Bible, abstinence is not limited to certain time periods or conditions but is recommended as a consistent practice. It encourages individuals to continually exhibit self-restraint in their behaviors, actions, and thoughts. Whether in matters of personal behavior, relationships, or societal norms, abstinence is suggested to be an ongoing commitment, integral to one’s spiritual and moral development. It advocates for practicing abstinence as a way of life, continually guiding an individual’s choices and decisions.
Below is our full list of bible verses on abstinence (King James Version – KJV) provided in ranked order.
Most Popular Bible Verses About Abstinence
1 Corinthians 7:2
“2 Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.”
Hebrews 13:4
“4 Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.”
1 Thessalonians 4:3-4
“3 For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:4 That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;”
1 Corinthians 6:18
“18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.”
2 Timothy 2:22
“22 Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”
1 Peter 2:11
“11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;”
Related Themes: Lust Strangers Reputation Addiction Morality
Genesis 39:7-10
“7 And it came to pass after these things, that his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me.8 But he refused, and said unto his master’s wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand;9 There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?10 And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her.”
Related Themes: Lust
1 Corinthians 6:19
“19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?”
Related Themes: Holy Spirit Lust Health Holiness Omnipresence
Colossians 3:5
“5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:”
Galatians 5:19-21
“19 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,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.”
Related Themes: Lust Abomination Lust Bitterness Adultery
Proverbs 31:30
“30 Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.”
Related Themes: Dating Vanity Beauty Modesty Self-Esteem
Romans 13:13
“13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.”
Related Themes: Dating Lust Drugs Indulgence
2 Corinthians 12:21
“21 And lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and that I shall bewail many which have sinned already, and have not repented of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they have committed.”
Related Themes: Adultery Lust Impurity Indulgence Repentance
Jude 1:7
“7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.”
Related Themes: Lust Abomination Hell Social Justice Adultery
1 Corinthians 10:13
“13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
Related Themes: Lust Self-Control Addiction Strength Temptation
Ephesians 5:3
“3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;”
Matthew 5:8
“8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.”
1 Corinthians 9:27
“27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”
Related Themes: Lust Self-Control Discipline Self Discipline Indulgence
2 Timothy 1:7
“7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”
Related Themes: Fear Self Confidence Business Bullying Self-Control
Galatians 2:20
“20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
Acts 15:20
“20 But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.”
Related Themes: Impurity
