The Heart of the Matter – The Seventh Commandment

The Heart is the Heart of the Matter

The seventh commandment

Exodus 20.14; Deuteronomy 5.18

“And you shall not commit adultery.”

Matthew 5.28

“But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

It begins within.

The Law of God sets up hedges to guard against all manner of sexual temptation and illicit sexual activity. There’s a good reason for this. Unlawful sexual activity threatens the stability of a society by eroding marriage bonds and sowing jealousy and self-seeking into the affairs of neighbors. It creates distrust and suspicion and degrades a human activity which God has invested with marital beauty and goodness. And, as we now know, rampant, self-seeking sexual activity can be a major cause of disease and the wanton destruction of innocent life. As Jesus pointed out, adultery – which is defined in God’s Law as any kind of unlawful sexual activity – begins in the heart. Once we have allowed our affections to overthrow right thinking, and have begun to imagine unlawful acts in our hearts, we have already crossed the line of propriety. We must diligently guard against allowing adultery to find a resting place in our souls. Just because “it’s a private matter” or “no one gets hurt by it” doesn’t mean we can indulge what Jesus sternly warns us to avoid. In a society that sows sexual temptation across our paths like a flower-bearer before a bride, we need to be doubly on guard against what we allow into our thoughts and affections. If you think you can indulge this sin in your heart without it affecting you or someone you love, you can just think again.

In what ways are you confronted with sexual temptation? How do you protect against this?
—

“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.