Is Sex Outside of Marriage Always a Sin? (An Introduction)

Many Evangelicals from Western cultures have been taught that sex outside of marriage is always a sin. Is this biblical or just a tradition made by man? Is it based upon God's Word the Bible or did it stem from Gnostic philosophy that mixed with Christianity? The Myth to be evaluated is whether or not sex outside of marriage is always a sin. Obviously it is wrong in many instances where people are hurt (and thus violates the Law of Christ to love one another) or where it violates what God has commanded. But is it always a sin? It should be mentioned that such a question requires an understanding of the definition of marriage which changes greatly from one culture to another. This will be addressed in a later post.
            One of the first responses from an Evangelical as to whether sex outside of marriage is a sin is that they say it's "fornication". The Bible condemns fornication. One must understand what this word is before a judgement should be made. It comes from the Greek word "porneia". Greek scholars and many Bible translations agree that this word can at times have the idea of "sexual immorality". This is where many Evangelicals use circular reasoning. A person may ask "why is sex outside of marriage immoral?". And then one responds by saying "it's fornication", and then is asked "what is fornication?". They then say it's "sexual immorality". This is circular reasoning! It also fails to show why sex outside of marriage is to always be classified as "fornication".
            The Greek word porneia is defined by many as meaning "to sell oneself over to his or her wicked lust". This is the primary and broader meaning over the more narrow definition of mere "sexual immorality". It is often defined as prostitution since etymologically this word may be connected to a root word meaning "to sell". But usage shows it refers to a broader concept of selling oneself over to wicked lust. For example in Hebrews 12:16 it is used in reference to Esau who sold his birthright for a meal. In the Old Testament it is used mainly in reference to idolatry or 'playing the harlot' by going after other gods. This at times involved sex pagan practices but by no means all the time. It simply meant idolatry. Israelites giving in to their lusts for paganism. It is sometimes used in reference to marrying outside of the people of Israel as well. Anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of how to use Bible study tools could look these things up and see the word 'porneia' used and defined this way. There is no basis for defining it merely as sex between 2 unmarred people. In the New Testament it is in reference to having sex with a married person. For instance in the passages where Jesus talks about remarriage (Matthew 19:9) and 1 Corinthians 5:1 where a man slept with his father's wife. Future posts will delve into a more profound study of this word.
            Another line of argument used is that people cite Genesis 2:24 and insist that what God setup for Adam and Eve must be the exact same thing for all people for all time. By those who use this line of argument don't really believe it. Are we to have brothers and sisters be 'fruitful and multiply' with themselves as the passage teaches or implies would happen (Genesis 1:28)? Or to be ok with going around naked as the very next verse says (Genesis 2:25)? And yes, God brought Adam and Eve together But does that passage say that only one man and one woman can be together for their whole lives and all relations outside of that are wrong? That is certainly going beyond what the passage says. A later study will be given in regards to what Jesus has to say about this passage.
            Other arguments could be examined which are used to forbid sex outside of marriage, such as: 1 Corinthians 7, the modern day definition of fornication and so on. Other arguments for sex outside of marriage could be examined as well, such as: how it was permitted under the Mosaic Law and celebrated in the Song of Solomon. These will be looked into in future posts as well as the importance of studying this issue.