Cheating Breaks All 10 Commandments | Facing Life’s Worst Betrayal

True love between a man and a woman is beautiful. When I see a happy couple that has grown old together, I rejoice and wish the same for everyone in love.

Sadly, man’s sinful nature has corrupted true love. Some people have not seen, heard or experienced love in their lives. It’s a foreign language they wish to speak but have no teacher.

Check out this article Love Vs. Infatuation|11 Characteristics Of True Love In A Relationship.

For love to last, lovers make and keep promises to each other. One of those promises that is said even without words is “You’re mine, I am yours and no one will get between us.”

Unless agreed on prior, no one starts a family expecting their spouse to cheat on them.

Adultery is “voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and someone other than that person’s current spouse or partner”[1] Other words used for adultery are cheating or infidelity.

Jesus takes the definition of adultery to another level,

²⁷ “You have heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit adultery.

²⁸ But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”  Matthew 5:27-28

Any sexual sin or satisfaction outside marriage is adultery – kissing, one-night stand, pornography, flirting in person or online. Any emotional affair that replaces or attracts anything or anyone else other than your spouse counts as adultery.

Read more about sexual sins in this article The 18 Common SINS OF SEX|They All Start In The Biggest Sex Organ!

God Hates Adultery

In the Old Testament God likens adultery of wife and husband to someone who commits prostitution by worshiping other gods. (Jeremiah 3:6-9, Ezekiel 23:37, Hosea 1:2)

God is jealous of His people and expects total devotion from those who choose and commit to love and serve Him. (Exodus 34:14)

He chose the nation of Israel from among the nations, revealed himself to them and promised to provide and protect them. Therefore, to forsake their One true God and worship man-made idols was a big betrayal.

If adultery breaks God’s heart, how much more does it crash the heart of a man or woman?

Cheating in a love relationship is the worst betrayal because it comes from someone a person has given their heart, body and possessions. This is someone you sleep next to without fear of what they might do to you, someone who looks you in the eyes and tells you how much they love you and someone you get naked for and make love to.

How then can they go behind your back and desecrate your relationship with a third party? How can they forsake what you’ve got together for another, without your knowledge?

Cheating is a stab to the heart that leaves a bleeding scar.

It’s disrespectful and unloving in a relationship where a man and woman have committed to love and build a family together.

I’d respect a man or woman who faces their lover and says,

“You know what my love, because of this and that…I have to meet my needs somewhere else. I couldn’t bring myself to do it behind your back.”

Then perhaps a solution would be found rather than smiling at someone in private and cheating on them in public. That’s mean, don’t you think?

Sadly, sin makes us cowards and when we’re caught, we run away like a dog with its tail between its legs. Recall how Adam and Eve hid from God in the bushes!

One rather inform their spouse-to-be or current spouse they want to marry 10 or 100 people than cheat on them yet they had promised to love them only.

In fact, it’s better to break up with someone than cheat on them considering the ugly consequences of cheating we shall talk about in the next article.

How Cheating Breaks All Ten Commandments

All sins are severe before a holy God and all sins condemn a sinner to hell. But the damage of the consequences of sin to the sinner and others varies.

One lazy afternoon after a nap, while walking on his balcony, King David saw a woman bathing. He instantly invited her to his house and slept with her.

It didn’t end there.

He called the husband from the battlefield and got him drunk so he could sleep with his wife, but the guy refused.

So, he sent him back to the battlefield with a letter to the commander saying,

“Station Uriah on the front lines where the battle is fiercest. Then pull back so that he will be killed.” 2 Samuel 11:15.

An innocent man died that day because of a man who failed to control his sexual appetite and a wife who lacked the courage to say no.

That was the start of King David’s woes with his children’s rebellion, sexual immorality and deaths. The man after God’s heart had fallen because of cheating.

“²⁷ Can a man scoop a flame into his lap
and not have his clothes catch on fire?
²⁸ Can he walk on hot coals
and not blister his feet?
²⁹ So it is with the man who sleeps with another man’s wife.
He who embraces her will not go unpunished.” Proverbs 6:27-29

In another place Apostle Paul writes,

“Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body.” 1 Corinthians 6:18

Here is how cheating breaks all the Ten Commandments;

#1: “You must not have any other god but me.”

The first god of nonbelievers is self – I, my, me and mine. They do as they please and have what they want. That’s what we were before we became born again through believing in Jesus Christ.

When someone commits adultery, they’re making a statement that what God says doesn’t mean anything to them. It is to say, “What I am doing is my business. If it makes me happy, why not? It’s my life.”

When “I” is on the throne of one’s life, God is longer first and final.

Our lifestyle is a reflection of who matters most in our lives.

#2: “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea.”

Anything or anyone that takes the place of God and our eyes off Jesus Christ is an idol.

When someone lusts after another person and even sleeps with them, they’ve made the person their object of pleasure, thus an idol.

#3: “You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name.”

When spouses make vows to each other of forsaking all others, they’re making them before God who witnesses and recognizes them.

Cheating nullifies the vows.

And often, when cheats are caught, they readily swear by God’s name that it’s not true thus breaking this commandment twice.

#4: “Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.”

God made the sabbath for man to rest his body, worship God and enjoy family. It also has the spiritual significance of entering spiritual rest when someone believes Jesus Christ who is the Lord of the Sabbath. (Hebrews 4:1-13)

When a Christian cheats, they forfeit their spiritual rest, they sin against their body which is the temple of God and they destroy their relationship with family.

#5: “Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.”

During official marriage, the parents of both man and woman bless the union of their children.

But cheating happens in secret. Parents of both parties are not in the picture, so it’s dishonouring to the parents of the one cheating, the one cheated with and the one being cheated on.

Sexual sins have a way of complicating lives and causing total chaos.

Read more about how to avoid cohabiting in this article Official Wedding Made Easy|6 Tips To Avoid The 6 Dangers Of Cohabiting

#6: “You must not murder.”

Cheating leads to anger and hatred against each other which is murder according to Jesus. (Matthe 5:21-22)

An adulterer knows their actions will cause pain to their spouse but goes ahead with it. That’s unloving. It’s a form of hate toward their spouse, and hate is murder. (1 John 3:15)

And because cheating leads to divorce, it is a total lack of compassion for the one cheated on. “…To divorce your wife is to overwhelm her with cruelty,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “So guard your heart; do not be unfaithful to your wife.” Malachi 2:16

Cheating has also led to physical murder and many times to abortions that kill unborn children.

Millions have died of HIV/AIDS because of adultery leaving behind thousands of orphans. Even today, spouses are infecting each other with STDs. Is it worth it?

King Solomon wrote,

“¹¹ In the end you will groan in anguish
when disease consumes your body.
¹² You will say, “How I hated discipline!
If only I had not ignored all the warnings!
¹³ Oh, why didn’t I listen to my teachers?
Why didn’t I pay attention to my instructors?
¹⁴ I have come to the brink of utter ruin,
and now I must face public disgrace.” Proverbs 5:11-14

How many millions have said the above words since he wrote them?

#7: “You must not commit adultery.”

Adultery is the lust of the flesh that starts in the heart and ends in intercourse.

#8: “You must not steal.”

When someone cheats, they take what belongs to another to fulfil their sexual desires or achieve other personal goals.

Check out God’s warning to thieves in this article God’s Serious Warning To Small & Big Thieves|What Sorrow Awaits You!

#9: “You must not testify falsely against your neighbor.”

Cheating thrives on lies.

The adulterer lies to themselves, to their spouse, to the one they’re with and to all other people in their lives. I’ve heard stories of married people who come up with horrible accusations against their spouses to woo the object of their lust.

Who is the father of liars?

The devil.

Therefore, those who lie are children of the devil. (1 John 3:10)

Cheating turns the cheat into a hypocrite or pretender who always has something to hide, and fears being caught any time.

#10: “You must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.”

Adultery is desiring what belongs to another for yourself. The person one sleeps with in adultery is someone’s spouse or future spouse.

How would you feel if someone you’ve given your heart cheats on you?

For a start, we need to heed the Golden Rule that says;

“Do to others as you would like them to do to you.” Luke 6:31

And here is God’s will for us;

“³God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin.

⁴ Then each of you will control his own body and live in holiness and honor— ⁵ not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways.

⁶ Never harm or cheat a fellow believer in this matter by violating his wife, for the Lord avenges all such sins, as we have solemnly warned you before.” 1 Thessalonians 4:3-6

Thank you for reading this article. I welcome your comments and questions below – as iron sharpens iron, let’s sharpen each other.

 “Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them. Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.” (John 13:17, James 4:17)

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Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. (https://www.biblegateway.com)

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[1] “Adultery.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adultery. Accessed 20 Sep. 2023.