No Cheating! Series

I have two disclaimers before I begin todays message-

#1. As a warning to parents with smaller children, I will be talking today about a subject that some parents might consider too mature for their children at this stage. So this message is rated PG, parental guidance is suggested, although I won’t be getting overly graphic some parents might feel a bit uncomfortable with their children hearing about this topic.

Pause

#2. I will also guarantee you that I will not only step on most if not all of your toes with this message, but stomp on them hard. Many of you WILL be offended.

I know because my toes are sore from preparing it and there were actually a lot of tears shed over the content of what we will be discussing this morning.

That’s why I’m down here using the lectern instead of the pulpit today- I want to be closer to you as I know this may be a very painful subject to talk about.

As your pastor, it’s my job to present the truth, even when the truth stings us hard. In fact, I would be negligent as the spiritual father to this congregation if I did not present God’s Word in it’s fullness.

So I would ask you- please listen with an open heart, and if you are offended by anything I say- that’s actually a good thing but it is not my intention. However, it is the purpose of God’s Word to make us uncomfortable and even sorrowful, because Godly sorrow leads us to repentance. I would also ask that if you need clarification on anything, to please contact me after the message and I’ll be glad to talk to you about it.

Saying that, the title of today’s message is-

No Cheating!

CCCAG July 18th, 2017

Based on the 7th Commandment

Scripture- Exodus 20:14

In July of 2015, many people woke up to the new story of a website being hacked, and the names and email addresses of people who had gone to that site and signed up for its services were now posted publicly for anyone to go and look at.

Politicians, Teachers, judges, even pastors and denominational leaders were suddenly thrown in the spotlight when it was discovered that their names or personal and even professional emails were in that database as having signed up for the sites services.

That website is called Ashley Madison. Their tagline and motto is “Life is short, have an affair.”

Ashley Madison is a paid service that allows you to sign up and make a profile advertising yourself as a person who is married or in a committed relationship and you are looking for another person also in a committed relationship to have an affair with.

Affair. I shake my head a bit at that word because as usual, our world has taken a hard-biblical truth and softened it with a word like affair, or tryst, or wandering, or indiscretion.

But the bible is clear in what God calls it- adultery if you are married, and fornication if you are not married.

God has some strong opinions and things to say about that.

The first thing we need to do is define the terms. America is in a time of being post-Christian so many of these words have lost their meaning to us. However, the bible is very black and white on it’s meaning for the words Adultery and fornication

Definition for Adultery-

For a married person, it’s ANY physical contact, any emotional connection, or any sexual feeling or outlet that God has reserved for the marriage union alone that is directed to someone other than your spouse.

Definition of fornication-

Is actually the same definition as adultery except that you are single when you are doing it.

Why would I include fornication in a sermon about adultery? Because fornication is adultery against your future spouse.

If you haven’t figured it out yet, this will not be a politically correct sermon, and I know I’ve already stomped a few toes.

You will also notice that these definitions exclude pretty much all modern dating practices. In fact, I’ve heard it said that most of our modern dating practices are an internship for adultery later.

God takes both adultery and fornication very very very seriously. At the time this was written, about 3400 years ago, God prescribed a severe civil penalty for either of these actions-

Death.

Some of us (and I say us) are alive today only because we were not born then.

The 7th Commandment is five words.

Exodus 20:14 “You shall NOT commit adultery.

Prayer- God as Father takes us in His arms today and explains to us His heart, and His will, so that we will know His love in giving us this protection from ourselves so that we might live lives of freedom and joy.