Exodus chapter 20. Exodus chapter 20. We are on verse number 14. Verse number 14. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Or, if we were to paraphrase it, we would say you must never commit adultery. Look this way for just a moment, if you will, please. I have things in my outline that I would rather not talk about and I would rather not preach about. I do not like this subject. But in our society, this wicked sin has become so commonplace The institution of marriage is in question because of it. And the perversion of the physical relationship between a man and a woman has become such an accepted thing in our society that, as Vance Havner years ago observed, We probably will not hold out morally long enough to reap the benefits of what we're doing scientifically. It is difficult for me, especially in the presence of children, to talk about these things. But if I do not, they are going to meet this face to face and head on out in the world in which they live. These things are a present reality. They are a present evil in the culture in which we live. This past week, the Presbyterian Church USA approved the ordination of practicing homosexuals into the ministry. One of the large mainline denominations and probably the fifth to do so. By the time the issue is over, the politicians are going to point to the mainline denominations and say, religion has endorsed it, society has endorsed it, why should we not endorse it? And then those who believe what this commandment says are going to find themselves on the outside of everything. It is interesting to me the excuses that people give for sin. Someone would say, you people in your church, you are legalistic. And I would ask them, do you believe in murder? Well, no. Well, then you're legalistic, aren't you? If you believe somebody has a right to steal your money, well, no. Well, then you're legalistic, aren't you? What they do is they throw the charge of legalism and the moral issues, and at the risk of them, they don't. They select things to justify. This goes on all the time in our society. Adultery is aimed right at the heart of human relationships. We are living in a day when human relationships, to put it mildly, are in a mess. People go off to college. They learn to shack up. They go off to Christian college. And there's no strength in the moral teaching in many of these so-called Christian colleges. We are living in a mess. So I find it my responsibility to talk about things that I would rather not talk about. But I believe I have a responsibility before God to do so. The subject is unpleasant. You ready for the next one? If I have a responsibility to talk about it, you have a responsibility to learn about it and listen about it. So, let's move along. I want to talk about the dimensions, the moral dimensions and the inclusions in this commandment. I want to read you quite a heavy paragraph from the theological word book of the Old Testament. But what it does is it captures basically almost everything in the Old and New Testament that is encapsulated in, included in this brief commandment, you shall not commit adultery. paragraph is full. Listen carefully, please. The Seventh Commandment requires sexual purity. This contrasts with the infidelity and promiscuity sanctioned and practiced by the official religious beliefs and rituals of the rest of the ancient Near East. The religion of Jehovah represents adultery as a heinous crime against God, Job 31. against man, against society, as a breach of the marriage contract before God, as a dishonor done to God by placing man's will above God's. See, now, if we were going to outline this whole thing, I would have about six months of sermons on this thing. All of this is included in this. A rebellious act done with deliberation as needless, as the highest sort of theft. That is, here, hear me, stealing a neighbor's flesh. a debasing of the adulterer, making him a senseless, wild ass, a means of destroying one's reputation or impairing one's mind, etc. Consequently, under Moses, adultery, even with an engaged girl, merited death, whereas fornication did not. Even desire for another man's wife was wrong. The method of death was in some cases burning and more generally stoning. Divorce, except for unfaithfulness, was hateful to God and in some circumstances expressly forbidden. However, out of concern for Israel's hardness of heart, this was mitigated. A woman suspected of adultery had to face a trial by ordeal in the book of Numbers. Perhaps not technically an ordeal like the Assyrian practice of throwing an accused person into the river to see if he would survive. There was no current physical danger in the Old Testament ritual. There was a solemn oath in the holy place, which would be a severe psychological test for a guilty woman, and there was also threatened the visitation of God's providence. This is both an act of mercy, because she could be vindicated of a false accusation, and an institutionalization of women's commanded submission to man. Immodesty seen as a needless inducement to adultery. Was forbidden, did you hear me that? It goes to clothing. Immodesty, seen as a needless inducement to adultery, was forbidden. Godly men sought to discipline their eyes, enhance their minds. Prostitution was forbidden. Priests were commanded not to marry a prostitute. If their daughters turned prostitute, they were to be executed. Sacred prostitution and homosexuality and bestiality and transvestiture were all forbidden as violations of the sanctity of marriage. Positively, marriage was to be observed as an act and as a structural institution. It was honorable. Mates were to be chosen from covenant community. Captive women became members of the covenant community by virtue of marriage. Polygamy, implicitly forbidden in the creation covenant, was probably forbidden in Leviticus 18.18. Marriage was covenantly constituted before God, required the husband's evidence, ability to support a family, and love for his wife. That's a lot of stuff. And by the way, the man who wrote this article in the Theological Wordbook did his homework. Every one of these statements is referenced throughout the text that I just read to you. Thou shalt not commit adultery. All of this is included in that command. Go, if you will, in your Bibles to Leviticus chapter 20 and verse number 10. Leviticus chapter 20 and verse number 10. We'll take up just a few high points and go through this if we can. I wish, I really do, I wish that biblically some things were a little more clearly stated. Of course, the Lord must take great amusement in the speculations of theologians trying to figure out things he did not clear stately. Anyway, state clearly. It's just amazing. This idea of marriage, divorce, remarriage, and sometime maybe I need to preach on that subject. But you have the matter of divorce, which is one thing, then you have the matter of the remarriage, which is another. But in the Old Testament adultery was to be punished with death in the case of both the man and the woman. Leviticus 20 in verse number 10. The man that committed adultery with another man's wife and even he that committed adultery with his neighbor's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death. Now you say, does the New Testament church practice this? No, we do not. We do not. This again, the law was a covenant with Israel and we take what is in the New Testament that's carried out of that covenant and placed into the new covenant and we go according to that and we'll make that plain a little later on here. But hear me now, the man and the woman commit adultery. Whichever one commits adultery is put to death. Now you're still awake enough, right? All right. There's no divorce issue left. because the person is dead. And you have the other spouse that was faithful, you have the other spouse left, and the one that committed the sin is dead. So the one who's left living is free to marry. Yes? See, that solves that problem real quickly. So if we just have stoning in the New Testament, we could solve this remarriage problem very easily, see. If you're alive, you get to remarry, and if you're not, you don't. You've got that. Good, good. Stewart says concerning the issue of divorce, and I don't want to take a position here at this particular time, although I do believe there are two possible grounds for divorce in which God recognizes divorce. And if the divorce is recognized as breaking the marriage union, the person is free to marry. I believe that. Stewart says divorce cannot be used as a mechanism to get around adultery. It's condemned in the strongest divine terms in the Old Testament and in Jesus' teaching. It represents the equivalent of adultery in any situation, except where adultery itself is the justifiable reason for divorce. If there was not a justifiable reason for divorce, Jesus, in essence, said they are still married, and if one of them remarries, they are marrying as a presently married person. In other words, God does not recognize the divorces, all of the divorces that go through the divorce court, as legitimate. God does not accept that many of the divorces that go through our divorce courts actually break the marriage bond. The marriage bond is intact whether man says it is or not because God is the one that does the marriage. Got it? God is the one that joins the man and the woman together. And if God recognizes the union has been broken, then it's broken. But if God doesn't recognize the union is broken, it's not broken. It's that simple. There are a lot of questions come out of this, and I don't want to go there tonight. I want to go somewhere else here. If you will, Exodus 22, please. Exodus 22. And if a man entice a maid that is not betrothed... Now, here we have what we would call premarital sex, sex and cohabitation without marriage. If a man is enticed a maid that is not betrothed and lie with her, he shall surely endow her to be his wife. In this case, they weren't stoned. If her father utterly refused to give her unto him, he shall pay money according to the dowry of virgins. He was to ensure her future, even though the father didn't let her marry. So she didn't have to get married, but there was an obligation to do so if the father of the girl allowed it. Concerning the high priest, He was to take a wife in her virginity. A widow, divorced woman, or profane, or harlot were not to be ever, ever taken in marriage by a high priest. He was to take a virgin of his own people to wife. The recognition there is that not everyone that enters into marriage is a virgin. Now, adultery was a very serious offense against marriage and was to be dealt with as such. Go to Deuteronomy 22, if you will, please. Deuteronomy 22. And I don't want to take a lot of time to go through this, but adultery was a very serious offense in the Mosaic economy in the days of Moses under the covenant that God had with Israel. And there were provisions if things went wrong, but not for immorality. In 22, beginning with verse 13, there's a man, he takes a wife. He, he, the marriage is consummated, but he hates her and he talks, gossips against her and brings up an evil name on her. And he says, I took this woman. I found her not literally the word made means virgin. And then shall the father of the damsel, they bring to the elders of the gate and they deal with this thing. Now, if, if the acquisitions are wrong in verse 18, they were to chastise the man. and find him. But if the accusation was right in verse 20 and she was not a virgin, then they were to take her out in verse 21 and stone her. What I'm simply saying is we don't do this today, and I don't think in the New Testament economy we should. But it seems to me that in the mind of God, he gave this to his covenant people. And if he gave these kinds of instructions, he regarded the violation of moral purity as very, very serious. Yes or no? It was not a light thing. with God. It was not a light thing with God in Leviticus 20 and verse 17 and following. And you don't need to turn their Leviticus 20 has perhaps some of the most detailed descriptions of various relationships between men and women that are not allowed. One of them is incest. You are not to marry a blood relative. You're not to marry a cousin. You're not to marry a brother or a sister or a half-brother or a half-sister. And you are not to marry within the bloodlines of the family. And there are reasons for that biologically and genetically. We know that there are problems that come up there. But this was violated by Abraham. He sent his servant to get a wife for for Isaac from his family. So there are questions as to how all of this is applied. But there are problems, and it would not be listed as something that ought not to be done in Leviticus 20 if there were not problems involved in it. OK? Then you come to Exodus chapter 22. Where are you in your Bibles right now? Which book are you in? You're in Leviticus. I hesitate to even bring the next one up. Let me not do it. You look it up in your Bibles. I simply want to say that what we call bestiality is roundly and soundly condemned. And let me just say about that particular thing that you should not be surprised in the next 10 or 15 years if this does not go on the list of bisexual, homosexual, transgender. If this is not on the list before all of this is done, I will be very, very surprised. It's amazing. Once you go down this road, it's amazing where it takes you. And again, these are very unsavory subjects. I want you please to go to Leviticus 18. Leviticus 18. This is a burning issue in our culture. Our president tragically is taking sides with those who are promoting homosexual marriage. And when he's gone to the military and now he wants the don't ask, don't tell taken out of that and so on and so on. Leviticus 18.22 is very, very clear, powerful and clear. Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind. It is abomination. Now, mankind there means male. It's the word for male. And womankind is the word in the Hebrew language for female. It's the genetic identification. I'm sorry, it's the gender identification of the male and the female. And he calls it abomination. Now, the word abomination is a word that means something that God finds highly detestable or abhorrent. God's response to it is unusual. He does not respond this way to every sin. Somebody says, well, every sin is alike. No, every sin does not have consequences alike. And when God looks at something that's extremely damaging, it becomes to Him extremely troubling. And so He calls this abomination. and attaches extreme penalties to this particular kind of conduct. I want to say this again in the light of the fact that this last week, as I've already told you, the fifth denomination in the United States, main line denomination, the Presbyterian Church USA, this last week voted to approve ordaining clergy who are practicing homosexuals. Now, may I say this too? I want to say something and please get this clear. Come on, come back to me now. Come back to me now for just a moment. Listen carefully to what I'm saying. There are not three or four genders. There are only two genders, male and female. There is technically, in my opinion, and I think it's a good one, there is technically no such thing as a homosexual by a gender identity. No such thing. It is not what you claim to be, it's what you do in your conduct. It is conduct the Bible deals with, never what we call identity. This idea of discrimination has to do with the fact that they have attached this as a gender identity which does not exist. May I say to you that every individual has a different personality. I think you'll agree with that. And if you have children, you know I'm right about this. Every one of your children is totally different. Their psychological makeup, their thought patterns, their emotional makeup, the way their minds work. Every individual is just totally different. Some are more sensitive than others. I have known people that I wondered if they had an emotional nerve in their body. Everything was cold and unfeeling and calculated, but that's the way they were made. And I've known others, you just drop a pin and they weep. Some God makes extremely sensitive. Others God makes not so sensitive. And so we all have different personalities and temperaments. And may I say this, that because of this, every individual has differing strengths. Your personality, your temperament, your mentality gives to you strengths. This is what puts up this dynamic going on in marriages, you know. Somebody talked to me recently about somebody who just was totally unorganized and never could show up on time and just didn't get things done on time and unorganized. And I said, I bet he married a woman that was organized plus and right on the dime. Yes, yes, yes. Now, you see, if Mr. Disorganized didn't marry Mrs. Organized, he'd be in trouble. And if Mrs. Organized didn't marry Mr. Disorganized, she'd destroy everybody in her life. Because he tempers her. So, each of our personalities and temperaments has its own personal strengths and weaknesses. And because of that, the temptations that we suffer differ with our temperaments and personalities. Some people spend a lifetime A lifetime dealing with the matter of truthfulness. They can't tell the truth. It's a battle to them that will not stop. Oh, somebody says, why should they have any trouble telling the truth? Well, you're not made like they are. Others have difficulty with anger. Now, we all have a little anger, but some people have a problem with anger. I mean, it consumes their life. And it's not because they choose to have that. It's because their temperament and personality has that weakness to it. And every one of us has a weakness. We have a corresponding strength, a corresponding weakness. And that weakness is the ground and foundation for temptations that are unique to us. Are you with me yet? Okay? So, some are never tempted to adultery. let alone homosexuality and some other things. But others have a tremendous difficulty in life keeping their eyes off the other sex. They have a tremendous difficulty in the matter of adultery. That is a specific weakness or temptation they have because of how they are made up. Now, is it better to have a temptation to anger or is it better to have a temptation to lie? What's better? Nothing's better. It's according to who and what you are and your makeup as to what you deal with in the trials in your life. Does that make sense to you? Does it? So, you have some individuals where this homosexual thing becomes the point of temptation for them because of their personal makeup. Now, there may be other reasons like pornography that comes into their life. There may be other things that happen to them. But a good bit of this has to do with personal weakness in certain areas of life that are there just simply by how they're made up. And I don't know this to be a scientific fact, but from my observation in my years here in this city, if I were to tell you, I would tell you that there's one thing that predominates very, very much in the homosexual community here. Many, many, many of these men are highly sensitive people. They are people that can be hurt very easily, damaged very easily. So, when we look at this thing, we want to be very careful about our thoughts. But this does not take away the seriousness of what happens when this kind of activity takes place. It is not that they are a homosexual. I do not believe there is any such thing, any such person. There are temptations to do homosexual things. And it's interesting, if you have a trouble with anger, Nobody classifies you as an, what do we want to say, an angerphobe or something like that. Nobody identifies you with anger. He's just got a problem with anger. Now, every believer has problems with temptation. That doesn't mean the sins are right, but it simply means we have to deal with them. So, homosexual acts You didn't say if you're a homosexual, you're to be stoned. It says a man or a woman that does certain things morally will be dealt with. You understand what I'm saying? It's the activity. You getting this? It's doing this thing that is roundly condemned, extremely dangerous, and it's an abomination to the Lord. Rooker says this. Homosexuality is not to be viewed as a disease or a viable sexual lifestyle as it has been in some Western cultures. This is good stuff. Are you awake? Don't miss this. Rabbi Jakobowitz has contrasted the recent tolerance of homosexuality with consistent Jewish interpretation of the Old Testament teaching. And this is what Rabbi Jacobowitz, I think that would be Jacobowitz, properly pronounced, has to say, quote, whereas the more liberal attitude found in some modern Christian circles is possibly due to the exaggerated importance Christians have traditionally accorded to the term love. Jewish law holds no hedonistic ethic, even if called love, can justify the morality of homosexuality anymore. Then it can legitimize adultery, incest, or polygamy. However, genuinely, such acts be performed out of love by mutual consent. You see, the homosexual practice and activity, the homosexual sin, is condoned because they say it's an act of love. Well then, if that's true, then adultery also could be justified because adultery could be construed to be an act of love, yes? Or incest. See, these things all could be justified in the basis of their acts of love. But we don't, do we? And we can't do with the homosexual acts what we do with adultery. Or that is what we don't do with adultery. These things go together. They're a part of the same moral system. So, and let me give you my quote again, please. You might write it down. The newspapers will not publish it. It's been excised out of any article I've submitted to the newspapers in this city. Any sexual practice or activity, any sexual practice or activity that eventuates, you could put produces or results in. that eventuates in catastrophic illness and death. Any sexual activity or practice that eventuates in catastrophic illness or death. Have you got that so far? Any sexual activity or practice that eventuates in catastrophic illness or death is not an act of love. is not an act of love. It is an act of violence. And look at that statement for a moment. Is it true? Any sexual activities or practices that eventuate in catastrophic illness and death are not acts of love. They are acts of violence. If you love somebody, you don't do things that potentially will destroy their lives. Yes or no? See? And again, I want to tell you, I want to say it very plainly. We've had, because of this moral approval in our city, we've had at least 20,000, probably more toward 30,000 people die, men and women die. over the last 30 years. Society would not tolerate 30,000 deaths from E. coli in hamburgers. But they will tolerate it if it comes from sexual activities and practices that they enjoy or feel ought to be approved by the culture in which we live. So, this idea that one can be practicing this sin, and be ordained into the ministry, and be an example in the ministry, and be the figurehead of religious belief and practice. This idea. It's dangerous, wicked, and will result in the tragic loss of much more human life. Lest you have been convinced that when these people have this so-called homosexual marriage and they're in committed relationships, that takes care of the problem, let me assure you that the physical and the illness factor goes up in those cases, not down. Okay? Go to Romans chapter one, if you will, quickly and my, my, my. I'm in trouble with the clock. We do not impose all of the terms and conditions of the old covenant in the new. Let me read a little bit more from Rooker. You're in Romans 1? Let me read from Rooker before we get to Romans 1. This moral teaching regarding this practice that is of homosexual conduct cannot be contextualized but should be viewed as normative morality. As Kaiser well stated, quote, to prohibit homosexuality today, some would argue, would be like forbidding unclean meats. It is admitted, of course, that there is a category of temporary ceremonial laws, but I do not agree that homosexuality is among them. Nothing in its proscription points to or anticipates Christ, and the death penalty demanded for its violation places it in the moral realm, not in temporary legislation. And in Romans 1, verse number 26, we have a description of the culture in San Francisco. We have a description of the morality that is not only condoned but proved, but promoted by the academics in Sacramento in the legislation which is concerned in the enclosure in your bulletin. We have people of this ill accord described here in Romans 1 to 26. For this cause, God gave them up unto vile affections. Even their women did change the natural use to that which is against nature. The word woman there is the gender The specific female, the female did change the natural use into that which is against nature, likewise also the men. And that's specifically the male, leaving the natural use of the female burned in their lust one toward another. Male with male working that which is unseemly and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error, which was fitting their meat or fitting. There's no question that under the new covenant and in the New Testament, This particular kind of sin or activity, if we want to call it that, is as roundly condemned as it is in the Old Testament. No question about it. Go quickly to 1 Corinthians 6. 1 Corinthians 6. First Corinthians 6 and verse number 9. Know you not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Be not deceived. Don't be fooled. The fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, effeminate, abusers of themselves with mankind, thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of God. The effeminate here has to do with a homosexual connotation. And the word abuses of themselves with mankind is the Greek word for homosexuals. Paul, again, tells us this does not fit into God's plan for things. 1 Timothy chapter 1 please. 1 Timothy chapter 1. Verse number 9. 1 Timothy 1 verse number 9. Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly, for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers, murderers of mothers, manslayers, whoremongers, them that defile themselves with mankind, for men-stealers, liars, perjured persons, if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine. Verse 10 refers to, number one, immoral men, that's the whoremongers, And those that defile themselves with mankind are homosexuals. So, the New Testament, the New Covenant, very firmly ensconces this commandment into the culture of New Testament Christianity. You shall in no case commit adultery. And this is a part, this is included in this thing. It is a wrong, it is an abusive use of God's creation. I wish that all of you could have been here last Sunday. How many were here last Sunday night when we talked about the created order? Good, many of you were. We went to Genesis chapters 1 and 2, where it is just flat out stated that marriage was a creation of God. God specifically designed a woman for a man, a man for a woman. And the description of the physical relationship between the two is there. And God took the rib out of the man, closed up the flesh thereof from that rib, specifically made a woman, and then specifically caused her to be brought to the man, which means that God had specific purpose, design, and intent to do this. It was not something that He just did off the cuff. He brought the woman to the man and said that they were to become one flesh, leave father and mother, be joined, be glued together. And they were to become one flesh, and that one flesh does not mean one person. It refers to their union together physically, and it refers to the product of that union which becomes one flesh in individual existence of the child. So, these things are all, this business, all of the violations, if we can put it this way, all of the violations of this command are a violation of what God intended to happen to man and to woman. And why man's physiology and woman's physiology are what they are, how they function in the relationship one to another. All of this planned and purposed by God. And children, hear me now. This business of marriage is pure. It is wonderful. Our physical bodies are designed to function in a way that God can use and bless, and ought to be kept clean and pure. And the body will not be any cleaner or more pure than The mind. And the mind. If you were to ask me, Pastor, what is one of the biggest stumbling blocks? What is one of the biggest causes for all of the immorality going on in society today? If I were going to put my finger on one thing, it would be the Internet. Parents, be sure you have filters on your computers. And young people, teenagers, children, beg your parents to have filters on your computers. Dr. Bob Jones Sr. said that every thought you think plows a furrow across your brain that can never be taken out or erased. And once you have an image in your mind, it's impossible to erase it. I beg of you, don't learn everything you want to know about this stuff. Did you hear that? I beg of you, don't learn everything you want to know. You don't want to live with this in your mind. Don't let this stuff into your head. It'll mess it up. It'll mess it up. And if you're a teenager, don't flirt with what goes on on the internet. Beg your parents, get that thing cleaned up today. And the more you put in there, the more perverted, you're entwisted, your mind gets. And you'll never be able to run away from that as long as you live. I beg of you, listen to me. The time to quit pornography is before you get on the first website with it. That's the time to quit. Only God knows. The lives that have been destroyed are being destroyed and will be destroyed. Not only by the homosexual acts, but by adultery. It's amazing we're living in a generation where people don't know the prophets of the Bible, but they know what an STD is. Children all know about STDs. They know nothing of God. Amazing the age in which we live. While we are spending billions and up into the trillions of dollars to cure diseases that would not exist apart from the violation of this command. You must not commit adultery. May the Lord encourage our hearts to keep our minds clean. Clean. Pure. I beg of you. I wish I could go down into certain areas of our community with the culture we've talked about tonight. And I wish I could bring men and women into this house tonight and have them testify how their lives have been destroyed and ruined because they made some decisions that took them down the wrong road. They would beg of you. It's not smart. It's stupid. How many of you think it would be smart, cool, to go home and get a bottle of poison and see how it tastes? Wouldn't that be cool, man? I'm going to drink this poison! Ha ha! Cool, man! Cool! You ought to see this thing! Cool! I found it on the way home from school. Wow, cool, man, cool. Come drink some poison with me, you see, you stupid jerk. How much you don't know it's bad you haven't tried it before, right? How do you know it's going to taste good? Peppermint flavored. Cool, man. Let me tell you something, pornography is just as dangerous to your mind and your spirit as poison is to your body. Did you hear me? And it is just as absolutely foolish and stupid to get into this stuff as it is to drink poison. I don't like this subject. I hate it. But there's no way to avoid it. This is the world in which we live. If you're into this stuff and you need some help, have enough good sense to come to one of us in the pastoral staff and get some help, please. If you don't know where to get an internet filter, we'll try to help you find one for your computer at home. Anybody that buys into this idea that sin is wonderful and pleasurable and cool and all that you have, anybody that does, that's a fool. May the Lord deliver all of us from this kind of wickedness and deception and lies. Father in heaven, thank you for your presence with us here tonight. Thank you for your word, the words of warning that keep us from destroying our lives unnecessarily. God, give us hearts that love the truth. Give us a welcome for the work of the Holy Spirit of God in our lives. Teach us, Lord, to pray for one another as we go from this place. May this be a week in which we carry burdens on our heart that we don't know what they are for those whom you've placed there by way of the picture of their face in our mind. And God bless our fellowship. We need encouragement, help and blessing. We ask for it. Thank you for this wonderful day. We commit it all to you in Jesus' wonderful name. Amen. God bless you as you go your way.