8/4/11

The seventh commandment: Do not commit adultery.

³ For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil; ⁴ but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword. ⁵ Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave. ⁶ She gives no thought to the way of life; her paths wander aimlessly, but she does not know it.
⁷ Now then, my sons, listen to me; do not turn aside from what I say. ⁸ Keep to a path far from her,
do not go near the door of her house, ⁹ lest you lose your honor to others and your dignity to one who is cruel, ¹⁰ lest strangers feast on your wealth and your toil enrich the house of another.
¹⁵ Drink water from your own cistern, running water from your own well. ¹⁶ Should your springs overflow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares? ¹⁷ Let them be yours alone,
never to be shared with strangers. ¹⁸ May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth. ¹⁹ A loving doe, a graceful deer— may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be intoxicated with her love. ²⁰ Why, my son, be intoxicated with another man’s wife? Why embrace the bosom of a wayward woman? ²¹ For your ways are in full view of the LORD, and he examines all your paths.  (Proverbs 5:3-21)

⁵ “It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied. ⁶ “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ ⁷ ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, ⁸ and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. ⁹ Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
¹⁰ When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this. ¹¹ He answered, “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. ¹² And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.”

(Rembrandt- 1644- Jesus and Adulterous Woman)

Thoughts: The scripture gives us reasons for not committing adultery. 
1) Adultery appears sweet but ends up bitter (Prov. 5:4)
2) Adultery is the way to spiritual death (and sometimes physical death) - (Prov. 5:5)
3) Adultery lacks purpose and fulfillment (Prov. 5:6)
4) Adultery causes us to lose honor and dignity (Prov. 5:9)
5) Adultery costs something economically (Prov. 5:10)
6) Adultery shows lack of contentment (Prov. 5:15)
7) Adultery takes what is private and makes it public (Prov. 5:16,17)
8) Adultery keeps us from rejoicing and finding satisfaction with our spouse (Prov. 5:18,19)
9) Adultery is like intoxication (that we may regret later) (Prov. 5:20)
10) Adultery is not a secret that can be kept from the Lord who sees all (Prov. 5:21)
Jesus adds that in marriage the two become one flesh- and should not be separated.  Jesus held a very high view of marriage.  In just the last two years in America the majority of couples (for the first time in western civilization) live together before (or instead of) marrying.  Statistics say those who do so are three times more likely to get divorced (perhaps because of a low view of marriage).  Yet, still over 90% of Americans have hoped to be married.  Our feelings and actions do not match our ideals and common sense.  In other words, we need to repent of our adultery and come back.  The grace of God allows us to be forgiven, but that does not mean we should be forgiven in order to sin again.

Prayer: May I have grace, O God, to be pure in my relationships with others.

John Calvin Abridged: Since marriage is blessed by the Lord, couples should not pollute such a union with incontrollable lust.  Let them not admit anything at all that is unworthy of the honorableness and temperance of marrage into their relationship.  We should likewise avoid enticing dress, obscene gestures and foul speech.  All vices of this sort are like blemishes that stain the purity of chastity. (Inst. II.8.44)

8/2/11 The Seventh Commandment and Jesus

We are looking at the Ten Commandments (this summer) with special attention to the New Testament interpretation of them. 

"You shall not commit adultery."  (Deuteronomy 5:18)

²⁷ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ²⁸ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹ If your right eye causes you to stumble, 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. ³⁰ And if your right hand causes you to stumble, 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. (Matthew 5:27-30)

For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander (Matthew 15:19)

If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” ¹⁸ “Which ones?” he inquired.
Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, ¹⁹ honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’
(Matthew 19:17b-19)

Thoughts: Just as the root of murder is anger, the root of adultery is lust.  Jesus explains that God is not concerned with the exterior action, but also where the sin starts- the inside.  The Old Testament seems to emphasize adultery as a sin for the female (Lev. 20), but the New Testament emphasizes it as a sin for the male.  Jesus says if you "look at a woman."  Thus women and men are equally liable to break this commandment.  It is not the institution of marriage that Jesus guards here as much as the heart of people.  In American culture the word "lust" is rarely used secularly.  If it is used, then it is used not as something bad today- like lusting after chocolate or lusting after a Hardees burger or a VW car.  Madison Avenue has elevated sexuality, lust, and coveting as the most exciting, exalted phenomenons in life (one wonders why life is worth living when a child is too young for sex or when even the viagra doesn't work).  Some excuse lust by saying it is natural, and if it did not happen then the race would not continue (one wonders how those Muslims with Burkas have so many children).  In the West we have lost our sense of modesty and shame about sexual things.  If an American woman travels to a church in parts of the Middle East (and even in some parts of Europe) they are often shocked to be told to cover their bare shoulders and their miniskirts.  Pornography is an epidemic in America (the industry estimates are up to $14 billion a year) because few are saying lust is wrong today, and the tools of lust (certain TV channels, internet sites- now numbering over 4.2 million porn sites-12% of all sites) are readily available.  70% of American men aged 18-34 have visited a pornographic web site in a typical month. (http://www.safefamilies.org/sfStats.php)
     God is not just the God of spiritual things, but also of the physical.  God cares about our bodies.  Thus Jesus healed the sick.  Our bodies and our souls are interwoven and affect one another.  Thus depression can make one physically ill, and anger raises the blood pressure, while prayer may lower it. On the opposite end, sin affects us physically (think of STDs). Monogamy with its twin associates chastity and fidelity are proven preventions for sexually transmitted diseases.  In AIDS plagued Africa today, there is only one country that has turned the tide on the growth of AIDS- Uganda.  It has done so (ironically with much American aid) by emphasizing monogamy- chastity and fidelity (http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/sexuality/se0074.html;  http://www.avert.org/aids-uganda.htm#contentTable0).
    Christians are not called to not let adultery and its root cause of lust to consume them.  Tomorrow we will look at Jesus' view of grace and adultery. 

Prayer: Lord, keep me pure in my heart.  Remove the desire for sexual promiscuity from me.  Keep me from giving into lust and adultery.  Though a thousand fall to lust at my side, and ten thousand give into it at my right hand, keep it far away from me.

John Calvin Abridged: God is not an earthly lawgiver who only forbids the external act while permitting us to indulge evil affections.  People are satisfied when they cannot perceive their faults, but God sees the heart.  (Sermons on the Ten Commandments 171).
     The purpose of this (7th commandment) is that because God loves modesty and purity, all uncleanness must be far from us.  We should not become defiled by any filth or lustful intemperance of the flesh.  The companionship of marriage has been ordained as a necessary remedy to keep us from plunging into unbridled lust.  Outside of marriage people cannot cohabit with another without God's curse.  (Inst. II.8.41)

8/1/11- 7th commandment- Perspectives on adultery

Thou Shalt not commit adultery (Dt. 5:18)

²⁷ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’^{[e] 28} But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹ If your right eye causes you to stumble, 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. ³⁰ And if your right hand causes you to stumble, 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. (Mt. 5)

(Wedding at Lake Murray Presbyterian)

Thoughts: George Barna's 2007 research shows that the Sexual Revolution has won in America.  All the barrage of sexual innuendos, that became soft porn, that changed what once was x-rated (like Midnight Rider) into PG-13 has come.  A strong majority (59%) of those 23-41 years old in America believe it is morally acceptable to cohabit without marriage (formerly called "fornication").  44% of those 23-41 years old in America believe it is okay to have sex outside of marriage (hope my kids don't marry one of them!).  It is not that they do not know that the scriptures say it is wrong.  It is that the scriptures are seen only as one source for moral authority.  Feelings and desires, along with peers and psychological advisors (or "experts") are just as important if not more important than what is perceived as an ancient book that even some Christians do not believe.  Ironically, even those who call themselves "born again" who are under 30 believe cohabitation is morally acceptable today. 
    The old addage, however, that just because everyone else is doing it (or telling you to do it), does not make it morally right.  Does God really care about our sexuality?  That is really like asking does God care about us- for sexuality is an intimate part of who we are.  Sexuality is a gift given to us by God, and we are called to be good stewards of that gift, guarding that prescious and holy gift with boundaries, and committment. The question for those who say that it is okay if you "really love someone" is, "How do you know that someone really loves you?"  Committment was the standard way to know.  Promises can be cheap, and the road of life is littered with broken hearts and bodies of those who were promised "love" but were simply used for pleasure. 

Prayer: Help me, O Lord, in a culture that seems to be turning away from your standards, to have a listening ear to you.  May your voice sound loudly in my ears.

John Calvin Abridged: Though only one sin (adultery) is referred to, fornication and chastity are implied.  There are many New Testament passages that interpret this law as referring to fornication as well.  Thus the species refers to the whole genus.