Bible Question:
From what I can see, the biblical definition of “Adultery” is the destruction of an existing marriage relationship to create a new one. This includes: 1.) A Man divorcing one wife to marry another woman. 2.) A Woman divorcing her husband to marry another man. 3.) A Married woman who has intercourse with another man (Not her husband) These things have to do with one head, “Husband” being the center of the family unit, regardless of how many wives and children he has. Once a wife is added to that unit, binding her to another head, or destroying the existing family relationship to form another, results in adultery. This is clarified, from what I read, in the discussions on adultery in the New Testament. Some things that are not “Adultery”: 1.) A Man taking a second, third, … wife from women who are single. This is polygamy, not adultery. It is a sin in this country because it is a violation of the law. In other countries, where it is legal, it is not a sin. That said, according to scripture, God’s “best” is to remain single, and unencumbered to serve the Lord. Marriage is for those that cannot avoid fornication. It goes without saying that remaining as unencumbered as is possible, by limiting yourself to one wife, even in areas where polygamy is acceptable, is better than taking multiple wives. Yet, in areas where it is allowed, it is still not sin. It does cut down on ministry options though, … the requirement of “Husband of one wife”, prevents those who have multiple wives from fulfilling the roles of Elder or deacon. 2.) A Married man sleeping with an unmarried woman who is not his wife. This, from what I read in scripture, is fornication, or “illicit sexual intercourse”. While adultery is a form of fornication, it is a subcategory that does not apply in this case. Old Testament law would state that with this form of fornication, the man gained a new wife, and the woman bound herself to a new head, and that neither one was allowed to divorce the other. First, are there any issues with my conclusions so far? Are there any passages I left out, misinterpreted, …? Depending on how the first part goes, my question is on the following passage: Mat 5:27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: 28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. First, in order for any Jew to have an understanding of what is being said, the definitions they always used for words and terms should be left intact, UNLESS, there is a redefinition of those words and terms being made in the text. Since the word “Fornication” was not used, but rather “Adultery”, and 1 Cor. 7, which goes through the details of “Needing” to get married, and that being out of control is the only real reason to seek to get married, (That is, if you believe that Paul had the Spirit of the Lord), to be consistent, the word used in this passage, “woman”, means married woman. Otherwise, if “all” women would have been meant, the word would have been fornication, not adultery. Plus, if it is single women as well, 1 Cor. 7 doesn’t make much sense. Ok, so, “If” my conclusions are correct so far, In order for this passage to occur, a man (Married or single) had to be in the presence of a married woman (Married to someone else), and be looking at her dwelling on her in lust. This limits the distance to good viewing distance, … the closer the better, and requires living people to be in close proximity to each other. The problem with these conclusions is, that almost every sermon I have ever heard has nothing at all to do with what this passage seems to say and mean. If I am right, unless I am willing to twist, distort, and otherwise rewrite the meaning of the words used completely, (Like many of the belief groups we often speak out against, like the Mormon’s Jehovah’s Witnesses, … and others do to make up reasons to believe doctrines the word of God doesn’t really teach), I am left with the conclusion that most of the sermons I have heard on this passage, maybe all of them, are completely made up out of whole cloth, and have nothing at all to do with the real meaning. I assume that those on this site are not shy, and that my errors will be brought to my attention. Thanks in advance. |
Bible Answer: Dear Emeth, I agree that your definition of adultery is lacking Scriptural support. Since that is the foundation of your argument, the structure on which it is built is also faulty. Let me see if I can summarize: Adultery -- prohibited in Scripture (Exodus 20:14; cf Deuteronomy 5:18) is a form of stealing. It is taking of something that is not rightfully our own. Years ago we used to talk about "making an honest woman of her" or "making an honest man of him." I said something along these lines to a young woman living with a man, but whose marriage was scheduled in a few months. The woman said that if he wasn't honest already, he never would be. It occurred to me that she missed the meaning of the phrase entirely. Married people have specific privileges granted to them alone as married people (1 Corinthians 7:3-5). Taking those privileges outside of marriage is behaving as though they are married, without having the authority to do so; i.e., it is dishonest. You are not alone in your attempt to build a fence about a prohibition. This has been a long and well practiced approach by the Scribes (doctors of the law) and the Pharisees (pious religious leaders), even to this very day. God gave the commandments, on a mountain, through Moses in Exodus. Moses even went on -- under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit -- to carefully exposit these commands in Deuteronomy. Nevertheless, the Mishnah -- and later on the Talmud -- attempted to hedge about the commands with a variety of prohibitions that circumvented the heart of the issue. Consequently, our Lord Jesus Christ, also on a mountain, gave proper specifics about the commandments, contrary to the relaxing of them by the Scribes and Pharisees (Matthew 5:17-20). Of particular interest to the question of adultery is Christ's assertion found in Matthew 5:27-30. He zeros in to the heart of the matter. No more qualifications, no more hedging, no more over simplification; adultery is a matter of the heart. Therefore, I suggest you take a broader stand on the question, rather than a narrower stand. Do not limit it all to a set of dos and don'ts; but see the problem as something fundamentally lawless in our hearts -- something for which we have all been guilty -- something that shows the glorious righteousness of Christ. (Matthew 5:48) In Him, Doc |