Sermon Tone Analysis

Sermon Illustration

Building Hedges against Adultery

During the Allied invasion of France in 1944, a lot of fighting was done in areas bordered by hedgerows.

Hedgerows were mounds of earth situated along roads and between fields.

These mounds, which measured between 4 and 8 feet high and as much as 10 feet thick, were heavily planted with trees and shrubs.

During the war, the dense growth made them tough barriers for armies to get through.

In addition, areas surrounded by hedgerows could be easily defended by very few troops.

In the Bible, the word “hedge” is used as a picture of protection.

For instance, in Job 1, Satan complains that God has put a hedge around Job and everything he has.

With this protection in place, Satan is unable to attack Job.

The seventh commandment, “You shall not commit adultery,” is God’s way of putting a protective hedge around marriage.

This hedge is a strong barrier that is meant to keep the union safe and to keep temptation out.

I don’t have to tell you about the damage that adultery can do; physically, emotionally, and relationally, adultery can wreak havoc in your life.

But the greatest damage it does is to your relationship with God.

After all, the cry of David in Psa 51 was, “Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight” (Psa 51:4).

Of course, adultery is not the unpardonable sin, and it can be forgiven (see 1 John 1:9).

But you can prevent adultery by putting a hedge around your married relationship.

Secure your mind.

You need to put a hedge around your mind.

That’s where the battle is fought and where it is either won or lost.

Job offered good advice when he said, “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl” (Job 31:1 NIV).

Block out temptation.

Build a hedge against temptation.

This is more than just avoiding the magazines, movies, and TV channels that cause you to stumble (not to mention the internet).

It also means severing any emotional attachments that threaten your marriage.

Maintain appropriate distances in relationships.

Flee from temptations.

Recognize your weaknesses.

Christians often fall into immorality through overconfidence.

They leave themselves wide open to an emotional hook—and then a physical hook.

Paul cautioned, “Let him who thinks he stand take heed lest he fall” (1 Cor 10:12; NASV, NKJV).

Protect your marriage.

Build a hedge of affection around your marriage.

Marriages don’t collapse overnight; they suffer a slow leak.

Find ways to help your partner grow and feel satisfied.

Try writing a letter telling him or her how you felt the day you got married.

Maybe renew your vows in a public ceremony.

Commit to meeting each other’s needs—emotional, spiritual, and sexual (Paul is very candid about the latter in 1 Cor 7:3–5).

God put a hedge of protection around marriage so that our lives would be full, blessed, and satisfied.

We should cultivate and tend that hedge through our thoughts and actions.

Scripture Passage

1 Corinthians 7:1-16

In 1 Corinthians 5–6, Paul addressed issues related to reports he received about the Corinthians.

Paul now turns to answer questions from the Corinthian church.

The Corinthian believers wrote to him about several issues in the church community, including marriage (v.

1), virgins (v.

25), food sacrificed to idols (8:1), spiritual gifts (12:1), and the money he was collecting for Jerusalem Christians (16:1).

Paul spends a majority of the rest of the letter responding to these inquiries.

A. This is Paul's most extensive discussion of domestic relationships.

He deals with

1. sexual immorality, 6:9-20; 7:2

2. marriage, , ,

3. singles, , ,

4. virgins,

5. remarriage of widows and widowers,

6. the recurrent theme is, "stay as you are," , , , , , , , ; because of the current crisis and the expected coming of Christ, although he allows for exceptions

B. Chapter 7 is a very good example of how the local and temporal situation must be taken into account before one can accurately interpret the Bible or draw universal principles for application.

It is very difficult in the book of 1 Corinthians to know the historical setting because

1. we do not know exactly what the current crisis was in Corinth (possibly famine)

2. we do not know which factious group Paul is addressing and in which verses (i.e., ascetics or libertines)

3. we do not have the letter that the church wrote to Paul asking these questions (cf.

,; ; ; ,)

C.

There seem to be two inappropriate attitudes/factions in Corinth that were causing great strife.

The first were those people who tended toward asceticism (cf.

).

The other group were those who tended toward moral looseness or antinomianism (cf.

; ).

All truth is attacked by the extremes.

In , Paul is trying to walk a practical and theological tightrope between these excesses, while still speaking to both groups.

1 Corinthians 7:1

the things about which you wrote The precise nature of the Corinthians’ first question is unknown.

Paul’s response suggests that the inquiry was broadly related to matters of marriage and sexual relations.

the things about which you wrote The precise nature of the Corinthians’ first question is unknown.

Paul’s response suggests that the inquiry was broadly related to matters of marriage and sexual relations.

touch a woman The Greek text here uses an idiom to refer to having sexual intercourse with a woman; it may not imply marriage.

It is very difficult to interpret this chapter without knowing exactly what questions the Corinthians asked and who asked them (i.e., the faithful believers, the libertine group, the ascetic group, or one of the factious house churches).

ascetic group among the Corinthian Christians who not only condemned sexual promiscuity (rightly) but also argued (wrongly) that Christians should avoid marriage and abstain from sexual relations even in marriage.

Sexual abstinence by devotees of the gods was common among the devotees of the cult of Isis, an Egyptian goddess, who was also widely celebrated and worshiped in Corinth

The Cynics of Paul’s day were more likely to urge sexual abstinence so that the pursuit of their philosophy could go uninterrupted,

touch a woman The Greek text here uses an idiom to refer to having sexual intercourse with a woman; it may not imply marriage.

This is most likely a quote from the Corinthians’ previous letter to Paul and not the position of the apostle himself.

Some married believers in Corinth deprived their spouses of sexual relations on the basis of this slogan.

While Paul acknowledges the benefits of celibacy, he asserts it is not an option for those who are already married (v.

5).

Thus, married couples should enjoy sexual relations and only abstain from them when both parties agree to do so.

because of sexual immorality Although the Greek word porneia can refer to any illicit sexual behavior, Paul may refer to prostitution here (see 6:9, 12 and note; 6:15–16).

Some female believers may have deprived their husbands of sexual relations.

In response, these men sought out prostitutes.

Marriage is not the exception; it is the norm, not a concession

Marriage is not the exception; it is the norm, not a concession

Paul gives four guidelines in two verses.

It is just possible that Paul is dealing with two problems in this area of human sexuality (cf.

Gordon D. Fee, To What End Exegesis, pp.

88-98).

Paul gives four guidelines in two verses.

It is just possible that Paul is dealing with two problems in this area of human sexuality (cf.

Gordon D. Fee, To What End Exegesis, pp.

88-98).

1. promiscuous Christians who continued their previous pagan sexual patterns, particularly at pagan temples and feasts (i.e., libertines)

2. Christians who have made even married sex a spiritual taboo (i.e., ascetics, cf. and thereby becomes a slogan or one of the factions)

These are remarkable verses in that they reveal viewpoints that appear to be far ahead of their time: a healthy perception of the woman’s sexuality, and an understanding of the complete equality that exists between a man and a woman in the most intimate area of their relationship.

The Scripture gives no support whatever to the notion that sexual relations are solely at the direction and for the enjoyment of the husband.

The wife does not have authority Paul discusses this because of the problem of unsatisfied husbands seeking fulfillment from local prostitutes.

In Paul’s view, married men and women have pledged their bodies to their spouses and thus do not have authority to deny their spouses sexual relations.

Paul’s perspective assumes a framework in which a godly, loving husband does not take advantage of his wife (see note on Eph 5:23; note on Eph 5:25).