A recent review by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) determined that there is no clinical proof that condoms are effective in reducing the risk of STDs. The surest way to avoid infection is to practice sexual abstinence while single. When you marry, select a partner who is not infected with an STD and will remain sexually faithful during marriage. 

The United States has the highest teenage pregnancy rate of all developed countries.

About 1 million teenagers become pregnant each year; 95% of those pregnancies are unintended.
These numbers would be much different if young people practiced abstinent lifestyles, the ONLY 100 percent effective way to prevent pregnancy. 

Other birth control or family planning methods range in effectiveness from 74 to 99.95% effective and their effectiveness depends on how well the instructions are followed. This means that some unwanted pregnancies may occur while using a family planning or birth control method other than abstinence.

No method of contraception is 100 percent effective 100 percent of the time. They offer NO GUARANTEE and MONEY BACK will not undo the consequences Even if methods of protection are used to reduce risks of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, there is still a chance of becoming involved in a pregnancy or getting an infection.

Birth control may reduce the risk of pregnancy and infections, but it does not protect from changed feelings about self and others.  In addition, there are risk factors with some contraceptives.

Individuals often confuse their need for closeness, touch, and affection with "being in love." "Being in love" can make sex out of marriage seem permissible but it is not.

"Safer sex" doesn't protect you from feeling badly afterwards, or wishing you had waited. It is difficult for anyone to correctly predict the outcomes of sexual involvement.

Having sex does not necessarily make a relationship better. 

Abstinence is absolutely, positively 100 percent effective in preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease 100 percent of the time.

The best way of not putting a relationship at risk is to avoid sexual involvement. This means waiting for the committed relationship of marriage.

The following scriptures clearly reveal God’s perspective on marriage, sex and standing against temptation:

• “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  (Jeremiah 29: 11)
  
• For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.  (Eph 5: 31)
  
• Flee from sexual immorality.  All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.  Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?  You are not your own; you were bought at a price.  Therefore honor God with your body.  (1Co 6: 18 – 20)
  
• No temptation has seized you except what is common to man.  And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.  But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.  (1Co 10: 13)

Beyond pregnancy and STDs this edited version by Matt Kaufman will help explain the ramifications of sex outside of God’s perfect plan.

The primary reason premarital sex (regardless of age) is wrong is the same reason marital sex is right. It is important to know that sex can lead to pregnancy or disease, but it is far more important to know why sex is good in marriage, and no place else.

Far from being anti-sex, the Bible counts sex as precious precisely in the context of a lifelong union between man and woman. It is a closeness so great that God speaks of man and woman becoming "one flesh," and likens His love for His people to marital love, lavishly celebrated in an entire book of Scripture (Song of Songs) and portions of others (Revelation 19).

• It is in marriage that sex finds its intended meaning: lasting lifelong intimacy on every level.
  
• It is not only a good thing; it is a holy thing.
  
• It is intended to produce children. 

The creation of life is one of the great earthly manifestations of the love of God The loving life together of man and woman is meant to produce children bound to them in a great circle of love.

Sex outside of marriage is a sin in the sight of God. It takes something created to be holy and desecrates it.

Sex cannot be separated from God's order of creation. When we try to pretend otherwise, we're trying to make God go away so we can re-order creation to suit our own lusts or other emotional desires. We may try to tell ourselves we're expressing "love." 

When we seek to slice sex off from the life of love — lasting marriage — and to have it on the side instead, we're actually expressing a type of hatred for our Creator. We are throwing the blessings He gave us back in His face and demanding substitutes tailored to our preferences.

• The behavior of others you know of all ages including your own family or friends
  
• The media makes it seem as if sex is the important part of a relationship.
  
• Public figures such as sports heroes and movie stars are used to project a sexual image as though to say, “You should live in my image”.
  
• Advertisements and stories say that it is OK to use sex to meet your own needs without regard to its effect on others.
  
• Distorted media images of men and women and how they behave when it comes to sex can be very misleading.

Television and movies don't give a true picture of the consequences of having sex.  How many times have you seen or heard characters discuss the genital warts they got from sex? Far more unmarried people are shown to be having "great" sex on television than are married people.  But a national study showed those people most satisfied with their sex lives were married. Do not be fooled or mislead by what you see!

Those you know who are having sex outside of marriage may not be revealing their full emotions.  Many people do not share the negative impact, especially if it means admitting they have made a mistake.

Friends are important.  However, it is important for you to make your own decision and not be pressured by your friends into doing something you don't want to do. You are the one who will have to live with the consequences of your decisions.

It also is important for you to develop your own beliefs and stick to them because ultimately you are responsible for your own behavior. Your friends can be supports for acting in positive or negative ways. Part of growing up is learning which is good peer pressure and which is not. Boys often are pressured more about sex than girls. Having sex does not equate to being a man.

No one has the right to coerce another person to have sex or do anything that they do not approve. If someone has attempted or forced you to have sex:

TELL someone you trust.
GET HELP from a counselor.
UNDERSTAND it is not your fault.

• These limit your ability to think and make good decisions
  
• These can take your focus away from protecting yourself
  
• These often lead to unwanted consequences

Having sexual feelings and desires are a normal part of life from the teen years. They are very real. They are very powerful.

• Another big factor that leads people to have sex outside of marriage is low self-esteem.
• Many feel they should give into the pressures of sex not to hurt anyone's feelings
  
• Many feel it is something they "should just do".
  
• Many are searching for love in all the wrong places
  
• Some confuse affection and feeling cared about with "love." When people feel they are in love, sex may seem more acceptable

Sex and love are not the same thing. Guard against being misled about what true love is.

Know what you think and how you feel   Intimacy takes many forms; intercourse is not the only or best way to show somebody the depth of you feelings. 

• State your reasons for waiting. Be prepared for questions and/or objections. 
• Stay true to yourself and your stated feelings. 
• Calmly explain why you choose abstinence. List ALL of your reasons be they religious, moral, personal or situational. 
• State firmly that you are not willing to take the risk or pay the consequences
  
• Make it clear to your boyfriend about your desires to wait.  Discuss sexual pressures you both feel and ways to handle them. If you don't plan on having sex until you are married, say so.
• Tell the other person the depth of your commitment to abstinence.  There is no reason for you to down play how you feel about sex. Honesty is the best.
  
• Remind others that decisions about sex are personal.
• Hang out with those who respect your decision.

• Avoid situations where you might be tempted to have sex.
  
• Don't get tricked into giving excuses or reasons.  Take a deep breath and say these words, "NO, I DO NOT WANT TO HAVE SEX".
• It is never too late to stop and say "NO" even if you have gone pretty far. 
• If you have had sex before don't let the other person use this to bully you into it now; just because you have done it before doesn't mean you have to do it every time you are asked. 
• If you kiss somebody passionately or get into heavy fooling around, this does not mean that you have to go all the way, and it does not make you a tease. 
• Emphasize your words with actions.  Even if you feel you have led the other person on.  Even if you feel urges to go further.
  
• If the other person keeps on pressing, say "No!" again.  You may have to say this more than once to make them see you are serious. 
• Draw the line firmly and if the other person doesn't appear to be getting it, leave.
  
• Do not try to diffuse the tension with lots of kissing and/or other physical gestures; this will confuse your message of "No!”
  
• Don’t give the other person an opportunity to try to talk you out of your decision.
  
• If the other person pulls the old "If you loved me you'd do it" line retort with "If you loved me you'd wait".  Sex is not a test of your love or feelings for another person and saying "No!" to sex does not mean you have failed to show your love.  Saying "NO" to sex can be the best way to say, "I love you."  People know they are loved by caring words and actions, not by having sex. If it takes sex to hold this relationship together, it is probably destined for trouble anyway.
• Silence the temptation by not listening.
• Don’t put yourself in a position of becoming a date rape victim. GO OUT ONLY with someone you trust.  AVOID going places where assault could occur. .GO where there are other people.  Resist if you feel threatened. 
• If coerced or forced to have sex:  SAY "No!"; physically push them away; leave, YELL for help if necessary.

Choosing Abstinence Allows You To be FREE:  from being used or exploited, feeling demoralized; from the responsibilities of untimely parenting; from knowing that you have damaged your (or someone else's) reproductive health.

Spiritual rebirth doesn't destroy the past. It transforms it.  A second chance, spiritually, means there are no limitations to what you can become. That's the truth of 1 John 1:9, where God promises to forgive us and cleanse us when we confess our sins to him.  And that's the truth of Jeremiah 31:34, where God promises to forget our sins … forever.