Thou Shalt Not Commit
Adultery
Exodus 20:14
As I begin this seventh commandment, I am
forced to stop and almost feel the full
weight of such a command. This is not to say
that any of the other commands are not
weighty, for most certainly they are heavy,
and should make definite impact upon our
minds--our very souls. It seems, however that
this command in 1999 seems to evoke an earth
shattering effect upon the very core of
humanity today. Immediately after God
declares His sacredness of human life follows
His designs for that which safeguards the
highest earthly relationship and sets out the
conditions of purity for the holy and sacred
office of the relationship that procreates
life--marriage.
God's first stop in His designs for
society finds its beginning in the family and
thus His designs lie within the sacred unity
of man and woman. The focus of life begins
with man and God. The second is its inter-relation,
that of man to man. Within that second realm
is the beginning place for all subsequent
relations. Nothing can be more important and
essential than the relationship upon which
all subsequent ones are based. The unity of
the relationship between husband and wife is
not a whim of God--one that would evoke a
general caution from God, but an essential,
pivotal pillar of truth for us to give
careful attention to. Genesis 1:27
So God created man in his own image, in the
image of God created he him; male and female
created he them. The unity of husband
and wife thus the unity of the expression of
God's own image. Both are necessary to give
full expression of God. In our Christian
culture today, we have seen a decline in
recognition of this. In a 1988 Christianity
Today survey, 23% of its readers had
extramarital intercourse, and 45% had done
something they themselves had deemed sexually
inappropriate. One in four Christian men are
unfaithful, and nearly one half have behaved
unbecomingly. We are seeing pastors today
drop like flies--men who are steeped in porn,
serial adultery in successive pastorates,
child molestation, bestiality, and even some
who had died of AIDS. The purity of the
church is in great jeopardy! As we deal with
this powerful statement from God Himself, we
must be aware that our own attitude should
come from an understanding of our own
sinfulness. Martin Luther coined a classic
Latin phrase: simul justus et peccator:
"at the same time righteous and a sinner."
How true this is--we have been declared
righteous and in fact given the very
righteousness of Christ Himself and yet in
ourselves, there is a very wretched sinful
nature. This should foster in us a genuine
humility and brokenness--hearts that are
sensitive to conviction of the Holy Spirit.
All of us, young and old should sit up and
with great care and caution should listen
attentively and take heed to God's precious
truths regarding the plaque of immorality.
How can a young man cleanse his way? By
taking heed to thy Word. (Ps 119:9).
This commandment deals with unfaithfulness
to the marriage contract and we must remember
that each of these commandments are not
specific sins, but categories of sins that
God is dealing with. The principle here is
that when the highest sin in that category is
forbidden, all known sins are forbidden as
well. All forms of sexual sins--wrong
thoughts, subjecting yourselves to that which
tears apart the designs of God's marriage
covenant are equally wrong.
The Negative Aspect - We
are not to involve ourselves in anything
outside of the sacredness of the marriage
relationship.
The Positive Aspect - We
are to love purity, uphold as sacred the
honorable estate of marriage--sanctify
marital love in highest regard.
One word of caution: There is no subject
more difficult to deal with faithfully, and
yet truthfully and fully. It tends to be
somewhat 'messy.' I will attempt to use
discretion as an ally. I will also attempt to
be thorough. This may raise questions from
your children about what God is teaching us.
Don't let that frighten you. Teach them the
truths of God--what better way to handle this
than centered around God's Word and the clear
teaching from it? Take advantage of it. It is
my goal to shepherd all of us tonight. There
are those who have grown up in primarily pure
environments and this kind of difficulty is
not a real issue at this point in your life.
To you, I want to keep it that way by giving
you biblical, authoritative truth that will
enable you to become more pure in your life.
It should also work a genuine sense of
gratitude that God has saved you from all the
hurt that is involved in it. To others, you
have perhaps been through this and you know
more about this than I ever will, because you
have experienced it first hand. My goal is to
help you never have to experience it again,
and then to arouse in you a heart of
gratitude that exclaims thankfulness to God
for saving you out of it.
We will look at this in three parts: The
scope of adultery, the negative aspect, and
then the positive aspect!
The Scope of Adultery - 1Corinthians
6:9-14 - Here, we see Paul declaring
that a true child of God will demonstrate the
fruits of righteousness by way of obedience
to the law of God. Notice that 4 out of 10
deal with sins of sensuality. We are a people
that are given to the senses! This is not a
cultural matter--in fact this truth
transcends culture in every way. It is a
matter of thus saith the Lord. When you
involve yourselves in this pattern of living--the
truth is you do not know God. This kind of
life does not demonstrate God! What is God
saying here? two things:
1. God is serious about moral
purity! God, in His Word declares
the prohibition of adultery second only to
idolatry in the OT and first in its
repetition in the NT. It is a heinous crime -
Job 31:11 For
this is an heinous crime; yea, it is an
iniquity to be punished by the judges. God
calls it villainy - Jeremiah 29:23
Because they have committed villainy in
Israel, and have committed adultery with
their neighbors' wives, The scope and
immensity of this offense is huge! Notice:
a. It is a sin against the
individual! All of
those involved are individuals. This
needs no proof. In verse 18 Paul talks
about sexual impurity being in a category
of sins all by itself. The Corinthians
had a saying in vs13 that states
basically, (The body will be a body…)
much like our "boys will be boys"
motto. It's just biological, don't worry
about it, no big deal. Hungary? Eat…no
biggie! Paul hits that square in the face
that says "the body is not merely
for biological functions, but it is to
demonstrate the glory of God! It is
spiritual. Christ in the temptation was
confronted with the same line of thinking--you're
hungry--eat! He said, "No, there is
a bigger picture!" What picture?
"The glory of God!" vs 19,20!
There are very heavy penalties to the
individual that is involved--mentally,
physically, and yes, most importantly,
spiritually.
b. It is a sin against
families! This
offense devastates not only the
individual, but it completely shatters
and splinters the family. It flies in the
face of the theological picture of
Christ's love for the church and brings a
terribly confusing picture (not to
mention a grossly inaccurate picture) of
God to the children, thus distorting the
fundamental communication of the glory of
God to those we are responsible to
demonstrate Him to. The sacredness of
motherhood and fatherhood is corrupted
and childhood is demeaned and undermined--making
them to face adulthood with great fear
and trepidation. Infidelity tells a child
that his mother is not worth much, and
that his father is a cheat and a liar and
cannot be trusted. It only unravels
further from there.
c. It is a sin against the
Church of Christ. God
demands that men love their wives as
Christ loved the church and gave Himself
for it, thus purifying the wife (Eph 5:25).
When this kind of love and devotion is
disregarded, the picture of the church is
weakened and like a cancer begins to eat
on the purity of the church. The art of
giving the kind of love that God demands
has a purifying effect in the lives of
the married couple. When that cleansing
effect is turned from, the pollution of
that sin begins to invade the church
premises and sooner or later mars the
name of Christ and His bride.
d. It is a sin against a
society! Proverbs 14:34 Righteousness
exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach
to any people. There is a logical
sequence that we can see. The adulterer
is really the enemy of an entire culture.
The greatness of a person, family,
church, and a society depends upon the
purity and strength of that person,
family, church, and society. The
interesting truth is seen in the reverse
of all of this as well. If the society
stood up to this violation of God's law,
the impact would be on the individual,
which would impact the family and the
church! The message of this command is
the preservation of the purity of
humanity! This command preserves marriage
and makes important love and fidelity.
Like the nature of sin, it has a
spiraling effect--a dominoes effect as
one failure leads to a disastrous other.
II. The offense is not out of
bounds to God's grace! vs11 - such were
some of you. As we look closely at the
horrendous impact that it makes in life and
is wide in its devastation, it is not outside
the wonderful grace of our Lord! Notice what
God's grace does for us:
a. Brings cleansing
- "you were washed!" Ezekiel
36:25 I will sprinkle
clean water on you, and you will be
clean; I will cleanse you from all your
impurities and from all your idols. This
washing is rebirth--a fresh start--only
this time it is a start with the
righteousness of Christ Himself. Titus
3:5 Not by works of
righteousness which we have done, but
according to his mercy he saved us, by
the washing of regeneration, and renewing
of the Holy Ghost;
b. Brings a setting apart!
- "you are
sanctified" In Paul's greeting
in the first chapter of this book, he
says, "…to those who are in
Christ, called to be holy (saints)."
As true children of God, we, through the
righteousness of Christ have been set
apart from this and all other sin. We are
not under the bondage of sin and it's
effects. When we sin, it is a choice--our
refusal to magnify and bring glory to God
and an insistence upon self glorification.
c. Brings a declaration of
righteousness - "you
are justified" Isaiah
53:11 He shall see of
the travail of his soul, and shall be
satisfied: by his knowledge shall my
righteous servant justify many; for he
shall bear their iniquities. We
stand before the judge of all the earth--guilty!
We now have a new standing before God.
Through Christ we are clothed now with
His own righteousness and we are declared
righteous through His Son alone! We are
declared and made in the new nature
righteous, holy, innocent and guiltless
because God is "the justifier of the
one who has faith in Jesus" (Rom 3:26).
A transformed life should produce
transformed living. Adultery should not
even be a hint for a believer. The scope
of this devastation is clear. Next week
we will study the negative aspect of this
command and then the positive aspect.
What is going on in your life right now?
Thou
Shalt Not Commit Adultery pt2
Exodus
20:14
There is a two pronged focus in the
sacredness of marriage that has one
result:
Leave and Cleave
- Genesis 2:24Therefore
shall a man leave his father and his
mother, and shall cleave unto his wife:
and they shall be one flesh.
Leave
- means "to relinquish, to
loosen and forsake!"
Cleave - This
Hebrew word is used else where in the Old
Testament:
Ruth 'clung' to her mother-in-law
when they were about to part (Ruth 1:14).
Schechem's soul 'clave' or 'was
strongly attracted' to Dinah (Gen 34:3)
Solomon 'clung' with love to many
foreign wives (1Kings 11:2).
Result - "One Flesh!"
We are not to be involved in
anything outside of God's design and
pattern for purity and marriage! 1Cor 6:9-20
- Why not?
1. Adultery debases
humanity!
Jeremiah 5:8
They were as fed horses in the morning:
every one neighed after his neighbor's
wife. The adulterer is here
described like a horse neighing.
Proverbs 5:11
And thou mourn at the last, when thy
flesh and thy body are consumed,
Proverbs 7:23
Till a dart strike through his liver; as
a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth
not that it is for his life.
One writer writes: "Uncleanness
turns the body into a hospital - it
wastes the radical moisture, rots the
skull, and eats the beauty of the face.
As the flame wastes the candle, so the
fire of lust consumes the bones. The
adulterer hastens his own death."
2. The Purpose of our
bodies is to glorify God!
vs 13,14
3. Sexual fornication
uniquely effects the person like nothing
else!
a. financial effect.
Proverbs 6:26
For by means of a whorish woman a man
is brought to a piece of bread: and
the adulteress will hunt for the
precious life.
b. dishonoring effect.
Proverbs 6:32-33
But whoso committeth adultery with a
woman lacketh understanding: he that
doeth it destroyeth his own soul. 33A
wound and dishonour shall he get; and
his reproach shall not be wiped away.
This dishonoring is long lasting.
c. deceitful effect.
Proverbs 9:17-18
Stolen waters are sweet, and bread
eaten in secret is pleasant. 18 But
he knoweth not that the dead are
there; and that her guests are in the
depths of hell. The effect is
deep--emotionally and physically.
"The delight lasts a moment, the
torment an eternity."
d. crippling effect.
Proverbs 7:26
For she hath cast down many wounded:
yea, many strong men have been slain
by her.
4. Our bodies are united
with God! vs 15-17
There are two wonderful principles
brought out here:
a. Principle of Purity!
b. Principle of
Priority!
5. The sin brings a
greater reproach - vs18.
Flee immorality!
I. Sacredness of Married Life
- God began the relationship of
man and wife in marital covenant before
any other covenant. Before laws,
governments, civilizations, churches, and
before any system of worship, God
instituted marriage.
Genesis 2:18And
the Lord God said, It is not good that
the man should be alone; I will make him
an help meet for him.
Matthew 19:4-6 - We see God's outline
for the sacredness of marriage:
There are four important principles
Christ lays down:
A. Marriage is divinely
ordained in Creation: vs4,6!
B. Marriage is the supreme
commitment! - vs5
This verse says volumes about
the strength of the vows and commitment!
Notice:
1. Supreme over parents!
2. Supreme over children!
3. Supreme over business!
C. Marriage is steadfast
in continuance! Vs6 "let
not man put asunder!"
D. Marriage is miraculous
in consummation! "one flesh!"
I. Safe Guards for Purity! How
do we keep pure?
A. Decision-
B. Dependence
Prov 3:5
- "Trust in the Lord with ALL
thy heart!" and "lean
not on your own understanding!"
Proverbs 28:26He
that trusteth in his own heart is
a fool: but whoso walketh wisely,
he shall be delivered.
Philip. 2:21For
all seek their own, not the
things which are Jesus Christ's.
C. Devotion - 1 Tim. 4:15-16
Meditate upon these
things; give thyself wholly to them;
that thy profiting may appear to all.
16Take heed unto thyself, and unto
the doctrine; continue in them: for
in doing this thou shalt both save
thyself, and them that hear thee.
D. Development -
1. Continued
Leaving - of
self; of others; of single
mindedness; all other affections.
2. Continued
Cleaving -
continued growth in communication
and transparency to each other
until there is a harmonious like-mindedness.
"Union is not the
same as unity!"
E. Discipline1 Tim. 4:7-8
But refuse profane and old wives'
fables, and exercise thyself rather
unto godliness. 8For bodily exercise
profiteth little: but godliness is
profitable unto all things, having
promise of the life that now is, and
of that which is to come. The
word for 'exercise' is the word
discipline!
1. Discipline thoughts!
2 Cor. 10:5
Casting down imaginations, and
every high thing that exalteth
itself against the knowledge of
God, and bringing into captivity
every thought to the obedience of
Christ;
2. Discipline words!
3. Discipline Actions!
This has several sub-points of
consideration:
- Where we go; vs8,11b
- When we go; vs9,12
- What we wear; vs10
- What we see/refuse to
see; vs13,22,23-27
F. Determination -
Hebrews 13:4
Marriage is honourable in all, and
the bed undefiled: ICor 7:2-5
1. have each other! Vs2
The implication clearly 'have no
other, but have each other!'
2. faithfulness and
integrity - vs3 God demands
transparency (due benevolence)
3. mutual submission to
each other - vs4
4. sensitivity to each
other - vs5
Joshua 24:15 "…as
for me and my house, we
will
serve the Lord"
Psa 57:7 "My
heart is fixed…"
END OF DOCUMENT
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