Throughout the Bible God continually compares his relationship with Israel with the relationship of a husband with his wife.
How is your relationship with God?Taken from
The Handbook of Bible Application Neil S. Wilson
ADULTERY (Betrayal, Sexual Immorality, Unfaithfulness)
What did Jesus have to say about adultery?
BIBLE READING: Matthew 5:27-32
KEY BIBLE VERSE: You have heard that it was said, “Do not commit adultery.” But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (Matthew 5:27 , niv)
Lust is a form of adultery. The Old Testament law said that it is wrong for a person to have sex with someone other than his or her spouse (Exodus 20:14 ). But Jesus said that the desire to have sex with someone other than your spouse is mental adultery and thus sin—if the act is wrong, then so is the intention. To be faithful to your spouse with your body but not your mind is to break the trust so vital to a strong marriage. Jesus is not condemning natural interest in the opposite sex or even healthy sexual desire, but the deliberate and repeated filling of one’s mind with fantasies that would be evil if acted out.
Acting out sinful desires draws others into sin. Some think, if lustful thoughts are sin, why shouldn’t a person go ahead and act upon their thoughts? Acting out sinful desires is harmful in several ways: (1) it causes people to excuse sin rather than eliminate it; (2) it destroys marriages; (3) it is deliberate rebellion against God’s Word; and (4) it always hurts others besides those immediately involved. Sinful desire is not as dangerous as sinful action, and that is why it should not be acted out. Nevertheless, sinful desire is just as damaging to righteousness. Left unchecked, wrong desires result in wrong actions and turn people away from God.
BIBLE READING: Luke 16:16-18
KEY BIBLE VERSE: Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery. (Luke 16:18 , niv)
Even legal adultery is sin. Most religious leaders of Jesus’ day permitted a man to divorce his wife for nearly any reason. Jesus’ teaching about divorce went beyond Moses’ (Deuteronomy 24:1-4 ). Stricter than any of the then-current schools of thought, it shocked his hearers (see Matthew 19:10 ) just as it shakes today’s readers. Jesus says in unmistakable terms that marriage is a lifetime commitment. To leave your spouse for another person may be legal, but it is adultery in God’s eyes. As you think about marriage, remember that God intends it to be a permanent commitment.
How did Jesus treat an adulterous person?
BIBLE READING: John 8:1-11
KEY BIBLE VERSE: “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” (John 8:11 , niv)
Jesus accepted the adulterer without condemning or condoning. Jesus didn’t condemn the woman accused of adultery, but neither did he ignore or condone her sin. He told her to go and sin no more. Jesus stands ready to forgive any sin in your life, but confession and repentance mean a change of heart. With God’s help we can accept Christ’s forgiveness and stop our wrongdoing.
What is spiritual adultery?
BIBLE READING: Isaiah 1:1-31
KEY BIBLE VERSE: See how the faithful city has become a harlot! She once was full of justice; righteousness used to dwell in her—but now murderers! (Isaiah 1:21 , niv)
God compares his relationship with his people to marriage. The people had turned from the worship of the true God to worshiping idols. Their faith was defective, impure, and diluted. Idolatry, outward or inward, is spiritual adultery, breaking our commitment to God in order to love something else. Jesus described the people of his day as adulterous, even though they were religiously strict. The church is the “bride” of Christ (Revelation 19:7 ), and by faith we can be clothed in his righteousness. Are we his impure or faithful bride?
BIBLE READING: Hosea 1:1-11
KEY BIBLE VERSE: When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, “Go, take to yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness, because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the Lord.” (Hosea 1:2 , niv)
Spiritual unfaithfulness is as serious as adultery. Just as Hosea’s wife, Gomer, was eventually unfaithful to him, so the nation of Israel had been unfaithful to God. Israel’s idolatry was like adultery. They sought “illicit” political relationships with other nations, and they mixed Baal worship with the worship of God. Like Gomer, we can chase after other loves—power, pleasure, money, or recognition. The temptations in this world can be very seductive. Are we loyal to God, remaining completely faithful, or have other loves taken his rightful place?
