Adultery
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
((Alligator story…))
Anything pertaining to sexual relationships is difficult to sit through, and frankly, to preach.
However, like the story about alligators, not talking about something that is hurting so many in our society, and for that matter, in our churches is deadly.
I’m going to go so far as to say that sexual immorality is the greatest threat facing the church of America today.
Hear me clearly, there are lots of threats, but there is no threat that has a more negative impact on the church in America today than sexual immorality.
Part of it is because we don’t talk about it.
The world around us talks about it constantly. But they don’t call it immorality. In fact, what the Bible calls sexual immorality they celebrate as an expression of freedom and liberation, as fulfilling our greatest physical needs, as something that should be expressed to all people, even children.
And, it’s all a lie from the pits of hell. Just like the alligators from the story, people are dying and human relationships are being destroyed because of this lie.
It’s vital that the church speaks truth on this topic, because we serve the Author of truth.
So this morning, as we continue our Encounter with the Ten, I want to welcome you to be uncomfortable.
Turn to Deut. 5:18 (Read)
Body
Body
Today, many people would like this verse to not be there, and therefore they ignore it.
Others reinterpret it for a modern audience.
1631 KJV...
We live in a culture that has become widely desensitized toward sex that it’s on network television and elementary school students are being taught sexual behaviors that a generation ago wouldn’t have been discussed in most progressive college classrooms.
We around surrounded by a culture with a superficial view towards sex…
It’s become self-centered, focusing on individual gratification and satisfaction instead of a beautiful gift to be shared between a husband and wife, committed to one another for a lifetime and seeking to raise a family together.
Scores of people justify their sexual behavior in numerous ways (try people out to see if they are compatible, everyone does it, it’s fun, it feels good, don’t be so old school, and so on.)
So it’s important that we understand just what is being talked about here.
Adultery = any sex outside of marriage.
Context = sex outside of marriage
However, in just a minute we will see that Jesus clears this up even further…so don’t get excited!
Why was this added into the Ten?
The marriage covenant is a sacred union in which God brings together two people and makes them one flesh.
It’s the first institution that God initiated between human beings.
Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”
Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said,
“This at last is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called Woman,
because she was taken out of Man.”
Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
It’s so sacred, in fact, that God often illustrates His relationship with His people by using the marriage relationship as an example.
The common message in both is this: absolute, unfailing fidelity is the expectation of marriage and the command of God.
Because:
God instigated His relationship with people and He instigated the marriage relationship…
A healthy society depends on both relationships…
Thus, it’s no shock that our society today is sick as so many people’s relationship with God is diminishing as they reject His standards and the marriage relationship is diminishing as more and more people begin “re-interpreting marriage” for a modern society or reject the institution all together.
In short, this is in the Ten because God cares about the marriage relationship.
It matters to God and it must matter to us as well!
What did Jesus say?
Read Matthew 5:27-28
Here Jesus says that it’s not simply the act (which is still wrong), but lusting after someone who is not your spouse that is sin.
This is not simply an issue of attraction. God designed us to be attracted to the opposite sex. Noticing a beautiful woman (if you are a man) or an attractive guy (if you are a woman) is not sin.
Being interested in being in a relationship with someone you find attractive is not sin…unless you are already married!
“Sin begins in the mind, and if we nourish it, we eventually commit the act.”
This is vital for us to pay attention to:
Today lust is so rampant that I believe it’s the most common sin in all of the US and of Christianity.
Pornography is no longer accessed from to dirty shops downtown, but from any computer or phone anywhere, at any time.
The porn industry brings in nearly four billion dollars each year!
Nearly thirty thousand people are accessing porn on the internet every second.
Society as a whole has decided that no one has the right to “judge” anyone’s sexual behavior, thus just about anything goes as long as it makes you happy and it’s not illegal…and even then, there are people who advocate for the most vial, despicable sexual behavior that doesn’t even bear repeating!
At one time homosexuality was something on the fringes of society that was rarely if ever spoken about. Now, if you turned on a television set right this second and flipped through the channels I guarantee you will see a man kissing a man, a woman kissing a woman, or much much more.
We have discussions today about boys using girls bathrooms, boys playing on girls teams, teenagers have reassignment surgeries, children self-identifying, people suggesting we lower the age-of-consent, and all manner of topics pertaining to sex.
All of this is a result of sin taking root in the mind, convincing people it’s really not sin, then leading people to greater sin.
Jesus makes it very clear that the heart and mind are the battlefields when it comes to sex.
That’s why as believers we say that sex must be reserved for the marriage relationship (not the gonna-be-married, or the just-like-we’re-married relationships).
Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.
Because it’s a sacred union between two people that God has turned into one flesh.
And it’s a beautiful, wonderful gift...when shared in the proper context.
Look at how serious Jesus is about this:
Read Matthew 5:29-30
Obviously Jesus is speaking more figuratively here, because it’s not the eye or hand that causes lust, but the heart and mind.
He’s not literally telling you to cut body parts off, because even without these things we can still commit sexual sin.
The point is, Christians must do whatever it takes to avoid the act of adultery and the things that would lead to a lustful attitude, even at great personal cost!
For those who struggle, we must focus on removing sexual sin from our lives.
And it is painful…
How do we remove it? (Explain H.A.T.E.)
Honesty
To self
To God
Accountability
Total Commitment
What does that look like?
Escape Plan
One last uncomfortable thing to mention to couples this morning. We need to be committed to one another when it comes to our sexual relationship, because temptation is strong in today. Look at what Paul says:
Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
When a spouse falls to sexual immorality it is not the fault of the other partner. However, there are ways to guard against this happening.
Paul gives it here.
We need to understand that within a marriage, our bodies are not our own. And, because of this, we ought to be attentive to the other’s needs and temptations.
It calls for us to think about the other person and ask the question, “What does he need?” “What does she desire?” “How can I keep him interested?” “What makes her feel loved?”
I always tell young couples that a lasting marriage is not about love; it’s about a willingness to sacrifice for the other person and devotion enough to put your spouse’s needs ahead of your own.
So, homework assignment for the couples this week is to do something about this. No excuses, no “yeah, buts”, just do it!
Challenge
Challenge
So, anyone uncomfortable yet?
First, if you are being unfaithful in your marriage relationship, you must fix that right now!
No justification. No excuses. No shoulda, coulda, woulda’s.
Second, can you stand before the Lord this morning and say, “Yes, I am committed to living a sexually pure lifestyle. One based not on popular viewpoints, personal opinions, or feelings, but on what Jesus said.”
If not, what hinders you?
Third, maybe you need to admit to struggling at times with lust. Do you need to H.A.T.E. sexual sin?
Honesty, Accountability, Total Commitment & an Escape Plan
Finally, do you need to ask for forgiviness?