Adultery and the Seventh Commandment

In our series of brief studies going through the ten commandments we now come to the seventh commandment, which says,

“Thou shalt not commit adultery.” (Exodus 20:14, KJV)

This commandment (like the rest of the ten commandments) is what I like to call an “umbrella category.” What I mean by that term is that this commandment represents a particular category of sins or transgressions, and so there are many different ways that a person can break it.

The seventh commandment, simply put, forbids sexual immorality of all kinds.

In the sermon on the mount (Matthew chapters 5-7) the Lord Jesus put it this way:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27–28, ESV)

Here Jesus teaches us the proper understanding of the seventh commandment. And in doing so He makes it clear that this commandment forbids not just sinful actions, but also sinful thoughts and desires as well! A person can be outwardly chaste, and yet inwardly still be guilty of adultery. And so it is not just sexually immoral actions that are to be avoided and repented of, but also sexually immoral words and thoughts as well.

This commandment against sexual immorality is worded in terms of the particular form of sexual sin that in some ways is the most heinous and serious version of it – adultery.

What makes adultery so serious a sin before God? Adultery, properly-speaking, is not just sexual immorality (as serious as that is), but is also theft (and so a transgression of the 8^th commandment as well). Thomas Watson writes,

“It [adultery] is a thievish sin. It is the highest form of theft. The adulterer steals from his neighbor that which is more than his goods and estate; he steals away his wife from him, who is flesh of his flesh.” (The Ten Commandments, p.155)

It is also a violation of the marriage covenant, and so the breaking of one’s vows, and bearing false witness before God and man (and so also a violation of the 9^th commandment). Clearly there is a great deal of overlap between the commandments, and in breaking one of them, we often tend to break others as well.

I’m tempted to say that this commandment is the most-neglected and most commonly broken of all of the ten commandments in our day, even among professing believers in Christ. (In all likelihood that dubious distinction probably belongs to either the 2^nd or 4^th commandments.)

Whatever the case, the seventh commandment is disregarded, redefined, and transgressed among many professing Christians to such a degree that there no longer seems to be much of a difference or distinction between the church and the unbelieving world around her.

This simply should not be so.

In 1 Thessalonians 4:3 Paul told the believers in Thessalonica, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality.” He said that, not because sexual morality is the end-all, be-all of the Christian life, but because in a debauched culture, abstaining from sexual immorality is one of the primary distinguishing marks that set believers apart from the world around us.

That is as true in our day as it has ever been. Abstaining from sexual immorality is still very much the will of God for His redeemed people, and it is still our “sanctification,” something that sets us apart from the world.

May the Lord grant revival and repentance to many, starting with those of us who profess to know Christ, so that we might follow the will of God in these things. And may He grant repentance, faith, and forgiveness to many who have committed sexual immorality, that they might know peace with God, and begin to follow His will in these things.

 

Do You Believe in Prayer?

1 Thessalonians 5:17 is rather short and to the point; it is only three (3) words long. There the Apostle Paul simply says, “pray without ceasing.”

Again and again the Word of God encourages believers to pray. And yet how many of us can honestly say that we don’t struggle with our prayer lives? Do any of us really pray without ceasing?

Do you believe that God answers prayer? If you are a Christian, I assume that you would answer that question with a resounding “Yes!” Don’t all Christians believe in prayer? If you say that you believe in prayer, allow me to ask you one more question: Do you pray? It is one thing to say that you believe in prayer, but it is another thing entirely to actually pray.

If we really believed that God hears and answers the prayers of His people, could anything keep us from praying? Would more of our churches not have regular prayer meetings? And would those prayer meetings not be some of the most well-attended assemblies in our churches?

I believe it is a sad testimony to our view of prayer (and so also, in a sense, of God’s ability or willingness to answer prayer) that we do not pray more regularly and fervently as churches. Did the Lord Jesus not say that His house was to be a “house of prayer” (Matthew 21:13)?

So let us devote ourselves to prayer! Pray for (and with) your family. Pray for (and with!) your friends. And devote yourself to praying with your brothers and sisters in the church. If your church has a regular prayer meeting, make it a point to be there if at all possible. If your church does not have a regular prayer meeting? Request one! Let the Lord’s house be a house of prayer!

And may God in His grace be pleased to bless, answer, and use your prayers for His glory this year and always!

Give Thanks

In 1 Thessalonians 5:18 the Apostle Paul writes,

” . . .give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

A few brief observations:

1.  This may sound strange, but this is a command.  God requires us to give thanks to Him.  It is our duty to do so.  That being the case, we must have a great deal to be thankful for that we have received from the hand of God.  He would not require us to be thankful for no reason.

2.  The command/imperative (“give thanks”) is in the present tense, so this giving of thanks is to be an ongoing, continual thing.  It could also be translated, “be giving thanks.”

3.  We are to give thanks “in all circumstances” (ESV).  This could also be translated as “in all things.”   This means that we must see the hand of God in all things.  So a high view of the providence of God is really a prerequisite for being able to give thanks in all things.  In other words, an ungrateful Calvinist is a contradiction in terms.

Commenting on 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, John Calvin writes,

The man who does not think so highly of the righteousness of Christ and the hope of eternal life that he rejoices in the midst of sorrow is exceedingly ungrateful to God.

Christians, above all others, should be exceedingly thankful people.

Just something to consider as we approach the Thanksgiving holiday.