Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 20:14

14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Another very brief commandment, this one forbidding married individuals from breaking their marriage covenant and having sexual relations with anyone other than their spouse. Of course, this one commandment does not cover the entire breadth of sexual sin. It does not mention anything about fornication, or bestiality, or incest, or homosexuality. However, just because all these matters are not covered in the ten commandments does not mean that they are not covered elsewhere in the word of God. Here in the mountain Moses received the foundational rules of God’s law, but there were other visits to the mountain, and other details yet to come. Leviticus, for example, has several chapters that cover the other sexual perversions that are expressly forbidden by God.

I think it is fair to say, though, that adultery is the root evil that all other sexual perversions are an extension of, and this explains why it would be forbidden first in the ten commandments. Calling out adultery points to the fact that sexuality is fundamental to the union between a man and a woman in the covenant of marriage, and so it is the perversion of that order that constitutes a sin. Whether we also pervert that order by having sexual relations before we are married, or with people that we cannot be married to, or with animals, it all follows the idea of breaking apart the marriage covenant and taking the things which belongs to it elsewhere. All sexual sin is in the spirit of adultery.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 19:14-15

14 And Moses went down from the mount unto the people, and sanctified the people; and they washed their clothes.

15 And he said unto the people, Be ready against the third day: come not at your wives.

Moses relates God’s instructions for the Israelites to prepare themselves to witness His presence and hear His voice. Specifically we are told that they are to wash their clothes, and to refrain from any sexual activity.

There has, of course, been a history of sexual shame in certain sects of Christianity. Not just immoral acts of sexuality outside of the marriage covenant, but even suggesting that every child is born in sin because of the act that brought them into existence. However, it is worth noting that this passage is not at all evidence that any such view is appropriate.

Let us consider the other imperative given to the Israelites: that they wash their clothes. Certainly we can all appreciate how nice and fresh it feels to be clean, and how we want to present our best to those we respect and admire, yet would we say that we are sinful if we come home dirty from a long day of manual labor? Certainly not. Could we not have the same nuanced view towards sexuality within the marriage covenant?

Also, the command for husbands and wives to keep their distance calls to mind the practice of fasting, whereby we forego food and/or drink for a period of time. No one thinks that we are sinful because we have to eat food, but we appreciate that a period of self-denial can help to cultivate the spirit within. Could it not be the same with sexuality within the marriage covenant?

Therefore it is logical to assume that the instruction given to the Israelites for temporary sexual abstinence between husbands and wives was one of preparing themselves spiritually, an act of self-denial that would focus their energy inwards. That is not at all the same as saying that any sexual activity, even in a committed marriage between a man and a woman, is sinful.