The Small Catechism – part 79
Lessons in the Lutheran Confessions
Scripture Text: Ephesians 5:1–5
Series: Lessons in the Lutheran Confessions
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From the Confessions: The Small Catechism, The Sixth Commandment
You shall not commit adultery.
What does this mean?
We should fear and love God so that in matters of sex we are chaste and disciplined in our words and actions, and that husband and wife love and honor each other.
Pulling It Together: The sexually immoral person is an idol worshiper. The one who covets a neighbor’s spouse or anything else in that person’s household, is essentially, as the King James Version puts it, a "whoremonger" (Ephesians 5:5 KJV), one who visits the pagan temples and the prostitutes who worked them. There may be no temples with prostitution in your city, but the covetous behavior is identical. We should fear and love God so that husbands and wives are content with his will, that they are devoted to and content with their own spouse. Anything less than this is ungodly, covetous idolatry.
Prayer: Strengthen me, O Lord, and give me a courageous spirit, that I may speak and act as you expect. Amen.
Click here for resources to learn the Ten Commandments.
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Author
Rev. Dr. Mark E. Ryman has served as Pastor for St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Salisbury, NC, since 2021. Previously, Pastor Ryman served congregations in North Carolina and Ohio, as well as a call to specialized ministry with Sola Publishing.
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