The Seventh Commandment Explained
“You shall not commit adultery.” — Exodus 20:14
The Meaning of the Commandment
The Seventh Commandment protects one of the most sacred covenants established by God, the union between husband and wife. When God declared, “You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14), He was not only forbidding physical betrayal but also preserving the faithfulness, trust, and purity that sustain relationships and society itself.
Marriage, in Scripture, is more than a human arrangement; it is a divine covenant that mirrors the relationship between God and His people. Adultery violates that covenant, destroying the integrity of both personal and spiritual bonds. The commandment therefore calls for loyalty of heart, mind, and body, a faithfulness that reflects God’s own steadfast love.
This commandment does not exist merely to restrict pleasure or impose rules; it exists to preserve love’s sacred design. In keeping it, individuals learn what it means to love truthfully, to honour promises, and to reflect the purity of divine love.
The Sacredness of Marriage
Marriage was established by God at creation. Genesis records, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24). This oneness is both physical and spiritual, a complete union of lives bound by commitment and trust.
Jesus later reaffirmed this design, saying, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” (Matthew 19:4–6).
These verses reveal that faithfulness within marriage is not merely moral but sacred. It represents divine unity, a visible image of the invisible covenant between Christ and His Church. To betray this union is to distort that image and to dishonour the One who ordained it.
The Heart Behind the Commandment
Like the commandment against murder, this one reaches beyond the physical act to the intentions of the heart. Jesus taught, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27–28).
In this teaching, Jesus exposes the inward roots of unfaithfulness, desire, fantasy, and discontent. Adultery does not begin with the body but with the imagination. When the heart entertains what is forbidden, the purity of love begins to erode.
The Seventh Commandment therefore calls not only for outward faithfulness but for inward discipline. It demands purity of thought, respect for others, and self-control. True fidelity begins in the heart long before it is expressed in action.
The Consequences of Unfaithfulness
Scripture consistently warns that unfaithfulness destroys lives, families, and communities. Proverbs 6:32–33 declares, “Whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding; he who does so destroys his own soul. Wounds and dishonour he will get, and his reproach will not be wiped away.”
Adultery damages trust, inflicts deep emotional wounds, and undermines the stability of society. It turns love, a gift meant to build life, into a source of pain and division. The wisdom literature of Scripture describes adultery as a path that seems pleasurable but ends in ruin: “For her house leads down to death, and her paths to the dead.” (Proverbs 2:18).
Through this commandment, God protects not only individuals but entire generations from the harm that betrayal brings. It reminds humanity that love flourishes only where truth and loyalty dwell.
Faithfulness as a Reflection of God’s Nature
God’s relationship with His people is often described as a marriage covenant. When Israel turned to idols, the prophets called it spiritual adultery. Jeremiah 3:20 laments, “Surely, as a wife treacherously departs from her husband, so have you dealt treacherously with Me, O house of Israel,” says the Lord.
Yet even in their unfaithfulness, God remained faithful. Hosea, commanded to love his unfaithful wife, became a living symbol of God’s enduring love. Through him, God said, “I will betroth you to Me forever; yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and justice, in lovingkindness and mercy.” (Hosea 2:19).
This imagery reveals the deeper purpose of the Seventh Commandment: human faithfulness reflects divine faithfulness. When people remain true to their vows, they mirror the steadfast love of God Himself. To break those vows is not only to harm another but to misrepresent His character.
Purity in an Impure World
The call to purity is as vital today as it was when the commandment was given. Modern culture often distorts love, separating pleasure from commitment and desire from responsibility. Yet Scripture urges believers to live differently. Paul wrote, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honour.” (1 Thessalonians 4:3–4).
Purity is not repression; it is freedom, the freedom to love rightly and to give oneself wholly to another without deceit or regret. It guards the heart from being divided and the conscience from being stained.
The Apostle Paul also warned that unrestrained lust enslaves rather than satisfies. In 1 Corinthians 6:18–20, he wrote, “Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
Obedience to this commandment, therefore, is not simply moral discipline; it is worship, honouring God through purity and faithfulness.
The Power of Forgiveness and Renewal
While this commandment exposes sin, it also points to redemption. Scripture records both the failure and forgiveness of those who broke it. When David committed adultery with Bathsheba, he repented deeply, praying, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10). God forgave him, but the consequences remained, reminding us that sin damages even when mercy restores.
Jesus demonstrated grace toward those guilty of sexual sin. When the woman caught in adultery was brought before Him, He said, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” (John 8:7). After her accusers departed, He told her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” (John 8:11).
In Christ, forgiveness is possible, and purity can be restored. The commandment, once broken, can lead to humility and healing when repentance meets grace.
Living the Commandment
To live the Seventh Commandment is to honour love as God defines it. It means remaining faithful in heart and action, guarding relationships with integrity, and treating others with respect. It also means resisting temptation by seeking God’s strength, not trusting in human willpower alone.
Faithfulness is nurtured through gratitude, humility, and vigilance. It grows in those who see marriage not as a contract but as a covenant, one built on truth, forgiveness, and prayer. For those unmarried, the commandment still applies: purity of heart and respect for others’ dignity remain vital expressions of holiness.
In every stage of life, this commandment calls believers to love as God loves, with commitment, sincerity, and honour.
Summary
The Seventh Commandment, “You shall not commit adultery,” defends the holiness of love and the sacred covenant of marriage. It forbids betrayal of trust and calls for purity in both heart and action. It reveals that faithfulness is not only moral duty but divine imitation, for God Himself is faithful.
To keep this commandment is to reflect His nature, to love truthfully, to guard relationships with integrity, and to find joy in covenant loyalty. It turns restraint into freedom and faithfulness into worship, reminding all that love, when kept holy, becomes one of the clearest images of God’s enduring love for His people.
Scripture References
Exodus 20:14 – “You shall not commit adultery.”
Genesis 2:24 – “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”
Matthew 19:4–6 – “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”
Matthew 5:27–28 – “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
Proverbs 6:32–33 – “Whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding; he who does so destroys his own soul. Wounds and dishonour he will get, and his reproach will not be wiped away.”
Proverbs 2:18 – “For her house leads down to death, and her paths to the dead.”
Jeremiah 3:20 – “Surely, as a wife treacherously departs from her husband, so have you dealt treacherously with Me, O house of Israel,” says the Lord.*
Hosea 2:19 – “I will betroth you to Me forever; yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and justice, in lovingkindness and mercy.”
1 Thessalonians 4:3–4 – “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honour.”
1 Corinthians 6:18–20 – “Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
Psalm 51:10 – “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”
John 8:7 – “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.”
John 8:11 – “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”
