Apr 21
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Baptist Catechism 75-77
Q. 75. Which is the seventh commandment?
A. The seventh commandment is, “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” (Exodus 20:14)
Q. 76. What is required in the seventh commandment?
A. The seventh commandment requireth the preservation of our own and our neighbor’s chastity, in heart, speech, and behavior. (1 Cor. 6:18; 7:2; 2 Tim. 2:22; Matt. 5:28; 1 Peter 3:2)
Q. 77. What is forbidden in the seventh commandment?
A. The seventh commandment forbideth all unchaste thoughts, words, and actions. (Matt. 5:28-32; Job 31:1; Eph. 5:3,4; Rom. 13:13; Col. 4:6)
Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 6:18–7:5
“Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: ‘It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.’ But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.” (1 Corinthians 6:18–7:5, ESV)
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Please excuse any typos and misspellings within this manuscript. It has been published online for the benefit of the saints of Emmaus Reformed Baptist Church but without the benefit of proofreading.
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Before we can understand what the sin of adultery is, we must first understand God’s design for sexual relations. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the pinnacle of God’s creation was man made in his image. As Genesis 1:27 says, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27, ESV). And in the beginning God did also institute marriage. As Genesis 2:24 says, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24, ESV). This one flesh union is spiritual. In the marriage covenant two lives become one. But it is also physical. Sexual union consummates the marriage bond.
And this is where we must begin if we are to understand the seventh commandment, which is “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” God created sex, so it must be considered good. But like many other things, it is only good when enjoyed in a particular context. Wine is good, but it may be misused. Men and women do sin when they drink wine to the point of drunkenness. Money is good. But the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. And so to sex is good. But it may be misused, abused, and distorted. It is good when it is enjoyed by a man and women bound together in the covenant of marriage.
When two who are unmarried engage in sexual relations, that is called forenication. Deuteronomy 22:28ff. speaks to the sin of fornication when it says, “If a man meets a virgin who is not betrothed, and seizes her and lies with her, and they are found, then the man who lay with her shall give to the father of the young woman fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife, because he has violated her. He may not divorce her all his days” (Deuteronomy 22:28–29, ESV). Now, we are not under the law of Moses as a civil law code, but we may learn from this law even still. It is fornication that is described here, and not adultery, for neither the man nor the woman were betrothed nor married. And penalty, you will notice, is not death but a fine.
The sin of fornication is a serious sin. Sexual relations are to be reserved for marriage. But a more serious sin is the sin of adultery wherein one who is married lies with someone who is not their spouse. That adultery is a more serious sin is made clear from the punishment prescribed under the law of Moses. Again, we are not under the law of Moses as a civil law code, but we may learn something about the seriousness of the sin of adultery from what it says — the adulterer and the adulteress were to be put to death. Deuteronomy 22:22 says, “If a man is found lying with the wife of another man, both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman, and the woman. So you shall purge the evil from Israel” (Deuteronomy 22:22, ESV). Don’t mess with the sin of adultery, brothers and sisters. It is so very destructive.
And if were to go even further to discuss even greater acts of sexual perversion we would have to talk about the sins of besteality and finally homosexuality. Concerning the sin of homosexuality, Leviticus 18:22 says, “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination” (Leviticus 18:22, ESV).
And the New Testament scriptures also speak against these sexual sins. Take for example 1 Corinthians 6:9, which says, “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:9–11, ESV).
So, as I have said, to understand the seventh commandment and the sin of adultery, we must first understand god’s design for sexual relations. God created sex to be enjoyed by a man and woman bound together for life in the covenant of marriage. All other sexual relations are a perversion of God’s design. Sexual immorality of all kinds is to be avoided, and especially the sin of adultery, for when the sin of adultery is committed, the marriage covenant, which is a very sacred thing, is broken.
Can the adulterer be forgiven? Yes, of course. And so too can the homosexual, and the fornicator. Did you hear what Paul said to the Corinthains? After speaking of the sins of sexual immorality, adultery, and homosexuality (among other things), he said, “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11, ESV). “Such were some of you”, Paul said. And by this he indicated the Christians in Corinth were no longer these things, for they had turned from their sin. And more than this they were washed, sanctified, and justified, through faith in Jesus the Christ.
You know, it is common for homosexuals and other sexully perverse people today to say, this is who I am. And there may be some truth to that. But look at what the scriptures say. Who you are needs to change! God is calling you to turn from your sins and to Christ. And in Christ there is cleansing, renewal, and the forgiveness of sins. Who would tolerate the liar, the thief, or the adulter excusing their sin saying, this is who I am? Well, perhaps it is true that you have a propensity towards these sins; and perhaps it is true that your deepest desires lead you in this direction; and perhaps this is now your way of life to the point that you can hardly distinguish between the sinful act and your very being, and so you say, this is who I am. But even still, God calls you to repent and to believe upon Christ for forgiveness and for renewal, so that it may be said of you, and such were you, “but you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:9–11, ESV).
The sin that is expressly forbidden in the seventh commandment is adultery. And adultery is forbidden because it is particularly damaging. Not only is it a perversion of God’s design for sexual relations, it is also the breaking of the sacred covenat of marriage. I do not need to describe to you the damage that the sin of adultery does to individual lives, to families, and to society.
But as usual, our catechism helps us to see that the commandment is to be interpreted and applied broadly. Not only does the seventh commandment forbid the sin of adultery, it also requires “the preservation of our own and our neighbor’s chastity, in heart, speech, and behavior”, while forbidding “all unchaste thoughts, words, and actions.” The rest of the scriptures make it very clear that this is the proper interpretation and application of God’s moral law, “thou shalt not commit adultery.”
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Baptist Catechism 76 and 77
Not only does the seventh commandment forbid you from committing adultery, it requires that you seek to preserve your own and your neighbor’s chastity. Now there is an old fashioned word — chastity. It should not be old fashioned. It ought to still be on our minds and lips. To be chaste is to abstain from extramarital or premarital intercourse. The seventh commandment requires us to preserve our own chastity and also our neighbors.
This means that men and women should be careful not to bring temptation to those around them. Being mindful of this will affect the way that you dress and the way that you talk.
This also means that husbands and wives should be generous with one another as it pertains to conjugal rights, for this does help to guard against temptation. You may read 1 Corinthians 6:18-7:5 against to see what I mean. Husbands and wives are to serve one another in this way.
And notice also how our catechism applies the seventh commandment to the hearts, and not merely to our words and actions, saying, “The seventh commandment requireth the preservation of our own and our neighbor’s chastity, in heart, speech, and behavior”, and again, “The seventh commandment forbideth all unchaste thoughts, words, and actions.”
God’s commands are always to be applied to the heart, friends. You should know this by now. And this is why Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
Again I will tell you, Jesus was not saying something new here. Instead, he was giving the proper interpretation of the commandment. God’s law was always meant to be applied to the heart. Remember the summary of the law is to love God with all our being, and to love our neighbor as ourself. Here Christ is simply saying that the seventh commandment is to be kept from the heart. This was always the intent.
And please don’t misunderstand his words. He is not saying that lust and adultery are the same thing. They are not. Adultery is far worse. But he is teaching that lust is adultery in the heart. Lust — that is, sexual desire for someone not your spouse — is adultery in seed form. It is not adultery full grown, but adultery in seed form. Root it out, brothers and sisters, before it is full grown.
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Conclusion
I will say it again, “Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:18–20, ESV)
