The Bible addresses cheating through the seventh commandment in Exodus 20:14, which states “You shall not commit adultery,” prohibiting sexual relations outside marriage. This commandment extends to all forms of sexual immorality, as marriage represents a sacred one-flesh union established in Genesis 2:24 and later affirmed by Jesus in Matthew 19:5. The New Testament echoes this prohibition in Romans 13:9, while Hebrews 13:4 warns that God will judge adulterers. Beyond the physical act, infidelity represents broken vows made before God, damaging both the marriage covenant and spiritual trust. The biblical narrative also offers guidance on forgiveness, repentance, and restoration for those seeking to heal.
Key Takeaways
- The Bible explicitly forbids adultery in the Ten Commandments, calling it a serious violation of God’s design for marriage.
- Cheating breaks sacred marriage vows made before God, constituting perjury and damaging the covenant relationship between spouses.
- Biblical adultery encompasses all sexual activity outside marriage, not just extramarital affairs, requiring purity within marriage.
- Marriage is designed as a permanent one-flesh union reflecting Christ’s relationship with the church, making infidelity spiritually destructive.
- Restoration after cheating requires genuine repentance, forgiveness, and active trust-rebuilding, though consequences may remain.
Biblical Commandments Against Adultery and Their Meaning
The commandment against adultery appears in both major presentations of the Ten Commandments, recorded in Exodus 20:14 and Deuteronomy 5:18, where it stands as a simple, unqualified statement: “You shall not commit adultery.” The commandment was part of a legal and covenantal corpus that developed over centuries and influenced later post-exilic interpretations, including those during the period of the Septuagint translation.
Numbered as the seventh commandment in most Protestant and Jewish traditions and the sixth in Roman Catholic and Lutheran practice, this prohibition addresses sexual relations in which at least one participant is married to someone else.
The adultery commandment prohibits sexual relations involving at least one married person, appearing as the sixth or seventh commandment depending on religious tradition.
Levitical and Deuteronomic laws treat adultery as a serious covenant breach, with the maximum penalty being death in some cases, underscoring the gravity of the offense.
The New Testament echoes this standard in Romans 13:9, where the prohibition is repeated alongside commands against murder, theft, and false witness, all summed up in the instruction to “love your neighbor as yourself.”
This commandment addresses all forms of sexual immorality, extending beyond just extramarital affairs to encompass any sexual activity outside of God’s design for marriage. Hebrews 13:4 reinforces this teaching by emphasizing that marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept pure, warning that God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.
God’s Design for Marriage and the Path to Healing After Infidelity
Understanding what God intended for marriage provides essential context for grasping why infidelity causes such devastating harm and what recovery requires. Genesis 2:24 establishes marriage as a one-flesh union, a permanent bond reinforced by Jesus in Matthew 19:5. The historical practice of public marriage vows underscores marriage’s social and spiritual binding in ancient Israel, often enacted near the city or community boundaries.
The apostle Paul used this same passage to prohibit sexual infidelity and illustrate how marriage mirrors Christ’s relationship with the church. When adultery occurs, it attacks this sacred foundation.
Recovery requires two distinct processes: forgiveness and trust-rebuilding. Forgiveness cleanses the heart from bitterness, grounded in the believer’s own experience of divine forgiveness. Like Hosea’s marriage to an unfaithful wife, God demonstrates His enduring faithfulness even when His bride is unfaithful.
Trust rebuilding demands genuine repentance from the unfaithful spouse, demonstrated through changed behavior over time. Both partners must fight hard for restoration, understanding that forgiveness doesn’t eliminate consequences but prevents destructive bitterness. C.S. Lewis identified the chief sin in infidelity as perjury—breaking vows made before God rather than merely the sexual act itself.
