Ephesians 5:3 “But fornication (longing to fill one’s desire; sexual immorality, pornia) and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints;”

• “Sad to say, these sins have invaded the homes of Christians and brought grief to local churches too.” (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 44). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)

1 Thessalonians 4: 3-5: “3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality (fornication); 4 that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, 5 not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God;”

• “The word porneia, translated “sexual immorality,” is a broad one and includes all these practices”. (Constable, T. L. (1985). 1 Thessalonians. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 701). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)

Hebrews 13:4 “Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.”
“The writer then called for sexual purity in which marriage is held in high regard (v. 4).” (Hodges, Z. C. (1985). Hebrews. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 811). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)

Galatians 5: 16-20 “16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,”
“First, three sexual sins are mentioned. Sexual immorality (porneia) is often translated “fornication.” From this word comes the term “pornography.” Porneia refers to any and all forms of illicit sexual relationships.” (Campbell, D. K. (1985). Galatians. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 607). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)

Mark 7:22-23 “22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within and defile a man.”
“All these evils defile a person, and have their source from inside, from one’s heart. So Jesus took the focus of attention away from external rituals and placed it on the need for God to cleanse one’s evil heart (cf. Ps. 51).” (Grassmick, J. D. (1985). Mark. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 135). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)

Matthew 5:28 “28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
“Once again the Pharisees’ teaching was concerned only with the outward act. They said the only way one could commit adultery was through an act of sexual union. They correctly quoted the commandment, but they missed its point. Adultery begins within one’s heart (looking lustfully) and follows in the act. The lustful desire, in the heart, as wrong as the act, indicates that one is not rightly related to God.” (Barbieri, L. A., Jr. (1985). Matthew. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, pp. 30–31). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)

Song of Solomon 7:10 “10 I am my beloved’s, And his desire is toward me.”
“his desire is for me. This is a more emphatic way of stating possession. How much more could a husband belong to his wife than for him to desire only her? She had so grown in the security of his love that she could now say that his only desire was for her. She had become so taken by his love for her that here she did not even mention her possession of him.” (Deere, J. S. (1985). Song of Songs. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 1023). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)

Lust: Epithymeo, “for the purpose of feeding his inner sensual appetites as a substitute for the act. It was not accidental; it was planned.” (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 24). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)

Passion: Pyrousthai pathein, burn with passion! To be sexually aroused! 1 Corinthians 7:9

Personal Comment: Husbands and wives should desire one another, NOT LUST FOR EACH OTHER! I have not observed in all of Scripture any place where God says good things about the word lust!! (Granted, I am in no way, a Bible scholar and I do not claim to know every jot and tittle of God’s precious love letter, The Bible). To lust is to objectify the body of our mate!

Too often I hear “he just wants me for my body;” when I hear that, I know that the man has failed to cause the wife to feel precious, valued or validated in the area of physical intimacy.
The lover (the woman) found in the Song of Solomon states with all the sense of security and awareness of her beloved love and desire (to serve) that she did not doubt or second-guess his intentions. There is no inference that her lover was just after his own fulfillment.

Symptoms of lusting or objectifying—sign of pornographic origin:
“I need you to wear this or do this (or that) when we make love”
“We should watch porn together so that we may have better sex”
“We should liven up our marriage”
“Your body belongs to me and I say do you must meet my need!”
Intimacy anorexia caused by sexual addiction. (Lost interest, excuses for not being intimate or interested in intimacy).

1 Corinthians 6: 13-20 “15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! 16 Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For “the two,” He says, “shall become one flesh.” 17 But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.
18 Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

“But” the fornicator alienates that body which is the Lord’s, and makes it one with a harlot’s body, and so “sinneth against his own body,” that is, against the verity and nature of his body; not a mere effect on the body from without, but a contradiction of the truth of the body, wrought within itself [ALFORD].” (Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 2, p. 274). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.)

Application: So, what?

In order for the Word of God to be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path (Psalm 119:105); we must lay our emotions aside and present to God our heart! Often times, the exposure of pornography and its affect on lives, family and the church is received as condemning or judgmental. For God says “18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). Sadly, those Christians who are “knee-deep” into pornography may find themselves angry at anyone who “outs” such sinful behavior. When the Word of God speaks of His design for a God-glorifying and “other-edifying” marriage; we’d do well to emulate, imitate and initiate obedience and submission in our daily Christ-like behavior.