I understand if your religion teaches sex before marriage is wrong but your portrayal of sex seems negative. Also, your interpretation of the Bible seems out of touch in the 21st century. Our God-given free choice lets us choose for ourselves what’s best.

How can we bring the ancient writings of the Bible into the 21st century? The

You are quite right to state that humanity does indeed have freedom of choice and that individuals have the option "to choose what they believe is best for them." God created men and women in His own image (Genesis 1:26-27 [26] And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
[27] So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

See All...), conferring on them the gift of choice. In one sense the whole Bible is the story of the choices humanity has made and how those choices have most often turned out badly.

The question is: On what information or knowledge should we base our choices? Should it be the opinions of our peers, the media, some popular author, or what?

We consider it our duty to unambiguously point out what God says in Scripture about the choices people make, the consequences of those choices and which options He mandates. God calls actions that violate His law "sin" (1 John 3:4Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
See All...). Ultimately, the transgression of God's law (committing sin) results in the death penalty (Romans 6:23For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
See All...).

The Creator inspired King Solomon to write: "There is a way that seems right to a person, but its end is the way to death" (Proverbs 14:12There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
See All..., NRSV; compare 16:25). Elsewhere in the Bible the prophet Hosea laments that people in effect destroy themselves when they reject the revealed knowledge of God (Hosea 4:1-6 [1] Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.
[2] By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.
[3] Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.
[4] Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another: for thy people are as they that strive with the priest.
[5] Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night, and I will destroy thy mother.
[6] My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.

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Without God's revealed spiritual knowledge, men, women, boys and girls cannot make informed choices. Our Creator says He doesn't change (Malachi 3:6For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
See All...; Hebrews 13:8Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
See All...) and that His law stands forever (Matthew 5:17-19 [17] Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
[18] For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
[19] Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

See All...). Breaking God's laws brings with it automatic penalties. In the case of illicit sex, the penalties are not just the physical consequences of sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies but the mental and psychological traumas that often materialize only when a relationship has ended. A factor as well is the huge societal problems such as broken homes, fatherless children, abortions, poverty and welfare that result from sin. These consequences were spelled out in the article to which you refer.

Many people fundamentally misunderstand the purpose of God's laws. He does not withhold from us what is truly good for us (James 1:17Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
See All...); He simply doesn't want us to suffer the consequences that result from breaking His timeless, living laws.

Notice that God's purpose in giving the Ten Commandments (Deuteronomy 5:6-21 [6] I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
[7] Thou shalt have none other gods before me.
[8] Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth:
[9] Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me,
[10] And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.
[11] Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
[12] Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee.
[13] Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work:
[14] But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.
[15] And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.
[16] Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
[17] Thou shalt not kill.
[18] Neither shalt thou commit adultery.
[19] Neither shalt thou steal.
[20] Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbour.
[21] Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbour's wife, neither shalt thou covet thy neighbour's house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is thy neighbour's.

See All...) is "that you may live and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days ..." (verse 33). Our world is awash with human beings who have transgressed God's law and suffer the inevitable, unwanted effects in their troubled lives (to better understand the consequences of sin, please request our free booklet Why Does God Allow Suffering? ).

Jesus Christ came to counter the disastrous effects of sin. He said: "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly" (John 10:10The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
See All...). He came to "save His people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
See All...) and show us a right way of living.

This isn't twisting Scripture or personal mistranslation. Why not check out all the passages on this subject in several Bible translations and see for yourself? As our free booklets Is the Bible True? and How to Understand the Bible explain, the Bible's words are as much for the 21st century as any other. When it comes to matters of our physical and mental health and well-being, the Bible has proven to be literally millennia ahead of its time in medical advice shown to be soundly based in science (look for more details in a soon-coming issue of The Good News ).

In the Good News issue to which you refer, our intentions were to present sexuality—when handled in the way God intended—as the gift from God that it is. We titled the brief article on page 5 of that issue "Sex Is Intended for Pleasure." After all, God devoted a whole book of the Bible, the Song of Solomon, to the subject. In the early chapters of Genesis, God pronounced everything He had created—including sex—"very good." The only thing that He said was "not good" was Adam's state of loneliness before Eve's creation. As we noted a number of times, God commanded the first man and his wife to be fruitful and multiply—to have sexual relations.

But God has decreed that we reserve sexual intimacy for marriage. There is no legitimate reason or need for anyone to have sexual relations outside of marriage.

Ultimately what you choose to do is between you and God. What He requires of those of us behind The Good News is that we publish and explain the nature of His spiritual law and the results of keeping or rejecting it. What you do with that knowledge remains your free choice.

That said, we sincerely hope all our readers choose to study God's Word to understand His will, begin to make right choices in all aspects of their lives and repent of any wrong choices they may have made.

God says: "Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God for He will abundantly pardon" (Isaiah 55:6-7 [6] Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
[7] Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

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Sexual sins are no different from any others in the sense that God mercifully forgives those who genuinely repent and turn from them. Our Creator will restore joy and abundance to our lives as we begin to make right choices. God gives us the ultimate choice between life and death. But He doesn't leave it at that. He tells us, "Choose life" (Deuteronomy 30:19I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
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To begin on the right spiritual path of making sound biblical decisions, please request our free booklets The Ten Commandments, Making Life Work and Transforming Your Life: The Process of Conversion. GN