Exodus 20:14

What is the Seventh Commandment?

Exodus 20:14

You shall not commit adultery.

The seventh Commandment deals with all immorality. In a nutshell, all sexual involvement outside of marriage is a sin against God.

What does “adultery” mean? Adultery is any sexual immorality, before or after marriage. If you are sexually active before marriage, you are committing adultery against the person you will marry.

What Is God’s Plan for Covenant Marriage?

To break the cycle of broken homes and broken people, we need to teach young people how to have a godly covenant marriage.

Covenant Marriage Takes Priority

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). This verse is saying that marriage has the highest priority—even over the parent-child relationship.

Covenant Marriage is Permanent

The Hebrew wording in Genesis 2:24 gives the idea of welding or gluing. “Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate” (Mark 10:9).

The difference between people who stay married and people who divorce is not in the problems, but in commitment. Get rid of the idea of divorce.

Covenant Marriage Has a Purpose

“They shall become one flesh” is more than simply a sexual union. It means that a man and a woman together in a covenant marriage will be one person, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. 

The Harm of Sexual Sins

God loves you. When God says, “You shall not,” He’s just saying, “Don’t hurt yourself.” You are not smarter than God.

“Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body” (1 Corinthians 6:18).

“Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not!” (1 Corinthians 6:15-16)

Historians tell us that sin brought down the Roman Empire, Greece, Babylon, etc. Any enemy of the home is the enemy of society. “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34).

When King David committed adultery, he prayed, “Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight” (Psalm 51:4). 

“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites…will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10; see also Revelation 21:8). 

Model the Sanctity of Marriage 

Teach your children by showing them. Here are some things to help you get your marriage back on track, and keep it on track.

Be a Christian

Give your heart to Christ. If you have failed and sinned, bring it to Him. Come to Jesus, and He will cleanse you. (See Isaiah 1:18.)

He does not merely forgive you and then say, “Now do better.” He comes to live in you, and give you power day by day.

Devote Yourself

Love is a decision. God has commanded us to love, and anybody can love who chooses to. Decide to love, and devote yourself to God and your family.

Love must be cultivated and nurtured. If you do not love your spouse more than you did when you got married, then you love your spouse less. Feed that love. 

Guard Your Heart

“He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will be destroyed” (Proverbs 13:20). 

Watch what you set in front of your eyes. You wouldn’t put garbage in your mouth; why put garbage in your brain? (See Proverbs 6:27.)

Have this deep determination: “As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15b).

To read more on this topic, click here.