Marriage is a sacred covenant between a man, a woman, and God. When a couple makes their wedding vows before God, they are committing to love, honor, and cherish one another for life. An essential part of this commitment is maintaining sexual fidelity – reserving sexual intimacy exclusively for one’s spouse.
The Bible is clear that sexual relations are to be enjoyed within the protective bounds of marriage. “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.” (Hebrews 13:4) Adultery is considered a grievous sin that violates God’s design for marriage. Jesus expanded the definition of adultery to include even lustful thoughts: “But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:28)
So how can Christian couples safeguard their marriages and maintain sexual purity and fidelity? Here are some key principles:
Understand God’s Design for Sex in Marriage
God created sex as a beautiful gift to be enjoyed within marriage. He designed it to bond a husband and wife together in intimate oneness. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24) Sex is meant to provide pleasure, create new life, and express sacrificial, committed love.
When we understand the sacredness of marital sexuality, it motivates us to protect that holy space. We recognize that inviting any third party into that relationship, whether physically or emotionally, defiles the marriage bed. Honoring God’s design builds trust, intimacy and true fulfillment between a husband and wife.
Cultivate Emotional and Spiritual Intimacy
While physical intimacy is important, the foundation of a strong marriage is emotional and spiritual connection. Couples need to intentionally invest time in communicating openly, praying together, and pursuing shared interests and goals. The more a husband and wife feel known, understood and cherished outside the bedroom, the more meaningful and satisfying their sexual relationship will be.
Unmet emotional needs can make a spouse vulnerable to seeking connection elsewhere. Affairs often begin with emotional attachments that eventually turn sexual. Proactively building friendship, romance and spiritual unity is an essential affair-prevention strategy. Couples who feel solidly bonded are less likely to be tempted by extramarital attention.
Establish Wise Boundaries
Every marriage needs protective hedges to avoid compromising situations. Spouses should be open about friendships with the opposite sex and avoid any interactions that could lead to inappropriate emotional bonds. This includes setting boundaries with coworkers, online connections, and even ministry relationships.
Couples may need to limit time spent apart overnight, establish accountability for internet/media use, and be willing to give up any relationship or activity that threatens their marriage. “Abstain from every form of evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5:22) While not every interaction is wrong in itself, we must be on guard against the appearance of impropriety and the slippery slope of temptation.
Be Accountable
We all have blindspots and weak moments, which is why enlisting the support of godly friends is crucial. Spouses should welcome loving accountability, inviting mentors to ask hard questions and speak truth. “Faithful are the wounds of a friend.” (Proverbs 27:6)
Men benefit from the encouragement of brothers who understand their struggles and spur them on to integrity. Women need the wise counsel of sisters who affirm their value and help them process hurts or unmet longings in healthy ways. When we surround ourselves with people who reinforce our marriage vows, we are far less susceptible to compromising influences.
Depend on God’s Grace and Power
Maintaining lifelong fidelity is not easy, especially in a culture that bombards us with sexual temptation. Whenever we face our own weakness, it’s an opportunity to rely on God’s strength. “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)
Through the power of the Holy Spirit, God enables us to resist temptation, flee sexual immorality (1 Corinthians 6:18), and experience restoration when we fall short. Regular confession, repentance and renewing our minds with God’s Word are essential spiritual disciplines for walking in purity.
Invest in Your Marriage
Sadly, many Christian marriages end because one or both spouses stop nurturing their relationship. When couples allow romance to fizzle and drift into roommate status, they become sitting ducks for an affair. The grass starts looking greener elsewhere.
Vibrant marriages require ongoing investment. Prioritize regular date nights, weekend getaways, and learning new ways to express love to your spouse. Read marriage books, listen to podcasts, and attend couples’ retreats and seminars. Never stop pursuing each other and deepening your bond. A healthy, cherished marriage is the best affair prevention.
Cultivate a Servant’s Heart
One of the biggest threats to marital fidelity is selfishness. When we approach marriage with a “what’s in it for me” attitude, we set ourselves up for disappointment and temptation. But when we embrace Jesus’ call to love and serve sacrificially, we find joy in building up our spouse.
Faithfulness flows out of a commitment to our spouse’s wellbeing above our own. We choose fidelity not because our spouse is perfect, but because we made a vow before God to love them for better or worse. Dying to self and considering our spouse as more important than ourselves (Philippians 2:3) is the essence of Christ-like love.
Seek Help Quickly
No marriage is immune from difficulties, and every couple will face seasons of disconnection or unmet needs. But these challenges should motivate us to dig deeper in our relationship with God and each other, not to seek counterfeit intimacy elsewhere.
At the first sign of trouble, seek help from your pastor, a counselor, or a trusted mentor couple. Pursue healing for your marriage proactively, before resentment builds or temptation gets a foothold. With humility and repentance, God can redeem and restore any marriage.
God intends sex to be a holy bond that glues a husband and wife together and reflects His faithful love for the church. When we honor our marriage vows and reserve sexual intimacy for our spouse alone, we experience the blessings and security He designed.
Though the world may mock the value of fidelity, we have the opportunity to showcase the beauty of a different way – a faithful, committed marriage that goes the distance. As we depend on God’s grace and diligently protect our sacred union, He will empower us to maintain sexual integrity and experience true oneness with the spouse He has given us.