How are you? How is your week going? Have you committed adultery? Just a heads up… this is going to be a long WOE. It’s because I’ll be reminding you of the sermon this past Sunday and also sharing a couple additional notes. If you want to be reminded of our awkward time last Sunday, please listen to the sermon again on the website!
We talked about the Seventh Commandment this past Sunday. Although the Seventh Commandment condemns adultery, it also condemns all the acts that lead up to adultery: flirting, inappropriate touching, emotional intimacy, etc. Not only that, but we see in Matthew 5 that to lust after another person is also breaking the seventh commandment. This means that pornography and masterbation are sins. Unfortunately, in this sexualized world, these two topics are not seen as sinful but as the norm. However, the Bible is clear. They are sinful.
That’s the negative side of the commandment. The positive means that we are called to love our spouses. We are called to be faithful to them in both body and soul.
After taking a good look at this commandment, all we can confess is that we are sinners. We are fallen, and we have broken this commandment in numerous ways.
So then, what is our hope? Our hope is in Jesus Christ. In the story of Hosea loving and redeeming Gomer, the prostitute, God shows us His love. We are the prostitute that commits adultery against Him all the time. And yet, He is the perfect Husband who constantly loves, forgives, and redeems us.
What’s beautiful is the hope that we have in the truth that the law of God reveals to us the character of God… which means that it is not in God’s character to commit adultery. Instead, He has been and will be faithful to us. Christ is our faithful, loving husband who has laid down His life for us. He has taken on all our sin and shame on the cross, and He calls us His own.
This is the hope and power through which we can keep the seventh commandment, and we can do this together.
One thing I didn’t get to mention this past Sunday was the importance of community and accountability. It is very difficult to overcome the sin of lust, immorality, and adultery by ourselves. God has provided the church to help us and to keep us accountable. We can confess to one another that we are weak and where we have sinned. We can bring our sin to the light so that it doesn’t have a chance to grow in the darkness. We can pray for each other and encourage one another.
For Singles: Do you have brothers or sisters that you can share your heart with? Do you have people that can be with you in your struggles and that can keep you accountable? Do you have friends that will encourage you and love on you when you need it?
For Dating Couples: Are you dating in community? Are there other couples that are keeping you accountable? Are there individuals that will ask the hard questions for your encouragement and edification?
For Married Couples: Are you living life in community? Are there other couples who can hear your struggles/fights non-judgmentally and be a support for you? Are there people in your life who are Christ’s reminder to you that you’re not alone?
A pastor recently told me the importance of having a “soul-mate” (not your wife). This is someone (of the same gender) that you can share your heart with and that will say the necessary hard truths for your accountability. At first, I thought that the labeling was weird, but I got his point. We need community to live faithfully in every aspect of life.
New Life, thank God we are not alone. He has brought us together for a purpose: to love God and to love neighbor. By His grace and through the victory of the cross, may we be faithful to this commandment and all the others.
Thank you to all those who came out to our first online biweekly prayer meeting last night! It was a blessing! Hope the rest of you can make it out in two Tuesdays! See you at Lord’s Day Worship this Sunday. Pray for one another continually.
In Christ,
Pastor Tim
Photo Credit: http://www.60secondrecap.com/decoder/the-scarlet-letter/