The first four commandments cause us to orient our lives around God instead of ourselves. We acknowledge God’s existence and his activity in our world. We bring pleasure to God by acknowledging his will in each area of our life. We make God famous, seeking to enhance his name and reputation in everything we say and do. We set apart one day in seven as a non-negotiable, weekly holy-day we spend with God as our focus.
The last six commandments are about honoring God in our relationships. Commandment five is found in Exodus 20:12 (NIV), "Honor your father and mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you." Commandmentsix is found in Exodus 20:13 (NIV), "You shall not murder." This morning we explore the seventh command in Exodus 20:14 (NIV), "You shall not commit adultery."
So here is the deal. The moment you walk out of this service, you are going to hear one crystal clear message all week long. You’ll hear it on the radio as you drive home from church. You’ll hear it in the lyrics of your favorite music, catch it in news stories, and read it in your novels. You’ll see it in your e-mail and on the most popular websites. You’ll hear it in the office, on the job site, and on television.
The ways of the world are different than the ways of God.
What am I talking about? It’s the idea that true happiness comes by shedding the antiquated, fundamentalist ways of the Ten Commandments. Do you want to be happy? The world says you should discard any idea of God.The world says that you shouldworship what gives you pleasure. Do what makes you popular in the eyes of men. Don’t waste a minute, especially not a day, serving God. Rebel against parental authority and everything the previous generations stand for and make a pathway for yourself!
And when it comes to the sanctity of life, you should destroy human life in the name of science, medicine, free choice, birth control, euthanasia, patriotism, or nationalism. Diminish others because of their race, ethnicity, disabilities, intelligence, age, intelligence, mistakes, or sins.
About a month ago Lara and I were driving down the road. Lara was driving.I was behind the steering wheel. On the radio the host was interviewing Dr. John Curtis who has written a new book titled Happily Un-Married—Living Together and Loving It.Now just let that title sink in for a moment.
According to Dr. Curtis, there are aboutten million unmarried couples in the United States who are living together. That marks a ten-fold increase since 1960. Let me say this in a different way.
•Aroundforty-one percentof American woman ages 15-44 have lived (or are living) with an unmarried different-sex partner.
•Fifty percentof all marrying couples live together first.
•Does the future look brighter?Seventy-five percentof high school students believe that living together is a worthwhile and harmless alternative. Oversixty percentof high school girls andseventy percentof high school boys hold a favorable opinion of cohabitation.
•In his book Dr. Curtis says, "Living together is becoming widely accepted among people of all ages.Cohabitation is atwenty-first century reality we must accept."
•He also says, "All indications are that cohabitation will be a permanent feature in our society and the basis for a new form of family union. So in light of this reality, the logical response is to work to strengthen the institution of cohabitation—not condemn it."
What? Cohabitation is an institution? It cannot be spoken against now? The only logical response is to succumb to the new realities of modern living? Couples have found a better way than God’s design of marriage?
The radio host offered a free autographed copy of the book to the first two callers. So I dared Lara to dial the radio station. Sure enough, we won a free copy of the book. The radio host took Lara’s name and we thought nothing of it. But then a few minutes later on radios all across Springfield the host announced, "Congratulations to Lara Morrissette on winning her copy of Happily Un-Married."
I was kind of expecting there to be an elder’s meeting or something after that. They must think that poor Lara has had too much of Jon!
Anyhow, I want you to think long and hard about the shift that is taking place concerning morality. People have always broken the Ten Commandments. When I first entered the ministry people expressed guilt and shame for their sin. If you attempted a conversation, they would apologize and feel embarrassment for their sin. Some would ask for help.
Fast forward just ten years. Today people aren’t just breaking the Ten Commandments. People are becoming militant about breaking the Ten Commandments. "So not only am I committing adultery, but I believe it’s better for the relationship. I’m happily un-married, happily fornicating, happily sinning sexually against God, myself, and my mate—and I’m loving it! And who are you, Mr. Fundamentalist, to question how I feel?"
Consider this video clip, that was used to promote an episode of a popular television show. Notice how the institution of marriage is diminished and traditional courtship is mocked. (Note to reader: A videoclip from the show "The Bachelorette" was shown to the congregation."
The world is indoctrinating us, and they're indoctrinating your children, that life in Christ is utter foolishness. It is antiquated, it is joyless, and it's old fashioned. True happiness is found east of Eden, outside of community with a holy God. Salvation is not about being delivered from sin, it’s about being delivered into sin, into the flesh, and into our desires. It’s the lie of Satan only repackaged for the twenty-first century."Take this apple and eat of it and you will be like God knowing good and evil. How happy you will be to know and experience evil. There is a happier life!"
We are so indoctrinated by our culture thatthe Ten Commandments sound strange to our ears. "You have got to be kidding! Not live together before getting married? Abstain from sexual immorality? Don’t lust? Keep the marriage bed pure? Commit myself to one person for a lifetime? Stay and work things out instead of divorcing? Reconcile? Learn to forgive? Keep my promise? Submit to God? What planet are you from?"
Are we willing to submit to God's commandments?
What sway do the Ten Commandments have over my life today? Are we willing to submit to God in the deepest, most intimate parts of our lives? "Do not commit adultery", the seventh command says. Am I willing to obey God and enjoy long life? Am I willing to walk obediently by faith, despite my loneliness, despite my longing for touch and for intimacy?Despite my feelings, my emotions, my hormones, my desires, and my temptation? Am I willing to love what is good and pursue what is good?
Can I say this as your pastor? I am deeply grieved by the sin that exists in this congregation. So many of you are committing sexual sin. You're viewing pornography. You're visiting clubs. You're pursuing an adulterous relationship emotionally or physically. You're interfering in a relationship that needs reconciliation. You're leaving your spouse instead of working out your problems. You're sexually active with your boyfriend or girlfriend. You're living together outside of marriage.
A while back, I sat down with a couple in this congregation who was sinning sexually. I cannot tell you how earnestly I prayed for their relationship and for them to do God’s will. I sat down with them and asked careful questions. I prayed with them. I ministered with as much grace and truth as I could muster. In the end this couple was resolute,even believing that God approved of their sin. They left and began attending another church.
What good is that we come to church while willfully embracing a life of sin? What good is it that you attend church with no desire to change or to heed the full counsel of God? Are there really any words that would humble your spirit and bring you to repentance? Now I am asking this because I love you and care about you and grieve the choices that you are making.
Jesus broadened the commandment to not commit adultery.
Consider how Jesus applies the seventh commandment in the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 5:27-32 (NIV) Jesus says,"You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery."
Jesus applies this commandment in a way that touches every single person in this room. Adultery isn’t limited to a sexual act. It isn’t just limited to divorce. Adultery is a condition of the heart. Adultery isa spiritual condition of rebellion against God.
•It’s what or who we fantasize about in our thoughts. It's the impure desires that we entertain and amuse ourselves with.
•It’s what, or who, we tell our eyes to look at-- an attractive woman, an attractive man, the calendar on the wall, pornography on the internet, a magazine subscription, a roaming eye, or flirtatious eye contact.
•It’s what we tell our hands to do-- click on this link, touch that person. Did you know that touch is often the gateway to adultery? It’s the seemingly innocent shoulder massage, the seemingly innocent hug, or a woman touching a man’s hand.
•It’s where we tell our feet to go. Go to this club, go to that bar, go to that side of the room, pursue this woman or that man, be noticed, be available, and stay longer than you should.
It’s the decisions that we make to break the covenant with the wife or husband of our youth. What causes us to take the command of God seriously? Is Christ’s death on a cross enough? Is it Christ’s warning about judgment orhell? Will it be the spiritual, emotional, or psychological fallout? How about the damage you're doing to others and to your children? Is it the legacy of sin your passing on to others by your example? Life is found in Christ, not apart from Christ.