Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery. (Part 6 Of 8) Series

I have already stated previously that man cannot break the covenant of marriage for the union of two people becoming one flesh is of God. What God has joined together, man cannot separate. Our foolish actions cannot destroy the work of God. We can rebel against His work, but we cannot overcome it. The breaking of the covenant is not because someone’s sin destroyed the work of God, but God protecting and showing mercy to the one who has remained faithful. Look again at Jesus’ teaching on divorce in Matthew 19

9 "And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery."

Do not overlook the fact that Jesus said ‘except for sexual immorality’. Jesus answered the Pharisees objection by making it clear that divorcing a wife for any reason was permissible if the hardness of their heart demanded this option, but divorce does not break the covenant of marriage. Since the covenant was still intact for God alone joins the two into one and our insistence on divorce does not release us from that covenant, we are still obligated to remain faithful to our spouse under that covenant. Anyone who marries another is committing adultery. The only options God has given is that we either live apart within the requirements of that covenant or we are reconciled to each other. The only exception is an unfaithful spouse. Divorce does not break the covenant, but God releases us from that covenant when our spouse is living an immoral lifestyle and is already committing adultery outside of the marriage.

Many church traditions hold the innocent spouse guilty when the other has destroyed the marriage with infidelity, but God does not hold us accountable. God has given us clear instructions to avoid putting our spouses in the path of temptation. Look at 1 Corinthians 7:3-5

3 Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband. 4 The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. 5 Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

If we have been faithful and obedient to follow God’s direction for marriage and our spouse is still unfaithful, God does not hold us accountable for our spouse’s infidelity. It is wrong for the church to hold someone accountable for something outside of their control when God has stated otherwise. It is Jesus who taught this principle and if we are to be faithful to the word, we cannot exclude this instruction even if it contradicts with many of our traditional beliefs that have been adopted by the church through man-made regulations. The Bible also provides another exception. Let’s first look at the binding covenant of marriage in 1 Corinthians 7: