God doesn't trap anyone in a loveless, sexless marriage, but provides many ways of escape including divorce. The Jews used the right to divorce a sexless spouse and daily fines to try to prod a couple into loving each other sexually. When that didn't work, God-approved Biblical divorce was another remedy.
God intends for marriage to be a safe place where both husband and wife can know and be known by their spouse. When sex doesn't happen, spouses miss out on part of the Lord's provision for them in marriage. Thankfully, God is able to heal even the most difficult of situations, including a sexless marriage.
Yes, of course. Any sexual pleasure outside of the marital act between a husband and a wife for the dual purposes of deepening their love and the procreation of children is a sin. Many people are very much in love with other people without having sex.
“Both husband and wife should not only give themselves for sex, but each should seek to produce the ultimate pleasure for their partner. Reaching the ultimate pleasure in the sexual union is what best insures against immorality… “Neither the husband nor the wife has the authority to deprive their mate sexually…
In the first, Matthew quotes Jesus as saying: “It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, except on the grounds of porneia (sexual immorality), makes her an adulteress; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.” (Matthew 5:31-32).
Living together but not sleeping together isn't a sin in itself but opens the door for a serious sin (premarital sex) to take place and can also lead to the sin of scandal. There are many Bible verses against cohabitation that can address this same issue.
Anxiety, stress, and depression are also common sexless marriage effects on the husband. When a husband is denied sex at home for a long time, his mental health is likely to deteriorate from stress, overthinking, and inability to release the feel-good hormone from sex.
As circumstances vary depending on individual couples, there aren't hard and fast rules for leaving sexless marriages. While there are no specific issues that doom a sexless relationship other than domestic violence, sex therapists say there are several red flags that signal staying isn't worth it.
Can a sexless marriage survive? The short answer is that yes, a sexless marriage can survive – but it can come at a cost. If one partner desires sex but the other is uninterested, lack of sex can lead to decreased intimacy and connection, feelings of resentment and even infidelity.
Walk away if your problems go beyond lack of sex (criticism, contempt, lost trust, etc.) and one or both of you is unwilling to work on the relationship. If you're both still willing to try, prioritize regular time together to experiment, communicate, and be intimate. You may also consider couples' therapy.
Cheating in any form or circumstance can never be justified. And that includes infidelity in a sexless relationship. The fact that the word relationship is still there despite the lack of intimacy means that you must remain committed to your partner.
For a woman, a sexless marriage erodes her feelings of love, affection, connection, intimacy, and sometimes loyalty as well. Physical intimacy – including touching and sex – helps people feel like they are part of a couple or family – and the lack of it makes women feel deprived and isolated.
A sexless marriage is one in which sex has not happened for 1 year or greater. A low-sex marriage is one that is having sex 10 times a year or less. So, a marriage that is having sex roughly once a month does not meet either of these definitions.
Most bounce back 6 months or a year later and have a good sex life after becoming parents. However, with menopause and sexless marriage, the situation can linger on for four to five years, and may even become permanent.
There are times you MUST leave—if there is ongoing abuse or if you are in danger of physical harm, you should only consider staying safe. Repeated bouts of addiction, cheating, emotional badgering, and severe financial abuse need to be handled with extreme care as well.
Divorce in the Bible is only considered under the only exceptional circumstance of sexual immorality. If either spouse remarries a person not divorced under this rule, or if they have not been divorced because of immoral behavior, then they will have committed adultery.
A second marriage may be seen as an act of sin by some, but this perspective is not universally accepted. Even the Bible does not explicitly deny remarriage; many people find happiness in their second marriages. God will bless a second marriage if it is entered into with respect, love, and faithfulness to one another.
Jesus forgives all sin
The Bible teaches that the blood Jesus' shed on the cross covers all sin, including infidelity. “… the blood of Jesus, God's Son, purifies us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). This means that any sin we commit, including infidelity, can be forgiven when we come to Jesus with a repentant heart.
The Bible does not explicitly address couples living together before marriage too often, but we do see in the Bible that it was unheard of for unmarried couples to live together before marriage.
And Hebrews 13:4 considers sex outside of marriage to be immoral: “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.” This verse can't just be limited to adultery, since both “sexually immoral” and “adulterous” are listed.
To understand the biblical teaching on this topic, we must read and understand the apostle Paul's teaching in 1 Corinthians 7:2–5: “Each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband. The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband.
A sexless marriage causes levels of dissatisfaction in a person's life. It can be damaging to a couple's emotional and physical well-being. It can lead to feelings of frustration, loneliness, rejection, and resentment, which can negatively impact the overall relationship.
Fear. The threat of physical violence, further emotional abuse, harming your children by depriving them of a nuclear family, and concern about how friends and family will perceive them are commonly-cited reasons why people may choose to stay in an unhappy marriage.
The lack of physical touch, emotional connection, and sexual intimacy can lead to feelings of loneliness, depression, and low self-esteem. It can also cause physical symptoms such as headaches, insomnia, and decreased libido.