The Sixth Commandment
“You shall not commit adultery” (Exod. 20:14).
The sixth commandment forbids adultery or any sin of impurity with
another person’s husband or wife while, by implication, inculcating purity
of mind and body.
That adultery is the only sin specifically named in this commandment is
due to its gravity. One who commits adultery is guilty of a multitude of
sins, as is stated in the following verse: “So every woman that leaves her
husband…first, she has been unfaithful to the law of the Most High; and
secondly, she has offended against her husband; thirdly, she has fornicated
in adultery and has gotten her children of another man” (Sir. 23:32-33).
The bond of wedlock is so strong that neither husband nor wife has power
over their own bodies, both being bound by a mutual bond of subjection:
“For the wife does not rule over her own body, but the husband does;
likewise the husband does not rule over his own body, but the wife does” (1
Cor. 7:4). Consequently, all actions, words, etc., which would lead to
marital infidelity are equally prohibited for the husband and the wife.
According to the Law of Moses, the adulterer was stoned to death (Lev.
20:10). Those guilty of adultery were branded with a severe stigma: “But
he who commits adultery has no sense; he who does it destroys himself. He
will get wounds and dishonor, and his disgrace will not be wiped away”
(Prov. 6:32-33). Even where an adulterer may have escaped death, he is
plagued with blindness of mind, heart and understanding. No sooner had
David fallen into adultery than he became cruel and murderous. Solomon,
consumed with lust for pagan women, abandoned the true God to worship
idols.
With the coming of Christ, the commandment is raised in understanding to
a higher, more spiritual level: “You have heard that it was said, You shall
not commit adultery. But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman
with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (St. Matt.
5:27-28).
That all sins of impurity are caught in the prohibition against adultery is
clear from both the Old and New Law: “None of the daughters of Israel
 |
 |
 |