Discover the Faith

Marital infidelity is a common occurrence in society these days. We all have been touched by the pain that this causes to those who are involved and to their friends and loved ones. Some think that it is completely personal and private matter…the reality is that it is not.

The deceit and lies that occur when it comes to those who cheat on their spouses and other’s spouses brings people into the whole circle of lies when they didn’t ask to become involved. What starts off as seemingly innocent lies, compounds itself into a tangled web of deceit. The web continues to grow until those who are spinning them are caught in the web as well as those who wanted no part of the deceit but may have inadvertently become part of it.

Marriages are damaged or ruined…friendships are lost….families are broken… trust and respect are destroyed. The behavior is not without a victim. The behavior is selfish on so many levels. The behavior effects others when they are brought into the web of lies.

Recently I have felt the heartache that comes from this sort of infidelity, when two of my coworkers were found to be engaging in an extramarital affair. The pain and grief cause to those directly effected and those who were effected by the web of lies was great. The arrogance that it took to blatantly rub this into the face of the husband of one of the parties who works in the same building was shameful. The trust that was destroyed by the lies of those who I considered friends is sad testimony to the wages of this brand of infidelity.

This incident had me pondering what the Bible says about adultery and marriage….

Luke 16:18 says:

“Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and the one who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.

Roman 7:3 says:

Consequently, while her husband is alive she will be called an adulteress if she consorts with another man. But if her husband dies she is free from that law, and she is not an adulteress if she consorts with another man.

1 Corinthians 7 10-11 says:

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To the married, however, I give this instruction (not I, but the Lord): ⁷ a wife should not separate from her husband

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–and if she does separate she must either remain single or become reconciled to her husband–and a husband should not divorce his wife.

Hebrews 13:4 says:

Let marriage be honored among all and the marriage bed be kept undefiled, for God will judge the immoral and adulterers.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 says:

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^{2 3} Do you not know that the unjust will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers nor boy prostitutes nor sodomites

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nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God.

Galatians 5:19-23 says:

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¹⁴ Now the works of the flesh are obvious: immorality, impurity, licentiousness,

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idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions,

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occasions of envy, ¹⁵ drinking bouts, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

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In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness,

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gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

Proverbs 6:32-35 says:

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But he who commits adultery is a fool; he who would destroy himself does it.

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A degrading beating will he get, and his disgrace will not be wiped away;

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For vindictive is the husband’s wrath, he will have no pity on the day of vengeance;

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He will not consider any restitution, nor be satisfied with the greatest gifts.

Ephesians 5:3-7 says

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Immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be mentioned among you, as is fitting among holy ones,

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no obscenity or silly or suggestive talk, which is out of place, but instead, thanksgiving.

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Be sure of this, that no immoral or impure or greedy person, that is, an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

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Let no one deceive you with empty arguments, for because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the disobedient. ²

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So do not be associated with them.

I included verse six and seven because they make it clear that we should not let anyone deceive us that these things are not true. I take it to say that those who try to justify these behaviors or those who are obstinately disobedient to God in these matters should not be associated with. I don’t think that this means we should not try to witness to them or help them but if they are obstinately disobedient to the moral truths of God then we should disassociate with them.

James 4:4

Adulterers! ³ Do you not know that to be a lover of the world means enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wants to be a lover of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

As you can see by these many passages, that the Bible does not have a high opinion of marital infidelity. I wanted to close out by showing the verse following 1 Corinthians 6:9-10.

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That is what some of you used to be; but now you have had yourselves washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

The fact is that we are all sinners and in Jesus Christ we can all become new creations and leave all sinful desires behind us through obedience to Jesus Christ and his teachings! It has been a rough week or so for myself and many of my coworkers. I ask everyone to keep all of my coworkers and those effected in your prayers.