Why? God gave them to Israel before they entered the promised land as they were forming a new nation. He knew that the people needed laws to govern the people by.
Every person could not just do as he pleased, when he pleased, to whomever he pleased.
Today we would like to deal with the seventh commandment, which clearly states, in verse 14, “Thou shalt not commit adultery.”
God stated this law straight forward, and clearly, because He wanted every one to be able to understand it. He did not want anyone to have to labor over trying to figure out what He meant, as we often have to do with laws men make today.
Illus: We have so complicated things today that it often takes the Supreme Court to properly interpret laws, and even then sometimes we are not sure if the problem was worked out right.
Although there may be some things in scripture that do have to be studied thoroughly to know what to do, no one can say when they stand before the Lord on the Judgment day that they could not understand the ten commandments, especially the seventh one.
Even a very young person can understand this commandment. God wanted His people to have a clear understanding of how to protect their families because a nation can not be any stronger than the families that form it.
The same thing is true of His church. A church can be no stronger than the families that it is composed of.
The person who does not discipline himself to be faithful can not be used of God, nor is he any help to his family, and there are many folks who have not learned to obey God in disciplining themselves.
That is one reason why we have, in our nation and in our churches people who get married but they refuse to obey God’s command, “Thou shalt not commit adultery.”
Illus: The old Quaker preacher, Elton Trueblood, said, “The most obvious sight that a nation is rotting away is in an absurd emphasis on sexual pleasures, both in practice an literature.”
Our nation seems to be obsessed with sex.
We see it on the covers of many magazines on display.
We see it on the billboards as we drive down the highways.
We see it on the television every day.
We see it on soap operas every day.
We see it in the arts.
We see it in the fashions of today.
We see it in the advertising commercials.
If there ever was a time when preachers needed to preach against this “absurd emphasis on sexual pleasures...” it is now!
Illus: While the publishing houses and broadcasters are in high gear promoting impure sex, the men in our pulpits across this land are virtually silent on this issue.
Satan is using every weapon he has to get men and women to violate God's command, “Thou shalt not commit adultery."
Here are some thoughts to consider:
I. THE ATTITUDE.
Today our society has a very relaxed attitude toward adultery. We even hear comedians crack jokes about it. Men and women, all over this nation, in and out of churches, have allowed this to be accepted as long as the ones involved do not get caught, and some do not even worry about being caught. But notice the strong stand God takes.
A. The Lord prohibits.
Not only does He prohibit the act as we read in our text, He prohibits even considering the idea.
Keep in mind, the prescribed punishment for adultery was death for both parties involved. In Matthew 5:27-28, We read, Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
Throughout the Old Testament God reminded His people of this sin, for He likened it to the sin of their lusting after other gods instead of keeping their whole affections upon Him.
Notice the words, ",,,Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her commited adultery with her already in his heart.”
God said there was no distinction. The one who considered the act was as guilty as the one who carried out the act.
Notice also that He used the word, "Whosoever “. So we know this commandment applies to man and woman alike. God Prohibits even the thought! Why?
B. Lust provides.
God knows that looking in a lustful manner opens the door to opportunity, and if that person does not turn and run in the opposite direction Satan will see to it that door is opened and the victim walks in. At that point, not only has the one who has considered the act sinned, but the one with whom the act is committed has sinned also. We had better train ourselves to know what Satan is doing when we feel ourselves considering something like this!
How many times have you seen an advertisement for something you did not need, but you really wanted?
Illus: Merchants tempt you with living color pictures of things to try to separate you from your money. If you allow yourself to look; the seed is planted. Maybe it is a piece of furniture. Soon you find yourself making arrangements to be where the item is. Then you touch it. You may think that you can not afford that piece of furniture, but the more you look at it the more you want it.
It is a common trick of Satan to tempt you via sight. He knows you have to be exposed before you will consider the act in your heart which leads to committing the sin in deed.
Illus: Observe the progression of Satan's temptation when he went to Eve in the Garden of Eden. Genesis 3:6, "And when the woman SA W that the tree was for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be DESIRED to make one wise, SHE TOOK of the fruit thereof, AND DID EAT. and GAVE ALSO UNTO HER HUSBAND with her.- and he did eat.”
Consider David's downfall. David was a man after God's own heart, yet he allowed Satan to get to him.
In II Samuel 11:2, We read, “And it came to pass…that David…SAW a woman…and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. Look at verse 3, We read, “And DAVID SENT AND INQUIRED after the woman…”
Notice, HE SAW and HE INQUIRED, but it did not end there. Look at verse 4, We read, “And David…TOOK HER…AND HE LAY WITH HER.”
Sin demands a "wage." You can not PLAY and not PAY! Look at Matthew 5:29, We read, “And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not than thy whole body shall be cast into hell.”
Does it sound extreme that God would suggest that you blind yourself if you find that you can not keep from looking? Well, God knows that anything you can do to keep from sinning is worth it, The body burning in hell even for one day would be bad enough, but consider this, that burning of your whole body will continue throughout eternity - there is no end to eternity!
Illus: A news broadcast dealt with the VCR's we have in our homes. Of course we all know they can be used for the Lord, or for the Devil. The reporters pointed out that obscene movies were selling like hot cakes now that people could purchase or rent the videos. One man was asked to tell why the sales were so high. He said, “Before you had VCR's, decent people would not go to movie houses to see those movies for fear someone might see them, but now they can go into the local video store and rent or purchase obscene material and no one knows what they are watching in the privacy of their own homes.'”
If that report was true, and the "smut" movies are being watched by people who would not have been watching them before, then we can expect divorce rates to soar and sex crimes to be even more numerous than they already are.
Why? Because these who are watching this stuff the seed is being planted and it will sprout eventually. They will sin when the opportunity avails itself.
God prohibits lustful thinking because it provides Satan with a wide open door to carry the sin even further. The first step is seeing and considering, but it does not stop there, it ends in doing wrong outwardly.
II. THE ACT.
When we consider the act of adultery we have to consider definitions.
A. The specific definition.
Adultery, in its strictest definition when God commanded the Jews, refers to having sexual intimacy with a person with a person you are not betrothed or married to.
At no time under any circumstance is adultery acceptable. When a couple becomes married, they become one, and God says no one is to separate them. They are told at the sacred altar, "They twain shall be one, and what God hath Joined together let not man put asunder." The person who commits adultery is coming between two who are married, and punishment is sure to come.
Illus: Joseph Fletcher, in his best seller, “Situation ethics” has a section on “Sacrificial Adultery.” He tells about a German mother who lived in the closing days of World War II and her husband was a prisoner of war. She left her home to secure food for the family, but while she was doing this some Russian Soldiers apprehended her. About that same time the husband was released from the war prison camp. He went home and found that his wife had been captured. He tried every thing he knew to get her released. In the prison camp the wife became aware that she had two options:
1. She could become content and remain there until the war ended, or
2. She could hasten her release by becoming pregnant.
She decided she would take the second choice even though God's Word states, “Thou shalt not commit adults.” She seduced a guard and within a short time she was with child. She was released, as she thought she would be. She went home to her loving family. In due time the illegitimate child was bom. This child was not just loved, it was cherished because of the sacrifice he represented. Even though God's commandment had been violated, everything seemed to be going well ... until...Several weeks after the child was born the husband was in a beer joint with some of his so-called friends. They were about half drunk when one of them said, “My that really was a story your wife told you, wasn't it?” The husband, instantly sober, threatened to do the man bodily harm if he ever said anything else about his wife's adulterous act again. The so-called friend apologized saying, “I am sorry, I thought this was a strove given to appease the public. I didn't realize you took it seriously.” The husband went home and tried to forget what he had heard. As he would look at that child he began to wonder if his wife had told him the whole story. The wife could tell that something was wrong. His feelings toward her never were the same again. Fletcher took the story even further. What about the guard that she seduced when she violated God's commandment, “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” She reduced him down to a mere instrument to be used for her purpose. This is exactly what adultery is; it is two people who are using each other the same way we use a mop and when we are through with we throw it away until we desire to use it again. Fletcher went on to tell how the guard that woman had seduced, later decided he would offer himself to other female inmates who did not ask for his services. Because he became so involved in sexual sin, he, himself, was shipped off to Siberia and died there because of the trouble he had caused his superiors.
God tells us we are never, under any circumstances, to go between a man and his wife. To do so leads into trouble that you never dreamed you could get into. From what some considered to be "minor affairs' have come killings, illegitimate children, divorce, children without parents, venereal diseases, etc.
God tells us when we marry we are to leave our Father and mother and unto our mates, making sure absolutely nothing comes between.
This is the SPECIFIC definition.
B. Broad definitions Adultery.
The broad definition refers to any violation of the sanctity of sex. This deals with those who are not married. Sex is for within marriage.
Illus: When the average person reaches a certain age he is considered old enough and mature enough to learn to drive and obtain a driver's license. No license, no drive.
The average person waits until he is old enough and mature enough to get married before he/she takes a wife/husband. When a person enters a marriage relationship then God endorses their intimate relationship with each other.
The lost world practice, “Safe Sex”, but God says, “No Sex” until you are married. Why?
Because sex is something sacred in the eyes of God that He created for intimacy and child bearing. Any other sexual activity is an attack on the sanctity of sex - a direct rebellion against God.
III. THE AFRERMATH.
A. God's design.
Adultery is a threefold crime. It is a crime against the home, against society, and against God.
Marriage has brought more happiness to mankind than any other kind of relationship. When the sacred marriage vows are broken, then everything God designed marriage to be is altered. When the marriage vows are broken, the only cure is for the couple to seek God for forgiveness and help to get the marriage back to what God designed it to be.
B. God's denouncement.
Some have broken their marriage vows and they are not even seeking to get their marriage back on track. All these can do is get ready for God’s judgment which is sure to come.
Look at Proverbs 6:27-29, We read, “Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned? So he that goeth in to his neighbor’s wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent.”
God asked questions to which the answer was obvious. Anyone coming in direct contact with fire gets burned. God is warning the one who is considering that another is as desirable to him as his marriage partner is, God's judgment is sure. The person who commits adultery shall not be innocent!
Conclusion/summary:
I. THE ATTITUDE
A. Lord prohibits.
B. Lust provides.
II. THE ACT.
A. Direct specific definition.
B. Broad definition.
III. THE AFRERMATH.
A. God's design.
B. God's denouncement.
