FAQ 63
Where Does Adultery Begin and End?
NCW 52
Q. President Clinton has been accused of adultery recently but he is saying it isn't strictly "adultery" because he did not have full intercourse. Where does adultery begin? And is President Clinton's private life any of our business?
Adultery begins in the mind, is conceived in the heart, and comes to fruition in the flesh. Anything -- from a slight touch of the fingers which stimulates sexual awareness or activity, to full intercourse with someone you are not married to, is fornication (if the parties are unmarried) or adultery (if one or both are).
As to whether Clinton's extra-marrital activities are any of our business that depends on three things. Firstly, if he claims to be a Christian, then it is every Christian's business to demand proper behaviour. Secondly, if the job description of the President of the United States requires that he behave in a non-adulterous manner then it is the business of every United States citizen. Thirdly, if the United States claims to be a moral leader in the world, as it is claiming to be, then, by virtue of his leadership position, it is the business of every person on the planet.
If, however, Clinton does not claim to be a Christian, then it has nothing to do with the Christian community. If America does not claim to have any special leadership position in the world, setting an example to the world community, then it is none of the business of other nations either. It is between him and his family...and God, to whom he is accountable.
We must be very careful when, and whom, we judge, ensuring that our judgment is (a) based squarely on the Word, and (b) we are not hypocrites ourselves. I am glad I am not in Bill Clinton's shoes, because he has the dubious honour of having led his country even further down the slipperly slope of darkness, obscurity and, if the American nation does not repent, extinction.
Clinton and I both went to the same College and University where he is held in high esteem, so in a way I have a personal interest. The man claims to be a Baptist but his doctrines are so New Age and anti-scriptural that I would have to say that he is not a Christian anymore. He is also a close friend of the Prime Minister of my own country, Great Britain, where similar trends are taking the country towards annihilation. Tony Blair and Bill Clinton share very similar ideals, both promote homosexuality, feminism, and other anti-biblical ideas. Blair also claims to be a Christian and to hate abortion but he hasn't lifted a finger to help the unborn. Both are men of destruction wearing the clothes of respectability and, in Blair's case, riding a wave of popularity. The world loves them both (though it is beginning to wonder about Clinton), and they love the world.
Finally, from a strictly Scriptural point-of-view, Clinton has not in any case committed adultery. That he is guilty of fornication with an unmarried woman and breaking his marriage vows with his wife there can be no doubt.
This page was created on 8 April 1998
Last updated on 20 December 2007
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