Passage Read: Hebrews 13 - James 1
Meditation Verse: Hebrews 13:4
Thought
It's interesting that this instruction is addressed to everyone, which would include the married and the unmarried. Marriage is to be honored by all, and if it isn't, that means there is some kind of adultery or sexual immorality practiced or permitted by those who fail to honor it. For the married to dishonor marriage means they're willing to commit or have committed adultery. For the unmarried to dishonor it, it means they're willing to tempt a married person into adultery, or they don't feel the need to marry before they engage in sexual activity. Keeping the marriage bed pure, then, means that sex is permitted and practiced only between a husband and his own wife, and everyone else supports that truth and defends it.
Application
The "everyone" here is of course everyone in the church, every Christian, everyone who claims to believe and honor Jesus Christ. No Christian should engage in any form of sexual immorality, which includes anything that devalues marriage and corrupts the marriage bed. That includes sex before marriage, sex outside of marriage, sex with anyone who is not my wife. It means I must not tempt anyone to commit any such sin, nor should I allow myself to be tempted by another or put up with anyone who seeks to tempt me. Marriage is honored and the marriage bed is kept pure only when sex is acceptable and permitted and reserved for a married couple alone.