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I’m Tom Nicholas — a pastor, teacher, and community builder living in Billings, Montana. My life and ministry flow from one heartbeat: to see the Church alive — Spirit-filled, rooted in Scripture, and moving with Jesus into the world. I serve as a pastor, chaplain, and mentor, helping people grow in faith, leadership, and everyday discipleship. Whether around a campfire, in a coffee shop, or through digital spaces, I believe the gospel belongs where life happens — in the field, among the people, and around the table. Through The Church Alive, I write about biblical leadership, spiritual formation, and building vibrant, missional communities that reflect the love and courage of Christ.

SEXUAL PURITY — ADULTERY

The First Boundary of Covenant Faithfulness

🌿 INTRODUCTION

Adultery is the first and most foundational sexual boundary in Torah because it strikes at:

  • covenant faithfulness,
  • the integrity of marriage,
  • the stability of family,
  • the trust that binds community,
  • and the holiness God intends for His people.

Marriage is the first human covenant (Gen. 2:24).
Adultery is the first sexual sin mentioned in the Ten Commandments (Exod. 20:14).
Scripture consistently treats it as a grave violation because it destroys what God calls one flesh.

✡️ 1. Connection to the Ten Commandments

7th Commandment:

“You shall not commit adultery.” — Exod. 20:14; Deut. 5:18

Adultery is the “umbrella law” that defines all covenant sexual boundaries.
Nearly every sexual statute in Torah touches or derives from this foundational command.

✡️ 2. Torah Category: Chukim (Statutes of Holiness)

Although the command appears in the Ten Words, the detailed prohibitions fall under Chukim, the holiness statutes that protect the sanctity of covenant relationships.

✡️ 3. Torah Statutes on Adultery (Exhaustive)

A. Explicit prohibitions

Lev. 18:20

“Do not have sexual relations with your neighbor’s wife.”

Lev. 20:10

Both parties are guilty of adultery.

B. Covenant narratives illustrating adultery

  • Gen. 20 and 26 — Sarah/Rebekah wrongly taken; God protects marriages.
  • 2 Sam. 11–12 — David and Bathsheba (devastating consequences).
  • Hos. 1–3 — Israel’s adultery symbolized through Hosea’s marriage.

These narratives define adultery as:
breach of covenant, betrayal of trust, and spiritual unfaithfulness.

✡️ 4. The Meaning and Purpose of the Law

A. Adultery destroys covenant unity

God created marriage as a union of one flesh (Gen. 2:24).
Adultery introduces a second union, fracturing the first.

B. Adultery breaks trust and betrays identity

Sexual faithfulness is the foundation of marital covenant identity.

C. Adultery harms children and future generations

It creates instability, insecurity, and generational consequences (Num. 14:18).

D. Adultery damages the community

Marriage is not merely private — it is communal.
Broken fidelity weakens the fabric of society.

E. Adultery distorts the image of God

Marriage reflects God’s covenant love.
Adultery reflects idolatry.

✡️ 5. Yeshua’s Teaching (Fulfillment and Deepening)

Yeshua does not relax the law — He intensifies it to the heart.

A. Lust = internal adultery

“Anyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery in his heart.”
— Matt. 5:27–28

Yeshua identifies the heart as the battleground.

B. Marriage is sacred and binding

“What God has joined together, let no one separate.”
— Matt. 19:6

Yeshua upholds the Genesis foundation.

C. Divorce is a concession to hardness of heart

“Moses permitted divorce… because your hearts were hard.”
— Matt. 19:8

Not ideal; not God’s original design.

D. Adultery is a sin that requires mercy and repentance

John 8 — The woman caught in adultery:

  • Yeshua refuses to condemn her to death
  • but also refuses to call sin “not sin”
  • “Go and sin no more” joins truth + mercy

He affirms the gravity and the possibility of redemption.

✡️ 6. New Covenant Application

A. Sexual faithfulness is required of all believers

Heb. 13:4

“Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure.”

B. Sexual immorality destroys the body and the Spirit’s dwelling

1 Cor. 6:18–20
Your body is God’s temple.

C. Adultery endangers Kingdom inheritance

Gal. 5:19–21
Sexual immorality excludes — unless repented.

D. Restoration through repentance

1 John 1:9
Forgiveness is available.
Believers can be restored.

E. Church discipline for ongoing adultery

Matt. 18; 1 Cor. 5
Persistent unrepentant sin is confronted.

✡️ 7. Discipleship Insights

A. Faithfulness is a picture of God’s character

Marriage becomes a witness to the world of God’s fidelity.

B. Sexual boundaries cultivate self-control

Self-control is fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:23).

C. Adultery begins long before the act

It begins in:

  • fantasy
  • emotional attachment
  • secrecy
  • coveting
  • bitterness
  • unmet needs not surrendered to God

D. Adultery is healed through transformation, not shame

Grace + truth = renewal (John 1:17).

✡️ 8. Restoration Path (Pastoral Framework)

For someone who has committed adultery and is repenting:

  1. Full confession (Prov. 28:13)
  2. Breaking off the affair completely
  3. Inviting accountability
  4. Counseling for the marriage
  5. Rebuilding trust over time
  6. Submitting to spiritual leadership
  7. Cultivating new habits of purity
  8. Inner healing of wounds driving the sin
  9. Walking in humility
  10. Restoring the marriage covenant through mutual forgiveness

This path mirrors Hosea’s restorative love.

✡️ SUMMARY OF ADULTERY

Adultery is forbidden because it violates covenant faithfulness, destroys families, harms communities, and misrepresents God’s character.
Yeshua deepens the command to include the intentions of the heart, teaching that purity is not merely abstaining from sin but cultivating fidelity and holiness within.

Adultery is forgivable — but it is never “light.”
Its weight in Torah reveals its weight in discipleship.