"Thou shalt not commit adultery" (Exodus 20: 14)

"For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God." (1 Thes. 4:3-5)

Question Yourself:

1.  Do you look upon the state of marriage as sacred? as consisting of holy bonds never to be broken? always to be tenderly nurtured and preserved? would you not even dream of being unfaithful to you spouse?  Are your attitudes chaste and pure? your actions? your thoughts? your daydreams?

2.  Do you help others to honor the institution of marriage? encourage others to be faithful and attentive to their spouses only?  Are you consistently careful to preserve not only your own purity and chastity, but also that of others?

3.  If you are engaged, and sexual feelings are dangerously strong, do you plan to marry soon?  If you cannot marry soon, do you take all precautions to see that your desires do not get out of hand and cause you to sin against yourself and your partner?

4.  As a child of God, do you live (and think) in the light of the knowledge that God is always present with you and in you?  that "the eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and good"?  that your body is His temple, is indwelt by the Holy Spirit? that not only your soul but your body is to be dedicated to the Lord as a "reasonable service"?

5.  In keeping with societies' attitudes, do you even begin to sympathize with the weaknesses of those who indulge in sexual relationships outside of marriage?  Do you make excuses for yourself or others when tempted to commit adultery?  Do you half-way excuse those who condone rape, incest, homosexuality, etc., because of social or psychological pressures upon them?

6.  Even though you may not act out your desires, do you find yourself sexually desiring someone else, other than your spouse? Are you blind to the teaching of Christ that equates lust with adultery?

-questions from Lauxstermann"s The Believer's Delight, p 83-4,87