RCRC Adult Sunday School: Lord's Days 41

Summary (NotebookLM)

Ursinus' commentary on Lord's Day 41 of the Heidelberg Catechism explores the seventh commandment, focusing on the requirement to maintain chastity and uphold marriage. It explains that this commandment forbids all forms of unchastity, not just adultery, and promotes virtuous behaviors like chastity, modesty, and temperance. The text also examines the institution of marriage, detailing its purpose, characteristics of a lawful union, the question of its necessity, and the duties of married individuals. Finally, it lists actions and behaviors considered contrary to the sanctity of marriage.

Chapter Content:

This document summarizes the key themes and ideas presented in the provided text, which is a commentary on Questions 108 and 109 of the Heidelberg Catechism, focusing on the Seventh Commandment ("You shall not commit adultery"). The text explores the commandment's scope, related virtues and vices, and the nature and purpose of marriage.

Main Themes:

Broad Interpretation of the Seventh Commandment: The commentary emphasizes that the commandment goes far beyond simply forbidding adultery. It encompasses all forms of unchastity, both in thought and action, and applies to both married and single individuals.
Preservation of Chastity and Marriage: The fundamental design of the Seventh Commandment is to protect and promote chastity in individuals and the sanctity of marriage as an institution.
Chastity, Modesty, and Temperance as Virtues: The text identifies chastity, modesty, and temperance as essential virtues for upholding the principles of the Seventh Commandment.
Marriage as a Divine Institution: Marriage is presented as a divinely ordained institution with specific purposes and requirements.
Opposition to Unchastity and Violations of Marriage: The commentary explicitly lists various actions, thoughts, and inclinations that are considered contrary to the Seventh Commandment and the institution of marriage.

Most Important Ideas and Facts:

Scope of the Prohibition: The Seventh Commandment forbids "all unchastity," including "unchaste actions, gestures, words, thoughts, desires, and whatever may entice thereto." This indicates a comprehensive prohibition against anything that defiles the body or soul.
Body and Soul as Temples of the Holy Spirit: A key reason for maintaining purity is that both our bodies and souls are considered "temples of the Holy Spirit," which God wills to be kept "pure and holy."
Adultery as the Exemplary Sin: While adultery is singled out as the "most shocking and debasing vice," it serves as a representative sin that implicitly condemns all other "wandering and wanton lusts."
Condemnation of Causes and Effects: The commandment condemns not only the act of unchastity but also its "causes, occasions, effects, antecedents, consequents, etc."
Chastity Defined: Chastity is described as a virtue that "contribut[es] to the purity of body and soul, agreeing with the will of God, and shunning all lusts prohibited by God, all unlawful intercourse and inordinate copulation in connection with all the desires, causes, effects, suspicions, occasions, etc."
Modesty and Temperance as Supporting Virtues: Modesty (shamefacedness) is seen as essential for chastity, "abhorring all uncleanness, joined with shame, grief and sadness." Temperance, in regulating bodily appetites, is called "the mother and nurse of all the other virtues, and is the cause of chastity—without which there can be no chastity."
Three Classes of Lusts: The text categorizes lusts into three classes:
Contrary to nature and from the devil: These are particularly heinous sins like the "confounding of sexes" and "abuses of the female sex," requiring severe punishment by magistrates. Incest is also included in this category.
Proceeding from corrupt nature: This includes fornication (between unmarried persons) and adultery (simple or double). Magistrates are also exhorted to punish these severely, with capital punishment mentioned for adultery in the Old Testament context.
Corrupt inclinations resisted by good men: These are inclinations that are not indulged in, but are resisted through prayer and effort. Marriage is presented as a "remedy against these sins."
Marriage as a Lawful and Indissoluble Union: Marriage is defined as a "lawful and indissoluble union between one man and one woman, instituted by God."
Purposes of Marriage: The text outlines several reasons for the institution of marriage:
Perpetuating and multiplying the human race "in a lawful manner."
"The gathering of the church."
Being an "image or resemblance of the union between Christ and the church."
Avoiding "wanton and wandering lusts."
Providing a "society of labor and prayer."
Requirements for Lawful Marriage: A lawful marriage requires:
Fitness of the persons.
Consent of both parties and parents/guardians.
No mistake in identity.
Observation of suitable conditions and means.
Being between "two persons only."
Being contracted "in the Lord" (between the faithful and with prayer).
Not being between persons of forbidden degrees of kindred (consanguinity or affinity), as outlined in Leviticus 18.
Marriage for Those Lacking the Gift of Continence: While marriage is "indifferent" for those with the "gift of continency," it is "commanded by God himself" for those who "cannot contain," as it is "better to marry than to burn" (1 Cor. 7:9).
Duties of Married Persons: Mutual duties include love, fidelity, sharing of goods, mutual sympathy, training of children, and bearing with infirmities. The husband's duties are to nourish, cherish, govern, and defend; the wife's duties are to assist, obey, and reverence.
Things Contrary to Marriage: These include fornication, adultery, incest, unlawful copulation, abuse of marriage, hasty/rash divorces (except for adultery or desertion), and forbidding marriage.

In conclusion, the commentary on Lord's Day 41 presents a robust understanding of the Seventh Commandment, extending its reach beyond the specific act of adultery to encompass a holistic view of chastity in thought, word, and deed, both within and outside of the divinely ordained institution of marriage. It highlights the virtues necessary for upholding these principles and explicitly condemns actions and inclinations that violate them.

What is the scope of unchastity as understood by this theological interpretation?

The scope of unchastity is quite broad and encompasses not only specific physical acts but also related thoughts, desires, and contributing factors.

Core Definition: All unchastity is considered accursed of God. It is the opposite of living chastely and modestly, a virtue that contributes to the purity of body and soul and agrees with the will of God. Chastity involves shunning all lusts prohibited by God, unlawful intercourse, and inordinate copulation.
Beyond Gross Sins: God's prohibition in the seventh commandment goes beyond just adultery and other gross sins. Since both the body and soul are considered temples of the Holy Spirit, God wills for both to be kept pure and holy.
Comprehensive Scope: Therefore, God forbids all unchaste actions, gestures, words, thoughts, desires, and whatever may entice thereto. This means that the prohibition extends to internal states and external influences that might lead to unchastity.
Opposition to Chastity and Marriage: The seventh commandment enjoins the preservation of chastity and marriage. When God forbids something, He simultaneously commands its opposite. Thus, forbidding adultery and other forms of unchastity implies commanding chastity and protecting marriage. Whatever is opposed to the preservation of chastity and the protection of marriage is forbidden.
Identifying Unchastity by Relation to Adultery: While adultery is singled out as the "most shocking and debasing vice" repugnant to chastity, this means that all other sins and vices contrary to chastity are simultaneously prohibited and condemned. This includes all "wandering and wanton lusts," whether found in married or unmarried persons.
Inclusion of Causes and Effects: The prohibition extends to the causes, occasions, effects, antecedents, and consequents of sins contrary to chastity. Where the cause is condemned, the effect is also condemned, and vice versa.
Specific Examples of Opposition: Things explicitly mentioned as being in opposition to chastity include dissembled chastity, an impure single life, whoredom, concubinage, incest, and adultery, along with all wanton and hateful lusts, and their causes, occasions, and effects. Things contrary to marriage, such as fornication, adultery, incest, unlawful copulation, abuse of marriage, hasty divorces, and forbidding marriage, are also contrary to chastity.
Classes of Lusts: The sources categorize various species of lust into three classes:
- Contrary to Nature: These are seen as being from the devil and are abhorred even by corrupt nature. Examples include confounding of sexes, abuses of the female sex, and incest. These are considered heinous sins that magistrates should punish with extraordinary punishments.
- From Corrupt Nature: These proceed from our corrupt nature. Examples include fornication (between unmarried persons), adultery (by married persons), simple adultery (married person with unmarried person), and double adultery (married person with another married person). Magistrates are expected to severely punish fornication and adultery, with capital punishment appointed for adulterers. This class also includes evil desires that are indulged or delighted in, even if not punished by civil power, as they are joined with an evil conscience and punished by God.
- Corrupt Inclinations Resisted by Good Men: These are inclinations that good individuals do not indulge but resist, cutting off occasions and seeking God's grace. Marriage is noted as a remedy against these inclinations.
Supportive Virtues: Modesty and temperance are identified as virtues that contribute to chastity. Modesty involves abhorring uncleanness with shame and a desire to avoid it and anything leading to it. Temperance, observing proper limits in things like meat and drink, is called the "mother and nurse of all the other virtues" and is essential for chastity. Intemperance and its extremes are therefore opposed to the temperance required for chastity.

In summary, the scope of unchastity is understood expansively to cover not just sexual acts outside of lawful marriage, but also the thoughts, desires, words, gestures, and environmental factors that contribute to impure living, seen as a defilement of both body and soul, which are meant to be pure and holy as temples of the Holy Spirit.

What are the two kinds of chastity?

These two kinds are:

Chastity of single life: This is described as a virtue that involves shunning all wanton lusts without marriage. Living chastely applies in single life.
Chastity of holy wedlock (or conjugal chastity): This refers to the virtue of preserving in holy wedlock the order instituted by the wonderful counsel and wisdom of God. Living chastely also applies in holy wedlock.

More generally, chastity is defined as a virtue contributing to the purity of body and soul, agreeing with the will of God, and shunning all lusts prohibited by God, unlawful intercourse and inordinate copulation in connection with all the desires, causes, effects, suspicions, occasions, etc., which may lead thereto, whether in holy wedlock or in a single life. It is considered one of the principal virtues that constitute the image of God.

What is marriage defined as?

Marriage is primarily defined as a lawful and indissoluble union between one man and one woman. It is explicitly stated that this union was instituted by God himself in Paradise, before the fall of man. Therefore, it is considered no human device or invention.

The sources also explain the purposes for which marriage was instituted:

For the propagation of the human race in a lawful manner.
That we may know Him [God] to be chaste, and to hate all lust.
That He will gather to Himself out of the whole human race, thus lawfully propagated, an everlasting church, which shall rightly know and worship Him.
That wanton and wandering lusts might in this way be avoided.
That it might be an image or resemblance of the union between Christ and the church.
That it may be a society of labors, toils, cares and prayers, between persons living in a state of matrimony. This society is described as closer and more intimate than other human connections, leading to more ardent prayers for those within it.

Furthermore, the sources indicate that God in the seventh commandment enjoins and sanctions the preservation of marriage. It is mentioned as one of the two kinds of life (the other being single life) where chastity is to be lived and preserved. Conjugal chastity, specifically, is described as preserving the order instituted by God in holy wedlock.

Essentially, marriage is presented as a divinely ordained, permanent union between a man and a woman with multiple significant purposes, including procreation, fostering chastity, building the church, symbolizing the union of Christ and the church, and providing mutual support and prayer.

What is the third class of lusts?

The third class of lusts is described as:

The corrupt inclinations to which good men give no indulgence.
Instead, they resist these inclinations and cut off all occasions from which they might arise.
Their consciences are not troubled because they call upon God and seek the grace of resistance.
They have in their hearts the testimony that their sins are graciously forgiven them.

The sources also state that marriage was instituted after the fall as a remedy against these sins. In relation to these inclinations, the passage from 1 Corinthians 7:9 is quoted: "It is better to marry than to burn". However, the sources add a caution that this does not approve of premature, injurious, or improperly contracted marriages.

What is conjugal fidelity?

Based on the sources, conjugal fidelity is understood as a specific duty that devolves upon married persons.

It is defined as that duty which requires that each one [in the marriage] love the other only, and that constantly.

The sources also note that adultery is a violation of conjugal fidelity. This underscores that conjugal fidelity is about maintaining exclusive loyalty within the marriage bond.

What are the three virtues?

These virtues are:

Chastity
Modesty
Temperance

Here is what the sources say about each of these virtues:

Chastity: In general, chastity is described as a virtue contributing to the purity of body and soul, agreeing with the will of God. It involves shunning all lusts prohibited by God, all unlawful intercourse and inordinate copulation, along with all desires, causes, effects, suspicions, and occasions that may lead to these things. This applies whether someone is in holy wedlock or in single life. Chastity is considered one of the principal virtues which constitute the image of God. It is also noted that there are two kinds of chastity: the chastity of single life, which shuns wanton lusts without marriage, and conjugal chastity, which preserves the order instituted by God in holy wedlock.
Modesty: Also called shamefacedness, modesty is a virtue abhorring all uncleanness, joined with shame, grief, and sadness, either due to past impurity or fear of future uncleanness. It involves a desire and purpose to avoid not only uncleanness itself but everything that might lead to it. Modesty is considered necessary for chastity, serving as a help, cause, effect, consequent, and sign of chastity.
Temperance: This virtue observes such limits as are becoming to nature, propriety, sound reason, and the order of persons, places, and times, according to the law of nature in things pertaining to the body, such as meat and drink. Temperance is called the "mother and nurse of all the other virtues". It is also stated to be the cause of chastity, and that without temperance, there can be no chastity.

What makes a marriage lawful?

For a marriage union to be lawful, the following requirements are necessary:

Union between fit persons. The marriage must be contracted between individuals who are suitable to be joined together.
Consent of both parties. Both individuals entering the marriage must give their consent.
Approbation of parents or guardians. The marriage must meet the approval of parents, or those who are in the place of parents, whose consent is required by law.
No mistake or error in persons. There must not be any mistake or error regarding the identity of the persons involved.
Observance of suitable conditions, propriety, and lawful means. The contract must be made with suitable conditions, propriety, and through lawful means.
Contracted between two persons only. The union must be exclusively between two persons, as stated, "The twain shall be one flesh". While fathers under the Old Testament had many wives, the sources emphasize that the lawfulness of a thing is judged by the law, not by examples.
Contracted in the Lord. This means the marriage should be between the faithful and contracted with prayer.
Not between forbidden persons or close relatives. The marriage must not be contracted between persons who are forbidden, or who are of such near relationship or degrees of kindred as are forbidden by God and wholesome laws. Kindred is discussed in terms of consanguinity (relation by blood from the same stock) and affinity (relation through marriage). The sources state that the law of God forbids the second degree of kindred in marriage, and wise laws also forbid the third degree. Degrees of consanguinity forbidden by God are said to be found in the eighteenth chapter of Leviticus and are considered natural and moral. Violation of these degrees is described as an abomination.

These conditions are presented as necessary for a marriage to be lawfully constituted.

Tuesday, May 13, 2025

Lord's Days 41