From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham

Premarital sexual relations are wrong. This is not man’s standard, but God’s. There are rules that govern the universe. There are traffic rules, there are military rules and there are rules to protect our children. Breaking man’s laws result in severe consequences.

Can you imagine playing a baseball or football game without any rules? There would be no purpose. There is no difference in trying to live life without any moral rules. God meant it this way. He has set down rules and in essence says: If you want complete fulfillment in life, live by these rules. One of these rules says not to commit immorality. God did not say this to take people’s fun away. He said it to protect our bodies and our minds. Time has proven that immoral behavior brings about problems that man cannot solve—illegitimacy, fragmented families and broken relationships. God designed a better life for mankind.

One of the many things that prove that the Bible is true is that those who penned it by the direction of God’s Spirit did not cover-up man’s sin, including their own. Man’s immoral behavior is not hidden in the pages of Scripture. There is a day of reckoning. Sin does not go unpunished.

The fact that immorality is rampant throughout the nation—and the world—doesn’t make it right. We have changed our moral code to fit our behavior instead of changing our behavior to harmonize with God’s moral code.

We must ask God to give us a humble spirit to accept His word as truth and “obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).

(This column is based on the words and writings of the late Rev. Billy Graham.)

Put your trust in God. Pray now.