The Hebrew and Christian scriptures teach that sex has three primary purposes: (1) the procreation of new members of the human race; (2) physical pleasure; and (3) being a mirror of the unity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Paul the Apostle describes this last as “a mystery.”

In our sexually-obsessed culture in which body parts and bodily fluids are openly displayed and discussed on TV and the Internet, there is little “mystery” left about sex.

God also instituted boundaries for sexual expression to protect man from its misuse. Just as ignoring the physical laws of the universe –– from incorrectly mixing chemicals, to imprecisely measuring what's necessary to reach the moon -- can get one into trouble, so also, ignoring God’s boundaries for sexual expression has produced deadly sexually transmitted diseases, out-of-wedlock births, millions of abortions, corrupted relationships leading to alienation, divorce and spiritual as well as emotional damage.

Like a playground fence designed to protect children from outside threats, God established boundaries for sexual expression, not to deny us pleasure and fulfillment, but to enhance pleasure and fulfillment and for our protection. The landscape is littered with the broken lives of people who have gone outside those boundaries.

All sin – whether sexual, or something else – is the result of man thinking he knows better than God. Sin’s middle letter is “I.” I will do what I want. I know better than God. I will be the master of my own destiny.

In Leviticus 18, God tells Moses (and anyone else who will listen): “Tell the Israelites: I am the Lord your God. Follow my rules and live by my standards…You will have life through them…”

Mock God’s laws and will if you like. Sin openly as many do. Criticize as “old fashioned” those who seek to remain chaste before marriage and faithful within marriage. Embrace the notion as some religions and secularists do that one can have non-marital sex without consequences. But then consider the results.