Exodus 20:14 (NKJV) "You shall not commit adultery.

Its All About Sex?

The seventh commandment is most certainly a prohibition of cheating on your spouse;
anyone who doesnt understand that principle doesnt comprehend the English
language. It is plain and simple; God says if you are married you are to only share the
intimacy of sex with your marital spouse. But is there more than just sex in this
commandment? Yes, it is all about marriage!

First we need to exclude the obvious. Marriage is to be between a man and a woman.
That doesnt include Adam and Steve, Jane and Fido, nor Ralph and Sue, Mary,
Martha, Betty, and.. The point is biblical marriage is between one man and one
woman; nothing more nothing less. But is there still more? Yes!

If God is against adultery then He is for the sanctity of a loving intimate relationship
between a man and a woman. The commandment boldly proclaims fidelity and this
doesnt include cohabitation; cohabitation whether accidental or deliberate does not
prove sexual compatibility. Cohabitation delays marriage, may stop marriage, and
leaves one or both parties feeling they have been taking advantage of. If cohabitation
does end in marriage the stats are against the marriage lasting more than 3 years.
Cohabitation sounds like the good life on the TV sitcom; but the stats says these
couples have a lower rate of sexual and marital satisfaction.

Why so much about cohabitation? Because 60 to 70% of married couples cohabitate
before getting married. The moral basis for this is; if everyone is doing it, it must
be normal; if it is normal it must be good. The belief is you wouldnt buy a pair of
shoes without trying them on. You can read more about this in an article from the
New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/15/opinion/sunday/the-
downside-of-cohabiting-before-marriage.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

So, what is marriage? Marriage is a covenantal relationship instituted by God and
ordained in Genesis 2:23-25 (NKJV)
23
And Adam said: "This is now bone of my bones
And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of
Man."
24
Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife,
and they shall become one flesh.
25
And they were both naked, the man and his wife,
and were not ashamed.

First the man and woman are to leave their families. Their mothers and fathers are to
no longer have priority of relationship. Neither are their children to have priority of
relationship; they are now in a special relationship which trumps all other
relationships.

Secondly they are to be united to one another. They are to be lifetime companions
who have promised the fidelity of their wills. This union comes before sex and is what
makes marriage a God ordained institution. This union leads to the couples
nakedness meaning they are emotionally and spiritually living as partners bounded by
a loving caring relationship. They are no longer ashamed to express their deepest
feeling to one another.

Thirdly they become one flesh; they are united in a physical union of intimacy; in a
word, sex. The union of the flesh becomes a physical expression of their love for one
another. It is an expression of the permanency of the relationship, never to be
violated through an adulterous act. Jesus explains the sanctity of this in Matthew
19:6 (NKJV) So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has
joined together, let not man separate."

Some final thoughts on adultery, sex, and marriage. If we violate this commandment
we have violated several of the other nine if not all of them. When we cheat on our
spouse we have lied to him or her about how we feel about the relationship. They are
no longer the top priority of our life. We have also coveted something we have no
right to; someone elses spouse or someones physical body. We have stolen their
modesty and intimacy. We have elevated sex to the status of an idol and have put it
before our relationship to God. We have killed that something which lies deep in the
inner soul of all of mankind; the value of being created in the image of God. We have
lowered the level of morality to point we are no better than the beast of the field.

Knowledge, like air, is vital to life. Like air, no one should be denied it.
Gregg

I would like to thank Dr. Dan Doriani and Covenant Theological Seminary for making
the course, Christian Ethics, freely available at:
http://www.covenantseminary.edu/resources/courses/christian-ethics-doriani/

All comics can be found at: http://www.gocomics.com