When Paul encouraged married saints to maintain a regular sex life (1 Cor. 7:3–5), he didn’t set an age limit. We don’t find here or anywhere in the Bible that marital sex must end with old age.
That said, it’s certainly true that beyond a certain age, it’s normal for sex drives to cool. Sexual relationships between married persons become less frequent as they enter old age, and most couples are perfectly happy with this. Still, there are a lot of misperceptions, and there’s a lot of room for variation among couples as they age. For example, in the General Social Survey over the last decade combined, over 68 percent of married people ages 60 to 69 had sex at least monthly, with 21 percent doing so two or three times a month and a quarter doing so weekly or more. Among those in their 70’s, well over half had sex monthly or more often, with almost 30 percent doing so two to three times per month or more often. Even after 80, many couples still have sex, about 35 percent monthly or more.
All that said, this isn’t a contest nor is it right to judge your own sex life relative to any such statistical benchmarks. There isn’t a right or wrong amount of sex for married people at any age if both are content and not neglecting this aspect of their marriage unnecessarily. Regular sex should be a part of most marriages through most of a couple’s life together, though what that means can legitimately vary across marriages.
Certainly, serious illness and disability can put an end to sex altogether. Advanced age makes that a lot more likely. There may sometimes be other situations that prevent sex for very long periods of time, as may occur with military duty or, among the persecuted, imprisonment. Some people may become too old and frail for sex. Although such difficulties may bring sex to a halt, it should never mean that sexual faithfulness or the marital covenant itself ends. The vows we made at marriage are for as long as both shall live, no matter what terrible events overtake us. At such times, if a remaining spouse continues to desire sex, God will give them the grace to be faithful to their vows.
