What other scriptures emphasize the importance of purity and fidelity? Purity and Fidelity in God’s Law • Exodus 20:14 — “You shall not commit adultery.” • Deuteronomy 5:18 — “You shall not commit adultery.” These commands are plain, direct, and non-negotiable, revealing how seriously the Lord views marital faithfulness. Purity Begins in the Heart • Job 31:1 — “I have made a covenant with my eyes. How then could I gaze with desire at a virgin?” • Psalm 119:9 — “How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to Your word.” • Matthew 5:27-28 — “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Before outward sin ever occurs, an inward compromise happens. Scripture calls us to guard thoughts, not merely actions. Marriage Is to Be Honored • Hebrews 13:4 — “Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.” • Malachi 2:14-16 — “The LORD has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth… ‘For I hate divorce,’ says the LORD… So guard yourselves in your spirit and do not break faith.” • Proverbs 5:15, 18 — “Drink water from your own cistern… May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.” God doesn’t merely prohibit adultery; He celebrates lifelong covenant love and protects it with strong warnings. Run from Temptation, Not Toward It • 1 Corinthians 6:18-20 — “Flee from sexual immorality… Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit… You were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.” • 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 — “For it is God’s will that you should be holy: You must abstain from sexual immorality; each of you must know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in lustful passion like the Gentiles who do not know God.” • 2 Timothy 2:22 — “Flee from youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, together with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” The biblical pattern is active resistance—turning away, not negotiating with sin. Consequences of Unfaithfulness • Proverbs 6:33 — “Wounds and disgrace he will find, and his shame will never be wiped away.” • Revelation 21:8 — “But to the cowardly, unbelieving, detestable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This is the second death.” Scripture never soft-pedals the cost. Earthly wounds and eternal loss underscore God’s seriousness. Blessings of Faithfulness • Ephesians 5:3 — “But among you, as is proper among the saints, there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed.” Living above reproach brings freedom and testimony. • Proverbs 5:18-19 (continuing the thought) paints a picture of joy: rejoicing in the spouse of one’s youth. Obedience doesn’t rob pleasure; it secures it within God’s good boundaries. From Genesis to Revelation, every passage affirms what Proverbs 6:33 warns: purity and fidelity matter to God, bring honor to Him, and guard us from lasting regret. |
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