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Exodus 20:14

“You shall not commit adultery.”

We who live in the West are living in a day that can be described only as one of sexual anarchy. At times, it seems as if almost anything sexual is acceptable in our culture, as long as it involves only consenting adults. Much of this can be traced to a failure to rightly understand and apply the seventh commandment.

As we see in today’s passage, the seventh commandment forbids adultery (Ex. 20:14). In the most narrow sense, this law tells married people that they may not engage in sexual activity with anyone other than their spouses. Moreover, in this narrow sense, we can see from our experience that human beings have not entirely forgotten the law of God written on our consciences (see Rom. 1:18–2:29). Although several forms of aberrant sexual behavior—fornication, pornography, homosexuality, and more—seem broadly acceptable to our society today, adultery in the sense of married people cheating on their spouses remains taboo in many places. Try as we might, we cannot totally ignore the law of God. John Calvin comments that “although lewdness has everywhere been rampant in every age, still the opinion could never be utterly extinguished, that fornication is a scandal and a sin.”

By outlawing adultery, the seventh commandment establishes the principle that the only proper place for sexual activity is within the confines of marriage. This should not surprise us, since it is reflective of broader theological realities. Marriage is the most intimate relationship that two human beings can experience, and sex in this context is a beautiful picture of the oneness achieved when a man and a woman come together in rightly ordered matrimony. Thus, marriage and its most intimate aspects are an earthly picture of the intimacy that believers enjoy with Christ. Our union with God through Jesus is so close and intimate that the Lord chose marriage as an illustration of His bond with His people (see Eph. 5:22–33), and thus adultery is an illustration of the severity of idolatry (see Ezek. 16). Just as idolatry is the most severe betrayal of creatures—especially professing believers—against their Creator, adultery is perhaps the most severe betrayal of marital vows. By extension, that puts sexual sins in a special class of lawlessness whose ramifications are often more extensive and damaging than those of other sins.

Coram Deo Living before the face of God

Sexual sin is especially grievous, but it is not unforgivable. God will freely forgive all those who turn from their sexual sin and rest in Christ alone, just as He pledged to forgive Israel’s idolatrous betrayal of Him (Hos. 2:14–23). If you are guilty of sexual sin, repent and trust anew in Christ, and seek to put that sin and its associated desires to death, getting help from other believers if necessary.


For Further Study
  • Deuteronomy 5:18
  • Jeremiah 5:7–9
  • Matthew 5:27–30
  • John 7:53–8:11

    Duties toward Others

    Delighting in One’s Spouse

    Keep Reading Misunderstood Biblical Words and Phrases

    From the August 2022 Issue
    Aug 2022 Issue