Adultery
Matthew 5:27
In the Law of Moses, adultery was punishable by death. In the new covenant, to look at any woman with enticed eyes is to commit adultery, and adultery is punishable by everlasting torment. This seems to imply that an unmarried man is not even to look at any woman, knowing she's available. This also implies that a man is not even to look lustfully at his own wife and have a passion for her. We might then conclude that all mankind must already be married to someone. If he is a Christian then he is married to Christ.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth disappeared, and the sea vanished. 2 And I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared and ready, like a bride dressed to meet her husband.Revelation 21:1-2 GNB
Revelation 21:9 GNB
One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came to me and said, "Come, and I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb."We, as Christians, are married to our Lord Jesus Christ. Everyone who marries therefore shall have tribulation of the flesh.
25 Now, concerning what you wrote about unmarried people: I do not have a command from the Lord, but I give my opinion as one who by the Lord's mercy is worthy of trust. 26 Considering the present distress, I think it is better for a man to stay as he is. 27 Do you have a wife? Then don't try to get rid of her. Are you unmarried? Then don't look for a wife. 28 But if you do marry, you haven't committed a sin; and if an unmarried woman marries, she hasn't committed a sin. But I would rather spare you the everyday troubles that married people will have.1 Corinthians 7:25-28 GNB
Getting married does not then give one the
right to look at other women and to lust after them, as some teach. They think
in their heart's "I can imagine my wife to be any woman I may covet." Here Jesus
makes it clear that we may not covet a woman lustfully if we are single, but
especially if we are married. If we do marry, knowing
that we are having tribulation of the flesh, how much more
should we not covet other women? Secondly do we love our neighbor as we would
want to be loved? Our own wives are among our neighbors too, and the husbands of
the women who entice us are also our neighbors? To lose a wife/husband to
adultery or any other way is like death. How terrible we would feel if
our Lord Jesus lusted after other congregations, aside from Christians, for
example, suppose Jesus decided that we Christians weren't pretty enough, and
left us and married the Muslims, or went back to the Jews of the Old Testament! If, as a single man, we see a woman in the marketplace, on the
street, in a magazine, or on the internet, and she is pleasing to our eye, do we
know whether or not she belongs to another? Not necessarily. We should therefore
assume that all women are married. Finally to look at another woman with a
covetous eye might indirectly lead her into adultery with someone else. Do
we want to be responsible for stumbling
our neighbors? Recall also that covetousness is idolatry.
In a Democracy we are free to express our own moral views as
long as they do not bring physical harm to our neighbor. Because of that
freedom, it can be shown that most people will take the path of least
resistance, and will completely try to circumvent God’s righteous laws, which is
opposed to the desires of the flesh.
This is generally because most people lack knowledge and true fear of God. It is
therefore highly unlikely for most people to take the golden rule seriously, “you must love
your neighbor as yourselves”. Most men will covetously look
at other women without the fear of causing them to stumble, and most women will
dress in revealing clothing without the fear of causing men to stumble. Our
teacher gives us wise counsel in how to handle this situation. He says to simply cut off that body member that
is causing us to stumble and throw it away from us. For example he says if our
eye is causing us to stumble cut
it out and throw it away from us, (remember Samson) or if our right hand is
making us stumble, cut it off and throw it away from us. Now is Jesus speaking
literally or metaphorically? He is speaking both literally and metaphorically.
Let us first discuss what the metaphorical meaning is; because this metaphor is
more comprehensive, and covers the literal meaning as well.
Metaphorically speaking, our teacher implied that we remove
the physical source of the problem. For example, suppose we have a sister in our
congregation who constantly comes to the meetings with revealing clothing? That
sister should be reproved and if she does not readjust, she should be removed
until she does readjust. Or suppose a brother in our congregation is having
sexual relations with the women he meets out in the ministry? He should be
removed, because he knew better, and because he is a bad example to others, a
reproach to our congregation, and to God. Sometimes we cannot remove something
from our environment. If we are in an area where it is common place for people
to behave in a sinful manner, then our best option is to remove ourselves from
that area. If we are consuming something such as medication or some kind of drug
which makes us lazy, angry, sad or anything that might keep us from acting like
a true Christian, then we should stop using whatever it is. For example caffeine
can make some people impatient, yet a calm spirit is a quality all Christians
must possess. Suppose our doctor puts us on some kind of medication which makes
us so sleepy we can't function well, the Word of God does not condone laziness.
Lazy people should learn a lesson from the way ants live. 7 They have no leader, chief, or ruler, 8 but they store up their food during the summer, getting ready for winter. 9 How long is the lazy man going to lie around? When is he ever going to get up? 10 "I'll just take a short nap," he says; "I'll fold my hands and rest a while." 11 But while he sleeps, poverty will attack him like an armed robber.Proverbs 6:6-11 GNB
If we live in a society where visual temptation is beyond our
ability to control, that is to say, we are easily enticed by what we see, and we
truly fear God and his coming punishment to those who do not obey him, then one
option is to move.
If we can't move it would be
wise to remove that part of our own bodies which is causing the problem.
We could remove
our eyes, to stop us from looking at others with sexual passions (remember
Samson);
however, knowing a little about our bodies and what each part does can help
save our eyes. Certain parts or parts that produce hormones and chemicals can be
removed, and help to keep our lustful desires under
control. So rather than removing our eyes, why not remove the part of the body
responsible for our sinful feelings. What does our Teacher say?
Matthew 19:9-12 ASV
And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and he that marrieth her when she is put away committeth adultery. 10 The disciples say unto him, If the case of the man is so with his wife, it is not expedient to marry. 11 But he said unto them, Not all men can receive this saying, but they to whom it is given. 12 For there are eunuchs, that were so born from their mother's womb: and there are eunuchs, that were made eunuchs by men: and there are eunuchs, that made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.
The hormone testosterone is produced in the adrenal glands, testicles, and ovaries. This hormone is what gives men and women their libidos among other things. Testosterone may also be responsible for many other forms of sinful conduct mentioned in the Scriptures. Therefore if a man or woman is unable to control his or her sinful conduct he or she is wise to get rid of their body’s production of high levels of testosterone, and bring it to a manageable level. One can achieve this with medications (spironolactone, or cyproterone acetate), or with a knife preferably by a surgical doctor. And if that doesn't help, one might consider removing his or her eyes. It's far better for one to remove a member of his flesh than to land in Gehenna, the place of eternal torment. Finally if our body’s natural production of something causes us to stumble, how much more so should we avoid outside influences such as illegal or legal drugs that might cause us to stumble.
Do you believe that there is only one God? Good! The demons also believe---and tremble with fear.James 2:19 GNB