What are the consequences of adultery according to biblical teachings? The Foundational Command “You shall not commit adultery.” – Deuteronomy 5:18 God’s seventh commandment is short, clear, and absolute. By forbidding adultery, the Lord protects marriage, family stability, and personal holiness. Scripture then spells out what happens when this line is crossed. Immediate Civil Penalties in Old-Covenant Israel • Leviticus 20:10: “If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress must surely be put to death.” • Deuteronomy 22:22: “If a man is found lying with a married woman, then both the man who lay with her and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel.” In Israel’s theocracy, adultery was a capital crime. The severity underscored how seriously God values covenant fidelity. Spiritual Judgment From God • Hebrews 13:4: “Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.” • 1 Corinthians 6:9-10: “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? … neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers … will inherit the kingdom of God.” • Galatians 5:19-21 lists adultery among “acts of the flesh” that keep a person from inheriting God’s kingdom. The New Testament makes clear that divine judgment—present discipline and eternal exclusion from God’s kingdom—awaits the unrepentant adulterer. Personal Fallout Proverbs paints a vivid picture of the inward consequences: • Proverbs 6:32-33: “He who commits adultery lacks sense; whoever does so destroys himself. Wounds and dishonor he will find, and his disgrace will not be blotted out.” • Proverbs 5:11-14 speaks of physical decay, financial loss, public shame, and lifelong regret. Practical results include: – Loss of trust and intimacy within marriage – Fractured families and traumatized children – Emotional turmoil—guilt, anxiety, fear of exposure – Financial cost from divorce, litigation, or child-support battles – Potential exposure to sexually transmitted disease (Proverbs 5:11 references bodily ruin) Social and Community Damage • Adultery mocks the covenant sign of marriage, eroding society’s confidence in vows. • It plants division within extended families, church fellowships, and neighborhoods. • Proverbs 6:29 warns that even if no legal action follows, “he who touches his neighbor’s wife will not go unpunished.” Generational Ripples • Children of adulterous unions may struggle with identity, resentment, or instability. • 2 Samuel 12 portrays David’s adultery with Bathsheba spawning family violence, political upheaval, and the death of a child—consequences that echoed for decades. Internal Heart Corruption • Jesus deepens the command in Matthew 5:28: “Anyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Secret fantasies, pornography, and emotional affairs carry their own penalties—dulling spiritual sensitivity, grieving the Spirit, and paving the way for outward sin. Ultimate End Without Repentance – Hardened conscience – Loss of eternal inheritance (1 Corinthians 6:9-10) – Eternal separation from God (Revelation 21:8 includes the sexually immoral among those consigned to the lake of fire) Grace Still Speaks John 8 shows Jesus forgiving an adulterous woman while charging her, “Go and sin no more.” Mercy is available through repentance and faith, yet the sobering biblical record stands: adultery brings death—socially, emotionally, spiritually, and, in Israel’s law, even physically. The only safe path is wholehearted obedience to Deuteronomy 5:18, honoring marriage as the Lord intended. |
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