I don't think premarital sex in a committed relationship is bad nor do I think God gives a hoot over it(it's not his main criteria put it that way)
There is a couple in my hometown who have lived together for 30+ years. 4 kids. True soulmates. When you hear of a spouse dying a day after the other spouse this will be them.
The man is a a contractor by profession and has practically rebuilt the local church over the years w/o fanfare nor reward. His "wife" has spent more time volunteering at the church than anyone and is involved in numerous civic activities that help people.
Is God going to punish them for not being married over another "Christian" married couple who while religious and believing in God does not walk the walk? I don't think so.
One night stands/friends with benefits are different and is not what I was referring to.
Got a little nookie from a loving relationship between two people who care for each other before marriage.... I personally don't think God gives a hoot about it but that's me. God is looking how you lead your life, treated others, helped the poor and less fortunate, made an attempt to make the earth a better place....I think he has more important criteria...
How nice of you to weigh in with what you think God thinks?
The Bible clearly disagrees with your humble opinion, but that’s not your problem, right?
Lets look at your nice sweet example of that couple who’ve been shacking up for 30+ years. You don’t think God will punish them? When His Word says otherwise?
What if they were of the same sex? What if it was one man-two wives? You don’t think it’s wrong for two gay people to get “a little nookie from a loving relationship between two people who care for each other before marriage.”?
Sex is a way you treat other people also, and it reflects something that is in your heart - which is what God cares about.
So how committed is “committed”? At what point is a person committed enough to justify having sex with the other person in God’s eyes - to be morally pure and cause no harm by it to self, the other person, or anybody else? How do we know whether our actions will cause harm or not? Is consentual sex between committed but unmarried people harmless, or does it have unintended consequences?
Regarding the couple you mentioned, when the one spouse dies the other will get nothing, unless special legal arrangements have been made - arrangements that are assumed for married people. Unless they are in a state that has common-law marriage.
So why didn’t this couple get married in the eyes of the law? In the eyes of God they may be married, if they made a promise to God and to each other. But why not make that promise public in order to not offend or lead astray anybody else who knows about their relationship?
Well, trailhkr1 and others who I seem to have offended, my tongue was at least partly in cheek. But I am a bit amazed at how many people were so quick to defend living in sin, as it used to be known. Talk of sin isn’t all that popular these days, at least to be discussed in ordinary company.
Let me put it another way: sin is more popular than ever because the “If it feels good, do it” philosophy has taken hold, even among some conservatives. I rather doubt that God’s position on the subject has changed a whole lot since the pill and women’s lib and abortion but lots of folks would like to think it has.
“I’m no longer very religious but still believe in God...I think. Not sure at times.”
It wasn’t I who said that.