Tuesday, March 2 2010

Is Adultery Forgivable?

Adultery is a violation (see Violence - which means to violate) of the Seventh Commandment, thereby making adultery no less serious than murder or theft - the Commandments that were written immediately before and after it.

"^20:13 Thou shalt not kill.

^20:14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.

^20:15 Thou shalt not steal." (Exodus 20:13-15 KJV)

The stark reality that adultery is viewed as no less serious than murder is attested by the fact that the penalty for either of them was the same (and applied equally to men and women): "Whoso killeth any person, the murderer shall be put to death" and "the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death":

"^35:30 Whoso killeth any person, the murderer shall be put to death" (Numbers 35:30 KJV)

"^20:10 And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death." (Leviticus 20:10 KJV)

Forgiven Doesn't Mean Excused; Forgiveness Is Not A License To Sin

But wait, here's an example from the "Old" Testament (I emphasize that point for those who think that things were more "forgiving" in the "New" Testament) in which an adulterer and adulteress were not put to death.

"^11:2 And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. ^11:3 And David sent and inquired after the woman.

And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?

^11:4 And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house. ^11:5 And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child." (2 Samuel 11:2-5 KJV)

Why weren't King David and Bathsheba killed? Because David committed the crime out of typical carnal weakness and foolishness, not out of deliberate defiance and evil-mindedness and he repented of doing it any further when he came to his senses. The evil act wasn't condoned, it wasn't excused, but it was forgiven because there was no evil intent.

"^12:13 And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD.

And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die." (2 Samuel 12:13 KJV)

In the "New" Testament (keeping in mind that it's all the same to Christ because He was "the LORD God" of the "Old" Testament Who spoke the words quoted above from Exodus, Numbers and Leviticus and Who forgave King David - see 'Before Abraham Was, I AM'), Christ forgave a repentant adulteress who was about to be stoned to death by a gang of religious hypocrites ("they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one"; they were the same people who later had Christ Himself put to death), but He then warned her, "go, and sin no more" (see the full context in the verse quotes below).

"^8:3 And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, ^8:4 They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. ^8:5 Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? [note: they were quoting Moses, but it was Christ that gave those words to Moses - see 'The God Of The Old Testament'] ^8:6 This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him.

But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.

^8:7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. ^8:8 And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.

^8:9 And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.

^8:10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? ^8:11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more." (John 8:3-11 KJV)

The Church of God is composed of honestly-repentant sinners (see What Is The Church?), not people who willfully commit sin by expecting to be forgiven after a pre-meditated, flaunting act of adultery (e.g. "^30:20 Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness" Proverbs 30:20 KJV), whether once, or as a matter of serial adultery (e.g. "^4:17 The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: ^4:18 For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband" John 4:17-18 KJV).

"^6:9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, ^6:10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. ^6:11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." (1 Corinthians 6:9-11 KJV)

Fact Finder: What is the ultimate purpose of the Commandment against committing adultery?
See Spiritual Adultery

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This Day In History, March 2

962: Pope John XII crowned Otto I as the "Holy Roman Emperor" (see Emperors and Popes). When Otto succeeded his father Heinrich (Henry) as German king in 936, the people raised their right hand to show approval and shouted "Sieg und heil" ("victory and salvation"). Later historians would view 962 as the beginning of what would later be officially styled the Sacrum Romanum Imperium Nationis Germanica ("The Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation"). "The First Reich."

1461: The Lancastrians defeated the Yorkists at the second Battle of St. Albans'.

1509: The Portuguese, led by Francisco de Almeida, destroyed the Muslim fleet in the Battle of Diu, establishing Portuguese control of Indian waters.

1536: Spanish explorer Pedro de Mendoza founded Buenos Aires.

1556: The world's worst earthquake, in China's Shaanxi, Shansi and Henan provinces, killed an estimated 830,000 people.

1626: Charles I was crowned king of England.

1653: New Amsterdam became a city (it is known today as New York).

1709: British sailor Alexander Selkirk was rescued after being marooned on a desert island for 5 years. His story was the inspiration of Daniel Defoe's "Robinson Crusoe."

1808: French forces under Napoleon occupied Rome. Pope Pius VII was arrested and detained.

1848: The war between the U.S. and Mexico ended after the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo.

1916: The U.S. Senate voted to grant independence for the Philippines.

1945: During the Second World War, 1,200 British Royal Air Force planes bombed Wiesbaden and Karlsruhe in Germany.

1972: The British Embassy in Dublin was burned down after a day of anti-British demonstrations.

1983: The Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) resumed in Geneva.