Chastity

Concept

Chastity is the moral virtue of sexual purity — faithfulness within marriage and abstinence outside of it — which Scripture presents as integral to covenant holiness. The seventh commandment forbids adultery (Ex. 20:14), and Mosaic law addressed sexual sins with severity, reflecting the principle that the body belongs to God. Job exemplifies voluntary chastity of heart: "I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin?" (Job 31:1). The wisdom of Proverbs devotes extended attention to guarding against sexual temptation (Prov. 2:10–19; 5:3–20; 6:24–35; 7:5–27), urging the son to drink from his own cistern (Prov. 5:15–18). Paul grounds sexual chastity in the body's status as the temple of the Holy Spirit: "Flee from sexual immorality" (1 Cor. 6:18–19; 1 Thess. 4:3–5). Hebrews declares marriage honorable and the marriage bed undefiled (Heb. 13:4), while sexual immorality and adultery are matters for God's judgment. The NT consistently presents chastity as both a personal holiness requirement and a witness to the world (Matt. 5:27–28; Eph. 5:3–5; Col. 3:5).