Seventh Commandment
“You shall not commit adultery” (Ex. 20:14; Deut. 5:18).
Heidelberg Catechism
Heidelberg Catechism Question 108. What does the seventh commandment teach us? That all unchastity is condemned by God, and that we should therefore detest it from the heart, and live chaste and disciplined lives, whether in holy wedlock or in single life.
Heidelberg Catechism Question 109. Does God forbid nothing more than adultery and such gross sins in this commandment? Since both our body and soul are a temple of the Holy Spirit, it is his will that we keep both pure and holy. Therefore he forbids all unchaste actions, gestures, words, thoughts, desires and whatever may excite another person to them.
Westminster Shorter Catechism
Shorter Catechism Question 71. What is required in the Seventh Commandment? The Seventh Commandment requireth the preservation of our own and our neighbor’s chastity, in heart, speech, and behavior.
- 1 Thess. 4:4-5 “that each one of you know how to control your own body in holiness and honor, not with lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God.”
- 1 Cor. 7:2 “But because of cases of sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband.”
- Eph. 5:11-12 “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly.”
- Matt. 5:28 “But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
- Eph. 4:29 “Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear.”
- Col. 4:6 “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone.”
- 1 Pet. 3:2 “when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.”
Shorter Catechism Question 72. What is forbidden in the Seventh Commandment? The Seventh Commandment forbiddeth all unchaste thoughts, words, and actions.
- Matt. 5:28 “But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
- Eph. 5:4 “Entirely out of place is obscene, silly, and vulgar talk; but instead, let there be thanksgiving.”
- Eph. 5:3 “But fornication and impurity of any kind, or greed, must not even be mentioned among you, as is proper among saints.”
Study Catechism
Study Catechism Question 110. What do you learn from this commandment? God requires fidelity and purity in sexual relations. Since love is God’s great gift, God expects me not to corrupt it, or confuse it with momentary desire or the selfish fulfillment of my own pleasures. God forbids all sexual immorality, whether in married or in single life.
- Eph. 5:3 “But fornication and impurity of any kind, or greed, must not even be mentioned among you, as is proper among saints.”
- Matt. 5:27-29 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.”
- Heb. 13:4 “Let marriage be held in honor by all, and let the marriage bed be kept undefiled; for God will judge fornicators and adulterers.”
- 1 Thess. 4:3-4 “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from fornication; that each one of you know how to control your own body in holiness and honor.”
Thinking, Praying, Living | Ten Commandments | Previous | Next
