What God’s Word has to say.

As a man, husband, and more recently a father—I have struggled and struggled with sexual temptation. At my breaking point-being “tired” of the ongoing struggle and to seek support—I submitted a prayer request at a recent church leadership retreat, asking the intercessors to pray “That I would always and forever remain faithful to my wife and, never, ever commit adultery.”

The key to your question is understanding the meaning of "commits adultery" in Matthew 19:9.

Years ago, while pastors at Good Shepherd Community Church, my friend Alan Hlavka and I both developed lists of all the specific consequences we could think of that would result from our immorality as pastors. The lists were devastating, and to us they spoke more powerfully than any sermon or article on the subject.