Virginity is a more excellent gift than marriage, but for Christ's sake each person receives the forgiveness of sins and through faith is regarded righteous before God...

We are justified neither because of virginity nor because of marriage, but freely for Christ's sake, when we believe that for His sake God is merciful to us.  Here perhaps they will cry out that, like Jovinian, marriage is made equal to virginity.  But, because of such racket, we will not reject the truth about the righteousness of faith, which we explained before.  Yet we do not make virginity and marriage equal. For just as one gift excels another, as prophecy surpasses power of speech, the science of military affairs excels agriculture, and power of speech excels architecture, so virginity is a more excellent gift than marriage. Just as a public speaker is no more righteous before God because of his ability to speak than an architect because of his skill in architecture, so a virgin does not merit justification by virginity more than a married person merits it by conjugal duties.  Each person should faithfully serve in his own gift and believe that for Christ's sake he receives the forgiveness of sins and through faith is regarded righteous before God.

Neither does Christ or Paul praise virginity because it justifies, but because it is freer and less distracted with domestic occupations, in praying, teaching, and serving.  For this reason Paul says, "The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord" (I Corinthians 7:32).  Virginity, therefore, is praised because of mediation and study.

~BOC, AP, XXIII (XI), 36-40