Very powerful article. I was in a similar situation. After the disolution of a 16 year marriage and 7 years of abstinence, I looked forward to being in a Christ centered relationship. We were both wise enough to know better (38), but the act of fornication - sex outside the holy boundaries of marriage - did not bring us intimacy. It brought with it a pregnancy, a withdrawal or his marriage proposal, 5 1/2 years of strife, a revelation that he did not believe in God but a 'new age' idea of god.
My other children, observing these things, have questioned the need for and sactity of marriage. Because I have refused to continue the sexual side of the relationship, I have been insulted, degraded in front of others, lied to, manipulated and physically assulted...We will always reap what we sow and being 'intimate' outside the safety and security of a marriage blessed by Our Heavenly Father has reaped much discord in our lives. It is not about guilt, it IS about GOD and HIS will for us.

WoW! I'm very impressed with the wisdom of your answer. It would have been easy to just quote a few Bible verses on the subject and attempt to heap guilt upon this couple.
I admire your human, yet very spiritual, response and I will use this article to encourage those around me who have questions about the "intimacy" issue.
God Bless You!

AMEN! Thank you for your article, ad thank you for the courage to speak boldly and truthfully and call their sin what it is.

I think one of the biggest lies of the Devil is that a person can sin without consequences. Sin always has consequences, but often other people are the ones who feel the brunt of the consequences, not those who are sinning.

Their sin obviously is a source of discouragement to those who know of their lifestyle. They are also tarnishing the reputation of other Christians who are choosing to honor God rather than indulge their own desires.

i agree with this article

I personally, as a divorced mother of two,really appreciate the response to the question about premarital sex. One of my thoughts is that God meant "premarital" to mean before marriage, thus the prefix "pre". Which means before marriage to a particular person not just before ones first marriage! I also believe this world thrives on sex ,on the contrary commitment thrives on obediance. Since premarital sex is Satans tool to divorce, I believe that it also inhibits a lustful spirit, even if there is love. Those lustful spirits, if not cast out and sex sin repented of, will enter into marriage and make for an unclean marriage bed-that is Satans plan, especially for Christian couples. Ones soul and the soul of the other party should be the most important priority before and during marriage, the only way to keep that is to but God first in ones personal life. If we give into Satans tempting thoughts before marriage, how much more will we give in during marriage!
In Christ, Dune

A link to this article has been posted on the website GoodNewsNow.com.