ADULTERY, FORNICATION, DIVORCE, AND CHASTITY ACCORDING TO SACRED SCRIPTURE

Catholic teaching on chastity, adultery, fornication, and the indissolubility of marriage, with the necessary clarifications to ensure that the statements correspond precisely to Sacred Scripture.

1. Adultery

Adultery consists in engaging in sexual relations with someone other than one's own spouse when a valid marriage exists. It is a sin gravely contrary to marital fidelity and to the Sixth Commandment: “You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14; Deuteronomy 5:18).

Our Lord Jesus Christ confirms the gravity of this sin:

“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” (Matthew 5:27–28).

Christ condemns not only the external act but also deliberate inward consent to impure desire.

Saint Paul clearly teaches that adultery is incompatible with salvation as long as the sinner voluntarily persists in it:

“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor the effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the Kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9–10).

And again:

“For be sure of this, that no fornicator or impure person, or covetous person—that is, an idolater—has any inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and of God” (Ephesians 5:5).

Scripture, therefore, does not present adultery as a minor or merely private failing. It is a grave sin which, if deliberately persisted in without repentance, excludes a person from the Kingdom of God.

2. Fornication

Sacred Scripture frequently uses the term fornication to designate illicit sexual relations outside marriage.

Saint Paul says:

“For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from fornication; that each one of you know how to possess his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God” (1 Thessalonians 4:3–5).

And he adds:

“For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness” (1 Thessalonians 4:7).

Therefore, sexual relations between people who are not united in a valid marriage contradict the order established by God. Marriage is the proper context for sexual union.

Saint Paul is absolutely explicit:

“Flee from fornication. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body; but the fornicator sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have received from God, and that you are not your own? You were bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:18–20).

For this reason, the unmarried Christian is called to live chastely, abstaining from sexual relations and refusing deliberate consent to impure desires.

3. The Chastity of the Unmarried

Christian chastity does not mean merely refraining physically from sexual relations. It also includes ordering one's thoughts, desires, glances, conversations, and actions according to the will of God.

Our Lord Jesus Christ taught:

“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” (Matthew 5:27–28).

Saint Paul exhorts us:

“Put to death, therefore, what is earthly in you: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry” (Colossians 3:5).

And also:

“But fornication and all impurity or covetousness must not even be mentioned among you, as is fitting among saints. Let there be no filthiness, nor foolish talk, nor crude joking, which are not fitting; but instead let there be thanksgiving” (Ephesians 5:3–4).

The unmarried Christian, therefore, is called to live chastely, keeping both body and soul for God and deliberately avoiding whatever leads to sins against purity.

4. Marriage and Fidelity

Marriage is not merely a romantic relationship. From the beginning, God established a union between man and woman characterized by exclusivity and fidelity.

Genesis states:

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and cleave to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24).

Our Lord Jesus Christ uses this very text to teach the indissolubility of marriage:

“Have you not read that He who made them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder” (Matthew 19:4–6).

Marriage, therefore, requires fidelity for as long as both spouses are alive.

5. Divorce and a New Union

The teaching of Jesus Christ is particularly clear:

“Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery” (Luke 16:18).

Saint Mark conveys the same teaching:

“Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery” (Mark 10:11–12).

And Saint Paul teaches:

“To the married I give charge, not I but the Lord, that the wife should not separate from her husband (but if she does, let her remain single or else be reconciled to her husband)—and that the husband should not divorce his wife” (1 Corinthians 7:10–11).

Separation between spouses may occur under certain circumstances, but separation does not automatically make someone free to marry another person if that individual remains bound by a valid marriage.

Therefore, as long as one's spouse is alive and the valid marriage bond remains, a new sexual or marital union constitutes adultery.

Saint Paul explains this by means of an analogy involving the marriage bond:

“Thus a married woman is bound by law to her husband as long as he lives; but if her husband dies she is released from the law concerning her husband. Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress” (Romans 7:2–3).

6. “Until Death Do Us Part”

Sacred Scripture presents the marriage bond as enduring throughout the spouses' lives.

Saint Paul states:

“A married woman is bound by law to her husband as long as he lives” (Romans 7:2).

And regarding Christian marriage:

“For the wife does not rule over her own body, but the husband does; likewise the husband does not rule over his own body, but the wife does. Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a season, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, lest Satan tempt you through lack of self-control” (1 Corinthians 7:4–5).

Marital fidelity, therefore, is a serious obligation before God.

7. Can an Unmarried Person Have Sexual Relations with a Divorced Person?

Here it is necessary to distinguish carefully between different situations.

If a divorced person was truly married and that marriage remains valid because the spouse is still alive, civil divorce does not, by itself, dissolve the marriage bond before God. Sexual relations with that person constitute an illicit union and involve adultery in relation to the existing marriage bond, in addition to constituting fornication on the part of the person who is not married to them.

Christ's teaching is precisely this:

“Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery” (Luke 16:18).

However, simply being in the company of, speaking with, or SOCIALIZING with a divorced person is not a sin. Sin occurs when there is consent to or action contrary to chastity: sexual relations, deliberate sexual acts, or, depending on the circumstances, other gravely disordered acts.

8. Civil Marriage and Sacramental Marriage

In any case, Sacred Scripture establishes that the marriage union must be respected and that civil divorce cannot be used as automatic authorization to enter into a new union while a valid marriage remains in force.

Therefore, when a particular case arises, it is necessary to determine canonically whether a valid marriage bond truly exists.

9. Masturbation

Sacred Scripture does not explicitly use the modern word “masturbation,” but it condemns impurity, lust, and sexual acts contrary to the order willed by God.

Saint Paul teaches:

“For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from fornication; that each one of you know how to possess his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God” (1 Thessalonians 4:3–5).

And:

“Flee from fornication” (1 Corinthians 6:18).

Also:

“Those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:8).

Catholic doctrine considers masturbation a GRAVELY DISORDERED act against chastity. In determining subjective moral culpability for mortal sin (the act is objectively grave matter), one must recognize that the matter is always grave, while also considering full knowledge and deliberate consent.

10. Pornography

Pornography is radically contrary to human dignity and the virtue of chastity. Although the Bible does not use the modern term “pornography,” Our Lord condemns even a deliberately lustful gaze:

“Everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28).

Job expresses the need to guard one's eyes:

“I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin?” (Job 31:1).

And Saint Paul commands:

“But fornication and all impurity or covetousness must not even be mentioned among you, as is fitting among saints” (Ephesians 5:3).

Also:

“Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor adulterers, nor the impure will inherit the Kingdom of God” (cf. 1 Corinthians 6:9–10; Ephesians 5:5).

Consequently, deliberately seeking pornographic images or videos, with knowledge of their nature and consent to viewing them, constitutes grave matter against chastity.

11. Impurity Excludes a Person from the Kingdom of God if There Is No Repentance

Saint Paul repeats this teaching with striking clarity:

“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor the effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the Kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9–10).

And he immediately adds something extremely important:

“And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11).

This demonstrates that Christian doctrine does not merely condemn sin: it also offers the path of conversion, forgiveness, and sanctification.

12. The Solution: Live Chastely According to One's State in Life

The Christian response is not to seek exceptions to justify sin, but to live according to the vocation received from God.

Saint Paul says:

“For this is the will of God, your sanctification” (1 Thessalonians 4:3).

And:

“Flee from fornication” (1 Corinthians 6:18).

He also teaches:

“The body is not meant for fornication, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body” (1 Corinthians 6:13).

A married person must remain faithful to his or her spouse. An unmarried person must practice continence and chastity. A widowed person must also live chastely. A person who is separated must respect the marriage bond as long as it remains in force (the death of a spouse dissolves it). All are called to order their lives according to God.

13. The Interior Struggle Against Impure Thoughts

Chastity also requires resisting bad thoughts to which one deliberately consents.

Saint Paul teaches:

“Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Philippians 4:8).

And:

“Put to death, therefore, what is earthly in you: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness” (Colossians 3:5).

Not every involuntary thought constitutes a sin. Temptation is not sin as long as it is not deliberately accepted. Sin arises when there is voluntary consent to a disordered thought or desire.

14. God Calls Us to Holiness of Body and Soul

The profound reason for Christian chastity is that the human body belongs to God.

Saint Paul declares:

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have received from God, and that you are not your own? You were bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19–20).

For this reason, Christian sexual morality is not simply a set of prohibitions. It is a call to recognize the dignity of the human body, the holiness of marriage, fidelity between spouses, and purity of heart.

15. Summary of Biblical Teaching

Adultery: Sexual relations with someone other than one's own spouse when a valid marriage exists. Scripture expressly condemns it: Exodus 20:14; Leviticus 20:10; Matthew 5:27–28; Matthew 19:4–9; Mark 10:11–12; Luke 16:18; Romans 7:2–3; 1 Corinthians 6:9–10; Hebrews 13:4.

Fornication: Sexual relations outside marriage. Fundamental passages: Acts 15:20; 1 Corinthians 6:18–20; 1 Corinthians 10:8; Galatians 5:19–21; Ephesians 5:3–5; Colossians 3:5–6; 1 Thessalonians 4:3–8; Revelation 21:8.

Divorce and a new union: Matthew 5:31–32; Matthew 19:3–9; Mark 10:2–12; Luke 16:18; Romans 7:2–3; 1 Corinthians 7:10–11.

Chastity: Genesis 39:7–12; Job 31:1; Matthew 5:27–30; 1 Corinthians 6:18–20; 1 Thessalonians 4:3–8; Ephesians 5:3–5; Colossians 3:5–6; Philippians 4:8.

Masturbation and impurity: Although masturbation is not explicitly named in the Bible, its principles concerning bodily holiness, continence, purity, and mastery over the passions are found especially in Matthew 5:27–30; Romans 6:12–13; 1 Corinthians 6:18–20; Galatians 5:16–24; 1 Thessalonians 4:3–8.

Pornography and lustful looking: Matthew 5:27–28; Job 31:1; Psalm 101:3; Philippians 4:8; Ephesians 5:3–5; Colossians 3:5.

Conclusion: Sacred Scripture teaches unequivocally that Christians must practice the virtue of chastity and that adultery and fornication are grave sins. Our Lord Jesus Christ confirms the holiness and permanence of marriage, and Saint Paul warns that those who deliberately persist in fornication, adultery, and impurity will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Yet the same Scripture proclaims that the sinner can be converted: “You were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 6:11).

Therefore, in the face of sexual sin, the Christian path is repentance, a firm purpose of amendment, confession to a priest, conversion, struggle against temptation, and a chaste life according to one's state in life.

WHAT GOD HAS JOINED TOGETHER, LET NO MAN SEPARATE.

 

The art of renaming adultery

 

In today’s world, we have perfected an extraordinary skill: renaming what used to be called sin, dressing it up with softer and more acceptable words. So, when someone says they are “rebuilding their life,” what they are really doing is finding an elegant way to say they have fallen into adultery. Because, of course, who would dare call things by their proper name when we can soften them with a bit of creative language?

“Rebuilding your life” sounds almost like a noble task, as if abandoning a marriage were some kind of personal improvement project. How useful the euphemism is! We no longer talk about breaking promises or betraying a sacred sacrament; instead, adultery is presented as an opportunity for “rediscovery.” But the reality, even if we dress it up, remains the same: the act of rebuilding one’s life is, at its core, undoing the life one vowed to share in fidelity.

We find ourselves in an era where words have the power to transform the perception of things, but not their essence. “Rebuilding your life” is nothing more than a modern formula to say that the marital bond has been broken and adultery has been embraced—with a marketing twist. It’s as if, by changing the words, we also change the meaning of the act. But no matter how much we soften it, adultery remains what it is: a grave sin.

The most ironic thing about all of this is that the process of “rebuilding” is portrayed as a heroic act. The adulterer presents themselves as someone who has overcome an obstacle, when in reality they have avoided the most fundamental commitment. It doesn’t take courage to “rebuild” your life; it takes a lack of courage to stay faithful to what was promised. In the end, the phrase is an excuse dressed in self-pity.

So, let’s return to the original point: “rebuilding your life” is nothing more than a clever way of renaming adultery, a way of disguising betrayal and presenting it as a fresh start. But the truth doesn’t change, no matter how many times we try to dress it up. In the end, rebuilding one’s life after having given a word in a sacrament is nothing other than undoing what God has united, and calling it by another name does not make it virtuous.

See:

http://www.catholicityblog.com/2015/12/rebuilding-your-life.html

Is It Very Difficult?

Fulfilled Prophecy: Masonry will enact iniquitous laws against Matrimony

REBUILDING YOUR LIFE?

By Oscar Méndez Casanueva 

“Rebuilding the life” of divorcing marriages. That is the irrepressible motto and new secular “dogma” that is currently on everyone’s lips, and whoever dares to contradict it becomes the subject of all kinds of sanctions, attacks and condemnatory adjectives. To speak against divorce is to go against progress, modernism and human rights, or so they say.

However, anyone who guided by their own judgment manages to disengage from the materialistic views of a mass society, which ironically deems itself free, will begin to raise these fundamental questions: “Are divorced people really rebuilding their lives?” “What did they do to undo it in the first place?” Later on, he will reflect on the following: “one can only rebuild what has been previously undone”. And they will question if they are really undoing things even more instead of rebuilding them, not only their own lives but others’ too. Yet today very few people raise these questions; and therefore how many get into a dangerous and naive adventure, entering a path of no return!

Certainly, there are thousands of efficient ways to destroy a life. Sometimes these sprout in our minds and judgment when we are children; they develop and take shape during youth, hatching finally in the adult stage. They are composed of multiple factors, such as lack of strong and genuine principles as well as a poor lay vision of existence.

THE CHOICE

While it is true that the destruction starts with these types of notions that, as we have said, are absorbed during childhood or in early life, this evil formally materializes for the first time during courtship, for these same notions are the ones that will guide the choice of the future spouse.

Without a well-established and hierarchized scale of values, both in the bride and groom, to analyze if there is true compatibility, and without a real assessment of the significant features of both sides, the new possible marriage is definitely off to a bad start. Thus, focusing on physical appearance, ‘chemistry’, as attraction is called today, and ‘being cool’ become main factors for them to embark upon a unfamiliar and dangerous path.

However, there is always something within themselves that alerts them about their building on unsure foundations, and so they enter marriage considering divorce as a resource in case things go wrong, therefore, they walk to the altar full of hopes and illusions but paradoxically thinking of failure and accepting it in advance.

SUCCESS OR FAILURE

Once married life begins there will be adaptations, adjustments and even confrontations resulting from the different natures, principles, opinions, preferences, and above all, different moral and religious values. In addition, the particular mindsets arising from different upbringings and social class of each one will also emerge, together with the specific strengths or weaknesses of the two sides.

There are two possible outcomes of this process; victory or defeat. It will depend on the background, principles and supernatural outlook on both sides. Sometimes it will be necessary to exercise extreme prudence and an almost heroic practice of virtues, which will result in benefits for the entire family, both parents and children

We can be sure that, as long as there is good will, God will grant his graces to them. Deep and supernatural love will overcome all difficulties and will have as a reward uncountable joys and benefits. It will not be defeated by false self-love, pure selfishness or by hedonistic materialism; this kind of love is only based in convenience and sexuality. The foundation of genuine love will be a real affection between them, together with a sense of eternity and always placing love of God and obedience to Him above all, hence resulting inevitably in the greatest good, for the spouse as well as for the children. True love knows that everything else will be given as well.

On the other hand, there are numerous elements that contribute to destruction of marriage today. All the different media, with its controlling influence for creating mindsets, does not cease to promote infidelity, pornography, “free love”, abortion and small families as role models. On top of that, there is also violence, generation gaps, drug addiction, lack of family communication, secular schools, etc. among other relevant factors that also have a negative influence on the essential cell of society.

DIVORCE

There are numerous factors that when combined lead without doubt to a failed marriage, somehow or other: when there is not an adequate preparation to marriage along with a responsible choice of partner, when there is no self-sacrifice for the sake of the other person or for the couple, when there is no willingness to do all the positive things in favor of the spouse and children, when self-love, selfishness and pride prevail, when divorce is a possibility, no matter how small, or when God does not dwell in the household are just a few of them.

Of course, blame will always be attributed to the other side, without acknowledging or, in many cases, without even realizing about one’s own faults. And what can the party that deems itself so good an innocent, that on occasions even come to accept (or cannot fail to acknowledge) some blame, do? In their view, they have the right to: “rebuild their life”, given that they consider themselves as victims. And, indeed, they are victims but only of themselves, and at the same time they are also tormentors, in the proportional part that corresponds to them, of their family, spouse and children with all the resulting consequences that this entails, and without detriment of the responsibility of the other side. (1).

A MEANINGLESS PIECE OF PAPER

Sadly, they are convinced that through divorce they are breaking the bond that they freely accepted, which was sanctified by God and established upon death of one of the spouses. While it is true that the State has the authority to regulate the civil effects of the institution of marriage, they have to comply with the order stated by their Creator. Therefore, it is invalid to legislate over something that was divinely instituted. The government lacks the power to dissolve a real and legitimate marriage, therefore what God has joined together cannot be separated by man, even when he issues thousands of certificates with official stamps in them, or establishes all the laws he wishes to. Ultimately, these laws and certificates will only be pieces of paper without any real value. Just a meaningless and worthless piece of paper!

And with these aforementioned papers they intend to legalize the subsequent concubinage and bring to fruition the destruction they had started progressively, maybe even before choosing a boyfriend or girlfriend, but at the exact moment when they accepted divorce as a right and solution.

It is the great temptation and the biggest of mistakes. “Rebuilding” gave us the option to destroy, and prevented us from making EVERY effort to make things right. The word “Redoing” leads us to believe that if things go wrong once again, there is a chance to redoing them over and over again. Or is it possible to set a limit to this?

This kind of thought also affects whoever marries with a divorced person, given that by accepting the effect (the new and false marriage) there is also acceptance of the cause (divorce). Now there are two people infected with the same virus. The impact multiplies in them, and it is very likely that it will also affect their existing and future offspring, who will end up considering normal what is an irregular situation and thinking of divorce as a possible option “in case of necessity” for their future lives. However, they will be the first victims. Any school principal or social worker knows, without having to be psychologists, that wherever there is a problematic child or a young delinquent, there is a broken marriage.

REAL REBUILDING?

Furthermore, this “rebuilding” hinders a genuine reconstruction, since the divorced ones create new family structures that tie and root them. Hence, the legal spouses, the ones that did not “rebuild” their lives, are prevented from trying to reconstruct their marriage, for they will encounter illegal structures or legalized concubinages, which will thwart any possible attempt of rebuilding their legitimate family.

Such structures, by their own nature, tie the partner to their new way of life, which, in addition, alienate them from divine friendship and jeopardize the end for which every man was created, namely to possess God eternally.

Whoever violates the laws provided by Him by living in a state of permanent sin, may deceive everybody, even themselves, but cannot deceive God. Furthermore, they put themselves and their partners at great risk of dying in mortal sin. In such a case, EVERYTHING will be lost for nothing.

  

AN AVERAGE LIFE EXPECTANCY OF 75 YEARS OLD IN EXCHANGE FOR AN ETERNITY?

Is there anything as folly as this? How much time does life last compared to an ETERNITY of acceptance or rejection from the Creator? Is it worth the risk? If love of God is not enough to act as a deterrent may His fair and final judgment be it.

After analyzing and considering all the previously exposed reasons, we ask again the initial question: Did these failed marriages really rebuild their lives and that of their families… or destroyed them?

______________________________

    1)  NOTE: It is not our intention to analyze in this article those cases where blame is completely and overwhelmingly attributable to only one spouse, as these are certainly the less common cases, although the more used by those in favor of divorce. Certainly, the Church accepts separation in extreme situations, but not false dissolution of a bond to be able to get married again.

It should be emphasized, to avoid confusion, that the fact of declaring null and void a marriage that never existed in the first place by any impediment, is completely different than divorce.

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Source of information: Blog CATOLICIDAD http://www.catolicidad.com/2009/06/rehacer-tu-vida.html  Translated from Spanish by: Fabiola Lozano.