"Thou shall not commit adultery." (Exodus 20:14) The first three commands of the second table of the decalogue, which deals with human relationships, are in their proper order. This table begins at the fifth commandment, with the home, the place where life and its relationships have their origin, and in the sixth, the sacredness of human life is then safeguarded. But life exists in two sexes or forms--the male and the female in order that life may perpetuate itself through successive generations.
The seventh command therefore throws a guard around marriage, the most intimate, binding, and sacred of all human relationships, and the one on which the very existence and perpetuity of the race depends.
The sacredness of the marriage institution depends on the safeguarding of morals in all the experiences and relationships of life between the cradle and the grave. The prohibitions of the seventh commandment are therefore "exceeding broad." In language and spirit it prohibits all forms of moral uncleanness in word, thought, or conduct, both before and after marriage. Immorality in all its forms is just as much a sin before marriage as is unfaithfulness afterward.
The law and the gospel demand purity of all who have been created in the image of God. It has been truthfully said that "virtue, the strength and beauty of the soul, is the best gift of Heaven," and also that "virtue alone is happiness below."
Physical passions constitute an important part of human nature, and, like many of the elements in nature, are valuable servants but terrible masters. Impurity is the master sin of the human race and the most dreadful of all in its consequences. Fornication not only demands a terrible toll in this life but also excludes one from the life to come. Made in the image of God, men and women are under the most solemn obligation to preserve unmarred the divine image of their Maker, in its moral as well as its physical aspect.
The marriage institution is of divine origin and is an important part of the divine plan and purpose. It should never be entered into without a recognition of God. Morality and religion cannot be separated, and therefore, because of its origin and significance, the divine element of marriage should never be forgotten. The law that safeguards marriage is a divine law, and it is always dangerous to violate a divine law or tamper with a divine institution.
Marriage is still further ennobled by the fact that it has been, chosen as the symbol of the sacred union between Christ and His church! Throughout both the Old and the New Testament, Christ is represented as the husband and bridegroom, and the church as His Wife or bride.
Adultery Defined
This commandment prohibits all immoral relations between the sexes, and since the illicit act is the result of evil thinking, it forbids mental uncleanness and lustful looks. Adultery is unfaithfulness to the marriage relationship on the part of either husband or wife, whereas fornication embraces all kinds of unlawful sex behavior before or after marriage. Adultery is the breaking of a most solemn vow and the betrayal of a most sacred trust. It is dishonesty in the most sacred and binding of all the relationships of life. It is a crime against oneself, one's companion, the church, society, the nation, and against God. It is the selling of one's moral birthright for a mess of sensual pottage with a lifetime of regrets. We have reached the antitype of the days of Noah, when "the wickedness of man was great in the earth" and when "every imagination of the thoughts of the heart was only evil continually." (Genesis 6:5) The modern generation needs to be gathered at the base of the mount of the raw--to again hear the decree of the Almighty, "Thou shall not commit adultery."
Sin Against Nature
Fornication is a sin against nature, and it is therefore unnatural. Nature demands absolute purity and exacts a terrible toll for the violation of her laws, and in no realm is the penalty more severe than in regard to sex. For the immoral, nature has no pity or mercy.
The seventh commandment demands personal purity in thought and deed. It prohibits those secret personal vices among both men and women that debase the mind, undermine the health, and pollute the soul. Of these "unfruitful works of darkness" Paul says that "it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret." (Ephesians 5:11,12)
The seriousness of the sin of immorality against our own or the bodies of others is set forth in 1 Corinthians 6:15-20: "Know you not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. What? know you not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, said he, shall be one flesh. But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. What? know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own? For you are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." All other sins are external, but this one is a sin against nature. It pollutes the body, "the temple of the Holy Ghost," and makes the fornicator one flesh with the harlot. It is for this reason that moral unfaithfulness is made the only justifiable reason for divorce and remarriage.
Fornication is not only a sin against nature, or a personal sin; it is also a sin against society. Any social or political philosophy that seeks to interfere with the sanctity of family life must eventually bring social and national ruin. The chief cause of the fall of Babylon, Greece, and Rome, was moral degeneracy rather than superior military power arrayed against them. They fell to pieces because of their inward rottenness. The antediluvian world was destroyed and Sodom and Gomorrah were turned to ashes because of licentiousness. The modern nations are fast rushing toward the same doom. Immorality is a racial sin. No other sin is handed down to future generations as is licentiousness. It is a sin against the human race, because it affects more than the original sinners. It affects the inheritance of unborn generations.
New Testament Teaching
The emphasis given to the seventh commandment in the New Testament shows that it was not abrogated by Christ or set aside by the apostles. Like the other commandments of the decalogue, the binding claims of the seventh are strengthened and established by the gospel. In the sermon on the mount Jesus magnified the meaning of immorality to include the thoughts and motives. He said, "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shall not commit adultery: but I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." (Matthew 5:27,28)
Jesus then declared that it would be better to pluck out a lustful eye or cut off an offending hand rather than to be cast into hell because of licentious habits. He goes to the very heart of this question by making it plain that a clean mind is the only hope of a clean life. He shows that the person who looks upon the opposite sex with longing desire for impure relations is already guilty of fornication. The seventh commandment may be transgressed by evil imaginations. In fact, this is the form in which it is most frequently violated in this evil-minded generation.
On another occasion Jesus said, "Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: these are the things which defile a man." (Matthew 15:19,20) The place to conquer this sin, as well as all others, is at its fountain, before it becomes a physical act. Jesus taught that these impure thoughts and desires which reach the stage of lust are not only wrong because they lead to sin but they are also sin in themselves. The temptation itself is not sin, but when the impure desire is welcomed and harbored and only the lack of opportunity prevents it from becoming an act, it is adultery.
That lust is the motive power of all evil is evident from 1 John 2:15-17: "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever."
Here we are given the three sources of all temptations through which the wicked one entices to sin. In James 1:14,15 we are told just when temptation becomes a sin: "Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death" When the mind consents to the evil suggestion so that only the absence of opportunity prevents it from becoming a deed, the conception takes place that gives birth to sin.
Lust is the devil's counterfeit of love. Nothing is more uplifting and beautiful than love, and nothing more--degrading and blighting than lust. Lust soon destroys all 'natural affection and leaves the heart and soul destitute of all that is noble and virtuous. Since the evil of fornication begins with wrong thinking, we should discipline our minds to habits of clean thoughts and carefully avoid the first step toward this sin of sins. "Be not conformed to this world: but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind" is good advice. (Romans 12:2) The divine promise is, 'Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love Him." (James 1:12)
The Penalty
Perhaps no other sin visits upon the transgressor a more severe penalty, both in this life and in the judgment, than fornication. It is "the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death." (Proverbs 7:27) One who passed through the experience of bitter remorse declared that the wages of this sin is "many times worse than death." The wise man said that this sin "hath cast many down wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her." (Proverbs 7:26) Samson and David are among the "strong men" slain or wounded by this terrible sin.
The following is another terrible warning against this universal sin: "By means of a whorish woman, a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life. Can a man take fire into his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? ... So he that goeth in to his neighbor's wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent. ... Whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul. A wound and dishonor shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away." (Proverbs 6:26-33) The truthfulness of this last statement is emphasized by the everlasting reproach of David, which the Lord said would continue through all human history. His sin was forgiven, but the reproach continues.
The apostle Paul said, "Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind ... shall inherit the kingdom of God." (1 Corinthians 6:9,10; Ephesians 5:3-7) In Revelation 21:8 we are told that "whoremongers" are among those who will "have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." Our reformatories, penitentiaries, and insane asylums are filled with those who feel the sting of the penalty of the sin of fornication.
The Remedy
For this sin, as for all save one, there is a remedy. Better still there is victory for those who are tempted. In repentance, confession, and a determination to sin no more, there is pardon, cleansing, and acceptance, although the ugly scar is carried through life. David round this remedy, and had created in him "a clean heart" and "a right spirit," although he bore the reproach of his sin as long as he lived. Jesus said to the repentant, wicked woman, "Thy sins are forgiven. ... Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace" (Luke 7:48-50), and to the woman taken in adultery, 'Neither do I condemn thee; go, and sin no more." (John 8:11) A preventive is always better than a remedy. Through the power of an indwelling Christ we may be kept from falling. The most outstanding example of victory over the sin of immorality recorded in the Scriptures is that of Joseph when tempted by the designing wife of Potiphar. He met the temptation of this siren of licentiousness with the statement, "How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" He repelled her further advances and thus incurred her wrath, and in order to avenge wounded pride she sent him to prison through her lies. But he maintained his integrity and was eventually richly rewarded.
Safeguard to Marriage
The seventh commandment throws a bulwark around marriage and the home in order to guard from pollution the fountain from which flows the stream of life. All forms of moral uncleanness defile this stream and affect the marriage institution.
"A high ideal of marriage is a great incentive to purity of heart. If young people anticipate a pure marriage every step toward it must be in the way of virtue. If you wish to win a pure white soul for your life-long companion you will be unwilling to give less than you wish to receive. You will keep your own soul white and clean."--Ferdinand S. Schetick, The Ten Commandments, page 91.
The foundation of many a marriage is ruined before the union is consummated at the altar. True marriage is a life partnership for a noble purpose and does not depend so much on physical attractions as on beauty of character. Perfect mutual trust is essential to a happy marriage, and the confidence in each other must be so complete that it banishes all curiosity about the details of each other's private affairs. True love never enslaves, nor does it destroy individuality or the power of choice.
Marriage, in order to be successful, must be consummated "in the Lord," or according to His will, which always excludes the marriage of a Christian with an unbeliever. "Be you not unequally yoked together with unbelievers" is a divine command. (2 Corinthians 6:14) When "God hath joined together" the man and woman, "marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled." (Hebrews 13:4)
The Divorce Evil
Lax divorce laws constitute one of the worst enemies of the marriage institution. They have lowered the general estimate of the sacredness of marriage and created heedlessness in regard to its binding claims. Our easy divorce laws have made possible "a species of consecutive polygamy." In the early days of the Roman Republic there were no divorces, because the sanctity of family life was recognized. Rome fell when the home was undermined and divorce became common, just as any structure will collapse when its foundation gives way. The American Republic is fast following in the footsteps of Rome, and the same causes will produce the same results. When marriage is based on human emotions, heedless impulse, heartless convenience, or romantic adventure, rather than love founded on character, the results can be nothing short of domestic tragedy. Between one third and one half of the marriages in this country are now ending in the divorce courts, and in some sections the number of divorces exceeds the marriages.
The opinion seems to prevail that in Old Testament times divorce was divinely sanctioned on other than the ground of fornication, but this is a false idea. It is true that the Pharisees tempted Christ with the question, "Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife?" The answer of Jesus was, "What did Moses command you?" The Pharisees replied that Moses permitted a bill of divorcement, which Jesus said was done because of the hardness of their hearts. (See Mark 10:2-6)
We must ever remember that the Old and New Testaments came from the same source, and they therefore cannot contradict each other. Jesus only magnified the law, and that which is magnified has nothing altered by way of subtraction or addition. Jesus said: "It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: but I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saying for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery." (Matthew 5:31,32)
The instructions of Jesus during His sermon on the mount were exactly the same as those He gave to ancient Israel through Moses. The scriptures in both testaments teach that marriage is permanent and that its ties are so binding that they can be broken only by death, or its equivalent--that which is far worse than death--moral delinquency on the part of husband or wife, or both. The Bible recognizes but one cause for divorce and remarriage, and the church dare not alter the Word by becoming more stringent or more lenient in dealing with offenders. Of course, when the divorce and remarriage have taken place before those concerned made a profession of Christianity and while they were ignorant of their sin, this sin, with all others previously committed, is washed away in the blood of Christ and their past lives are covered with His righteousness. The Lord takes people where He finds them, and there are many things in their past that never can be undone without committing an even greater sin. But this excuse cannot be made to apply to church members or those who commit this sin presumptuously. For such persons there can be no remarriage with divine approval.
But when the case is clear that Scriptural grounds exist, the innocent person has just as much right to remarry as he had to enter the first marriage. The innocent one is doubly released by the remarriage of the guilty one, but if both husband and wife are innocent of moral unfaithfulness and separate for other reasons, the remarriage of either party constitutes adultery and releases the other party to remarry without being guilty of transgression. These lofty principles are recognized by all denominations, that have any standards left, and the restating of them in this connection does not constitute any private interpretation of the Scriptures on this subject.
There are a number of contributing causes of the present-day increase of moral delinquency and divorce, which belong to this subject. At the head of the list should be placed the modern theater, which has fattened financially on the licentious filth that appeals to the baser instincts of sinful flesh and the carnal nature. Plato declared that "plays rouse the passions and pervert the use of them; and, of course, are dangerous to morality," and Augustus Caesar was advised by Ovid to suppress the theaters because they were "a grand source of corruption." Rousseau called the theater of his day "a school of vice," and Macaulay said it was "a seminary of vice."
No person would dare say that the theater has reformed since the days of these men. In fact, plenty of evidence could be produced to show that its influence since the introduction of the moving and talking pictures has become more widespread and dangerous. The ancient theater was attended almost entirely by adults, but the present-day audience is composed largely of children and youth. It is estimated that twenty million of them attend the theaters each day in the United States. All efforts to reform the theater by the introduction of educational and moral plays and pictures have ended in failure, because the majority who patronize this industry demand sex thrills and unclean amusements; and the producers give them what they want, because with them money is more precious than morals.
Another evil influence that is degrading modern morals is the filthy literature that is flooding the world and spilling over into our homes in ever-increasing streams which glorify vice and countenance whoremongers and libertines. Much of this literature belittles marriage and speaks disparagingly of the binding claims of the marriage vow. Illicit sex relations are pictured in the most attractive colors, and virtue and moral standards are described as being antiquated and out of date. No young person can live on this sort of mental diet without becoming an easy victim to sensual lust, which will eventually scorch the soul and debase the character. The only safety for the modern youth is to avoid this kind of lewd literature as he would the deadly poison of a rattlesnake, and learn to choose those books and papers that are elevating and ennobling.
"Evil company doth corrupt good manners," is an old Greek proverb quoted by Paul, which sets forth a long-recognized truth. Association with those who indulge in sensual manners, practice undue familiarity, and tell smutty stories, will lead to a lowering of our own ideas of propriety and destroy our faith in the honor of manhood and the virtue of womanhood. It has been said that a person is known by the company he keeps, for each person seeks his own character level. A filthy conversation never comes out of a pure mind and a clean heart. The counsel of Scripture is, "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth." "Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient," or becoming. (Ephesians 4:29; 5:4) The wise man said, "My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not." (Proverbs 1:10) "Flee also youthful lusts" is the counsel of the apostle Paul.
Other Causes
Modern dress or undress is also a serious problem that has to do with morals. The present-day mania for nudity is an insult to nature and everything that is beautiful and virtuous. Many today are not satisfied even with the fig-leaf style of covering invented by the first human sinner. The unchaste and lewd in drama and literature and the tendency toward the nude in art and dress indicate that modesty is becoming a lost virtue. The counsel of the Lord through the apostle Paul was never more needed than today: "I will therefore ... that women adorn themselves in modest apparel." (1 Timothy 2:8,9) The cultured Christian woman will avoid all extremes in dress and will keep pace with the sensible fashions of her day.
The modern dance is also contributing to the moral degeneracy of this generation and is the acknowledged cause of many moral tragedies. Investigation has revealed the fact that thousands of those who are inmates of penal and corrective institutions began their career in immorality and crime on the dance floor. Take the mutual attractions of sex out of the dance and it would soon cease to exist.
Intoxicating drinks and various modern drugs tend to inflame the animal passions and weaken resistance to the warnings of reason and conscience. The sum of these enticements to evil have brought us to very perilous and dangerous times when the only safety is a deeply spiritual experience. Without this even a thorough knowledge of truth will not save us from becoming involved in the swirling cesspool of iniquity that is engulfing modern society and making it comparable to the licentious days of Noah and Lot, when destruction was the only remedy. "Be clean," is the command of God to all men, and all His commands are enablings. He never requires the impossible. He furnishes the power to translate His requirements into possibilities and His promises into realities, and the seventh commandment is no exception to this rule.