The Ten Commandments, Part 7
“You shall not commit adultery.” (Exodus 20:14) The Hite report says 75% of husbands are unfaithful and 50% of marriages end in divorce. Many men who cheat on their wives claim to love their wives. These men also claim that they’re unfaithful only because they need something new. (Neither this reason, nor any reason, of course, is a just cause for adultery). Why is this and what can be done to help prevent it?
When you first see someone’s body in its entirety it’s very exciting, but afterwards nothing is left to the imagination. It loses its erotic allure. When women or men have sex before marriage, it destroys the relationship because the thrill of the chase and the mystery are gone. Nudity and sexual over-explicitness actually hinder fantasy.
So why is there a problem with dressing provocatively beyond your spouses’ eyes? Well, it’s as good an idea as tempting a lion with steaks attached to your body. You get the same results. Men are visually oriented so these images stay with us a long time, and because they stay with us a long time, sometimes they interfere with the reality we find in our relationships. We get tainted views and it hurts the relationship when the partner in our lives can’t match up with the fantasy the world depicts.
Men look at teenagers dressed provocatively, or at pornography, and say, ‘if only I had her’ in their hearts when looking. God is the Creator of our hearts; He knows how to read them. Christ nailed us when He clarified the term ‘adultery’. “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do 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 sin, 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 sin, 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.” (Matthew 5:27-30) If browsing the Internet or a certain store tempts your lusts, then it’s better to cut it off than be trapped by it!
We, as Christians, need to watch our steps and be careful with our hearts and eyes, for we know what the Lord says about adultery. It’s also an action of the heart. To look at a beautiful woman is not a sin; it’s what you do with the second glance.
Fornication, sex before marriage, which had not been revealed in advance, gives one the right to become divorced. One who accepts the past conduct of the other party, however bad it was, waives his right to annul the marriage on the basis of fraud. The facts had been made known in advance. Fornication is illicit sex before marriage, while adultery is illicit sex after marriage.
Marriage requires loyalty, love, and devotion. The children are among the many victims when the home falls apart because of adultery; the family is the cornerstone of the society. When families fall apart, the nation is at risk. Marriage is an awesome responsibility before God and should never be taken lightly.
“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)
“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 marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.” (Matthew 5:31)
Married couples by the thousands sue for divorce every month, and the nation is being destroyed as a result. This kind of conduct does not express the kind of loyalty and devotion God shows toward His Church. Those who refuse to pay heed to the Bible’s teaching on marriage will have much for which to answer.
To do more study on this subject please read these verses: Malachi 2:13-16, Matthew 19:4-9, 1 Corinthians 6:9, and 7:39-40, as well as these three devotionals: Pornography, Marriage, and Divorce.