“You shall not commit adultery.” (Exodus 20:14). This is moral law of God, which provide what is ethical, and thus acceptable before God when it comes to sexual relations. The seventh commandment forbids all impure thoughts, (Mat 5:28; Col 4:6), words (Eph 5:4; 2Ti 2:22), and actions (Eph 5:3). The Lord Jesus said so categorically in Matthew 5:28, “But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Therefore, sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. (Eph. 5:3).
Why should believers shun all forms of sexual immorality, that is homosexuality (gay and lesbianism), bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery? First, when Christians indulge in sexually immoral, they cause the testimony of the gospel to be spoken ill of, Christ’s name is brought to shame and His church is reviled by the world. How awful that you or me can be involved in such a thing! How we should work hard, depending on God’s grace and empowered by the Holy Spirit to disdain anything that does not bring glory to Christ’s name… and he has given us his Spirit to help us.
Secondly, the text gives us the reason – it is that God will judge fornicators and adulterers because they dishonour marriage and defile the marriage bed. In other words, God's judgment, wrath and curse, will sooner rather than later fall on unrepentant people who defile and destroy his institution of marriage.
Thirdly, the body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. (1 Cor. 6:13). Moreover, the Word of God in 1 Corinthians 6:15-20 makes it even clearer that,
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 prostitute? Never! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.” But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. 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.
Fourthly, sexual sin wrecks marriages, and relationships. It is one of the only possible ground for divorce as the Lord said in Matthew 19:9, “And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”
Fifthly, sexual sin carries many risks to the perpetrator. It can bring physical harm to the body like infections and disease. Sexually transmitted diseases are many – syphilis, gonorrhoea, Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Disease Syndrome (AIDS) and many other diseases. Physical harm and injury if the perpetrator is caught by the spouse, or relatives. One can be successfully sued for damages. Then there is emotional social liability like shame and loss of reputation, which could even have financial or economic loss and liability, e.g. loss of jobs, expulsion from school, etc.
Therefore, flee from sexual immorality. Do not try to fight this sin – run like Joseph from the wife of Potiphar. Run! Because attempts to resist this strong bodily urge, is usually met with failure – the body succumbs to the craving and urge for sex. It is advisable that you do never visit a woman in her house when it is just the two of you – or let her visit you when alone. This is tempting the temptation!
Anyone who has been caught in this sin should know that there is mercy in the Lord if there is an open confession of the sin, and turning away from it in repentance. There is mercy in the Lord for adulterers and sexual perverts. No one is the reach of God’s mercy. Anyone who is unrepentant will wreck his/her marriage.
That word "unrepentant" leads to a third way to dishonour marriage and keep the marriage bed defiled. Any Christian couple that does not live a life of deliberate repentance to God and to one another is not going to last long together as husband and wife. Unless there is willingness to humility and to humbly deal with our sins against each, we risk God’s judgment upon us and our marriage. Lack or repentance and lack of forgiveness will most certainly mess up with your marriage and your family big time.
This is not the only text that says that God will judge fornicators and adulterous in the Bible. 1Corinthians 6:9-10 assures us that fornicators and adulterers will not inherit the kingdom of God. There will be no sexual immorality in heaven. How can God who is so pure allow defilement, and abomination inhabit his presence? God is holy and he cannot tolerate sin of whatever nature. He will not accept anyone into his kingdom if tinted by sin. We read in Revelation 21:8 and
But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death."
Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
But is there any good news at all for those who fall into fornication and adultery? Is there hope for those who defile their marriage bed? Thankfully yes, for where it not for the grace of God, we all would be fornicators and adulterers. God has given Christ so that all sins should be cast at the foot of his Son’s cross where all the sins must be crucified so that you can be fit for heaven. You must be willing to plunge into the crimson stream of the blood that flowed from Calvary for cleansing and pardon. My plea for you today is, come ye sinners, poor and needy, come for full salvation, come for full cleansing, come for mercy, come for grace to Jesus Christ without any more delay. This is the only permanent remedy for the healing and restoration of your marriage.
It is the grace of God that keeps us from sin, and it is the grace of God that enables us to be what we are today. It is possible that in the past your were sexually immoral, adulterer, among other sins that you indulged in, 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 (1Cor. 6:11). This is the good news, that sinners, even lewd sinners can be forgiven and be allowed a new lease of spiritual life in Jesus Christ.
As I conclude, I wish to draw some observation from the ship yard. He who builds the ship does not make his work of such a sort that it may avoid waves and billows, that is impossible; but he so builds it that it may be tight and stanch, and able to endure all weathers. Even so, the unmarried are like the ship on the shipyard, under construction. Every nail must be hammered to the end, upon every board and every hinge. They need to wait for the day of their wedding with perfect purity, godly readiness and holy reverence of marriage knowing that marriage itself is like a ship in the high seas and susceptible to storms and bad weather. Chastity is the way by which your ship will be able to endure the storms of life, before it is put on a voyage. The ship cannot stand midway while on the voyage – it must land not just on any shoreline, but on the dock. Those who are married must encourage and support the captain of the ship, the husband, to order, steer, direct and lead the ship in the right direction, speed and bring it to the right direction. Those under the command of the captain must desist from insubordination, and insurrection for this will bring not just distress and pain, but even possible casualties to all the seafarers.
Now I don’t know what is the state of your marriage. I do not know whether you have run aground upon the icebergs or rocks. I do not know what pain and injuries you may be nursing. But I want to impress this word to you - Let marriage be held in honour among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. Honour your marriage by fighting hard so that it can survive – do not look at those seemingly beautiful women on the internet who are offering themselves freely or at a fee and think that they can be better than your wife. Your wife is more beautiful than them. Your husband is a better man than them all! He married you! Honour him. Submit to him. Love her!
