There is no Hebrew or Greek word in the Bible that refers to premarital relations.
The Bible unequivocally condemns adultery and sexual immorality, but is premarital intercourse considered immoral? According to 1 Corinthians 7:2, “Yes” is the clear answer: “But since the temptations of fornication are many, let every man have his own wife, and every woman her own husband.” In this verse Paul says that marriage is the “cure” for sexual immorality. 1 Corinthians 7:2 essentially says that because people cannot control themselves and many people have immoral sex outside of marriage, people should get married. Then they can fulfill their desires ethically.Because 1 Corinthians 7:2 clearly includes premarital intercourse in the definition of sexual immorality, all biblical texts that condemn immoral intercourse as a sin also condemn premarital intercourse as a sin. There are many passages in Scripture that declare premarital sex to be a sin (Acts 15:20; 1 Corinthians 5:1; 6:13, 18; 10:8; 2 Corinthians 12:21; Galatians 5:19; Ephesians 5: 3; Colossians 3:5; 1 Thessalonians 4:3; Jude). The Bible encourages absolute self-control before marriage. A sexual relationship between a husband and wife is the only sexual relationship approved by God (Hebrews 13:4).
We often focus on the “recreational” form of sex but don’t recognize the regenerative form. Sex is enjoyable in the realm of marriage, and God made it that way. God wants men and women to enjoy sex, but within the confines of marriage. As in the Psalms and other verses of the Bible (Proverbs 5:19), the joy of sex is clearly defined. However, a couple needs to understand that God’s purpose is to produce children through sexual intercourse. For that reason, it is a double sin for a couple to have sex before marriage—they are enjoying something that is not for them, or they are endangering it by giving birth outside the family framework of a human life in which God has ordained each child.
While practicality does not dictate right or wrong, if the Bible’s message about premarital sex were followed, there would be far fewer sexually transmitted diseases, far fewer abortions, far fewer unwed mothers and unwanted pregnancies, and far fewer children who both Parents are not with you. Self-control is God’s only policy when it comes to premarital relationships. Abstinence saves lives, protects babies, provides for acceptable sex, and, most importantly, it honors God.