Bible Study What Constitutes Adultery?

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Webster's defines adultery as: voluntary sexual intercourse between a married man and someone other than his wife; or between a married woman and someone other than her husband

So then, according to Webster's; adultery requires the participation of at least one married person.

†. Mtt 5:28 . . I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

I'm a traditional Christian; but this is definitely one place where I strongly disagree with the traditional interpretation of Mtt 5:28; which is an interpretation that makes men guilty of adultery for nothing more than having a healthy libido. Here's what I think Mtt 5:28 is really saying:

The Lord's statement is nothing new. It elaborates upon a very old commandment that states:

You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's. (Ex 20:17)

Covetousness isn't merely liking something and wishing you could have it; no, covetousness sets about to obtain the thing it likes and wishes to have; for example:

†. 1Cor 12:31 . . Covet earnestly the best gifts

†. 1Cor 14:39 . . Brethren, covet to prophesy

So then; does Ex 20:17 forbid me to look across the street at my neighbor's new BMW and wish I had one? No, it forbids me to look for a way to take my neighbor's BMW away from him instead of getting one of my own.

Does Ex 20:17 forbid me to look across the street at my neighbor's buxom young wife and have erotic fantasies about her? No, it forbids me to begin looking for a way to taste the goods— and I believe that is precisely what the Lord was saying at Mtt 5:28 especially since the principle shows up again later in the epistles.

†. Rom 13:14 . . Do not scheme to gratify the desires of the flesh.

Incidentally, the koiné Greek word for "woman" in Mtt 5:28 is gune (goo-nay') which indicates not only a woman but also a wife; for example:

†. Mtt 1:20 . .The angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying: Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife

†. Mtt 1:24 . .Then Joseph being raised from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife.

†. Mtt 5:32 . .Whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causes her to commit adultery

†. Mtt 14:3 . . Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife.

Those are but a smattering of the many places in the New Testament where gune is translated wife. So then, if you ask me, Mtt 5:28 should be translated to read: Whoever looks upon a wife to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

This principle is very old. When Abraham picked up the knife to slay his son, the Lord stopped him in the nick of time. However, though he didn't consummate the slaying, God credited Abraham with consummating it all the same because it was in his heart to do so.

†. Gen 22:12b . . For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son— your only son —from me.

The above interpretation of Mtt 5:28 may not be traditional; but it sure is better because I notice women; and don't particularly care to stop thinking about them.

Cliff
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But hey; let's reverse the roles. Mtt 5:28 regulates the affairs of men with married women. Does it therefore grant women permission to set their hearts upon an affair with a married man?

I'm guessing probably not because Moses' covenanted law mandates the death penalty for both genders— no exceptions: it's a must.

†. Lev 20:10 . . If a man commits adultery with another man's wife— with the wife of his neighbo —both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.

†. Deut 22:22 . . If a man is found sleeping with another man's wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die.

Cliff
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[Elijah674]

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But hey; let's reverse the roles. Mtt 5:28 regulates the affairs of men with married women. Does it therefore grant women permission to set their hearts upon an affair with a married man?

I'm guessing probably not because Moses' covenanted law mandates the death penalty for both genders— no exceptions: it's a must.

†. Lev 20:10 . . If a man commits adultery with another man's wife— with the wife of his neighbo —both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.

†. Deut 22:22 . . If a man is found sleeping with another man's wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die.

Cliff
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God says in the N.T. that...
James
[8] If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:
[9] But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.
[10] For [[whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all]].
[11] For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.
[12] So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.

And verse 11 is only one of the ten. Yet Inspiration has it that anyone of the ten knowingly broken has these ones to be judged as such. That is what God's WORD states!

PS: And be put to death? that is the conclusion of verse 12! Eccl. 12:13-14 if that is the End Result.