Commandment Series: The Seventh

“You shall not commit adultery." Exodus 20:14

Statistics show 19% of married women and 21% of married men admitted to cheating on their partners. Those are just the ones who admitted it. However, some people will define cheating as physical, some emotional, and others are deluded into thinking its not cheating if it's an "open" relationship. By the way, humans never defined marriage, so they can't define adultery. Only God can do that. So, how does God define it, anyway?

"You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.' But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery." Matthew 5:37-42

The Greek for woman in this verse is "Gunh" which stands for "a woman; specially, a wife:--wife, woman." (Strong's) If adultery is to covet someone who isn't yours, it is essentially about both envy but also the beginnings of theft. Now, of course humans are not objects which are actually owned by others, but they "belong" to one another in the sense of marriage. Their life together is for one another. In the same way as with any sin, even to foster the seeds of coveting a married person is a sin. As an aside, I believe it is not a sin to lust after an unmarried person. They belong to no one. However, if you are yourself married, be careful to focus on your partner. It is ok to observe and appreciate the beauty of this world and God's creations, but remember to tend your own grass so the other side doesn't begin to look greener. Once you water the seeds of that thought process, you are walking down the path to causing someone else to sin... which is a sin for you as well.

Does Jesus mean for us to literally pluck our eyes out if they cause us to lust? Well, I'm not saying no. I'm not telling you to do something so extreme, but the point is that you do whatever it takes, however painful it may be, to remove the things in your life making it easy to sin. Chances are good that the sin itself would be ten times more painful for everyone if you continue in it.

"Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body." 1 Corinthians 6:18

This is connected to the idea that, for pre-Greek Hebrews, the soul with the body was the soul. If you sin with your physical self, you are sinning against your soul and vice versa. If other sins are all abstract, sexual immorality is a double whammy, hurting yourself physically, emotionally, and mentally. As much as the modern world wishes to believe we can do things with others with no internal consequences, it's not true. We are connected to everyone we physically connect to, which can be a problem to those involved in adultery or pre-marital relations.

"Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” 1 Corinthians 6:15-16

One flesh, like a married couple. I'm sure there are some things we don't understand about the connections forged, even unwillingly, between couples. Relations are meant for connecting and re-connecting emotionally between married couples. If this is taken outside that institution, it can bring more than just the possibly of a child (always a blessing!). It can bring emotional hang-ups, mental scars, loss of trust and connections with even future partners, etc. I can see some may not believe that, but I can also see that many who have never forgotten their past partners or the somewhat brief connections they shared that was ripped apart by the transitory nature of their relationships.

"Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral." Hebrews 13:4

"But a man who commits adultery has no sense; whoever does so destroys himself." Proverbs 6:32

"For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law that binds her to him. So then, if she has sexual relations with another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress if she marries another man." Romans 7:2-3

Alluding to a prior post about the symbolic nature of marriage, the husband, wife, and children can be considered a mirror of the Holy Trinity. The Trinity is permanent, not in the sense of mankind's "permanency" which always ends even if it's at death, but wholly, immortally permanent. A marriage is also meant to be as permanent as we can make it as humans so the rest of the world knows that there's a sense of stability with God. We represent God is all we do, and that includes our marriage. Jesus would never serve another God than the Father, and the Father would never disown Jesus. It is unthinkable and impossible. We need this rock of trust in God and in our spouse. If we can not trust in the permanency of our spouse, the most permanent relationship we can forge with another human being, we can trust in no one. That's not a world I wish to live in.

"May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth. A loving doe, a graceful deer— may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be intoxicated with her love. Why, my son, be intoxicated with another man’s wife? Why embrace the bosom of a wayward woman? For your ways are in full view of the LORD, and he examines all your paths. The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare them; the cords of their sins hold them fast. For lack of discipline they will die, led astray by their own great folly." Proverbs 5:18

Adulterers punish themselves and those around them for their selfish motives. Marriage is hard because we're broken humans, but as Christians, we aren't just humans. We are children of God, the God of selfless love. We must strive hard to not even entertain the seeds of adultery so that our paths are easier to walk and clearer to view.


Sources other than Bible:
http://www.divorcestatistics.info/latest-infidelity-statistics-of-usa.html
Greek Strongs Concordance