The Meaning Of Life

https://biblehub.com/nkjv/deuteronomy/5.htm

First Commandment – Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Second Commandment – 8‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 9you shall not bow[c] down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, [d]visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 10but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and [e]keep My commandments.

Third Commandment – 11‘You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him [f]guiltless who takes His name in vain.

Fourth Commandment – 12‘Observe the Sabbath day, to [g]keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. 13Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. 15And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

Fifth Commandment – 16‘Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may be well with you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

Sixth Commandment – 17‘You shall not murder.

Seventh Commandment –18‘You shall not commit adultery.

Again, let’s turn to Merriam Webster for their definition, which is : “voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and someone other than that person’s current spouse“.

But that is mankind’s definition. Later when Jesus began his ministry, He said, and I’m paraphrasing, “If a man even looks at a woman with lust, he has committed adultery in his heart.” When Jesus mentioned adultery, He said nothing about the status of marriage. I believe it to be that adultery is sexual relations outside of marriage, whether you’re already married to someone or if you are single.

And we certainly need to examine the Biblical definition as it was supercedes man’s definition.

There are plenty of scriptures that support man’s definition of adultery. However, John 8:3 is the story where the Pharisees brought Mary Magdalene to Jesus, saying she was caught in the act of adultery, and were testing Jesus to see if He would stone her to death. I could find where Mary Magdalene was married, the Bible simply insinuates that she was a prostitute who served Roman soldiers. So if she wasn’t married, how did she commit adultery? The answer is clear to me; any sexual relations outside of marriage is adultery. Simple fornication is adultery. But lets go further.

Ezekiel 23:37 talks about the pagan who committed adultery with their idols. How is this possible? I hate to try to imagine how this happened, so does the word “adultery” have meanings outside of sexual relationships? Can adultery be a form of idolatry where you idolize the person you are having sexual relations with, and the worship of idols was also called “idolatry”, or did they literally have sexual relations with their idols?

I don’t have answers. I know for a fact, that a married person having sexual relations with someone other than their spouse is considered adultery, but do we really want to take a chance that the definition goes much further than that?

Dr. Tim Jennings cites that around 50% of all pastors view pornography at least once a week. Are they watching it lustfully? If so, Jesus said that if you’ve looked upon a woman with lust, you’ve committed adultery in your heart.

So oogling at a pretty girl walking down the street may lead you to commit adultery in your heart. To view pornography is likely committing adultery.

And while we’re on the subject of pornography, because I don’t want to single out pastors, I am a sinner, and in the past I too have viewed pornography. Do you know how I stopped? I watched a video on YouTube listing all of the pornographic actresses that have committed suicide.

Pornography isn’t just two consenting actors having sexual relations for money. It may seem glamorous at first, it may be quite a high paying job, but in the end, the vast majority of actresses regret getting into the business. Many have turned to drugs to hide their own feelings about what they do, and end up in overdose. Other’s simply commit suicide because they are ashamed of their actions. Others, getting into the seedy side of the business, end up murdered.

And you know, you have to be beautiful to be in the porn business. I watched that video and it was so sad, so tragic, that these beautiful women had gotten involved in the business, a bad business. So if you’re addicted to pornography, and you have a heart, watching that video might just cure your addiction.

So, I wouldn’t take a shortcut with the word of God. I wouldn’t twist the words to make it fit the lifestyle we want. I would think about all the possibilities of how one could commit “adultery”, and I would stay on the safe side.

God bless you all.