Guarding Purity: The Spiritual and Moral Benefits of Abstinence

In our modern world, where temptations lurk around every corner, the idea of abstaining until marriage takes on special significance. The moral and spiritual foundation of this approach is based on the belief that intimate relations should remain a unique privilege of marital love, fostering not only physical closeness but also deep spiritual unity.

At the beginning of one’s personal journey, each of us faces a choice: surrender to impulses or preserve our inner balance. Breaking the prescribed discipline before marriage can weaken one’s willpower, deprive a person of spiritual strength, and lead to further temptations and lures. This approach maintains that losing chastity before entering into the official union can negatively affect the future marriage, bringing not only physical but also emotional and spiritual consequences.

At the heart of this teaching lies the idea that the freedom manifested through self-control serves as protection against destructive tendencies. If an individual allows intimate relations before marriage, it creates fertile ground for further perversions and breaches, undermining the foundations of a strong, harmonious family. Therefore, abstinence until the official union becomes not just a moral category but a necessary condition for preserving the integrity of one’s spiritual nature and the stability of the future family hearth.

In summary, maintaining intimate purity until marriage represents a powerful tool for forming not only healthy relationships but also for transforming the inner self, capable of resisting the numerous temptations of life. This path requires courage and decisiveness, yet it is precisely this discipline that lays the foundation for a strong and happy family life.

Why are premarital encounters considered fornication, and what are the moral grounds for this approach?
According to the provided materials, premarital encounters are called fornication because they violate commandments that prescribe chastity and spiritual purity until marriage. If an individual allows sexual relations before entering into an official union, they essentially weaken their will, violate their spiritual nature, and open the door for further temptations, which may eventually lead to decay and consequences even within marriage. Thus, the moral basis for this approach is tied to the idea that sexual relations should remain the privilege of marital love—a union that not only fosters physical closeness but also spiritual unity, as enshrined in the divine plan for creating a family.

For example, one source states:
"Fornication is a sin, lawlessness, a breach of the commandment – 'fornicators ... will not inherit the Kingdom of God' (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). That is, unless they repent and return from sin. By allowing themselves to engage in sexual relations before marriage, a person violates their spiritual nature and severely weakens their will, opening the gates to sin; once a weakness is shown, it becomes very difficult to resist temptations. If one does not learn abstinence until marriage, they will not be restrained in marriage either, nor will they undergo a miraculous transformation..." (source: link ).

This position emphasizes that an improper initiation of sexual life outside of marriage carries significant spiritual and moral consequences. If a person does not learn to abstain until entering an official union, their future family life might suffer due to a habit of immodesty and infidelity. This, in turn, undermines the true, harmonious union intended for a strong and happy family.

Furthermore, another excerpt explains:
"When a person ceases to restrain themselves from satisfying their animal instincts outside of marriage, they first become an animal and then a demon, because various perversions begin to follow..." (source: link ).

Thus, the moral foundation of this approach lies in the observation that adhering to the prescribed discipline before marriage helps preserve the integrity of one’s spiritual and moral essence, preventing further perversions and the deterioration of family bonds. From the perspective of the cited sources, maintaining virginity until marriage is an indispensable necessity for building a strong, harmonious, and pure union, capable of withstanding life’s temptations and lures.

Supporting citation(s):
"Fornication is a sin, lawlessness, a breach of the commandment – 'fornicators ... will not inherit the Kingdom of God' (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). That is, unless they repent and return from sin. By allowing themselves to engage in sexual relations before marriage, a person violates their spiritual nature and severely weakens their will, opening the gates to sin; once a weakness is shown, it becomes very difficult to resist temptations. If one does not learn abstinence until marriage, they will not be restrained in marriage either, nor will they undergo a miraculous transformation..." (source: link )

"When a person ceases to restrain themselves from satisfying their animal instincts outside of marriage, they first become an animal and then a demon, because various perversions begin to follow..." (source: link )