Adultery Against God

You know adultery is wrong. But do you know how God defines adultery? Keep Reading...

READ
Exodus 20:14 - “You shall not commit adultery."

REFLECT
Most would acknowledge that adultery is wrong. Even those who do not proclaim to be followers of God would affirm that unfaithfulness in marriage rips apart families and leaves a trail of brokenness. But is adultery just the act of sexual relationship with someone other than your spouse?

Jesus says, “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 5:27-28 In other words, a person crosses the line into adultery well before a sexual act takes place. It starts in the mind.

Adultery might be frowned on, but how about lust in the mind? You might think that no one is being hurt. But the choice to lust (commit adultery) is the choice to use a person as an object. It is a deeply selfish act that thoroughly dishonors those made in God's image. Lust destroys.

But it doesn't stop there. God takes our loyalty personally. Throughout the Old Testament God likens our disobedience to adultery. Hosea 1:2 And in the New Testament, God says, "You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God." James 4:4

Lusting after other gods or other forms of power and control breaks God's heart, just as a spouse's heart is broken through adultery. Obedience is not a form of legalism with God. It is an expression of love. John 14:23

RESPOND
Have you allowed room for lust within yourself? Is it coming through your eyes, ears or mind-gate? Slam the gate shut through repentance and transparency with those you love. In addition, are there "small" areas of disobedience toward God that you have accepted as normal? It's time to make it right and regain your first love.