Adultery And The Adulterous Woman Series

INTRO.- ILL.- There was a teenage boy and his grandfather who went fishing one day. While fishing, the old man starts talking about how times have changed. The young fellow picks up on this and starts talking about sex and sexually transmitted diseases going around. The teen says, "Grandpa, they didn’t have a whole lot of problems with all these diseases when you were young did they?" Grandpa replies, "Nope." The teen says, "Well, what did you guys use for safe sex?" Grandpa replies, "A wedding ring."

Don’t we wish this were true?!

Adultery and the adulterous woman. What a subject! But this sin is nothing new.

ILL.- Demosthenes was a prominent Greek statesman and orator of ancient Athens. In fact, he lived during 300 B.C. And here is something he wrote: "We keep prostitutes for pleasure; we keep mistresses for the day to day needs of the body; we keep wives for the begetting of children and for the faithful guardianship of our homes. So long as a man supported his wife and family there was no shame whatsoever in extra-marital affairs."

That sounds so much like today! As we all know, the world is extremely liberal when it comes to sex: straight, gay or otherwise. In the eyes of the world, almost everything goes and is ok.

PROP.- God’s wisdom reveals the truth and gives us some guidelines to follow in order to avoid the sin of adultery.

1- Store up God’s Word to overcome

2- Following smooth talk leads to trouble

3- Guard the heart for victory over sin

I. STORE UP GOD’S WORD TO OVERCOME

1 My son, keep my words and store up my commands within you. 2 Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye. 3 Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart. 4 Say to wisdom, "You are my sister," and call understanding your kinsman; 5 they will keep you from the adulteress, from the wayward wife with her seductive words.

My son, keep my words. It pays to pay attention to your father’s words. It pay even better to pay attention to your Heavenly Father’s words.

ILL.- I have read that texting with a smart phone is a good way to not pay attention to what is going on around a person. Those who text and drive are asking for big trouble and possibly death. Even texting and walking can lead to trouble. I saw a video of a lady who was texting while walking in a mall and ended up tripping and falling into a water fountain. I would think that was a lesson learned.

I think we’re all guilty of not paying attention spiritually to many things in life, and especially, when it comes to God’s Word. God says, “Listen to me. Pay attention to my Word. Read my Word but also be a doer of my Word.”

God’s Word is full of wisdom when it comes to relationships and illicit relationships such as sexual sin, adultery, etc.

Matthew 5:27-28 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

Lust is a big problem in our society. The world and the devil love to lure us with lust. That’s why there are so many seductive ads on TV, at the movies, in magazines, on in the internet, etc. In fact, it’s far worse on the internet. I would guess that almost anything and everything is available on the internet when it comes to sex, which promotes more and more lust in people, and especially, men. Both men and women are attracted to one another by sight but when it comes to nudity, etc., men are especially, vulnerable.

I Corinthians 6:15-20 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! 16 Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” 17 But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit. 18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. 19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

How powerful are these words and how clear! Flee, run from sexual immorality. Our bodies belong to God and they must not be joined together with another human person in a sexually immoral situation. God has spoken.