What Christ Taught

In Matthew 19:1-30, the Pharisees asked Jesus if it was lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause. He responded in Mt 19:4-6, “Have you not read, that He which made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they two shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder.”

Christ taught that the marriage vow was binding. The Pharisees quickly asked about the bill of divorcement that Moses allowed. Christ answered in Mt 19:8-9, “Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, commits adultery: and whoso marries her which is put away does commit adultery.”

As an apostle of Christ, Paul had the authority to clarify this. This clarification involved brethren in the Church who had been previously married to spouses who were unconverted and not in the Church. The unbelieving spouses had willingly departed, rejecting the beliefs of their converted mates. In these cases, the converted spouses were not bound (I Cor. 7:12-16). This clarification did not supersede Christ’s words, but was an amendment for certain brethren who had come into God’s Church.

Matthew 5:27-28 is a powerful statement with enormous implications: “You have heard that it was said by them of old time, You shall not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looks on a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart.”

Far from doing away with God’s Law, Christ significantly expanded and magnified it. It is now far more binding—even one’s thoughts are to be controlled, as opposed to obeying just the letter of the law. Though the world thinks that the Law is done away, God’s people know it is still in effect. So careful is the walk of a Christian that Paul had to caution the brethren in Ephesians 5:3-5, “But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becomes saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks. For this you know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.”

From the Book of Proverbs

The Proverbs contain many additional admonitions and warnings about adultery, with some very extensive: “Discretion shall preserve you, understanding shall keep you…To deliver you from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flatters with her words; which forsakes the guide of her youth, and forgets the covenant of her God. For her house inclines unto death, and her paths unto the dead. None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life” (Prov 2:11, 16-19).

“For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell. Lest you should ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that you cannot know them. Hear me now therefore, O you children, and depart not from the words of my mouth. Remove your way far from her, and come not near the door of her house: lest you give your honour unto others, and your years unto the cruel: lest strangers be filled with your wealth; and your labours be in the house of a stranger; and you mourn at the last, when your flesh and your body are consumed, and say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof; and have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me! I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly” (Prov 5:3-14).

“And why will you, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger?” (Prov 5:20).

“For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life: to keep you from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman. Lust not after her beauty in your heart; neither let her take you with her eyelids. For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life. Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?

Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned? So he that goes in to his neighbour's wife; whosoever touches her shall not be innocent. Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry; but if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house. But whoso commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding: he that doeth it destroys his own soul. A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away. For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance. He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though you give many gifts” (Prov 6:23-35).

Also take the time to read Proverbs 7:4-27; 9:13-18; 5:15-19; 18:22; 19:14.

Solomon’s Experience

King Solomon, who possessed great wealth and was in a position to fulfil every conceivable desire of his heart, made some profound observations (Ec. 1:13). He learned many lessons by way of experience. We can benefit from his wisdom.

Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines—1,000 of the most beautiful women in the world. He observed that trying to satisfy carnal lusts was an exercise in futility. He saw that lust was equal to grasping an illusion. God allowed Solomon to go to these lengths and to record them for our benefit. It is better to learn from his example than to make the same mistakes.

Solomon finally concluded, “All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing” (Ec. 1:8). Ecclesiastes 5:10 continues, “He that loves silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loves abundance with increase: this is also vanity.”

We can take his word for it, since he spoke from experience, not from wistful hopes or wishes. Whatever one lusts after, he would never be satisfied with it—be it 1,000 of the world’s most beautiful women or fabulous wealth. Though Solomon had all this and had accomplished great things, he lamented, “Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit” (Ec. 2:17).

Here was his conclusion, repeated from the book’s introduction: “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man” (Ec. 12:13). The phrase “duty of” was inserted by translators, the reason for its being found in italics. The last phrase should simply be, “for this is the whole man.” Fearing God and keeping His commandments are to be ingrained into the innermost being.

This key principle is also found in Leviticus 18:5: “You shall therefore keep My statutes, and My judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the LORD.”

Solomon paid dearly for these experiences, as recorded in I Kings 11:4: “For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.” I Ki 11:11continues, “Wherefore the LORD said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of you, and you have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely rend the kingdom from you, and will give it to your servant.”

Solomon’s actions brought consequences. The same is true for anyone today!