Keep Marriage Holy: The Seventh Commandment

KEEP MARRIAGE HOLY
The Seventh Commandment

Exodus 20:14

 

Introduction:  The seventh commandment is only two words in length, but obeying or disobeying it has endless consequences.  Today, we will discover the destructive power of adultery and some practical and biblical ways to avoid it.

 

 

1. The Meaning Of Adultery (Malachi 2:13-14; Exodus 20:14)

 

 

 

Malachi 2:13–14   ¹³ “…You cover the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping and with groaning, because He no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand.

¹⁴ Yet you say, ‘For what reason?’  Because the Lord has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant.”

 

Exodus 20:14   “You shall not commit adultery.”

 

1 Corinthians 7:2   “Because of immoralities, each man is to have his own wife, and each woman is to have her own husband.”

 

Hebrews 13:4   “Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge.”

 

 

1. The Progression Of Adultery (James 1:13-15)

 

 

 

James 1:13-15   ¹³ “ Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.  ¹⁴ But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.  ¹⁵ Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.”

 

1. Mental Adultery (James 1:13-14; Matthew 5:28)

 

 

 

 

James 1:13-14   ¹³  “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.  ¹⁴ But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.”

 

Matthew 5:28   “But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

 

1 John 2:16   “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.”

 

1. Physical Adultery (James 1:15)

 

 

 

James 1:15  “Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.”

 

 

Adultery is a Crime. . .   

 

1. Against our mate

 

 

2. Against our God

 

 

1 Corinthians 6:19–20   ¹⁹  “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?  ²⁰ For you have been bought with a price: therefore,  glorify God in your body.”

 

3. Against ourselves

 

 

1 Corinthians 6:18  “Flee immorality.  Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body.”

 

 

1. Death (James 1:15b)

 

 

 

James 1:15b   “…and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.”

 

Proverbs 6:25-26   ²⁵ “Do not desire her beauty in your heart, nor let her capture you with her eyelids.   ²⁶ For on account of a harlot one is reduced to a loaf of bread, and an adulteress hunts for the precious life.”

Proverbs 6:27-29   ²⁷  “Can a man take fire in his bosom and his clothes not be burned?  ²⁸  Or can a man walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched?  ²⁹  So is the one who goes in to his neighbor’s wife; whoever touches her will not go unpunished.”

 

Proverbs 6:32-33   ³²  “The one who commits adultery has no sense; whoever does so destroys himself.   ³³ Disgrace is his lot, and his shame will never be wiped away.”   (NIV)

 

Ecclesiastes 7:26   “I discovered more bitter than death the [adulterous] woman whose heart is snares and nets, whose hands are chains.  One who is pleasing to God will escape from her, but the sinner will be captured by her.”

 

III.      The Avoidance Of Adultery   (Proverbs 4:23)

 

 

 

Proverbs 4:23   “Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life.”

 

Matthew 15:19   “Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.”

 

Five “Sentries” To Guard Your Heart

 

1. Make a covenant with your eyes. (Job 31:1)

 

 

Matthew 5:28   “But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

 

Genesis 3:6   “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes…she took from its fruit and ate…”

 

2 Peter 2:14   “Having eyes full of adultery that never cease from sin, enticing unstable souls…”

 

Job 31:1   “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a woman.”   (NIV)

 

 

2. Avoid compromising company. (1 Corinthians 15:33)

 

 

1 Corinthians 15:33   “Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company corrupts good morals.’”

 

 

3. Be accountable for your time. (Proverbs 16:27)

 

 

Proverbs 16:27   “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop; idle lips are his mouthpiece.”   (TLB)

4. Have a fresh desire for your mate. (Proverbs 5:15-20)

 

 

Proverbs 5:15-20   ¹⁵  “Drink water from your own cistern and fresh water from your own well.  ¹⁶ Should your springs be dispersed abroad, streams of water in the streets?  ¹⁷ Let them be yours alone, and not for strangers with you.  ¹⁸ Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth.  ¹⁹ As a loving hind and a graceful doe, let her breasts satisfy you at all times; be exhilarated always with her love.  ²⁰ For why should you, my son, be exhilarated with an adulteress and embrace the bosom of a foreigner?”

 

5. Develop a healthy fear of God. (Proverbs 16:6b)

 

 

Proverbs 16:6b    “By the fear of the Lord one keeps away from evil.”

 

Proverbs 5:21   “For the ways of a man are before the eyes of the Lord, and He watches all his paths.”

 

 

1. The Aftermath Of Adultery

 

 

1. For the Guilty (Colossians 2:13-14; John 8:11)

 

 

 

Colossians 2:13-14   ¹³ “…having forgiven us all our transgressions,  ¹⁴ having cancelled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”

 

John 8:11   “I do not condemn you, either.  Go.  From now on sin no more.”

 

1. For the Innocent (Ephesians 4:32; Matthew 5:32)

 

 

 

Ephesians 4:32   “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”

 

Matthew 5:32   “I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”

 

Romans 8:28   “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

 

Conclusion