The
Sacredness of Marriage
Pres= erving the Marriage Relationship<= o:p>
=
Exodus
20:14 & Matthew 19:4-6
introduction
Genesis chp. 20
King Abimelech to Abr=
aham:
What is this you have done to us m=
aking
me and my kingdom guilty of this great sin?
For the Lord had stricken all the =
women
with infertility as a warning to Abimelech for having taken Abraham’s
wife.
This so-called heathen king recognized adultery =
as a
“great sin!”
There is an incredible disconnect between a God who is prepared to strike a king =
dead
for attempting to have sex with another man’s wife, and the current
blasé attitude of modern-day America that perceives sex outside of
marriage as no big deal.
A recently released Barna survey shows that over 40 % of the people in
Topping it off
Sex outside of marria=
ge is
sin!!!
Media Saturates Our Culture with Immorality and
Adultery
On television now the=
re is a
constant parade of seduction and suggestive sexual encounters.
Virtually every progr=
am is
riddled with immorality, seduction and flirtation.
It’s adultery p=
lain and
simple.
But
The image makers surr=
ound it
with laughter, beautiful music, and sumptuous settings.
At the same time they
carefully airbrush away the inevitable shame, deceit, betrayal and ugliness=
.
People who witness th=
ese
make-believe encounters begin to think, “My life is dull. So unromant=
ic.
Maybe this is what I need.
They never show the t=
ears,
the resulting pain and devastation!
How did we get
here???
1.=
The
Kinsey Report on Sexuality
Supposedly
scientific findings portrayed Americans as much more free from sexual restr=
aint
than we had ever believed.
Gave
credence to those who wanted sexual expression with no restraint.
Claimed
it was based on a broad survey of average Americans.
PROBLEM:
Study
used convicted sex offenders and prostitutes
Some
children in study sobbed and cried as they were experimented upon sexually.=
Kinsey
himself, it turns out, was a bi-sexual and suspected pedofile.
But
the damage was done by his “scientific” findings.
2. <=
/span>Mary
Calderone & Sexuality Information & Educational Council of the
Began
an all out drive in the 1960s and 1970s to introduce sex education into pub=
lic
schools.
This
curriculum and others like it, showed none of the spiritual or moral aspect=
s of
human reproduction or the Christian concept of sexual restraint before
marriage.
A
thoroughly secular and amoral view of the human anatomy and sexual relations
was imposed on the youth of
1. Adultery Is Unfaithfulness t=
o a Covenant
Relationship
A.
Spiritual Adultery
1. Idolatry
Jer 3:8-11 Ezek 16:8,=
15-17
Hosea chp. 2
2. Worldliness
James 4:4
3.=
The False Church&nbs=
p;
Rev 2:21-22 14:8 17:2, 4 18:3 & 19:2
B.
Moral Adultery
John 8:3-4
C.
Marital Adultery
Matthew 19:9
And
I tell you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and
marries another, commits adultery.”
1 Corinthians
7:10-15
=
;I
command the married—not I, but the Lord—a wife is not to leave<=
/span>[6] Or separate from, or
her husband. =
11=
But
if she does leave, she must remain unmarried or be reconciled to her
husband—and a husband is not to leave his wife.
=
12=
But
to the rest I, not the Lord, say: If any brother has an unbelieving wife, a=
nd
she is willing to live with him, he must not leave her.
=
13=
Also,
if any woman has an unbelieving husband, and he is willing to live with her,
she must not leave her husband. =
14=
For
the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife=
is
sanctified by the Christian husband. Otherwise your children would be uncle=
an,
but now they are holy. =
15=
But
if the unbeliever leaves, let him leave.[7] Or separate from, or
A brother or a sister is not bound in such cases. God has called you=
[8] Other mss read us to p=
eace.
=
(=
1)
Hillel – divorce for any cause
=
(=
2)
Shammai – divorce only for sexual unfaithfulness
=
What is this exception called fornica=
tion?
Fornication
means an illicit or unlawful sexual act in general.
(Thayer’s
Lexicon; W.E. Vine in Expository Dictionary of N.T. Words; Webster’s New World Dictio=
nary
(in the Bible exclusively the meaning is such), Kittels Theological Dict=
. of
N.T.; in fact, every Greek lexicon!)
Fornication can be committed by incest (1 Cor. 5:1), sodomy (homosexuality) (Jude 7), bestiality, adultery (Jer. 3:1, 2, 6, 8), or pre-marital sex.
=
What
is the principle of the exception? <=
/span>
Fornication
breaks the old companionship & forms a new one.
1 Corinthians 6:16-20
Do yo=
u not
know that anyone joined to a prostitute is one body with her? For it says, =
The two will become one flesh.[7] Gn 2:24
=
17=
But
anyone joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. 18 Flee
from sexual immorality! “Every sin a person can commit is outside the
body,”[8] See =
note at 1 Co
6:12 but the person who is sexually im=
moral
sins against his own body. =
19=
Do
you not know that your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is in you,
whom you have from God? You are not your own,
=
20=
for
you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body.<=
/span>[9] Other mss add and in your spirit, which belong to God.=
The
difference between the couple that gets a divorce and the one that
doesn’t is wrapped up in one word: commitment.
Bibl=
ical
love is a love that is based on commitment.
The
whole purpose of that kind of love is to serve, satisfy, and fulfill the pe=
rson
to whom you have committed your life.
One of the chief falsehoods in
Satan’s Great Encyclopedia of Lies is that love is a
“feeling.”
2. Adultery Begins and Develops in=
the
Heart
Matthew 15:19
"For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders,
adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.
Matthew 5:27-30
“You
have heard that it was said, Do not commit adultery. Ex 20:14; Dt 5:18
But I tell you, everyone who lo=
oks at
a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his hear=
t. =
;If your right eye=
causes you to sin, gouge it out and
throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body
than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.
2 Peter 2:14
having eyes full of adultery
In 2003 there were 167,000 internet sites that m=
ention
sex.
Of those 39,000 were listed as XXX.
Plus 57,000 were listed as pornographic.
CBN
News discovered scientific evidence that pornography is as addictive as coc=
aine
or heroin, going directly to the pleasure centers of the brain.
Several
sources say that 45% of the adult population in
A. Primary Fac=
tors
That Lead to Moral Unfaithfulness
&=
nbsp; 1. Physical and emotional attraction
2. Marital dissatisfaction
B. Other Facto=
rs
That Lead to Moral Unfaithfulness
&=
nbsp; Close
relationships
Showing sympathy and understanding
Enjoying the
special respect or attention of someone other than
Noticing that =
the
other person wants your attention and approval
Warm, personal
communication, esp. of approval and affection
Subtle flirtat=
ions
or borderline talk about inappropriate things
Nurturing fantasy
Warm exchange =
of
gifts, favors and special personal attention
Meeting in less
than standard locations: lunch, other person’s home, etc.
Intentional ca=
sual
touching or physical closeness
1 Corinthians 6:18
Flee =
from
sexual immorality!
Genesis 39:8-12
But he
refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not
concern himself with anything in his house, and he has put all that he owns
under my authority.[5] Lit owns in my hand =
9 No
one in this house is greater than I am. He has withheld nothing from me exc=
ept
you, because you are his wife. So how could I do such a great evil and sin
against God?”[6] Pr 6:29 =
10=
Although
she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused[7] Lit did not listen to her to g=
o to bed
with her. =
11=
Now
one day he went into the house to do his work, and none of the household
servants was there.[8] Lit there in the house =
12=
She
grabbed him by his garment and said, “Sleep with me!” But leavi=
ng
his garment in her hand, he escaped and ran outside.
3. Adultery Results in Disastrous
Consequences
A. God Hates
Divorce! =
; (Malachi
2:16)
=
1. God hates divorce because it
involves disobedience!
2.
God hates divorce because it twarts His purpose in
marriage.
3. God hates divorce because it cause=
s painful
results in the
lives of those affected by divorce.
&n=
bsp; B. God Judges
Adultery!
=
; Hebrews
13:4 &nb=
sp; (cf.
1 Cor. 11:28-32)
Marri=
age must
be respected by all, and the marriage bed kept undefiled, because God will
judge immoral people and adulterers.
In th=
e Greek
text of the New Testament, the word translated “immoral people”=
is
referring to pre-marital sex and the word translated “adulterers̶=
1;
means those who have sexual relations with someone other than their spouse.=
Eithe=
r of these
sins is destructive of marriage – God’s plan and design for
relationships.
=
The
price of adultery is very high.
=
It
brings pain to those whose marriage breaks up.
=
It
brings pain to the children of a broken home.
=
It
brings pain to parents and siblings of those who divorce.
=
It
results in economic strain.
It
ruins the relationship of those who are guilty with the Lord.
=
Look
at King David!!! The conseque=
nces
of his adultery cost him his kingdom for some time, the death of the child =
born
out of the adulterous affair, much humiliation and emotional pain, and
spiritually his closeness to the Lord and joy of His fellowship.
&nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; Proverbs
2:16-18 NLT
Wisdom will save you from the immo=
ral
woman, from the flattery of the adulterous woman. She has abandoned her hus=
band
and ignores the covenant she made before God. Entering her house leads to death; =
it is
the road to hell.
It is clear that God takes marriag=
e very
seriously and He will go to extraordinary lengths to defend it and to punish
those who defile it.
Because
marriage is God’s chosen method of bringing forth life created in His
image.
=
It
is also essential for the care and nurture of the young.
=
It
is the essential building block of human society.
=
It
reflects the relationship of Jesus Christ and His Church.
=
THE&=
nbsp;
HIGH PRICE OF
ADULTERY
4. How to Fortify Your Marriage Again=
st
Adultery
1. Develop and maintain a strong,
personal relationship with
=
the
Lord.
2. <=
/span>Build
and maintain intimacy – conversation, activites and
time alone together.
3. Meet the needs of your=
spouse.
4. Pray together.
5. Continue to evaluate and to w=
ork at
your marriage by
=
attending
marriage seminars and reading books on it.
Conclusion
If you have committed either the sin of pre-marital se= x or adultery, you can be forgiven. God loves you and wants to forgive. To be forgiven you must put your sin under the blood of Christ – the paymen= t he made in suffering for your sins and mine. You can be restored to fellowship with God even as David was and you can move on from this moment to do the w= ill of God and to glorify Him in your life.
But we all need to know this: Our moral sins, though forgiven, w= ill still produce bad consequences in our lives. The sin may be forgiven, but the r= esult of the sin will go on. The re= sults may be tempered by God in His mercy and grace if we walk with Him, but the effects will still be there. So we must not think that we can commit adulte= ry, be forgiven, and it will be as it did not happen at all. There is still a price to be paid – we reap what we sow.
May God help us all to be faithful to the sacred marri= age covenant we made with God and with our spouse.