Theology 101 No. 11

You shall not commit adultery.

What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we lead a sexually pure and decent life in all that we say and do, and that husband and wife love and honor one another.

Just as the Fifth Commandment was given by God to preserve His gift of life, the Sixth is given to protect His gift of marriage. It is also given to help us discipline our most powerful physical instinct: the sex instinct. God gave man the gift of sexuality and as with His other gifts He places boundaries upon it. Even though our modern age regards sex in a rather casual manner, it is a sin of the utmost seriousness. Scripture address it repeated and most directly.

St. Paul tells the Thessalonians (4:3-8): “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own body in holiness and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified. For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness. Therefore he who rejects this (teaching) does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit” (emphasis added).

God’s gift of sex is to be highly prized and guarded. No amount of “fancy footwork” with the Scriptures nor the twisted logic of man can undo or dismiss what God has declared concerning sex. Sexual expression has but one (and only one) proper outlet. To allow for the good and proper use of this gift, God created and instituted marriage. Marriage is a life long union between one man and one woman.

Marriage fulfills several God-given needs and purposes. (1) Marriage provides for companionship and is a relationship that has at its heart the mutual care and assistance of two people. God declared in the Garden that it was not good for man to be alone and He then created woman and gave her to Adam as his helpmate and wife. (2) Marriage was also instituted for the propagation of the human race. God told Adam and Eve to be “fruitful and multiply.” Even after the Fall into sin, God still blessed Adam and Eve with children. (3) Marriage was instituted for legitimate sexual intercourse. No sexual relationship is allowed by God outside of marriage. He expressly forbids fornication (sex between unmarried couples ie. premarital sex), adultery (sex with a person other than your spouse), homosexuality (sex with someone of the same gender), and all other perversions of His gift. (See I Corinthians 6:9,20 & 7:2; Galatians 5:19-21; Ephesians 5:1-5).

It is God’s desire that we keep ourselves pure and blameless in regard to our sexuality. He tells the Ephesians though St. Paul that there should not be a hint or even the mentioned of sexual immorality among His people. But why is there such an emphasis on sexuality in the Scriptures? For one reason sexual temptation is one of the most powerful snares of the devil we can face. And as with all temptations, it is the devil’s desire to turn us away from God and His ways. It makes sense that he would attack us at one of our weakest points.

Secondly, it is a sin not only against God and another person, but sexual immorality, in all its forms (dirty jokes, immodest dress, suggestive gestures, pornography and etc.) is a sin against one’s own self (I Corinthians 6:18). Lust, be it sexual or greed/covetousness, has a way of replacing God in one’s life and is actually described by Scripture as idolatry. St. Paul writes of this when he said: “For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or lustful person – such a man is an idolater-- has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God (Ephesians 5:5).” While the world makes light of sexual sin it cannot change what God has said about it and it is indeed a most grievous sin and must be avoided.

As with all of God’s gifts, sinful man can and does find a way to corrupt and pervert them. There can be, however, great blessings when His gifts are used as they were intended. The gift of sex is no different. Great fulfillment can be found between a husband and wife that is lacking in all other situations and uses of our sexuality. When a husband and wife follow God’s instructions concerning sex (cf. I Peter 3:1-7) their marriage is blessed and their relationship with one another full.

God calls us to lead a pure life in thought, word, and deed. In this same way, we are to keep ourselves sexually pure as our bodies are “the temple of the Holy Spirit” (I Corinthians 3:16 & 6:19). Sex is a most powerful gift and within the confines of marriage, sexual intimacy is a most expressive way that a husband and wife can share their mutual love and honor for one another. “Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure” Hebrews 13:4a).