Scripture seems to indicate that sexual sin has some different qualities from other sins (1 Cor. 6:16-18). What is the spiritual impact of sexual sin? I’m looking for non-speculative answers.
Here is a hypothetical. The secular world views sexual relations as on the same order as animals mating. And while an animal might mate for life or guard its mate from interlopers, we wouldn’t ascribe any special spiritual quality to the mating relationship between two animals. But is there a special spiritual quality to marriage? As an alternative, we could adopt the just-animals view from the secular world and add on the 7th Commandment. In this case, the only reason why it would be wrong to have sex outside of marriage is simply because God has decided to make that rule, but there would be no quality inherent in marriage to make sex outside of it wrong. Probably many Christians hold this perspective. If so, adultery would be a betrayal, but of the same nature though greater magnitude than a man selling his wife’s antique china set to buy some guns. And there would be nothing wrong with having sex before marriage except that it would break God’s rule and maybe psychologically disturb a future spouse. But is there a genuine spiritual impact from having sex before marriage? If so, what impact (beyond breaking God’s rule and psychologically upsetting a spouse) does premarital fornication or adultery have on the marriage relationship?