THE SAD, SIMPLE SIN OF ADULTERY

#286                              THE SAD, SIMPLE SIN OF ADULTERY

Scripture  Exodus 20:14, Matthew 5:27-28 NIV                                     Orig. 7/10/1966, 2/1976

                                                                                                                               Rewr. 7/17/1989

Passage:

Exodus 20:14

14 “You shall not commit adultery.

Matthew 5:27-28

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

Purpose: Continuing a series on the ten commandments, here defining the sin of adultery as the abuse  of human sexuality.

Keywords:      Adultery         Love                Marriage         Sexuality         Series, 10 Commandments

Timeline/Series:         Sequential

Introduction

            If you could decide for everyone of what human sexuality ought to consist, what would you decide?  If your marriage were to become the touchstone, would our society be better off for it?

            The most significant human relationship on this earth is that which  exists between a man and a woman who have shared fully of themselves with each other.  To share fully, means to share in perpetuity.  Significance is determined by two lives interwoven with the fabric of eternity.

            It was popular a generation ago, but was indicative of fleshly pursuits rather than spiritual acumen:

“Though our love may vanish with the morning light,

We loved once in splendor, how tender the night.”

Today’s lyrics are far more vulgar and suggestive.  The goal of the entertainment industry today is to make the lifestyle of its proponents the standard for all.

            Christians do not have a choice.  We are not free to choose the kind of sexuality that we will employ.  Song of Solomon (3:5) contains an intriguing directive.

“I adjure you, O daughter of Jerusalem, by the gazelles, and by the hinds of the fields, that you stir not up nor awaken love until it pleases.”

            It addresses the vulnerability of sexuality.  To love always means to be vulnerable.  It means to face the trauma of what may jeopardize love.  Human spirituality is the resource through which we see the enemies to such love and by opposing, end them.

I.          The Sin Addressed in the Seventh Commandment is That of Adultery. 

1.      Its principal infraction is within the bounds of marriage.  Matthew 19:5, “For this cause shall a man leave father and mother and shall cleave to his wife, and they shall be one flesh.”

a.       “Cleave,” by the way, means “to join fast together, to cement.”

b.      Marriage is a firm, fast, part of the plan of God.  It was so in the beginning.  Jesus affirms its longevity.

c.       It is the fullest expression of human sexuality. 

                                                                          i.      Not to be learned in Hollywood.  The music video scene prostitutes its meaning.  To follow the world’s way is to be adrift on a sea of passion.

                                                                        ii.      The Victorian church is partly responsible.  The abusive dogma of sex for procreation only is as offensive as promiscuity.

                                                                     iii.      It is the physical, mental, spiritual sharing of a man and a woman in every dynamic of life.

2.      Biblical adultery, however, is more than the breakdown of marriage. 

a.       It is defined as well as premarital sexual experimentation.  Deuteronomy 22 defines a long list of sexual infractions.  For these improprieties, death was often the sentence.  Marriage was an alternative if both were single.  There has to be a better beginning.

b.      Nothing is as simple as it used to be.  Valentine Day was celebrated on the frontier by leaving a cryptographic message, stamping on the porch, and hiding to watch the object of this flirtation to see her reaction upon deciphering the message.  Even if people had porches, I would not advise stamping on them in the middle of the night.

c.       What we Christians must always remember is that we can’t teach what we don’t live.  The Grapes of Wrath sizzled forty years ago.  It hardly raises an eyebrow today.  There are a lot of mothers out there who have caved in and just teach their daughters about the pill.

d.      The young person who navigates this sea of promiscuity has had excellent example, exemplary teaching, and probably has good genes besides.  It is worth the wait.  But marriage is made of more than innocence.

II.         We Are Not Hard-Pressed to Certify the Wrong of Adultery.

1.      It is wrong in the first place, because God’s Word says so.

a.       There are those who say it is a question for consenting adults.  Kinsey refers to sexuality as “biologic function.”  It is that in lower animals.  Do you wish it to be no more for humans?

b.      Trull calls man the “superorganic creation,” meaning that his sexuality is unlike other created orders.

c.       There are theologians who confuse the issue.  They are of the “new morality.”  Basically, this is the old immorality given acceptance.  Biblically, morally, humanly, sex is uniquely tied to marriage. It is climax and consummation of union.

Charlie Brown stood transfixed considering the hill just out of town.  “What’s on the other side?” he mused.  “What if there’s a kid over there looking over here wondering what’s on the other side?”  Lucy yells out, “Forget it kid.”

Christians survey the landscape of sexuality.  Some struggle to the top of the hill because it’s there, asking “What if?”  They toboggan to the bottom, crash on all the clutter.  Look back asking, “What if?”

2.      For the Christian, God’s Word is enough, but how do we convince an unbelieving world?

a.       Sexual misconduct is harmful.  Not because Father Time says so, or some zealous evangelist.  Perverted love is lust, and lust distorts the capacity for caring.  Sex becomes “What I can do for me,” and nothing else.

b.      It is harmful for pathological reasons.  Such diseases have always been around.  The new kid on the block is AIDS.  Newsweek reports that CDC will soon announce 100,000 cases, 54,000 deaths—Nearly as many as killed in Vietnam.

c.       Abortion is a social concern, but it is directly related to sexual misconduct.

III.       A Final Word Must Be Said of Judgment.  “Thou shalt not commit adultery.”

1.      This means that there are moral implications. 

a.       There is no satisfaction being only a dispenser of accusations.

b.      Openness to discuss such things means little if there are no alternatives. Two monkeys were on their way to the moon.  One says, “This is a heck of a way to make a living.”  The other responded, “You remember, they offered you cancer research.”

2.      For the guilty, there is the alternative of forgiveness.  It begins [by] recognizing God’s sovereignty.   For best results it should involve the offended spouse.  One must be capable of forgiving oneself as well.

3.      To deny the forgiveness factor is to play Russian roulette with our emotions.  James 1:15, “Sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”  Romans 1:24, “Wherefore God gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts.”

4.      A final word, then, to the inexperienced.

a.       Keeping God’s command is reasonable.

b.      Not only is it best, it is possible.

c.       Cultivate clean thinking: avoid unseemly, sexually explicit situations.

d.      Accept the high ideal of Christ and trust Him for Holy Spirit help.

e.       Don’t complicate others’ lives by gossip, even when you know it’s true.