For this is the will of God: your sanctification, that you abstain from sexual immorality,
Scripture, as well as secular history, confirms that sexual impurity is the great societal bane of Bible times. Fornication had become so much a part of normal life that it was not viewed as sinful. It is not surprising that so many of Paul’s writings address this evil and that his teaching is both pointed and plain. There is nothing ambiguous about the prohibition contained in this verse. Its meaning is clear and unmistakable. God is a god of moral absolutes. There are no gray areas of uncertainty with respect to acceptable behavior. The ban against fornication encompasses all forms of sexual immorality--bigamy, polygamy, homosexuality, sodomy, prostitution. Any premarital, extramarital, or nonmonogamous marital sex is clearly prohibited as not in conformity with the will of God.