The Problem with Sexual Infidelity

It is estimated that more than 30% of all married individuals (in any country) will engage in infidelity at some point during their marriage.

Some of the major reasons why people commit adultery is related to the following:
• People having had multiple sexual partners before marriage
• People having an abnormal sexual desire with different partners due to the influence of pornography
• People who have marital problems with their spouses
• People who spend a greater time away from a spouse
• People who have a perverted mindset and see other women as sexual conquests
• People who have been joined through an arranged or forced marriage

Sexual immorality and infidelity is a never ending problem in society and it is only growing worse.
The Greek word for “sexual immorality” is [Porneia] which means “fornication”, “prostitution” and “idolatry”.
Fornication is the sexual relations between people who are not married to each other. However, infidelity or adultery is the sexual relations between a married person and a partner who is not the lawful spouse.

The Bible speaks against all kinds of sexual immorality such as incest, homosexuality, bestiality, adultery and fornication (1 Corinthians 6:18; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5; Leviticus 20:13; Exodus 22:19).

The issue of infidelity however is a huge problem in society for several reasons.

Adultery Destroys Marriages & Families
Adultery destroys the marriage of the cheating spouse. More than 53% of marriages end up in divorce due to infidelity. This automatically results in destroyed families and children are faced with the emotional, psychological and social impact of being raised by divorced parents. Adultery is heart-breaking to both the children and the spouse who has become the victim of a cheating partner

Adultery Creates a Generational Curse
Nathan prophesied to King David because of his adultery in 2 Samuel 12:10-11: Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ 11 Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun.

After David committed adultery, he may have been forgiven but David still experienced the generational consequences of his sinful actions. Bathsheba’s son died (2 Samuel 12:14) then Amnon raped his half-sister, Tamar (2 Samuel 13:14). Later Absalom kills Amnon for raping Tamar (2 Samuel 13:28-29) and escapes to a foreign land (2 Samuel 13:38). Absalom returns after 3 years and then attempts to overthrow his father David from the throne (2 Samuel 15:6).
Absalom also sleeps with one of David’s concubines (2 Samuel 14:28) and later has sex in public with 10 of his father’s concubines.
Another of David’s sons – King Solomon had 700 wives, princesses, and 300 concubines, and his wives turned away his heart from God (1 Kings 11:3-4).

Adultery is an iniquitous sin that spreads within a family’s generation and becomes worse with each new generation.

Adultery is Rebellion Against God
Adultery is a sin that reflects the adulterer’s lack of respect for God’s union of marriage. The adulterer lacks an understanding of the purpose and origins of marriage. Marriage was originated by God and He desires that the marriage bed be respected.
Hebrews 13:4 says: Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.
An adulterous person does not honor marriage and his unrepentant actions will eventually lead to God’s judgment.

Adultery Destroys Society
Destroy a marriage and you destroy a family. Destroy a family and you destroy a community. Destroy a community and you destroy a city. Destroy a city and you destroy a nation.
One of the major ways that the devil is destroying society is by destroying marriage and the family.
For a long time – the act of adultery has been normalized and virtually accepted as normal yet in God’s eyes, infidelity is a serious sin and it is an insult to God’s covenant of marriage.
The enemy therefore uses sexual immorality as a weapon against God and against mankind.
If there are many single mothers; orphaned children; broken relationships and divorced couples – it’s because these are all linked to the problem of sexual immorality.

Bible Verses on Sexual Immorality
• God created the body for purity not for sexual immorality (1 Corinthians 6:13)
• God hates divorce (Malachi 2:14-16)
• God does not support people who break-up other people’s marriages (Mark 10:9)
• God hates all forms of sexual immorality (Galatians 5:19-21, Ephesians 5:5, Revelation 22:15)
• God commands us to flee all forms of sexual immorality (1 Corinthians 6:18)
• God judges the sexually immoral (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)
• God commands that a sexual relationship occurs exclusively within marriage (Hebrews 13:4)