The home is the first place where Christian love should be practiced. A Christian home begins with a Christian marriage in the will of God. This means loyalty and purity. Sex outside of marriage is sinful and destructive; sex within the protective bonds of marriage can be enriching and glorifying to God.

Fornication is committed by unmarried persons and adultery by married persons. But in the New Testament, the term fornication can refer to many kinds of sexual sins.

How does God judge fornicators and adulterers? Sometimes they are judged in their own bodies. Certainly they will be judged at the final judgment. Believers who commit these sins may be forgiven, but they will lose rewards in heaven.

David was forgiven, but he suffered the consequences of his adultery for years to come.

In these days, when sexual sins are paraded as entertainment, Christians need to take a stand for the purity of the marriage bond.

A dedicated Christian home is the nearest thing to heaven on earth, and it starts with a Christian marriage.

Scripture for today: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self- seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7, NIV).

Also read: 15:20; Romans 1:24-27; 1 Corinthians 6:15-20; Ephesians 5:5, 31-32; Hebrews 13:4; Revelation 21:8, 22:14-15.

Action assignment: List three things you can do to show love in your home today. Ask God to help you do them.

WARREN W. WIERSBE
www.backtothebible.in