Sexual sins are perhaps the most shame-inducing sins experienced by Christians and non-Christians alike. All sins can bring shame, but sexual sins are deeply personal and affect us in profound ways. For example, adultery leaves its victim devastated by betrayal; porn addiction leaves men feeling gross, pathetic, and lazy; losing your virginity can break the heart of your future spouse. These are just a few reasons why God wants us to save sex for marriage—because sexual sin hurts. It hurts you and it hurts others.

The story of Adam and Eve may help us understand why sexual sins are so damaging. First, let’s consider their situation before the fall. Genesis 2:24 tells us that Adam and Eve were to become “one flesh” in marriage. Verse 25 tells us that they had no clothing: “They were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.” Being unashamed speaks to the sexual freedom and security that only marriage can provide. God’s intention for sex is for it to be enjoyed in marriage without shame for either spouse. So it was for Adam and Eve. They were naked in the privacy of their garden, and there was no shame in being naked.

At the fall, however, a drastic change took place. When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, Genesis 3:7 says the “eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.” Nakedness became a conscious problem for them, though it was not one before. They were now ashamed to be naked and wanted to hide their bodies from each other—never a good sign for a marriage! Prior to sin, their nakedness was a source of joy and pleasure. After sin, their nakedness was a source of shame and secrecy.

Although Adam and Eve’s sin was not sexual in nature, it was done in the nude. They sinned naked, which brought shame in regard to their private parts. Why was this the case? Nakedness, at a fundamental level, is exposure. Spiritually, we are always exposed before the Lord. Hebrews 4:13 says, “There is no creature hidden from his sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” Being exposed before the Lord, even when clothed, is a good thing and something to be enjoyed when we are righteous. When we are in sin, we don’t like it. We feel shame because we know we are guilty.

Sinning in the nude introduces a second level of exposure. When we sin naked, we are exposed both spiritually and physically—not just before God, but in many cases, before another human being. This additional level of exposure produces a heightened sense of shame in us: double the exposure, double the shame. Adam and Eve previously enjoyed their nakedness when they were righteous. Being exposed was not a threat. But when they sinned, the exposure became a threat. Their nakedness was a symbolic reminder of their guilt and of God’s forthcoming judgment. As a result, they wanted to hide from God and from each other.

How can we apply this concept to sexual sin? Sexual sins are so destructive because they are the only sins that require some degree of nakedness. Nakedness heightens our exposure before God and man and thus heightens our shame. Certainly, it is possible to suppress this shame in unrighteousness, and that’s what the pornographers, prostitutes, and other sexual deviants have done. Their consciences have been seared with a hot iron (1 Timothy 4:2).

But for those with the Spirit of God, there is always good news. There is always a way out. In order to deal with shame, you must first deal with guilt. God was merciful to Adam and Eve: he forgave them, and he clothed them with animal skins (Genesis 3:21). Their marriage was repaired in the process. In Genesis 4:1, Adam and Eve were naked and unashamed once again, with children as evidence.

You, too, can be forgiven of your naked sins. You can be clothed with the righteousness of Christ and freed from sexual shame. What sexual sins do you need to confess? Lust, pornography, fornication, homosexuality, transgenderism, abortion—whatever they may be. Repent of your sins, turn from them, and your exposure before the Lord will not be a threat. It will be a comfort.

What about marriages, specifically? The fall did not undo God’s original intention for sex. Husbands and wives are still required to disrobe for pleasure and procreation, as Paul commands spouses to not deprive one another (1 Corinthians 7:3–5). If shame keeps a husband and wife from being naked together, they are not honoring the Lord or each other. They must tend to their garden and repair what is broken. A marriage stuck in Genesis 3 doesn’t have to stay there. Through repentance and forgiveness, the page can always be turned to Genesis 4.