San Pedro College

12 C de Guzman Street Davao City

A Research Study On

“ADULTERY: MAN’s INFEDILITY TO THE 7th COMMANDMENT OF GOD”

Submitted to:

Mr. Joel Reyes

RS teacher

Submitted by:

Sunshine T. Garrido

Krishna Leen Garillos

Maria Tiffany Hawil

Date of Submission:

March 7, 2011

1
 Table of Contents

Introduction 1-2

Statement of the Problem 3

Objective of the study 4

Assumption of the study (hypothesis) 4

Definition of terms 5

II issues/facts/situation 6-10

III biblical exposition 11-18

Teaching of the church 19-22

Personal Reflections 23-24

Conclusion 25-26

Bibliography 27
INTRODUCTION
Introduction

The seventh of the Ten Commandments God gave Moses to give unto the people of
Israel was -- "Thou shall not commit adultery" (Exodus 20:14).In His Sermon on the Mount,
Jesus Christ directed our attention to the fact that this involved far more than merely an illicit
sexual encounter, but was more importantly a heart matter. It is obvious that the Lord does
not regard with any degree of favor those who are guilty of adultery, whether that term
involves only the inner man or the outer man, or both. Adultery is a very serious matter,
and, unless repented of, a deadly matter.

Adultery is from the Old French “adultere”, in turn from Latin “adulterium”,
"adulterer” which means "to pollute.”. According to statistics15% of women and 20–25%
of men admitted to having engaged in extramarital sex, Durex's Global Sex Survey has
found that worldwide 22% of people surveyed have had extramarital sex. Adultery is a
form of extramarital sex. It is sexual infidelity to one's spouse. It originally referred only
to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. It is
illegal in many countries, each have their own definition sample “New York defines an
adulterer as a person who "engages in sexual intercourse with another person at a time
when he has a living spouse, or the other person has a living spouse. “North
Carolina defines adultery as occurring when any man and woman "lewdly and
lasciviously associate, bed, and cohabit together." Minnesota law provides: "when a
married woman has sexual intercourse with a man other than her husband, whether
married or not, both are guilty of adultery." (Donaldson, Geoff, 2009)

Views on the gravity of adultery have varied across cultures and religion.

Generally, since most have considered marriage an inviolable if
not sacred commitment, adultery has been strictly censured and severely punished. For
any society in which monogamy is the norm, adultery is a serious violation on all levels
—the individuals involved, the spouse and family of the perpetrator, and the
larger community for whom the family is the building block and the standard or "school"
for interpersonal relationships. The sexual revolution of the mid-twentieth century
loosened strictures on sexual behavior such that fornication was no longer considered
outside the norms of behavior and certainly not criminal if both parties were of age.
Nevertheless, adultery still has serious ramifications and is considered sufficient cause
for divorce.

From a spiritual perspective, however, the act of adultery causes more than just
emotional or legal problems. The violation of trust involved in sexual activity with
someone while married to another is deep, and sexual intimacy is not just a physical
and emotional experience but a spiritual one. When one has a sexual relationship with
another it is not just their "heart" that is given but their soul. While the heart cannot be
taken back and mended without difficulty, it is all but impossible to take back the soul.

"Way back in time, adultery was considered as a serious crime, as murder is

considered today. Those people who were caught in extra-martial affairs were either
shunned from their communities or were subjected to massive humiliation. These steps
were taken to frighten people who would be prone to committing acts of adultery.
Adultery was something that lower class people would be involved in because it was
such a dirty thing. Today our culture has gone from adultery being the worse thing a
person could do, to now being something that's considered common amongst everyone.
Why people commit adultery can sometimes still be a blunder. Groups in society think
it's because the person isn't receiving all of his or her requirements at home, and others
think it's a sick habit."

From the very beginning, God made one man and one woman to be one flesh.
And it has been stated in the bible that what God has blessedly bond together under the
sacrament of matrimony is therefore inseparable and no man can or should separate them,
doing so would be consider immorality and a sin to defile the holiness of the sacrament of
marriage and God’s 7th commandment.
STATEMENT OF
THE PROBLEM
Statement of the Problem

The study aims to establish the teachings about Adultery in the context of mans
law and of the biblical scripture of God’s teaching.

Specifically the study aims to answer the following question:

1. What is adultery in the context of
a) Matrimony
b) Gods commandment
c) Governmental law
2. What is the difference between God’s commandment and teachings from mans
various law about adultery in terms of:
a) Definition
b) Practice rules
c) Punishment
3. What are the possible consequences of Adultery in accordance to
a) Mans applied rules
b) Gods commandment
4. Is there a significant difference between Gods teaching from mans point of view
about adultery?
OBJECTIVE OF
THE STUDY &
HYPOTHESIS
Objective of the study

General objective

This study aims to discuss adultery as mans infidelity in following the seventh
commandment bestowed upon us by God.

Specifically this research study aims to:

a) Discuss the meaning of adultery in the different point of view in the bible and
mans cultural belief.
b) Formulate hypothesis regarding the study
c) Provide the different issues, facts, and situation that deals with adultery
d) Distinguish the deference between God’s teachings about adultery and mans
practiced rules.
e) Present the biblical test that tackles adultery
f) Cite the different teachings of the church regarding adultery
g) Share the individual reflection of each member regarding their own experiences
about adultery

Assumption of the study (hypothesis)

Adultery is a sin and therefore punishable by both Mans establish law and God’s
law. It was stated in the bible that “What God has joined, man shall not separate."
Marriage is the sacrament that God has given upon us to enjoy the happiness of having
a family and defiling the holiness and purity of its purpose by committing adultery is
therefore a sin and immoral.
DEFINITION OF
TERMS
Definition of terms

Adultery (also called philandery)

Is a form of extramarital sex. It is sexual infidelity to one's spouse. It originally referred
only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse.
Fornication
Is defined as “unlawful or illicit sexual intercourse” (Webster). It pertains to sexual
relations outside of marriage—all of them! We can change the name but it is still the
same thing (“making love... going all the way...sleeping together...having an affair... or
pre-marital sex”). No matter what society thinks, sex outside marriage is still sinful
(Hebrews 13:4).
Infidelity
Unfaithfulness: unfaithfulness or disloyalty, especially to a sexual partner
Extramarital intercourse
 Voluntary sexual intercourse between a married man and someone other than
his wife or between a married woman and someone other than her husband.
 Marriage to another partner after divorce.
Love
An intense feeling of positive emotion toward, or enjoyment of, a person or thing,
especially strong romantic feelings between people
Lust
Is an emotional force that is associated with the thinking or fantasizing about one's
desire, usually in a sexual way. It is a sexual desire the strong physical desire to have
sex with somebody, usually without associated feelings of love or affection
Marriage
Is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution
in which interpersonal relationships. Such a union, often formalized via a wedding
ceremony, may also be called matrimony. It is a harmonious relationship between a
man and a woman. When God's laws, precepts, and principles concerning the marital
relationship are adhered to, marriage between a man and a woman becomes a
delightful and fulfilling experience.
ISSUES/FACTS/SIT
UATION
II issues/facts/situation

Nothing destroys a family faster than adultery. Even the mention of this word
causes some of you pain and memories of shame. It affects everyone; we all have our
share of this shameful act, of this lustful and selfish affair. Many have tried to justify their
act of adultery but what is wrong can never become right just because you intended it to
be. The question is why do people commit adultery? I think everyone knows why, there
might be some other reasons behind but what governs people to commit this infidelity is
mostly and purely because of sex. God invented sex, like anything it must be controlled.
All God’s gifts have limitations on them. Like Water – You can’t live without it. But, too
much of it and you can drown. Fire, it can either warm you or burn you. It’s how you
handle it.

God has given us a drive called SEX. That if properly controlled and expressed
within the context of marriage, it’s beautiful and fantastic. But outside of marriage it is
destructive and detrimental to your health – emotionally, physically and spiritually.

As observed it is much easier to get married than to stay married. Today’s world
has become very permissive. Sex is everywhere (TV, newspapers, billboards, etc.).
Readers Digest did a study and said 50% of all husbands and 35% of all wives have
committed adultery. In a society that glamorizes adultery—whose role models plaster
the front pages of the tabloids with news of all their illicit lovers—we become
conditioned to think that such is both normal and desirable. The Bible paints the true
picture of adultery though.

ADULTERY’S BIG LIE

Adultery Is Full of Empty Promises. It promises pleasure, love and fulfillment, but in the
end it gives pain, suffering, and destruction.

THE PRICE OF FREE LOVE

Adulterous love appears to be free—but it comes with a high price. Adultery is one of
those cruel sins whose pain and destruction strikes twice. It has severe consequences
both now and in eternity (Galatians 5:19-21).
The Cost Is Greater Than The Benefit. Have no doubts about it—fracture a marriage,
betray a spouse, pursue a selfish fantasy, break up another family, hurt the people you
love the most and it will come back to bring you great pain.
“Do not be deceived; God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will
also reap.” (Galatians 6:7).

Adultery Is A Deceptive Sin. It hides many of its consequences. It offers pleasure

without responsibility, and gratification without commitment. Young people are
persuaded to “prove their love” by “making love”. Fornication promises that no one will
know. Don’t be deceived by its lies and “be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin”
(Hebrews 3:13). God will know (Hebrews 4:12).

MANS LAW

Men have tried to set rules regarding adultery but as always these laws are not
absolute, some of them are created for personal convenience. We have set different
laws and even justify that adultery varies in every culture, what may be immoral to us is
morally accepted by other culture.

We have created a lot of different laws regarding adultery in different countries

exemptions and punishment varies:

In ancient Chinese, husbands who committed adultery against their wives were
punished with castration, required by ancient laws. While men were castrated, women
who committed adultery were punished by confinement. This punishment was the law
during the Zhou dynasty. The exact crime was called Gong, and referred to "immoral"
heterosexual sex between males and females. The punishment stated- "If a male and
female engage in intercourse without morality, their punishments shall be castration and
sequestration [respectively]." The Shu Jing documented this practice. Castration was
also a punishment for rape in China in addition to adultery. In China, castration included
removal of the penis as well as the testicles. Both organs were cut off with a knife at the
same time.
A similar rule applied in the old Roman law. That is, in the Greco-Roman world there
were stringent laws against adultery, but these applied to sexual intercourse with a
married woman. In the early Roman law the jus tori belonged to the husband. It was
therefore not a crime against the wife for a husband to have sex with a slave or an
unmarried woman.

It is well known that the Roman husband often took advantage of his legal immunity.
Thus we are told by the historian Spartianus that Verus, the imperial colleague of
Marcus Aurelius, did not hesitate to declare to his reproaching wife: "Uxor enim
dignitatis nomen est, non voluptatis." ('Wife' connotes rank, not sexual pleasure, or
more literally "Wife is the name of dignity, not bliss") (Verus, V).

Zina (‫ )زنا‬is an Arabic term for extramarital or premarital sex. Strict Islamic law
prescribes severe punishments for men and women for the act of Zina. Premarital sex
may be punished by up to 100 lashes, while adultery is punished by Rajm (stoning),
according to some interpretations of the Islamic law.

Under Muslim law, adultery and extramarital sex in general is sexual intercourse by a
person (whether man or woman) with someone to whom they are not married. Adultery
is a violation of the marital contract and one of the major sins condemned by God in the
Qur'an.

In some East Asian countries or regions, including North Korea, South Korea and
Taiwan, adultery continues to be a crime. Adultery is not a crime in China mainland, but
constitutes grounds for divorce. In the Philippines, adultery (defined as consensual
sexual intercourse between a married woman and a man who is not her husband) and a
related act of concubinage (a man cohabiting with a woman who is not his wife), are
considered crimes under the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines.

Philippine House Bill No. 1017

"Despite the right to equal treatment under the law, a wife can be convicted for a single
act of sexual intercourse under Article 333, while the husband is only liable for
concubinage if he does any of the following acts specified in Article 334 of the Revised
Penal Code: (1) keeping a mistress in the conjugal dwelling; (2) having sexual
intercourse under scandalous circumstances with a woman who is not his wife; or (3)
cohabiting with her in any other place. Moreover, a wife in an adultery case incurs a
heavier penalty than a husband in a concubinage case. "

Most European countries have decriminalized adultery. Adultery is not a crime in most
countries of the European Union, including Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, Finland,
Portugal, Greece or Sweden. In some Southern-European countries, ] adultery can lead
to the so called vendetta, which is illegal (with penalties up to life sentence), but carries
reduced sentences.

GODS LAW

If we compare this to Gods teachings in the biblical scripture, it was clearly stated
in Gods 7th commandment “You shall not commit adultery". This commandment forbids
the pollution of the marriage relationship through unlawful sexual activity which results
in the breaking of the marital agreement between a man and a woman.

According to God's law, adultery is a capital crime and is punishable by death.

The majority of people, including most people who profess to believe in the teachings of
the Bible, feel that the application of the death penalty for adultery is far too harsh a
punishment. Beginning with Adam and Eve, it was a sin to commit adultery. And sin is
defined in the Bible as the violation of God's law. The apostle Paul summarize the
penalty for sin by saying, "The wages of sin is death"

Even before in the biblical accounts of king Abimelech concerning Abraham's wife
Sarah and Joseph's encounter with Potiphar's wife show that it was common knowledge
that adultery was a violation of God's law and that it was a crime of great magnitude.

Jesus said concerning the seventh commandment: "You have heard that it was said,
You shall not commit adultery: But I say to you, That whoever looks on a woman to lust
after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart." The heart is one's mind.
It is the very center of one's being and the place where thoughts are formulated and
refined in ordered to mold one's character and direct one's actions.

Lust begins in the mind. Acts forbidden by God that is lived out in one's mind are sin,
even though no overt physical act is committed (Jms.1:13-15). Anyone who lusts after
someone else's wife is committing adultery. Therefore, the best defense committing
against adultery is loyalty to one's own spouse and genuine love and respect for other
people and a fervent desire to live a righteous lifestyle.

The Pharisees once asked Jesus if it was lawful for a man divorce his wife for any
reason of his choosing? Jesus replied, "Have you not read, that he which made them at
the beginning made them male and female? For this cause shall a man leave father and
mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and the two shall be one flesh? Therefore, they are
no more two but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined, man shall not separate."
Matt 19:3-6
 BIBLICAL
EXPOSITION
III Biblical Exposition
It is clear scripture itself has no prohibition against singles sex, only what has been
added by Church tradition. Adultery is more complex. The Jews understood "Thou shall
not commit adultery" very differently than Church tradition. It only applied to men if they
had intercourse with someone else's wife. But it was allowable for a married man to
have intercourse with a single woman. Adultery was the sin of "trespassing" on a man's
property. Until marriage women were the property of their fathers. After marriage they
became the property of their husband.

Sins of Adultery and Sexual Immorality Are Willful and Avoidable.

Matt 5:27-30:
27 "You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.' 28 But I tell you that
anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his
heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better
for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30
And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you
to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

A man committing adultery is sinning, and so is a man, looking at a woman

lustfully in his heart, sinning. This latter sin is as bad as the first, and it is, in fact, the
very same thing as the actual adultery. This description by the Lord encompasses every
kind of sexual immorality and promiscuity. The law of Christ tolerates no sexual
indiscretions.

If this was the case what then should men and women so do? The bible has
thought us that we must control our eyes. We must control our touch. At the core of
sexual immorality, is the lust of the eye and the lust of the flesh. If one looks on another
lustfully and if one touches another unlawfully, the sin is already committed.
Symbolically, the eye and the hand must be controlled to save the entire person from
going into hell. This is what the passage conveys. Sexual encounters begin with the
eye, the touch, and minor flirtations and indiscretions.
 THE SIN OF ADULTERY

SIN AGAINST YOUR OWN BODY

• Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins
against his own body (1 Cor. 6:18).
SIN AGAINST YOUR MATE, YOUR ONE-FLESH PARTNER
• Because of immoralities, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have
her own husband. Let the husband fulfill his duty to his wife, and likewise also the wife
to her husband (1 Cor. 7:2-3).
• "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her;
and if she herself divorces her husband and marries another man, she is committing
adultery” (Mark 10:11-12).
SIN AGAINST ONE'S NEIGHBOR
• This is the will of God... that you abstain from sexual immorality... that no man
transgress and defraud his brother in the matter because the Lord is the avenger in all
these things (1 Thess. 4:3, 6).
A SIN THAT MAKES ANOTHER SIN
• "I have seen a horrible thing: the committing of adultery and walking in falsehood; and
they strengthen the hands of evil doers, so that no one has turned back from his
wickedness" (Jer. 23:14).
• “If my heart has been enticed by a woman, or I have lurked at my neighbors doorway,
may my wife grind for another, and let others kneel down over her, for that would be a
lustful crime; moreover, it would be an iniquity punishable by judges" (Job 31:9-11).
• "But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the cause of
unchastity, makes her commit adultery" (Matt. 5:32a).
SIN AGAINST GOD
• You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward
God? (Jas. 4:4).
• Ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only
Master and Lord, Jesus Christ (Jude 4).
• "I have been hurt by their adulterous hearts which turned away from Me" (Ezek. 6:9)-
SIN AGAINST GOD'S LAW
• "You shall not commit adultery" (Exod. 20:14).
• "You shall not covet your neighbors wife" (Exod. 20:17).
• Let the marriage bed be undefiled, for fornicators and adulterers God will judge (Heb.
13:4b).
• "You shall not wrong one another, but you shall fear your God, for I am the Lord your
God" (Lev. 25:17).
• Whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of
all. For He who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not commit murder." Now
if you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor
of the law (Jas. 2:10-11).
Is WITNESSED BY GOD
• "'They have acted foolishly in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbors'
wives, and have spoken words in My name falsely, which I did not command them; and
I am He who knows and am a witness,' declares the Lord” (Jer. 29:23).

ADULTERY INVOLVES:

EVIL AND WICKEDNESS

• My son, observe the commandment of your father and do not forsake the teaching of
your mother.... For the commandment is a lamp, and the teaching is light; and reproofs
for discipline are the way of life to keep you from the evil woman and from the smooth
tongue of the adulteress (Prov. 6:20, 23-24).
• For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts,
murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness.... All these evil things proceed
from within and defile the man (Mark 7:21-23).
• "As the proverb of the ancients says, 'Out of the wicked comes forth wickedness’” {1
Sam. 24:13).
• "Do we then hear about you that you have committed all this great evil by acting
unfaithfully against our God by marrying foreign women?" (Neh.. 13:27).
ROBBERY
1. Of Conjugal Rights
• The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and
likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife
does.... The immoral man sins against his own body (1 Cor. 7:4; 6:18).
2. Of Trust
• All of them adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men (Jer. 9:2b). Treacherous:
FOOLISHNESS AND DECEPTION
• "They have acted foolishly in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbors'
wives, and have spoken words in My name falsely, which I did not command them; and
I am He who knows and am a witness, "declares the Lord (Jer. 29:23).
• "For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret but that it
should come to light" (Mark 4:22).
IDOLATRY
• No immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance
in the kingdom of Christ and God (Eph. 5:5).
BONDAGE
• "Every one who commits sin is the slave of sin" (John 8:34).
• Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for
obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or
in obedience resulting in righteousness?.... For just as you presented your members as
slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present
your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification (Rom. 6:16, 19b).

THE THREE PEOPLE INVOLVED IN ADULTERY

THE ADULTERESS
• The lips of an adulteress drip honey, and smoother than oil is her speech; But in the
end she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to
death, Her steps lay hold of Sheol. She does not ponder the path of life; her ways are
unstable, but she does not know it (Prov. 5:3-6).
• An adulteress hunts for the precious life (Prov. 6:26b).
• The adulteress flatters with her words; (She) leaves the companion of her youth, And
forgets the covenant of her God; Her house sinks down to death, And her tracks lead to
the dead (Prov. 2:16-18).
• One who is pleasing to God will escape from (the adulteress), but the sinner will be
captured by her (Eccl. 7:26b).
THE ADULTERER
• "The eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight, saying, 'No eye will see me'" (Job
24:15).
• Keep your way far from [the adulteress] and do not go near the door of her house lest
you give your vigor to others, and your years to the cruel one; lest strangers be filled
with your strength, and your hard-earned goods go to the house of an alien; and you
groan at your latter end , when your flesh and your body are consumed; And you say,
"How I have hated instruction! And my heart spurned reproof "And I have not listened to
the voice of my teachers, nor inclined my ear to my instructors!”I was almost in utter ruin
In the midst of the assembly and congregation “For why should you, my son, be
exhilarated with an adulteress, and embrace the bosom of a foreigner? For the ways of
a man are before the eyes of the Lord, and He watches all his paths. His own iniquities
will capture the wicked, and he will be held with the cords of his sin. He will die for lack
of instruction, and in the greatness of his folly he will go astray (Prov. 5:8-14, 20-23).
• All of them are adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men. "And they bend their
tongue like their bow; Lies and truth prevail in the land; For they proceed from evil to
evil, And they do not know Me," declares the Lord (Jer. 9:2-3).

THE MATE AGAINST WHOM THE ADULTERY IS COMMITTED

• Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them,
‘'If any man’s wife goes astray and is unfaithful to him, and a man has intercourse with
her and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband and she is undetected, although she
has defiled herself, and there is no witness against her and she has not been caught in
the act, if a spirit of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife when she has
defiled herself... “(Num. 5:11-I4a).
• "For the Lord has called you, Like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit, Even like a wife
of one's youth when she is rejected," Says your God (Isa. 54:6).
• For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a man bears up under
sorrows when suffering unjustly... If when you do what is right and suffer for it you
patiently endure it, this finds favor with
God (1 Pet. 2:19,20b).
• Then the Lord said to [Hosea], "Go again, love a woman who is loved by her husband,
yet an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the sons of Israel, though they turn to other
gods" (Hos. 3:1).

ADULTERY'S CONSEQUENCES

Adultery Diminishes One's Knowledge of God

• No one who sins has seen Him or knows Him (1 John 3:6).
• All of them are adulterers.... "And they do not know Me," declares the Lord... "Through
deceit they refuse to know me," declares the
Lord (Jer. 9:2b, 3b, 6).
• By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The
one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a
liar, and the truth is not in him (1 John 2:3-4a).
ADULTERY AFFECTS ONE'S LOVE OF GOD
• "If 'you love me, you will keep My commandments" (John 14:15).
• "He who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me" (John
14:21).
• "If anyone loves me, he will keep My word" (John 14:23).
• "If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love; just as I have kept My
Father's commandments and abide in His love" (John 15:10).
• For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments
are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the
victory that has overcome the world—our faith (1 John 5:3-4).
• Whoever keeps [God's] word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected (1 John
2:5a).
THE ADULTERER IS SELF-DESTRUCTIVE
• The one who commits adultery with a woman is lacking sense; He who would destroy
himself does it (Prov. 6:32).
• "For what will a man be profited, if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?”
(Matt. 16:26a).
• "Behold, all souls are mine.... The soul who sins will die (Ezek. 18:4).
ADULTERY INVITES A CURSE ON SELF AND FAMILY
• Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength, and whose
heart turns away from the Lord (Jer. 17:5).
• The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit; He who is cursed of the Lord will fall into it
(Prov. 22:14),
• "You shall therefore obey the Lord your God, and do His commandments and His
statutes which L command you today.... Cursed is he who does not confirm the words of
this law by doing them" (Deut. 27:10, 26).
• "L, the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the
children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing
loving-kindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments"
(Exod. 20:5b-6).
ADULTERY'S CONSEQUENCES ARE WITHOUT PARTIALITY
• He who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done,
and that without partiality (Col. 3:25).
• "But everyone will die for his own iniquity" (Jer. 31:30).
• The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments,
because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment,
everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil (Eccl. 12:13-14).
ADULTERERS HAVE AN UNENVIABLE END
• While we were in the flesh, the sinful passions... were at work in the members of our
body to bear fruit for death (Rom. 7:5).
• The present heavens and earth by His word are being reserved for fire, kept for the
day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men (2
Pet. 3:7).
• The wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23).
TEACHINGS OF
THE CHURCH
TeachingS of the church

The Catholic teaching on this matter is given to us by God Himself in the Bible:
This is why adultery is a "sinful union," (1) preventing those who commit it from going to
heaven (2).  Moreover, they must "be excluded from the Sacraments" (3), except
confession which they can make provided they have the proper dispositions.

Mark X 11-12:  "And He said to them: Whosoever shall put away his wife and marry
another, committeth adultery against her.  And if the wife shall put away her husband,
and be married to another, she committeth adultery."

Luke XVI 18:  "Every one that putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth
adultery: and he that marrieth her that is put away from her husband, committeth
adultery." 

Rom. VII 2:  "For the woman that hath an husband, whilst her husband liveth is bound
by the law.  But if her husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband."  

ROM VII 3:  "Therefore, whilst her husband liveth, she shall be called an adulteress, if
she be with another man: but if her husband be dead, she is delivered from the law of
her husband; so that she is not an adulteress, if she be with another man." 

I Cor. VI, 9-10:  "Know you not that the unjust shall not possess the kingdom of God? 
Do not err: Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor the effeminate, nor liars
with mankind, (...) shall possess the kingdom of God." 

1 Cor. VII 10-11:  "But to them that are married, not I, but the Lord, commandeth that
the wife depart not from her husband.  And if she depart, that she remain unmarried, or
be reconciled to her husband.  And let not the husband put away his wife." 

1 Cor. VII 39:  "A woman is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her
husband die, she is at liberty.  Let her marry to whom she will, only in the Lord."
This is why adultery is a "sinful union," (1) preventing those who commit it from going to
heaven (2).  Moreover, they must "be excluded from the Sacraments" (3), except
confession which they can make provided they have the proper dispositions.
 II  Why is adultery a grievous sin, excluding from the Heavenly Kingdom?

A  Because adultery is against chastity. 

In adultery, a married person has sexual relations with another, married or not, who is
not his/her spouse. Only marriage authorizes this relationship between two persons of
different sex.  Thus adultery violates chastity which is obligatory outside marriage.

B  Because adultery is an injustice to the faithful spouse.  

By adultery, a married person has sexual relations with another, married or not, who is
not his/her spouse but through marriage, the spouses mutually give themselves to each
other, exclusively and perpetually.  Thus adultery is unjust toward the faithful spouse
because it gives to another that which he (or she) alone has the exclusive right to
receive.

C  Because adultery is an injustice to the legitimate children.  

Through adultery, one risks having illegitimate children or provoking a divorce, if the
adultery becomes known.  The existence of illegitimate children or the possibility of a
divorce jeopardizes the care that the parents should give to their legitimate children. 
Thus, adultery is unjust to the legitimate children because it violates their well-being.

III  Question:  If life between the spouses becomes intolerable, may not one look for a
little affection or pleasure with a third person?

IV  Answer:  "When indeed, matters have come to such a pitch that it seems impossible
for them to live together any longer, then the Church allows them to live apart and
strives, at the same time, to soften the evils of this separation by such remedies and
helps as are suited to their condition; yet she never ceases to endeavor to bring about a
reconciliation, nor despairs of doing so.  But these are extreme cases; and they would
seldom exist if men and women entered into the married state with proper dispositions,
not influenced by passion but entertaining ideas of the duties of marriage and of its
noble purpose; neither would they anticipate their marriage by a series of sins drawing
down upon them the wrath of God." (Leo XIII, Encycl. Arcanum Divinae Sapientiae, Feb.
10. 1880, M 194.)

V  Question:  If one of the spouses gives permission to the other to practice adultery
does not that remove the injustice?

VI  Answer:  In that case, such an action remains objectively a grave offense against the
divine precepts which man can not change: a sin against chastity and an injustice
towards the legitimate children.  This is why Pope Innocent XI solemnly declared that, in
spite of the consent of the faithful spouse, such an action was always adultery (Decree
of the Sacred Office of the 2nd March, 1679; Proposition 50; Ds 2150
PERSONAL
REFLECTION
Personal Reflection

Adultery for me is a gender bias issue, because when we hear about this type of
situation that had happen in the family I know we directly point our accusing fingers to
the woman directly involved in such affair. I have to admit that I’m exactly like that
especially that my family had undergone with this same event, we’re not exempted with
this commonly destructive affair, and actually none of the existing families are.

Families may not be so much aware of the existence of this type of affaire, for the
reason that no one openly discuss nor admit that they have committed adultery. Not
until the damage has already been done, mostly beyond repair, people already get hurt,
families destroyed and children left suffering from the after effects of the mistakes of
their supposedly mature parents.

For me as the eldest child, even then I instinctively sense the future threats in my
family’s happiness and its wholeness, especially when I can observe especial attention
that my father gets from other women. I get easily jealous and furious of this, but I grew
out of this feeling as I age. I was feeling secure that my family has been doing really
great, not until I learned from someone that my father was not so faithful with his vows
after all. The time that I’ve learn about this it was already one year after that incident
happen, and the issue was kept hidden by my parents especially my mom.

Back then I’ve felt really numb, not absorbing news but undoubtedly I never felt
any hatred from my father. That was probably because I already knew that he had
made the right choice and make up from his mistake. Months after I’ve learned about it,
I’ve confronted my mother, and she explained that even though my father made that
mistake, she never considers abandoning our family just because she got hurt. For her
it’s us, her children that she had consider the most, and she had accepted that men are
very prone to this kind of mistakes. She told me that I should never let this mistake of
my father overshadowed my father’s love, care, good deeds, and sacrifices that my
father had done for us.

Unknowingly I have contributed to the right decision of my father and to his

positive change towards our family. My mom told me that my father has read the
father’s day letter that I have given to him, there was a single sentence in my letter that
struck my father the most considering that I was still an elementary student that time
and I have already develop that type of concern for my family. I have written to my dad
“Pa dili ko gusto mapareha ta ninyo sa ubang pamilya”, my mom said that it made my
dad cry, I’ve made this letter months after that incident and not knowing that such affair
did happen at that time, it was purely a clueless concern that I have express to my
father.

For me adultery is the most painful form of betrayal by those people that you
have look up and trusted so much. Fortunately for me, I was not able to experience the
worst case scenario of this unlawful affair; I consider this experience as a blessing in
disguise. It was nit definite a welcomed experience but I’ve learn a lot, so as my
parents, these experience brought us to be much closer to one another and help our
family to be much stronger so that whatever comes against our family we know what
really matters.
CONCLUSION
Conclusion

Conjugal fidelity is attacked by those who advocate modern ideas and outlook
concerning a false and far from harmless friendship with third parties.  Husband and
wife, they claim, should be allowed greater freedom of feeling and action in their
relations with others, especially because many are naturally endowed with a sexual
temperament which cannot find satisfaction within the narrow sphere of monogamous
marriage.  The rigid attitude of good married folk, which condemns and banishes any
sensual feeling or action in regard to a third person, is accounted by them an old-
fashioned narrowness of mind, or a contemptible form of jealousy.  They therefore
consider that any penal laws of the State for the safeguarding of marital fidelity are
obsolete, or ought to be annulled.

As discuss we can therefore conclude that adultery is immoral and sinful, may it
be by the laws of man and God. Though the extent of such infidelity to be classified as
adultery varied from the beliefs of man and God’s teaching. This may be because
human as we are we try to look for ways to justify what we hope to excused from God’s
teaching and commandment, driven by our own pursue of freedom and pleasure.

Adultery does not provide freedom rather it enslaves us from our very own
desires, it does provide momentary pleasure but it never gives satisfaction. It is a sin
that others or the ones we loved suffered most. It is one of the most selfish act of sexual
desire or it does not only affect the people directly involve but it shatters the persons
intimately and legally attach to ones who committed this immorality.

Today in this modern society we are confronted with many conflicting views of
morality regarding adultery. That is because we have different opinions concerning what
is right and wrong. And now what once was generally accepted as good and true is now
challenged. Our Governments are redefining the concept of marriage, adultery and
some of the biblical teachings. We all have our senses for defining what is right and
wrong but the standard of right and wrong often differs.
Laws were provided by man in his attempt to cease the occurrence of such affair but
once again man defiles his own set of rules, treating such laws as mere guidelines that
may or may not be followed.

It was only in God’s teaching that we can find absoluteness of such law, how we
can avoid such affair and even renew our soul if we have committed such infidelity,
which in any context of mans book of laws does not include.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bibliography

http://www.deeptruths.com/treasures/illegal-laws.html

http://www.deeptruths.com/treasures/illegal-laws.html

http://famli.blogspot.com/2006/01/adultery-concubinage-and-psychological.html

http://www.cibac.org/HB_2238.htm

http://www.sspxasia.com/Documents/Catholic_Morality/Adultery-
What_is_the_teaching_of_the_Holy_Roman_Catholic_Church.htm

http://www.libchrist.com/bible/adultery.html

Moral Issues Confronting Christians. Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2009

Because of A Covenant, by Mary Walmsley—http://www.soweroftheword.net.
Copyright© 2009 Mary Walmsley.
www.marriagedivorce.com