Ten Commandments Part 13
Commandment # 6 (Protestant 7) “You shall not commit adultery” (Part 1)
In 1692 the
Anglican Bishop Thomas Watson wrote “Adultery is the reigning sin of the
times.” [1] Not much has changed since then. The Catechism of the Catholic church states” “Sexuality affects all aspects of the
human person in the unity of his body and soul.
It
especially concerns affectivity,
the capacity to love and to procreate, and in a more
general way the aptitude for
forming bonds of communion with others.” (CCC paragraph 2332) Unfortunately we live is a society which has
conflicting definitions of adultery. The
biblical view concludes that the partners in a marriage are a man, a woman, and
God, in a covenantal relationship. While
you have a husband or wife, taking a new partner is adultery and therefore is a
sin. Jesus, in the sermon on the mount, says that when a husband divorces his
wife for any reason other than unfaithfulness causes her to commit
adultery. Anyone who marries a divorced
woman commits adultery (Matthew 5:32; 19:9). In biblical eyes, divorcing a
marriage partner in order to take another partner is considered adultery. Adultery is a violation of a most serious vow
made before God “till death do us part.”
The
secular view is much different. It says
that taking a new partner is only wrong if you haven’t already divorce the old
partner. Deviancy has been defined down
to the point that even this isn’t considered all that wrong. In secular eyes the partners in marriage are
a person, another person and the state.
It is no longer even a contract between a man and a woman.
Jesus
elevates the status of marriage and points to the seriousness of adultery. He equates lust with adultery (Matthew
5:28). Adultery begins with contriving
the sin in the mind, consenting to it with the will, and then acting upon
it. He states that divorce is due to
hardness of heart, but is never what God intended (Matthew 19:8).
This leads us to the question of
what God intends. Marriage is a participation in a relationship God has with
us. This is why the prophets, especially
Jeremiah and Hosea, speak so strongly about Israel’s turning away from God as a
form of adultery. Martin Luther, in a
1519 sermon on marriage says it is “an outward and spiritual sign of the
greatest, holiest, worthiest and noblest thing that ever existed or will ever
exist: the union of the divine and human nature in Christ”[2] We receive sacramental grace in
marriage. God effectively says about
marriage “If you want to know what I’m like, watch them.” The relationship between God with a man and a
woman in marriage has Trinitarian aspects to it. This gives us great responsibility.
Adultery
occurs in many different forms. It is
seen in casual love affairs. It can
occur in serial monogamy, repeated divorce and remarriage. It occurs when there is soul bonding with a
person who is not one’s partner. It
occurs when there are triangles or quadrangles.
As Jesus indicates, it also occurs when there is lust in one’s
heart. Adultery always causes a
breakdown in family and society. It
causes a loss of trust. The special
relationship that has been built between a husband and wife is lost. It’s often tied to covetousness (wanting
someone more than who you have).
Procreation is greatly downplayed.
(Next week we will look at the
positive side.)
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