“You shall not commit adultery” Exodus 20:14.
Men and women were designed to be together and to need each
other. Marriage is a natural union of a man and a woman and is divinely
ordained and established by Yahuah at the creation.
His laws and in particular the 7th Commandment authorize the
marriage relationship and establish it as the foundation of the family, which
in turn stands as the foundation and most important building block of society.
Yahuah told our first parents that, “Therefore shall a man
leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall
be one flesh” Genesis 2:24.
Yahuah's instruction clearly established what all future
generations were supposed to learn regarding marriage and sex. As children grow
old enough to shoulder the responsibilities of a family and come to love and
honour someone of the opposite sex, it is natural and proper for them to marry
and be joined together and create their own family apart from their parents.
Only then should they “become one flesh” by physically uniting in a sexual
relationship.
Messiah makes it clear that Yahuah from the very beginning
intended that marriage be a monogamous and permanent relationship (Matthew 19:3-6).
Adultery is the violation of the marriage covenant by willful
participation in sexual activity with someone other than one's spouse. Since
Yahuah's law sanctions sexual relationships only within a legitimate marriage,
the command not to commit adultery covers in principle all varieties of sexual
immorality. No sexual relationship of any sort should occur outside of
marriage. That is the message of this Commandment.
In much of the world
sexual immorality is no longer regarded as a significant social evil. Yahuah
however, categorically condemns all forms of sexual immorality. Revelation 21:8 “But as for the cowardly, and untrustworthy, and
abominable, and murderers, and those who whore, and drug sorcerers, and
idolaters, and all the false, their part is in the lake which burns with fire
and sulphur, which is the second death.”
The social and personal harm brought by sexual immorality is
so pervasive that it defies our ability to quantify its toll in human
suffering. Most people simply refuse to contemplate its staggering
consequences.
Two prevailing views stand out. Some people assert their
right to do whatever they please, “Nobody is going to tell me what I can do in
my personal life.” Others rationalize virtually any kind of behavior: “It
doesn't matter what I do so long as no one gets hurt.” These arguments are used
to justify all sorts of sexual behavior including promiscuity. Both views
ignore a fundamental reality: People do get hurt, badly hurt.
Immorality in any form is ultimately destructive. As the
proverb says, “But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh
understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul” Proverbs 6:32.
Adultery's first casualty is the damage to our mind and
character. Equally damaging is the personal abasement that flows from sexual
immorality.
It can be denied but it cannot be avoided.
Paul told believers in the licentiously infamous city of
Corinth, “Flee fornication.
Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that
committeth fornication sinneth against his own body” 1 Corinthians 6:18.
These warnings apply equally to men and women because
“Yahuah shows no partiality.” The Bible labels humanity's obsession with self
gratification for what it is: lust. “For all that is in the world, the lust of
the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the
Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof:
but he that doeth the will of Yahuah abidethfor ever” 1 John 2:16-17.
Lust is the beginning of adultery and immorality. “You have
heard that it was said by them of old time, You shall not commit adultery.” said
Messiah. “But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after
her has committed adultery with her already in his heart” Matthew 5:27-28.
Society suffers
because we have lost the vision that Yahuah had for marriage from the
beginning. Marriage is not a requirement for success in pleasing Yahuah. But it
is tremendous blessing to couples who treat each other as Yahuah intended. Most
people desire and need the benefits that come from a stable marriage.
To return to what Yahuah intended, we must give marriage the
respect it deserves.
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