Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

Genesis 3:7 (ESV)

What is it about adultery that makes it such a grievous sin in the eyes of God and man? Although even a minor moral lapse leaves the sinner guilty of breaking the entirety of God’s law (James 2:10), there is something particularly heinous about the sexual sin of adultery. Most importantly, adultery is an affront to God who established the institution of marriage—at least in part—to reflect His love and commitment to the Church (Eph. 5:31-33). Indeed, He often uses the imagery of adultery to describe spiritual apostasy (e.g., Jer. 3:20). Not to be overlooked, however, is the fact that adultery is also an affront to man. When a husband seeks the illicit embrace of another woman, he alienates his wife. This is sin—in one of its purest and saddest forms.

The theme of alienation flows from the headwaters of the Bible, in Genesis chapter three where humanity’s tragic descent into sin is described. Without equating the primal sin of the Fall with adultery, the parallels are obvious. The consequences of this fall were immediate and far reaching: man’s rebellion brought alienation. In verse eight Adam and Eve display an unhealthy fear of the Lord. Once they walked gladly in His presence, but upon eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (against His will), they subsequently hid from Him in the trees of the garden. In verses 16-19 pain and suffering are introduced as a result of their rebellion. Childbearing will now be agonizing (v. 16) and work will be onerous, sometimes fruitless (vv. 17-19). By allying themselves with their own selfish desires, Adam and Eve alienated themselves from God and His good creation.

Adam and Eve also alienated themselves from each other; this is the point of Genesis 3:7. The moment they sinned, their eyes were opened, “and they knew that they were naked.” In other words, for the first time their nudity left them ashamed, undignified, and vulnerable. It is strange to consider, but had the Fall not taken place men and women would not need clothes to hide their bodies. In a sinless world a husband’s affection would be perfectly reserved for his wife and a wife’s for her husband. In a sinless world there would be no such thing as an illicit embrace or even an inappropriate glance—and a thousand nude Helens of Troy would not distract a husband from his wife for even an instant. But when the eyes of Adam and Eve were opened, this sinless state dissolved and the first couple could no longer stand before each other in undefiled purity and beauty. From now on their hearts would generate dark thoughts.

Scripture provides little detail on Adam and Eve’s relationship after the Fall, but this is certain: they struggled, like any husband and wife, through sinful thoughts, temptations, and actions. Where once they were perfectly united as husband and wife, sin brought alienation—and this alienation has corrupted every human relationship—in the case of marriage, sometimes to the point of adultery.

It is too easy to forget how God intended His people to live. This is especially true when we tune in to the world and imbibe the message, “Adultery is good.” This doctrine society preaches with methodical, virulent passion, training our generation that a spouse can be rejected like a used car. This is not how God intended it to be. Adultery is alienation; a perversion of God’s created order. The days are gone when the culture could speak univocally on matters of morality. It remains the privilege and duty of the Church to say with clarity and conviction, “For the dignity of man, for the glory of God, adultery is wrong. Sin no more.”

article adopted from Kairos Journal

First Baptist Church is located in Perryville, MD, one and a half miles east of Rt. 222.