Bible Verses to Help Teens Practice Chastity

Matthew 5:28

“But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

Of course these words of Jesus also apply to women looking lustfully at men. It is difficult and challenging in our current culture to look away from so many images of men and women flaunting their bodies in sexual manner. Not only that, but many of your classmates and friends might dress provocatively. God made many beautiful people, and it is certainly not wrong to admire beauty or to have a very strong attraction to another person. It crosses the line to lust, however, when you begin to think of that person as an object. To resist temptation, look away and pray for that person. By praying for someone, you can again see that person as a creation of God, worthy of respect, and not an object of sexual gratification.

1 Corinthians 7:2

“But because of the temptation to immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband.”

Most teens aren’t thinking of marriage while they are dating, but the teenage years offer an opportunity to discover the type of person who would make a good marriage partner. Teenagers will benefit most from relationships if they focus more on the inner beauty of the person they are dating rather than on the physical qualities they find attractive. By getting to know another person without the barriers and distractions of a sexual relationship, teens can make better choices in the future when they are searching for a person to be a lifetime partner in marriage.