{"id":33756,"date":"2012-07-12T21:33:00","date_gmt":"2012-07-13T02:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=33756"},"modified":"2021-03-26T21:38:32","modified_gmt":"2021-03-27T02:38:32","slug":"we-started-to-have-sex-but-didnt-complete-it-how-do-we-go-back-to-purity-in-our-relationship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/we-started-to-have-sex-but-didnt-complete-it-how-do-we-go-back-to-purity-in-our-relationship\/","title":{"rendered":"We started to have sex but didn&#8217;t complete it. How do we go back to purity in our relationship?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t<h2>Question:<\/h2>\n<p>My boyfriend and I committed a sexual activity, we started sex but didn&#8217;t complete it. We just were involved in foreplay. Anyway, I&#8217;m 19 and he&#8217;s 22. We are in a serious relationship and have been for almost three years. We met in college while taking the same program.<\/p>\n<p>I would say that our relationship at first was really good. We do go to church, we pray, and attend some preaching by pastors, no bad words rule, etc. But later on, I know there is something really <em>wrong<\/em> with our relationship. We both forget God. We don&#8217;t have time with Him. I really feel that my soul is craving His Word. My soul is crying, but for the last month, I just ignored it. I never realized that I&#8217;m sick emotionally. I want to fix up these things very soon with my boyfriend, but I don&#8217;t know how to start. What is the first thing I should say to him? Please help me. I want to go back to when our lives were pure and clean with our Savior, Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n\t<h2>Answer:<\/h2>\n<p>Jesus spoke a parable about the spreading the gospel, the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:3-9). As he explained to his disciple the seed sown is the gospel. It is spread wide but it isn&#8217;t all productive &#8212; much depends on hearts the gospel lands in. The one we are interested in is when the gospel seed lands among the world&#8217;s weeds. &#8220;<em>And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful<\/em>&#8221; (Matthew 13:22). Worldly behavior gets in the way of godliness. &#8220;<em>You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God<\/em>&#8221; (James 4:4). Or as John said, &#8220;<em>Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever<\/em>&#8221; (I John 2:15-17).<\/p>\n<p>You and your boyfriend appear to live as Christians when it is convenient to you, but it isn&#8217;t an all-encompassing dedication to God. Thus, as the temptation to follow the world enter into your relationship &#8212; getting involved in lewd behavior &#8212; things of God are getting pushed to the side. In part, it is because inside you realize that your behavior and being a Christian are not compatible.<\/p>\n<p>Where you start is with the Word of God because that is where faith comes from. &#8220;<em>So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ<\/em>&#8221; (Romans 10:17). You and he need to go back over what God has said about sexual touching and lewd behavior between people who are not married. For a starting point see:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-giving-a-hand-job-sinful\/\">Is giving a hand job sinful?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-came-close-to-having-sex-with-a-coworker-what-do-i-do-about-the-thoughts-regarding-what-i-almost-did\/\">I came close to having sex with a coworker. What do I do about the situation?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Assuming both of you are convicted that you really have sinned, then it is past time to change and return to God.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Question: My boyfriend and I committed a sexual activity, we started sex but didn&#8217;t complete it. We just were involved in foreplay. Anyway, I&#8217;m 19 and he&#8217;s 22. We are in a serious relationship and have been for almost three years. We met in college while taking the same program. I would say that our&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[1572,205,596,203],"class_list":["post-33756","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-fornication","tag-lewdness","tag-sensuality","tag-sexual-touching"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":34479,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-fell-into-fornication-ive-broken-up-with-her-but-should-i-tell-her-why\/","url_meta":{"origin":33756,"position":0},"title":"I fell into fornication. I&#8217;ve broken up with her, but should I tell her why?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 23, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi Sir, I have come across your site reading your\u00a0articles on courtship and relationship matters while searching for articles on how to prepare myself for a godly relationship in the future. And I thank God for your sound advice and guidelines in how we should live our lives as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":38975,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/sure-we-did-some-things-wrong-but-my-boyfriend-broke-up-with-me-for-no-valid-reason\/","url_meta":{"origin":33756,"position":1},"title":"Sure, we did some things wrong, but my boyfriend broke up with me for no valid reason","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 25, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, I'm 22. I've been having a hard time because my boyfriend broke up with me for apparently no valid reason. We are both Christians. We almost had sex, we didn't go all the way, but there were a lot of physical contacts. It was wrong, and we both\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":54892,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-we-really-get-married\/","url_meta":{"origin":33756,"position":2},"title":"Did we really get married?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 21, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I have an issue that has been weighing on my mind. Like many of your questions, it has to do with sexual activity. Six months ago, I met an amazing, wonderful girl whom I fell in love with. We have spent so much time with each other (after\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":85746,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-would-you-advise-about-my-relationship-with-an-older-woman\/","url_meta":{"origin":33756,"position":3},"title":"What would you advise about my relationship with an older woman?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 19, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I'll tell you everything I can remember. My first relationship started when I was 18 years old. I didn't get married and stayed with her for two years until it all ended. It ended because I wanted out and threw away a relationship that was working out well. I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":38879,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-messed-up-with-sex-i-know-it-is-wrong-but-how-do-i-change-the-situation\/","url_meta":{"origin":33756,"position":4},"title":"I messed up with sex. I know it is wrong, but how do I change the situation?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 8, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi there, I've come across your site and read a few articles on what you've been writing on with regards to sex outside marriage and all. I have a little problem and I would like to discuss it with you. I've been dating my girlfriend for almost about half\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":82551,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-wrong-to-have-a-relationship-when-divorced\/","url_meta":{"origin":33756,"position":5},"title":"Is it wrong to have a relationship when divorced?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 26, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good afternoon, I have a question. If I was married and got divorced and then started a relationship with someone who isn't my husband, is this considered adultery? Now that I'm saved, is it still a sin to start a non-physical relationship with another saved person who is not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33756","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33756"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33756\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33756"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}