The Greek word for adultery found in the New Testament is moicheuo, meaning illicit sexual conduct of a married person or with a married person. Adultery is a physical violation of the marriage covenant. The Old Testament clearly describes it as a physical act involving one's body, rather than of the mind only (as in lustful thoughts). Adultery, in the Old Testament, was punishable by the death of the two people involved (Leviticus 20:10).
The word illicit means: not lawful, not allowed or approved by common custom, rule or standard. That could mean anything by today's ever-morphing societal standards where good is evil and evil is good, but then again, we are only concerned with God's standards and what God approves of although in some cases, civil law has agreed with God in declaring certain acts unlawful. Still, while we obey the law of the land (as long as it does not violate God's law) it is only God to whom we hold ourselves accountable and, thus, His standards are the ones we enjoin.
Matthew 19:9 uses the term "sexual immorality" or the Greek word porneia (from which the word pornography comes) which means again "illicit (or unlawful) sexual intercourse." Strong's Concordance goes on to give examples of illicit sexual intercourse according to the Word of God: adultery, fornication, sexual intercourse with close relatives, homosexuality, lesbianism, intercourse with animals (Leviticus 18:1-23) AND sexual intercourse with a divorced man or woman (Matthew 19:9)
Jesus (in Matthew 5:28) expanded upon the definition of adultery bringing it to a spiritual level, rather than physical only, by saying that it involved the mind as well, in that as one dwelt in lustful thoughts the adultery was already being committed. What Jesus was doing was illuminating man's sin, comparing it to the physical act of adultery and causing men to recognize that they were still guilty of death even if they had not physically violated the marriage covenant; this is death in the spiritual sense as that is what the result of sin must be if not repented of.
Tony Evans (the only Christian author I have found so far who will address these issues of Divorce and Remarriage head-on in his book by the same title, and who is also a well-recognized pastor and teacher who takes quite a bit of flack for his stance on biblical correctness within the church) recognizes "spiritual death" as a valid reason for divorce, calling it "covenantal death in relation to a marriage." Spiritual death is that which occurs when a person is unrepentant of his sin and chooses to continue in it, which explains the statement of Jesus to the follower who asked to be allowed to just go bury his father before he joined Jesus: "Let the dead bury the dead" (Matthew 8:22). He was referring, of course, to the "spiritually dead."
The "spiritually dead" can be found inside of churches as well as outside. This is important to remember when leaders are called upon to rule in marital issues. Listen to Paul's words to the Corinthians:
"I wrote with you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people - not at all meaning the people of this world [outside the church] who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolators. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolator or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people....expel the wicked person from among you." (1 Corinthians 5:9-13)
Most churches today would never think of expelling from their midst a believer who sins. I was once in a church where such a person attended. In fact, I considered that person my friend, until I found out that she was having an affair with a married man, and was not even bothering to hide the fact from those around her. I went to her and (truly with much love) rebuked her begging her to end the relationship, showing her the scriptures that described what her sin was doing to God and to herself, warning her of the consequences that would surely follow, not only to herself but possibly her own children, if she did not end the relationship. She would not receive it. I then went to the Pastor of the church and asked him to intervene. He took it to other members of leadership in the church, and the decision was made to show "grace" by speaking to her but taking no further disciplinary action. A year later, she was still attending that same church and was still continuing in the illicit relationship, even to the extent of bringing her married boyfirend to the church to attend her mother's memorial service. As for me, I withdrew my association with her, not because I didn't love her, but because God told me (through His Word) that this was necessary for her sake. There will be times when we stand alone, but stand (in obedience to the Lord) we must.
Paul's instruction to a similar situation was: "hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord." (I Corinthians 5: 5)
Obviously this man was "spiritually dead" and Paul was seeking to save his spirit by removing him from the privileges contained within the church fellowship; a thing that would be considered harsh and unloving by today's standards.
But what do we do when a believer is married to such a person, where sin is rampant, yet they both attend church? Are we to disassociate ourselves from an unrepentant person, but force the believing spouse to continue to not only associate but live intimately with such a person, even if the physical act of adultery has not occurred?
Tony Evans doesn't think so: "Sinners are spiritually dead. So even if this person is a Christian, you treat him as though he were a sinner with the sentence of death over him. What about his marriage if he is married? Well, if he is dead, then his marriage is dead, and his wife is free under the provisions of Romans 7 and 1 Corinthians 7:39."
He refers us to Paul's statements in Romans that "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23) meaning spiritual death, that when a man dies any covenant that he is a part of is ended (Romans 7:1-2), and finally that death ends one covenant and allows us to then enter into a new covenant (Romans 7:4). The same must then apply to a marriage covenant when spiritual death by unrepentant sin occurs.
Thus, even though Tony is as set against divorce as God is and most Christians are, and considers divorce to be an extreme final measure only (believing even in cases concerning adultery that where true repentance is, forgiveness and reconciliation are possible), still he suggests that scripturally there are three ways in which "spiritual death" can occur in the marriage covenant that should be considered by the church to be valid reasons for divorce (note especially item number 3):
"Let me summarize the three realms where divorce is permissible, each involving some level of spiritual death:
1) When a mate enters into an illegitimate covenant by committing immorality with another person or persists in any other form of immoral activity (Leviticus 18:1-23).
2) When a Christian is abandoned by a non-Christian.
3) When a Christian is living in the realm of spiritual death through unrepentant spiritual rebellion and it has been officially recognized by the church, so that this person's mate is declared eligible for a certificate of divorce."
Unrepentant sin, according to Paul, for which a believer must be expelled from Christian association involves much more than sexual immorality, remember. Thus item number 3 above is not just about unrepentant sexual immorality. Many unrepentant sins can kill a marriage covenant, all of which involve some form of pride which is deadly.
And, with any sin, we must not wander away from the Bible's definition of repentance which means "to turn away from altogether"...not just saying , "Sorry, I won't do that again" and then "slipping up" as we like to call our continuance in sin. Biblically, the fruit of repentance must be seen (Matthew 3:8; Ephesians 5:8-9).
In the next posting, we will discuss more specifically the "adultery" that happens when spouses divorce and/or remarry others.
The word illicit means: not lawful, not allowed or approved by common custom, rule or standard. That could mean anything by today's ever-morphing societal standards where good is evil and evil is good, but then again, we are only concerned with God's standards and what God approves of although in some cases, civil law has agreed with God in declaring certain acts unlawful. Still, while we obey the law of the land (as long as it does not violate God's law) it is only God to whom we hold ourselves accountable and, thus, His standards are the ones we enjoin.
Matthew 19:9 uses the term "sexual immorality" or the Greek word porneia (from which the word pornography comes) which means again "illicit (or unlawful) sexual intercourse." Strong's Concordance goes on to give examples of illicit sexual intercourse according to the Word of God: adultery, fornication, sexual intercourse with close relatives, homosexuality, lesbianism, intercourse with animals (Leviticus 18:1-23) AND sexual intercourse with a divorced man or woman (Matthew 19:9)
Jesus (in Matthew 5:28) expanded upon the definition of adultery bringing it to a spiritual level, rather than physical only, by saying that it involved the mind as well, in that as one dwelt in lustful thoughts the adultery was already being committed. What Jesus was doing was illuminating man's sin, comparing it to the physical act of adultery and causing men to recognize that they were still guilty of death even if they had not physically violated the marriage covenant; this is death in the spiritual sense as that is what the result of sin must be if not repented of.
Tony Evans (the only Christian author I have found so far who will address these issues of Divorce and Remarriage head-on in his book by the same title, and who is also a well-recognized pastor and teacher who takes quite a bit of flack for his stance on biblical correctness within the church) recognizes "spiritual death" as a valid reason for divorce, calling it "covenantal death in relation to a marriage." Spiritual death is that which occurs when a person is unrepentant of his sin and chooses to continue in it, which explains the statement of Jesus to the follower who asked to be allowed to just go bury his father before he joined Jesus: "Let the dead bury the dead" (Matthew 8:22). He was referring, of course, to the "spiritually dead."
The "spiritually dead" can be found inside of churches as well as outside. This is important to remember when leaders are called upon to rule in marital issues. Listen to Paul's words to the Corinthians:
"I wrote with you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people - not at all meaning the people of this world [outside the church] who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolators. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolator or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people....expel the wicked person from among you." (1 Corinthians 5:9-13)
Most churches today would never think of expelling from their midst a believer who sins. I was once in a church where such a person attended. In fact, I considered that person my friend, until I found out that she was having an affair with a married man, and was not even bothering to hide the fact from those around her. I went to her and (truly with much love) rebuked her begging her to end the relationship, showing her the scriptures that described what her sin was doing to God and to herself, warning her of the consequences that would surely follow, not only to herself but possibly her own children, if she did not end the relationship. She would not receive it. I then went to the Pastor of the church and asked him to intervene. He took it to other members of leadership in the church, and the decision was made to show "grace" by speaking to her but taking no further disciplinary action. A year later, she was still attending that same church and was still continuing in the illicit relationship, even to the extent of bringing her married boyfirend to the church to attend her mother's memorial service. As for me, I withdrew my association with her, not because I didn't love her, but because God told me (through His Word) that this was necessary for her sake. There will be times when we stand alone, but stand (in obedience to the Lord) we must.
Paul's instruction to a similar situation was: "hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord." (I Corinthians 5: 5)
Obviously this man was "spiritually dead" and Paul was seeking to save his spirit by removing him from the privileges contained within the church fellowship; a thing that would be considered harsh and unloving by today's standards.
But what do we do when a believer is married to such a person, where sin is rampant, yet they both attend church? Are we to disassociate ourselves from an unrepentant person, but force the believing spouse to continue to not only associate but live intimately with such a person, even if the physical act of adultery has not occurred?
Tony Evans doesn't think so: "Sinners are spiritually dead. So even if this person is a Christian, you treat him as though he were a sinner with the sentence of death over him. What about his marriage if he is married? Well, if he is dead, then his marriage is dead, and his wife is free under the provisions of Romans 7 and 1 Corinthians 7:39."
He refers us to Paul's statements in Romans that "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23) meaning spiritual death, that when a man dies any covenant that he is a part of is ended (Romans 7:1-2), and finally that death ends one covenant and allows us to then enter into a new covenant (Romans 7:4). The same must then apply to a marriage covenant when spiritual death by unrepentant sin occurs.
Thus, even though Tony is as set against divorce as God is and most Christians are, and considers divorce to be an extreme final measure only (believing even in cases concerning adultery that where true repentance is, forgiveness and reconciliation are possible), still he suggests that scripturally there are three ways in which "spiritual death" can occur in the marriage covenant that should be considered by the church to be valid reasons for divorce (note especially item number 3):
"Let me summarize the three realms where divorce is permissible, each involving some level of spiritual death:
1) When a mate enters into an illegitimate covenant by committing immorality with another person or persists in any other form of immoral activity (Leviticus 18:1-23).
2) When a Christian is abandoned by a non-Christian.
3) When a Christian is living in the realm of spiritual death through unrepentant spiritual rebellion and it has been officially recognized by the church, so that this person's mate is declared eligible for a certificate of divorce."
Unrepentant sin, according to Paul, for which a believer must be expelled from Christian association involves much more than sexual immorality, remember. Thus item number 3 above is not just about unrepentant sexual immorality. Many unrepentant sins can kill a marriage covenant, all of which involve some form of pride which is deadly.
And, with any sin, we must not wander away from the Bible's definition of repentance which means "to turn away from altogether"...not just saying , "Sorry, I won't do that again" and then "slipping up" as we like to call our continuance in sin. Biblically, the fruit of repentance must be seen (Matthew 3:8; Ephesians 5:8-9).
In the next posting, we will discuss more specifically the "adultery" that happens when spouses divorce and/or remarry others.
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