Sorry for taking so long to post my notes from the sermon on the 7th commandment! I decided to simply copy and paste my notes exactly with minimal changes. My notes were just over a page printed, but the sermon took 30-35 minutes. I did much explaining, and these brief points might not be clear.
Introduction: “You shall not commit adultery.” Why did this make the Ten Words?
Background: “If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.” Leviticus 20:10
“If a man is found lying with the wife of another man, both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman, and the woman. So you shall purge the evil from Israel. Deut. 22:22
John 8 - Jesus and the woman caught in adultery – Where is the guy?
Numbers 5:11-31 - when evidence is lacking but there is suspicion
Single-Sentence Application: Since marriage is the most important “Creation” relationship, we must protect it strenuously.
A. The holiness of every marriage is a public trust.
1. The sexual union between husband and wife had to be protected from violators.
a. Leviticus 18:6-18 lists all sorts of family members who were potential violators of other marriages because of the multi-generational homesteads.
b. Deuteronomy 22:23-29 addresses cases of premarital sex.
c. Proverbs 2:16-19; 5-7 Fathers were to warn their sons about adulterous women
2. Adultery was a capital offense, but the OT tells of many odd sexual practices.
a. Married women were the only ones who could be violated in a way that was a capital offense.
b. Multiple wives, prostitutes (Lev. 21:7, 9, 14-15) and unwed women were all, in varying degrees, “available.” Even so, there were sacrifices (therefore, sin) for sleeping with a virgin (e.g., Lev. 19:20-22) and an expected marriage.
c. Some have suggested that the Law was only concerned about certain paternity, but this misses the ideal function of Genesis 2 – one man & one woman for life.
d. The sexual sin of Abraham, Jacob, Judah, Gideon, David, Solomon and many others was not excusable. Hosea 4:12-14 speaks against the “double standard” that men enjoyed under the OT Law.
3. The sanctity of marriage must matter to the Church and society.
a. For Christians, Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. Hebrews 13:4
b. Adultery without genuine repentance is punishable in hell. Rev. 21:7-8; 1Cor. 6:9-11
c. In society, the consequences of sex outside of marriage hits females much harder than males. (the study by CDC – 1 in 4 girls ages 14-19 have an STD, when only 4 diseases were tested), pregnancies, abortions, childcare, absent fathers, no-fault divorce, etc.
d. Positively, we can evangelize, teach morality, mentor boys, connect the desire for sex with the responsibility of marriage and parenting. Negatively, we can restore the social shame that people used to heap on sexually immoral men.
B. Conclusion: The Bible gives us a strategy for preventing adultery.
1. It starts with a commitment to God’s design for marriage – including the “crazy” idea that marriage partners actually have the potential to bring satisfaction to the other (with God’s blessing).
That means falling in love and falling out of love need to be put in their place. Most of the biblical examples were arranged marriages (as well as better than half the world’s population), and joy and pleasure are not sustained merely by the first feelings. That also means pornography, masturbation, flirting with others to make yourself feel good, escaping into romantic or sexual fantasies – these are off the table.
2. Make it your job to satisfy the emotional and sexual desires of your mate. Negatively, 1Cor. 7:1-5 says it’s your duty even if you don’t feel like it. Particularly, sexual (or emotional) dissatisfaction is an open door to the devil. Positively, Proverbs 5:15-23 says enjoying one another (not to mention Song of Songs) is a blessing from God.
3. Know your weaknesses and fight them with Scripture principles. Matthew 5:27-30
No comments:
Post a Comment