Do Not Commit Adultery

“Covenant” is a commonly misunderstood Biblical term. We often confuse covenants with contracts—transactions you can back out of if things go wrong. But they’re more than that. A covenant is a bond that unites two people in spirit and blood. You become the same body and being, implying that each member must care for the other as they care for themselves. Covenants include marriages, the relationship between parents and children, and our relationship with God.

The idea of covenants is the reason God condemns adultery right next to murder in his short list of rules for life (Exodus 20:14). Adultery isn’t specifically about extramarital sex—it’s about breaking spiritual bonds.

In breaking a covenant, you hurt yourself as much as the other person because you’re part of the same whole, similarly to how Adam and Eve were literally made from the same flesh (Genesis 2:20-25). Mistreating your spouse violates your spiritual bond. So does infidelity, since sex is a bond-strengthening activity that goes way deeper than physical intercourse (1 Corinthians 6:12-20).

Marriage isn’t meant to be a covenant—it is one whether you want it to be or not. This arrangement is the cornerstone of human relationships and essential to God’s plan for making us who we’re meant to be. The marriage covenant mirrors our covenant with Jesus, which he bought with his blood to form a spiritual union between us and our Creator. This changes the Ten Commandments from the terms of a contract into a promise of mutual love and service.

So, when you make your covenants—with your spouse, with God, or your children—don’t do it lightly.

Watch the full sermon here.