1 Corinthians 10.8

Leviticus 20.10

 “‘The man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, he who commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress, shall surely be put to death.’”

Deuteronomy 22.22

“If a man is found lying with a woman married to a husband, then both of them shall die—the man that lay with the woman, and the woman; so you shall put away the evil from Israel.

The language here is more explicitly directed toward adulterous activity, but we can assume that “uncovering nakedness” is also included. David shows us how the latter can lead all too easily to the former. Adultery constitutes an attack on marriage and family, the foundational institution of an ordered society, and violates the creation mandate of God concerning the proper context for sexual relations. Attaching the death penalty to sins of adultery would serve to remind the people of Israel of the sacredness of marriage and the family in the divine economy.

We do not put adulterers to death in our day (see on), but this is because of the availability of grace in this age of the Gospel. Nevertheless, we must not “wink” at adultery. The Church has proper measures of discipline which must be brought to bear whenever this or any transgression of God’s Law is uncovered within the Body of Christ.

T. M. Moore

The Law of God is the soil which, fertilized by the rest of God’s Word and watered by His Spirit, brings forth the fruit of Christian life. If you’d like to understand this process better, and how to make best use of the Law in your walk with and work for the Lord, order the book, The Ground for Christian Ethics, from our online store.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.