The Seventh Commandment

Jim ButlerDeuteronomy 5:18

The seventh commandment, 'You shall not commit adultery' (Deuteronomy 5:18), is neither a narrow prohibition of one act nor a relic of Mosaic theocracy — it is the summary of God's creational design for sexual integrity, binding on all people in every age because it reflects the law first written on Adam's heart and confirmed throughout both Testaments. This exposition examines the basis of the commandment (God's law, the purposes of marriage, and the severity of its sanctions), then moves through ten specific sins the commandment forbids, from adultery and fornication to pornography and unlawful divorce. The three uses of the law are applied: the civil use demands that governing authorities punish gross sexual sin; the pedagogical use drives sinners to confess their guilt before a holy God; and the normative use calls believers to active mortification of sexual sin, the faithful practice of biblical marriage, and close communion with God as the surest guard against violating the second table.