The Law of the Land? – The Seventh Commandment

The Law of the Land?

Exodus 20:14; Deuteronomy 5:18

“You shall not commit adultery.”

Mark 8:38

“For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in the glory of the Father with the holy angels.”

Speak up against adultery!

God condemns adultery in all its forms. So did Jesus. So must we. The Word of God spells out the proper use of sex within the confines of marriage. Beyond that all forms of sexual practice must be considered just another form of adultery. Part of what is involved in preserving the sanctity of marriage – and, with it, sex – is talking about marriage with the people we know. The headlines in our day give us plenty of opportunities to voice our views about what is and is not marriage. We need to be crystal clear, at every opportunity (Eph. 5.15-17), concerning marriage and how it is to be practiced. We believe the Biblical model for marriage is proper not just for believers but for all people; therefore, we are prepared to insist that the laws of the land be constructed so as to protect and preserve that Biblical model. As believers we need to set forth good examples of marriage for our generation to observe – something we have too often failed to do. But we must also guard against perversions of law that would sanction adultery by compromising the “one man, one woman” standard so clearly revealed in Scripture. Yes, I know many Biblical saints had more than one wife. But never without many attendant problems which they might have avoided had they themselves been faithful to God’s norms.

Should Christians try to make the laws of the land concerning marriage reflect the Biblical standard? Why or why not?

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“In the Gates” is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore

T. M. Moore is editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001,2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.