Avoiding Adultery

“‘You shall not commit adultery.'” Exodus 20:14 (NIV)

Is it possible to fall in love, get married, stay married, and finish together? Is longevity a possible reality in marriage? I imagine you have wondered why the success rate is so low. The Bible teaches that God values marital fidelity. God is pro-marriage and pro-family. However, nothing destroys a family faster than adultery. Adultery happens in the mind before it happens in the bed. Adultery violates God’s plan for the marriage relationship.

God has given you a drive called sex. Properly controlled and expressed within the confines of marriage, it is beautiful and fantastic and brings honor to God. Outside of marriage, sex is destructive and detrimental. God designed sex for procreation and pleasure intended to nurture intimate love. The Bible says that sex is for marriage only – not before marriage, not outside of marriage. What is God’s guardrail for marital fidelity? Do not commit adultery! Avoid adultery. Don’t cheat. Be faithful. Honor your marriage vow.

• “Drink water from your own cistern, running water from your own well.” Proverbs 5:15 (NIV)

• “Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.” Hebrews 13:4 (NIV)

Your spouse is the only legitimate source of romance in your life. Dr. Adrian Rogers used to say, “In temptation, Satan seeks to get you to meet a legitimate need in an illegitimate way.” Satan seeks to get the two who have become one, two again. Guard your heart. Confess sin instantly. Walk in the Spirit. Yield to the Lordship of Christ. Don’t look beyond your spouse. Submit to one another. Serve one another. Honor God with your life, your lips, and your loyaty.

Pursuing God,

Stephen Trammell
Executive Pastor
Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell