Intro: If you were to talk to the normal person on the street about marital faithfulness they would probably laugh you off the sidewalk. Yet God shows us again and again that the roadway to a healthy marriage must be paved with sexual fidelity. It is amazing to me that God can take math and turn it upside down. It is only when God does it that 1+1 = 1. Genesis 2.24 clearly says the two shall be come one. It is for spiritual intimacy, physical intimacy, and emotional intimacy. Marriage was designed to be a gift from God. Marriage does not come from government it comes from God.
Why was Eve first created. God looked at poor old Adam and said oh me it is not good for Him to be alone. God first and foremost made eve as a suitable helper for Adam. It is clear to me that God designed marriage to be one man and one wife for life. What about all the kings in the Old Testament that had multiple wife’s? God does not condone something simply because the culture does. Even though it was the in thing to do to have many wives if you were a political leader like king Saul, and king David does not mean that God approved of the practice. You can see the terrible results in their lives because of marital infidelity. So this morning lets together look at what the Bible has to say about Sex. Adrian Roges said, “Love is blind but marriage is an eye opener.” God doesn’t want us to go into anything blind. He wants us to know exactly how he designed us sexually.
I. Sex Created
Sex was not discovered or developed by man it was designed by God. Genesis 1.27 In the image of God he created him male and female He created them. Devine design led to the sexes and sex. It is natural for a man to leave his mother and father and cleave to his wife with the two becoming one flesh.
This command is a clear call to remain faithful, trustworthy, true to the marriage covenant. If you cannot trust your spouse with sexual purity what can you trust them with? Sex was created by God to build and strengthen the marital partnership, to provide marital pleasure, and for procreation.
A) Partnership
Genesis 2.18 “it is not good for man to be alone I will make him a comparable (NKJ), suitable (NASB ), that is just right for him (NLT).
Guys when God made marriage, he had someone suitable and just right in mind for us! God had in His mind a covenant commitment that was first a partnership. God looked through the ages and saw what a mess men would make. Part of this partnership is the physical intimacy that is reserved for those that have life time reservations for not others. This intimate partnership is meant to be the prime example of Gods relationship to His people. All throughout the Old Testament God speaks of the relationship to His people in terms of romance. Whenever Israel broke their vows of commitment God called them adulterers. So God takes seriously our faithfulness in the partnership of marriage.
B) Pleasure
God is not some high and mighty stick in the mud. He does not sit in heaven thinking of ways to keep us from happiness. God is not a Cosmic killjoy trying suck all the fun and pleasure out of life.
In the words of Adrian Rogers “when God says thou shalt not he is trying to keep us from harm. When He says thou shalt He is saying help yourself to happiness. God never tells us to abstain from marital intimacy. He tells us to stay away from fornication, (sex before marriage), adultery sex with someone outside your marriage, and homesexuality (unnatural sex).
Have you ever read the book Song of Solomon, Song of Songs in some translations.
Listen to SOS 4.10, 11
“How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much (Z)better is your love than wine,
And the fragrance of your oils Than all kinds of spices! 11"Your lips, my bride, drip honey”
1 Timothy 6.17 tells us that God gives us things to enjoy.
Jesus came that we might have life and have it to the full. God wants us to enjoy our physical intimacy within the covenant of marriage.
C) Procreation
God said in Genesis 1.28 be fruitful and multiply.
Enjoy your sexual, spiritual, and emotional union and make others that can come to know me and my many blessings. We find new life in Jesus Christ when we confess Him as savior and follow Him as Lord. We too can be part of bringing new life into the world.
II. Sex Perverted
New York City pastor Tim Keller calls sex the covenant cement. When used properly intercourse seals the bond of matrimony.
When sexual intimacy and intercourse are divorced from a total life commitment it loses its purpose its pleasure and purity. Why on earth do people get addicted to pornography, and prostitutes? It is because they substitute those for God’s best. The perversions of sex were never meant to satisfy our sexual appetites. Committed, covenant intimacy is designed by God to fulfill our needs.
Listen to the wisdom of CS Lewis
“The Christian idea of marriage is based on Christ’s words that a man and wife are to be regarded as a single organism. The male and female were to be combined together in pairs not simply on a sexual basis, but totally combined. The monstrosity of sexual intercourse outside marriage is that those who indulge in it and try to isolate one kind of union (sexual) from all the other kings of union which were intended to go along with it and make up the total union. The Christian attitude doe not mean that there is anything wrong about sexual pleasure, any more than about the pleasure of eating. It means that you must not isolate that pleasure and try to get it by itself any more than you ought to try to get the pleasure of taste without swallowing and digesting, by chewing things and spitting them out.”
Our culture has tried to remove the guilt associated with adultery, fornication, and homosexuality. These are now called a fling, an affair, secret love. God calls it sin. God hates sin, He hates adultery.
It is a marital sin it is against your spouse, a mental sin Jesus Himself said if you have looked on a woman with lustful thoughts you are an adulterer. It is a spiritual sin a sin against God. Joseph the son of Jacob was tempted by his boss’ wife. Yet he knew exactly what it meant to give in. Genesis 33.9 “How could I do such a wicked thing? IT would be a grave sin against God.” (NLT)
God provided a great gift in marital sex to all people. However, like many things God provides man perverts.
On television sex outside of marriage is mentioned 13 times more than normal intimacy between husband and wife.
Sexual fidelity between husband and wife are soffed at by society, the but of jokes by comedians. If we even mention adultery, fornication, or homosexuality a sin we are intolerant, unintelligent, and out of touch with reality.
Mankind has twisted and perverted what God meant for a healthy relationship between a husband and wife. Do you think there is any hope?
III. Sex Redeemed
What we see in this commandment is a clear and complete call to sexual purity and faithfulness for all Christians.
If sex is to be truly redeemed remember that love is not uncovered like buried treasure. Instead it is cultivated like a bumper crop. You put down fertilizer, cultivate, and finally harvest. The problem with sex today is that it is controlled by lust and not love. Lust looks for what it can get. Love looks for what it can give.
Love is a choice not a chance. Love only fades if you fail to cultivate and water it. True love, love that chooses what is best for yourself, for others, and God’s best will always overcome lust. Real intimacy involves the giving of one another in the covenant commitment of marriage.
You say what can I do? I’ve failed and fallen into this sin. I’ve committed adultery whether it be, mental, emotional, or physical. All we have to do is look to Jesus and we can see there is hope.
John 8 Jesus encounters a woman caught in adultery. The men of the day were all set to stone her. How did Jesus react? You that sin not cast the first stone. Can’t you just hear the stones hitting the ground with a huge thud! He asks the lady where are your accusers. She said they are gone.
He said to here your sins are forgiven go and sin no more!
Jesus always stands ready to forgive when others stand ready to stone. If you have fallen into sexual sin if you confess it and turn from it He will forgive you.
What should you do to stay away from sexual sin?
1) Guard your mind all sexual sin begins with your thoughts
2) Guard your heart your emotions belong to God and your spouse
3) Guard you body don’t allow yourself into a situation that can turn into sin
Conclusion: Jesus wants you to be honest and confess your sin and then he wants you to Quit it!
