I have never heard a contemporary sermon extolling the virtues of virginity. I don't doubt that the Apostle Paul preached one at some time, but I am not thinking of celibacy as a life-style, but only as it relates to the pre-married state which can be maintained by young Christians as character is developed and spiritual reserves built up.
Temperance, or self-control is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal.5) and as one grows in grace, defences are strengthened, sexual thresholds are heightened, with consequent rewarding results. Virginity maintains self-esteem and an accompanying sense of wellbeing.
There is also a peace of mind and an ease of conscience despite the fact that one's peers, the media and society all seem to conspire to weaken resolve and cause some to give up the struggle. Those who have given in often tell how used and cheapened they have felt about it.
A young lady writing to a national newspaper put it this way. "Sex is not a way to prove that you are in with the crowd, or that you are not frigid; and if a girl finds it embarrassing to say that she is a virgin then she has some growing up to do. I know that some girls are pressured into sex, because they believe the boy will leave them if they don't give in, but if he cannot accept her refusal, then he's not worth bothering about".
It is worth pointing out that in Bible days, and in Moslem circles today, virginity is not only taught very strongly, it is a qualification for marriage, and the loss of it can cause much unhappiness.
Another view of celibacy is that it very wisely treats sex as a part of fife (howbeit a very important part) and not the whole. For Christians, Jesus is Lord, not sex, and we must refuse to be brainwashed by our permissive society's values. Celibacy also safeguards against promiscuity. A first illicit encounter with sex can easily lead to a second and a third and ad infinitum.
In a radio broadcast I made some years ago, I commented on the need for a Christian code of morals, and after the programme I received a letter from a young man in desperate need of help. He said that he had been touring Scandinavia on holiday in his caravette, and one evening he gave a lift to a young woman hitch-hiker. It turned out that she had no accommodation for the night, so in all innocence he let her stay in the van. Before morning he had been seduced. “I am" he wrote, "a respectable fellow and nothing like this has happened before, and the trouble is now I am back in England I have completely gone off the rails morally, and I don't seem able to stop". That young man could be one of many.
The most positive way to combat sexual temptation and heighten our thresholds is given in Scripture, "Whatsoever things are true, honest, just, pure and of good report, think on these things". (Phi.4:8) The battle must first be won in the mind and then the rest will be comparatively easy.