Marriage held in honor

Hebrews 13:4 (NASB)

Marriage is to be held in honor among all and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge.

I have a friend who claimed to be a Christian, yet tried to convince me that he was not sinning by having sex with a woman who was not his wife.  He argued that his wife was becoming more and more difficult to live with and she was not the woman he married many years before.  He ended up divorcing his wife to marry his mistress and I think still believes that he did no wrong.  Almost all who read this meditation likely have had a similar experience with a friend or family member.  

I wish that I had known about this verse when listening to my friend attempting to justify his actions.  Not that these words would have changed his ways, but might have been a conduit for the Holy Spirit to change his thinking.  My friend was not holding his marriage in honor, he was defiling the marriage bed, and he was a fornicator and an adulterer. 

Marriage is to be held in honor, literally meaning to be viewed as precious, like a precious stone worth a fortune.  Yet, do American men and women view their marriage like a precious stone worth a fortune?  Not if you believe marriage and divorce statistics where up to 50% of all marriages in the United States end in divorce.  Yet, how blessed are those marriages where the husband and wife do view their marriage in honor, like a precious treasure.  There are no happier people on earth.    

God will judge fornicators and adulterers.  First, what’s the difference between a fornicator and an adulterer?  The Greek word for fornicator is “pornos” that means sexual immorality, prostitution, any illicit sexual relationship.  In the Greek translation of the Hebrew in the Old Testament (called the Septuagint), pornos or porneia (fornication) referred to Israel’s unfaithfulness to the Lord (e.g. Hosea 1:2, 2:2).  Adultery (Greek = moicheia) refers to immoral sexual acts after marriage. Fornication, when used with adultery, refers to immoral sexual before marriage.  Jesus used the word porneia when referring to adultery in Matthew 5:27-32, thus referring to all immoral sexual acts.  Fornication and adultery also result in lying and cheating that destroy individuals and relationships.   

What is the judgment of God against fornicators and adulterers?  Well, in Jesus’ discussion of fornication and adultery in Matthew 5:27-32, He said that it would be better for you to tear out your eye or cut off your hand than to see your whole body perish (verse 29) and go to hell (verse 30).  Furthermore, fornicators are listed with other sinners in Revelation 21:8 who will be part of the lake of fire.  So God’s judgment against fornicators and adulterers is horrible.  God’s judgment against fornicators (immoral people) also is mentioned in passages such as I Corinthians 5:9-11, I Corinthians 6:9, Ephesians 5:5, and I Timothy 1:10, all warnings that such people will not be part of the kingdom of God.  The kingdom of God not only is eternal, but also exists during life on earth so it’s a terrible judgment to be put outside His kingdom.  Fornicators and adulterers exist in a hell on earth because deep within their souls, they know they are violating God’s commands against these kinds of actions. 

Obviously, defiling the marriage bed through fornication and adultery is very wrong in God’s eyes.  Succumbing to the temptation of instant gratification can have immediate, long term, and eternal bad consequences.  Yet God provides a way out through recognition of the sin, asking forgiveness, repenting from it, and living the rest of your life free from this extremely hurtful and egregious sin.  Easier said than done.  Sexual sin is extremely difficult to escape and be free from it because of the inherent sin nature of man and the emphasis on it in our permissive society.  However, you always will have hope and the power of God in you if you give over this sin to Him and live your life everyday by asking for forgiveness, asking for the filling of the Holy Spirit, and taking all protective measures to get away from these easily addictive and destructive sexual sins.

“Even adultery is not the unforgiveable sin. It is a terrible sin, but God forbid that there should be anyone who feels that he or she has sinned himself or herself outside the love of God or outside His kingdom because of adultery. No; if you truly repent and realize the enormity of your sin and cast yourself upon the boundless love and mercy and grace of God, you can be forgiven and I assure you of pardon. But hear the words of our blessed Lord: “Go and sin no more.” — Martyn Lloyd-Jones