Please turn with me in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 5. Deuteronomy chapter 5. I'll begin reading in verse 6. I am the Lord, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord, your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children. to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love me and keep my commandments. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. Observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy. As the Lord your God commanded you, six days you shall labor and do all your work. The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work. You, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm. Therefore, the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day. Honor your father and your mother as the Lord your God has commanded you, that your days may be long and that it may be well with you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife. And you shall not desire your neighbor's house, his field, his male servant, his female servant, his ox, his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's. These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly. in the mountain from the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness with a loud voice. And he added, no more. And he wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me. Amen. Let us pray. Father, we thank you for your holy law. We thank you for what is given here in Moab. It was given at Sinai that summarizes what was given to Adam in the garden. We thank you as well, Lord God, that is given to us internally by the Spirit in this new covenant situation. We pray that you'd help us to delight in your law, to never see it as a burdensome thing. May we say with the psalmist, oh how I love your law. It is my meditation day and night. We pray for your spirit to guide us and to instruct us now. We pray for your spirit to help us to apply these things in our own lives, that we may be careful, that we may be watchful and prayerful concerning this seventh word. We pray, God, that you would again forgive us for all of our sins and our transgressions and be merciful to us, we pray. We ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, just a couple of preliminary observations before we begin on an exposition of the seventh commandment in our study of the Ten Commandments. The exposition and application of the Ten Commandments are crucial. If you watched any of the news this past week, you'll have seen that Pope Francis stood before the United States Congress and never once mentioned the word abortion. He's addressing the very persons that have the legislative pen to argue or to rule against such a practice. He never mentions that. But in that address, he does degrade or he does denounce the death penalty. As far as I'm concerned, he mangled the Sixth Commandment. The Sixth Commandment certainly demands that we do not murder, but the Sixth Commandment does not prohibit, and the rest of Scripture demands that criminals guilty before God and before a civil government ought to be executed. I agree with Associate Justice Scalia that probably the United States is going to abolish the death penalty as well. In Canada, the last time the death penalty was implemented was in 62, it was overruled in 1976. There were provisions there for certain military crimes. Those, in turn, were overruled in 1998. So I simply say this to highlight the fact that this is a very practical and a very necessary study. The people of God must understand what the scriptures say concerning the law and how it applies in our day-to-day lives and how it applies on a governmental level or in a societal level. Another observation before we begin is I don't think any of us would argue that when we look at the Decalogue, two of the commands that are most severely broken or or strenuously, or persistently rather is the good word, that are broken in our own day and age are the sixth and the seventh. You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery. I will argue in our exposition tonight that adultery not only involves that which pertains specifically to a man and his wife, but adultery, or the seventh word, does encompass a whole host of other sexual sins. One only has to look around to see the violation of this law, the violation of the Sixth Commandment, in mass. And I want to remind you that these two tables of the law are closely related and closely associated. we might suggest or we might say that those who reject the first table, our duty toward God, will not relate, with reference to the second table, to their fellow man. In other words, if we reject God, we will not have meaningful biblical, ordered, godly relationships with other persons in society. Romans 1, I think, indicates this very clearly. Romans 1.18, the apostle says, the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. I believe that Paul's order there is specific. Ungodliness precedes unrighteousness. Some commentators say it's just arbitrary. There's no specific distinction with reference to the order, but the subsequent context indicates just the opposite. Paul deals with sins of ungodliness, or what we think concerning God, before he turns to those things that refer to our conduct toward one another. In the first instance, Paul says that although man knew God, they did not honor God as God, nor were they thankful, that they became futile in their understanding. They exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and they worshipped and served the creature, rather than the Creator, who is God, blessed over all. And then follows all of this multitude of transgressions with reference to the second table. So a society that rejects God vis-a-vis the first table of the law is a society that is going to struggle and is going to violate this second table of the law. So we must not forget this close association within the Decalogue itself. I want to look at three things tonight as we consider the seventh word. First, the basis of the commandment, secondly, the prohibition of the commandment, and then thirdly, the positive aspect of the commandment. But in the first place, the basis. has a purpose in marriage, and that purpose is threefold. Now, there are certainly other things we can say or include with reference to marriage, but there are three particulars or three necessary elements involved in marriage, and adultery brings destruction to each of these particular elements. In the first place, it is a covenant of companionship. In Genesis chapter 2, when the Lord God made this world, when Adam was engaged in naming the animals, Adam saw that there was not a helpmate or one answering unto him. There was none comparable to him. And God saw that it was not good. So God created Eve to bring her to Adam so that Adam would be complete. It is, in the first place, a covenant of companionship. A breach in marriage via adultery brings a breach to that covenant. It breaks that covenant. In the second place, the practice of sexual intimacy, or we might say the prevention of uncleanness. When Adam saw Eve, they came together as one flesh. Yes, in terms of the marital bond, but physically as well. It wasn't bad, it wasn't wrong, it wasn't icky, it wasn't dirty. It was the plan and the purpose of God Most High. And in the third place, the purpose for marriage is procreation. It is to be fruitful, it is to multiply, it is to have children. So the basis of the seventh word is found in the creative activity of God and in the fact that He ordained marriage for His creatures. But as well, the basis of the command is found, obviously, in the law of God. The seventh commandment says, you shall not commit adultery. The rest of the Old Testament fleshes out for us, and illustrates for us, multi-faceted application of the seventh commandment. And we're going to list those, or at least some of those, this evening, because it's helpful for us to see what God's word says concerning sexual sin. And in the third place, the New Testament as well regulates, mandates, commands obedience to God with reference to the Seventh Commandment. When we come to Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, he deals with the Seventh Commandment. When we come to the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians, when we come to the Apostle Paul, elsewhere in the New Testament documents, he deals with the seventh commandment. When we come to Hebrews chapter 13, verse 4, we read that marriage is honorable among all and the bed undefiled within the context of marriage alone. marriage between one man and one woman, the marriage bed is undefiled. God is not anti-sexual relations. God is anti-illicit, unrighteous, unbiblical, ungodly sexual relations. But within the context of a covenant marriage, God the Lord says that it is good and marriage is honorable among all and the bed undefiled but for fornicators and adulterers God will judge. With reference to the basis of the command, we see it's sanctioned. The death penalty is given for a violation of the seventh word concerning adultery. Leviticus chapter 20 verse 10, Deuteronomy chapter 22 and verse 22. As well, not only the death penalty or capital punishment in Old Covenant Israel, but the wrath of man. I'd like for you to turn to Proverbs chapter 6 for just a moment. Very interesting statement that Solomon gives us there in Proverbs chapter 6, specifically verses 30 to 35. Verse 30 of Proverbs 6, people do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy himself when he is starving. Yet when he is found, he must restore sevenfold. He may have to give up all the substance of his house. This is one of those sorts of things that God's not saying it's okay to steal, but God is saying that when a hungry man steals, other persons have some comprehension of such an act, right? The man is starving to death and he walks into Walmart and he puts a brisket under his arm and he runs out. He still ought to be punished. He still ought to be penalized. There's still a sanction to be paid. But we're not shocked and we're not surprised. We're not blown away by the reality that a hungry man steals a brisket. This is what he says. People do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy himself when he is starving. We despise a thief who comes and takes our car. We despise a thief who comes and does some things that you know, isn't very conducive to our happiness and our well-being. But a man who's starving to death, again, we don't turn the other way, we don't wink at it, we don't neglect it, but we don't despise the man. When he is found, he must restore sevenfold. He may have to give up all the substance of his house. You see, he's not saying, it's okay to steal if you're starving. He's simply saying that men don't despise somebody who steals when they're starving. He still has to pay restitution. He still has to restore sevenfold. Now note in verse 32 with reference to the seventh word, whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding. He who does so destroys his own soul. Wounds and dishonor he will get, and his reproach will not be wiped away. Now the wounds and dishonor that he gets here are not from the civil magistrate, but the husband. Notice in verse 34, for jealousy is a husband's fury, therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance. He will accept no recompense, nor will he be appeased, though you give many gifts. What is Solomon indicating in this particular passage? He is indicating that a violation of the Eighth Commandment, you shall not steal, is wrong. It's bad. You shouldn't do this. If you are found out, you need to repay sevenfold. You need to make restitution. You need to do what the law prescribes in such an incident. But if you're starving to death, people aren't going to despise you. Not so with the adulterer. Not so with the man who brings ruin to his own marriage, not so with the woman who brings ruin to her own marriage, or persons that bring ruin to another marriage. What Solomon recognizes here is the reality of the situation. When a man finds out that such has been the case, he will go and deliver these blows to this offender, to this violator of this sacred covenant that he has transacted with his wife. And then we find the wrath of God is also involved in this situation. I've already cited Hebrews 13.4, but fornicators and adulterers God will judge. It's one of those things that you ought to be cognizant of, that if you engage in sexual immorality, if you engage in pornography, if you engage in adultery, if you engage in homosexuality, if you engage in whatever the seventh commandment forbids, and you somehow get away with it as far as men or women are concerned, realize that fornicators and adulterers God will judge. There is that promise given in Scripture. Listen to a couple of older brothers concerning this particular sin of adultery. Dabney said, were all to take the license of an adulterer, men would in due time be reduced precisely to the degradation of wild beasts. The sin of the adulterer, therefore, is scarcely less enormous than that of the murderer. The latter, murder, destroys man's temporal existence. The former, adultery, destroys all that makes existence a boon. It makes it good to have a relationship with a man or a woman, and when somebody comes and brings destruction upon that sacred covenant, that destroys a man's existence in terms of its encouraging aspect. Watson says the adulterer not only wrongs his own soul, but does what in him lies to destroy the soul of another, and so kills two at once. He is worse than the thief. For suppose a thief robs a man, yea, takes away his life. The man's soul may be happy. He may go to heaven as well as if he had died in his bed. But he who commits adultery endangers the soul of another and deprives her of salvation so far as in him lies. Now what a fearful thing is it to be an instrument to draw another to hell. So the basis of the commandment is found in the purpose of God in marriage, the law of God itself, and it's seen demonstrated or illustrated in the sanction. Now notice in the second place the prohibition of the command. We'll look at the sins forbidden and then the sins committed. And I'm probably missing something here. I'm just giving you a sample list of 11 items. 11 items, people are thinking, we're going to be here until midnight. No, we can move through these pretty quickly. But as I said, adultery is focused on, and that's the first one to consider. Leviticus 18.20, Leviticus 20.10, Deuteronomy 22.22, the sexual intercourse of a husband with the wife of another or of a wife with the husband of another. I suggest that this is indicated here and comprehends all the other sorts of sins because this, in many respects, is a direct attack upon the covenant nation. In other words, the family was the basic unit, the basic building block of society, and such is the case today. So when a man or a woman engaged in a violation of the Seventh Commandment, what was at stake wasn't simply the covenantal family, but it was the covenantal nation at large. God takes seriously our promises. God takes seriously our fidelity. God takes seriously this whole issue of covenant making. We are not to engage in such things and then trash them. We are not to stand up here and say, I do, and then go out and do not. We are not to swear before God and men that we will stay with our beloved till death do us part and then go out and follow after somebody else. The Lord God Almighty says that this is an abomination. Craigie says that adultery of one partner in marriage involved not only unfaithfulness to the other partner, but also unfaithfulness to God. You'll hear this sometimes with reference to sexual sin. You'll hear this with reference to, say, homosexuality or prostitution. These are victimless crimes. Well, all sin ultimately is against God the Lord. All sin ultimately has as its object a violation the living and true God. the Creator has spoken to His creatures, we are to toe the line. We are to do what He says to do. So when we reject that and we rebel against that, it is simply not the case that these are somehow victimless crimes. In the second place, fornication. This includes sexual relations outside of marriage. Sexual relations outside of marriage. As I said, Only marriage between one man and one woman that has the approval of God. As far as the Scriptures are concerned, Hebrews 13, the marriage bed is undefiled. That is the place wherein that blessing of God is to be utilized and enjoyed. But outside that covenantal context, it is condemned. It is forbidden. We live in a society where fornication is rampant, and we as the church need to be even-handed here. We denounce homosexuality, and well, we should, but we must also denounce heterosexual fornication. Why is it any worse? It is a violation of the word of the living God. And in this instance, we see Exodus 22, 16 and 17, Deuteronomy 22, 13 to 22, 22, 28 to 29, and Hebrews 13, 4. In fact, turn for just a moment to 22 of Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy 22. Some persons struggle here, and this is one of those passages that are used against Christians to show an arbitrariness with reference to the application of God's law. It was somehow acceptable to rape a betrothed woman And it was somehow acceptable, rather, to rape an unbetrothed woman, but you couldn't rape a betrothed woman. I think there are several categories that need to be understood in Deuteronomy. We don't have time to argue for each of these. If you're interested, you can email me later. I'll send you the notes where we do argue this a bit. But in verses 23 and 24 of Deuteronomy 22, what we have is the seduction of a betrothed woman. in verses 23 and 24. In verses 25 to 27, we have the rape of a betrothed woman in the countryside. In verses 28 and 29, we have the seduction of a single woman. Some read that as rape. I do not believe that's a rape. And so the argument is that it's okay to rape an unbetrothed woman or a single woman, but it's wrong. No, what we have in verses 28 and 29 is rather a place or a consensual agreement between a woman and a man. And then adultery with a father's wife, or consanguinity, or I'm sorry, affinity in verse 30. So just to clear up some of those particulars, you may not remember all that, as I said, email me and I can send you the notes. But adultery is condemned, fornication, incest. Incest is wrong. It is against the law of God. Leviticus 18 highlights and details this. Leviticus 20 Deuteronomy 2230, just read it, 1 Corinthians chapter 5. This was a problem in Corinth. The apostle deals with this. He says, I am amazed. Man has his father's wife, and you guys are not only not condemning it, but you become arrogant in this. Our confession says that marriage ought not to be within the degrees of consanguinity. That means blood relationship. or affinity, that means a relationship by marriage that is condemned through in scripture. Forbidden in the word, nor can such incestuous marriage ever be made lawful by any law of man or consent of parties, so as those persons may live together as man and wife. In the fourth place, rape. Rape. In fact, look at Deuteronomy 22 again. Look at what it says in verses 25 to 27. If a man finds a betrothed young woman in the countryside... and the man forces her and lies with her, then only the man who lay with her shall die. But you shall do nothing to the young woman. There is in the young woman no sin deserving of death, for just as when a man rises against his neighbor and kills him, even so is this matter. For he found her in the countryside and the betrothed young woman cried out, but there was no one to save her." This was not consensual on her part. She was forced. She was raped. And as a result, the law of God demands concerning the rapist that he die. This is a crime that is just as murder, according to Scripture. In the fifth place, sodomy. Homosexuality. God calls this an abomination. Genesis chapters 18 and 19. Leviticus 18.22. Leviticus 20.13. Romans 1, 26 and 27, 1 Corinthians 6, verse 9, and 1 Timothy 1, 10. Let's take one sample passage, the one in 1 Corinthians. A lot of persons today are confused about this particular subject of homosexuality. Some within the church, some churches even, are giving sanction or approval to what's called same-sex marriage. Well, the scripture clearly condemns this. Notice in 1 Corinthians 6, 9. Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites. Person C, the two terms used there. homosexuals and sodomites. And some would say, why does Paul use the same word twice? He doesn't use the same word twice. He uses two technical terms that refer to the active and to the passive partner in a homosexual relationship. Where does Paul get this distinction? Where does Paul understand this ethical distinction? It is from his dealings with and his knowledge of the Old Testament Scriptures. Sodomy is condemned in the Word of God. Homosexuality is not to be normative. It is not to be practiced. The church is not to recognize same-sex marriage. It is a sin before God and one that he calls against nature in the Book of Romans. in chapter 1. In the sixth place, bestiality. Again, brethren, this is probably not the happiest sermon you'll hear this week. Not that you're going to hear a lot of sermons unless you listen to sermon audio a lot. You think, bestiality? Why in the world would we need a prescription against that? I remember Andy Hamilton preaching a message on sexual purity in a sensual age and he said, it ought to make us hang our head in shame that God has to actually tell us not to engage in bestiality. It ought to make us hang our head in shame that God the Lord from on high has to tell man the image bearer that he is not to lie with an animal the way that he lies with a man or a woman. If he's a woman or she's a woman lying with a man or a man with a woman. Bestiality. The degree of sexual perversion in Canaanite culture was such that bestiality was fairly commonplace. Hittite laws, for example, even permitted cohabitation with certain animals. You remember last week I mentioned Peter Singer, the professor of bioethics at Princeton University. I checked, he's still working there. Another interesting thing that Singer advances or Singer advocates for is bestiality. As long as there is no cruelty inflicted upon the animal, then there can be a meaningful relationship. I'm not making this up. This man is the professor of life ethics at Princeton University, probably making a whole lot of money and advocating for the practice of bestiality. Except, of course, for smaller animals because it does hurt them and it does damage them. In the seventh place, unlawful divorce. Unlawful divorce. We've seen that in our exposition in Matthew's Gospel, both in chapters 5 and 19. If you are divorced unlawfully, then any subsequent interaction that you may have is adulterous in nature and is condemned. In the eighth place, immodesty. You shall not commit adultery. The Bible also highlights the reality that men and women must dress modestly. We must cover those parts that will inflame the lusts of other persons. In Proverbs chapter 7, Solomon highlights the reality that there are women who have the attire of a harlot. Now probably that looked a whole lot different in Solomon's day than it looks in our day. But the point is that in every generation there is the attire of a harlot. In the New Testament scriptures, in 1 Timothy chapter 2, what does Paul say concerning women in the public worship of the living God? Dress as provocatively as you can. Be a stumbling block for your brothers? Be a stumbling block for the younger men? No, in chapter 2 of 1 Timothy, in verse 8, he says, I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting in like manner also that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, but which is proper for women professing godliness with good works. Peter, in 1 Peter chapter 3, addresses the same subject. And while these texts specifically highlight women in worship, women in their conduct, certainly men are included. Men are not to be immodest. Men are to govern themselves and to make sure that they are not an occasion to promote lust on the part of another person. 1 Peter 3, 3, do not let your adornment be merely outward, arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel. Rather, let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God." You see, the scripture enjoins upon us modesty in our dress, modesty in compliance with the seventh word. In the ninth place, we would include polygamy in this instance. Now, polygamy was tolerated in the Old Testament scriptures. You'll all know that. We ought not to hide that reality. We ought not to cover that fact. We just saw it in 1 Samuel 26. David took Abigail as his wife and he took Ahinoam, the Jezreelitess. chapter 25, rather. So polygamy was tolerated in the Old Covenant, but monogamy has always been the design of God from the beginning. In the creation, in the garden, God brought Eve to Adam. God didn't bring Eve and Lucy and Millie and whoever else. God gave one woman to one man and that was normative. It is treated as such by the Lord Jesus in Matthew chapter 19 It is treated as such by the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 5.31. In the tenth place, we would include prostitution here as a violation of the seventh word, Leviticus 19.29. This is wrong. You are not to sell sex for money. The only time that you may engage in this particular activity is in the confines of a covenanted marriage. That is it. That is the place. You say, well, it's so difficult to be single. Get a wife! Find a husband. Hitch your wagon to someone else. Do what God says. If you are burning in your lust, get a good job. Be presentable. Be a hard worker. Woo her. Cause him to see you so that you can find a person. to engage in this blessed privilege with for the rest of your life, because God says it's legit, according to Hebrews 13, for in the context of covenantal marriage. And in the final place, we would include pornography. Pornography. Here, Jesus speaking in the Gospel of Matthew says, I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Pornography is condemned in the scriptures. Pornography is wrong. Pornography is epidemic. Pornography is everywhere. Pornography is at the end of our fingertips every moment of the day. If you have a cell phone in your pocket, it happens to be a smartphone, you have access to this. If you have a computer at home, you have access to this. Things that several years ago There were many obstacles between a young man or a young woman in order to secure pornography. Those obstacles were oftentimes bypassed and jumped over. We could still get it if we wanted it. But nowadays, those obstacles are removed. Those obstacles are gone. Those obstacles have vanished. You need to guard your hearts. You need to govern your passions. You need to watch and pray. You need to avoid the temptation of clicking here or clicking there, because once done, you may find yourself in a big problematic situation. I mean, the one click is problematic as it is. But persons get addicted to this. Persons' minds and hearts are saturated with the wrong things. Young people, children. I've read that the age that most young people today are exposed to pornography is very, very young. I think it's around 11 or 12. When I was 11 and 12, we weren't virtuous people by any stretch. But we were playing hide and go seek. We were playing baseball in the streets. We were playing football. We were just asking our parents if we could stay out later so that we could run around the neighborhood and just play like kids. At 12 years old, persons, kids, shouldn't even begin to think about these particulars. And yet now, it is the case that this is prevalent. Guard your hearts. Pluck out eyes and cut off hands so you do not fall prey to this particular sin. of pornography. Our Lord Jesus is clear. I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. And again, it's applicable to women as well. If you look upon a man to lust in your heart, then it is as if you've broken the seventh commandment. Take these things seriously. It is an epidemic sin, nationally or societally, but as well in the church. Persons, men, women, professing the true religion, who come to church and worship, using even the Trinity Hymnal, and preaching Reformed doctrine, persons still engage in this particular sin. If you are found out tonight, confess it to God, repent of your sin, and stop. Govern your passions. Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, Paul tells us in Romans 13, 14, and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts. Stop. Do not continue. Pray to the Lord God Almighty what we sang in 4.15, God be merciful to me, cleanse me from all unrighteousness, fill me with the Holy Spirit, and help me to take seriously our Lord's admonition to pluck out eyes and to cut off hands because God the Lord is serious about this aspect of your humanity. If this is the case in any of these things, May not be internet porn. It may not be prostitution. It may not be polygamy. It's probably immodesty for a lot of us. We need to guard our hearts on lawful divorce, bestiality. Hopefully that's not an issue. Sodomy, or rape, or incest, or fornication, or adultery, or any of these things. Brethren, understand that God is the one who has mandated for us to maintain purity in each of these areas. Now, how are these sins committed? Well, naturally, externally. The external act, the Westminster Larger Catechism, 139, says, what are the sins forbidden in the Seventh Commandment? Answer, the sins forbidden in the Seventh Commandment, besides the neglect of the duties required, are adultery, fornication, rape, incest, sodomy, and all unnatural lusts. The actual conduct of these particulars is a sin and a violation of the seventh word. But it doesn't stop there. The internal disposition The heart, the affections, the desires. As we have seen in Matthew 5, 28, I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. You may not have engaged in any of these 11 in terms of their external application, in terms of the actual execution of the practice, but it may be in the heart. There may be a giving, pondering, considering these particular violations in the heart of man. Spurgeon says, if sin were not allowed in the mind, it would never be made manifest in the body. This, therefore, is a very effectual way of dealing with the evil. Keep it out of the mind. Do not entertain vile thoughts. Resist those things. Watson says, as a man may die of an inward bleeding, so he may be damned for the inward boilings of lust if it be not mortified. So we have the external act, we have the internal disposition. A third way we can commit this sin is with the use of corrupt and filthy speech. This is what Paul is speaking to in Ephesians 5. Ephesians 5, the admonition is to walk in love as Christ also has loved us and given himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God. for a sweet-smelling aroma." Now notice what he goes on to say in verse 3. It is charged language and the context is sexual in nature. Verse 3, fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you as is fitting for saints, neither filthiness nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them." Avoid this filthy and corrupt speech, according to the Apostle Paul. The Westminster Larger says, all corrupt or filthy communications or listening, they're undue. or listening thereunto. I didn't say a word, but you gave both ears to hear these particulars. It's just like the sin of gossip. You may not have the big mouth, but if you have two big ears, then you are as guilty and as culpable as the one with said big mouth. This is wrong to not only do it, but to listen to it and receive it. And in the fourth place, the confession, the Westminster Larger, makes this association. It highlights that idleness, gluttony, drunkenness, and unchaste company are comprehended in that seventh commandment. Now, we might think that's a bit of Puritan throwback. And we might wonder why in the world or how in the world could they ever conclude that idleness, gluttony, drunkenness, or unchaste company would be comprehended in the Seventh Commandment? Well, we could see unchaste company. I mean, if I hang around with somebody that's sexually immoral, it's probably not going to be long before I engage in something that is wrong. What about idleness? It's curious that this was the occasion, or at least a sidebar with reference to David when he fell into his sin with Bathsheba. It was the time when kings went out to battle, but David didn't go. David sent Joab in his place. What should David have done? I speak as a man because God is sovereign, but David should have gone out to battle, as was the custom in the practice of Cain's. Had David gone out to battle, guess where he would not have gone? He would not have gone up on his roof, and he would not have viewed Bathsheba. He then would not have called Bathsheba to himself, he would not have impregnated her, and he would not have had to, at least in his mind, murder Uriah to cover this particular sin. Idleness. What about gluttony and drunkenness? I think the Confession understands that we are whole persons. We are whole men and women. We are connected. We are systemic. We are put together, body and soul, in a comprehensive way. I suspect the rub here is that a failure to govern every passion produces a climate conducive to indulge in any passion. In other words, if we are not watchful over all appetites, then the breach has been engaged. If we are not governing our habits when it comes to food and drink, it'll be very easy to not govern our habits when it comes to sexual matters. And then thirdly and finally, in terms of the positive aspect of the command, I'll lean on the larger catechism here. What are the duties required in the Seventh Commandment? The duties required in the Seventh Commandment are chastity in body, mind, affections, words, and behavior, and the preservation of it in ourselves and others. Watchfulness over the eyes and all the senses. temperance, keeping of chaste company, modesty in apparel, marriage by those that have not the gift of continency, conjugal love and cohabitation, diligent labor in our callings, shunning all occasions of uncleanness and resisting temptations thereunto. And I think there's wisdom to be had in this confession or in this catechism. Diligent labor in our callings. Brethren, you should work so hard during the day that by the time it comes to lie your head down or lay your head down on the pillow, you're too tired to go out and sin. That should be the goal, right? Work so hard that you collapse when you get to home because you're not going to go out and engage in wickedness. If you've got a problem with porn, work hard. Watch your heart. Guard against that stuff. Don't be alone with your phone or your computer. Take tangible steps to make sure these things don't happen. Idleness, gluttony, drunkenness, unchaste company, all of these things weaken the defenses. And when the defenses are weak in those areas, they will be weak over in the sexual realm as well. Well, brethren, in summary or in conclusion, just a couple of thoughts and then we close. Notice we didn't go through the entirety of the positive aspect of the command. My hope is to finish the Ten Commandments and return to 2 Timothy so that we can start the book of James in the future. But the first thing we ought to observe is the rejection of the Seventh Commandment, as I mentioned, is prevalent. It is prevalent. I mean, it is something that is viewed all the time. It is demonstrated in fornication, fornication, unrighteous habitation with another human being outside of the covenant of marriage. It is demonstrated in adultery, men and or women being unfaithful to those whom they swore to be faithful to. What happened to our word? What happened to our promise? What happened to the oath? What happened to the vow? What happened to swearing fidelity to God in front of witnesses to another human being that we would remain with them until death does us part? Brethren, we need to recover that in our churches. We need to guard against the tendency to follow the world when it comes to fornication and adultery. As well, unlawful divorce. Again, we have considered divorce in our exposition of Matthew's Gospel. Matthew 19, we even looked at 1 Corinthians 7. There I argue that there are lawful instances for divorce. Any ones that are not covered there are unlawful and are wrong. It is demonstrated in the widespread use of and abuse of pornography. As I've already mentioned, if this is something that is close to your heart or something that you have fallen into, confess it, forsake it, and repent. Stop. Do not continue to feed this lust. One man has well said, it's like starving a sumo wrestler. You don't keep feeding a sumo because he just gets bigger and bigger and bigger. You don't say, well, I'll just do it a few more times and then I'll... No, you've got to starve the sumo. You've got to stop engaging in this particular practice. And it's demonstrated in homosexuality. As I've said, it's embraced by some professing Christians and churches. James White has done numerous debates with numerous persons who try to maintain and argue that the Bible does not condemn faithful, monogamous, homosexual union. That position cannot be sustained. Our position here with reference to the church is that we will not perform marriages involving homosexuals or any other parties that depart from the original design at creation. One man marrying one woman. We will not submit to unbiblical laws or coercion on the part of the civil government. We will not kowtow to those demands. If the increasing pressure mounts, wherein we lose status, or wherein we lose recognition by BC, we will lose that recognition and status. We will not compromise on this point because marriage is one man and one woman for life. In the second place, in terms of our use of the commandment, how do we employ the Seventh Commandment? Well, in the civil realm, Ursinus says this in his exposition of the Heidelberg Catechism, the magistrate should punish these heinous sins and abominable transgressions with extraordinary punishments. Greg Bonson wrote a book on homosexuality in 1978, long before the Obergefell decision made by the United States Supreme Court. 1978, Greg Bonson said this, homosexuality that is publicly accepted is symptomatic of a society under judgment, inwardly corrupted to the point of impending collapse. Paul the Apostle regarded it as the most overt evidence of that degeneracy to which God in his wrath gave over the nations. Prophetic, certainly Bonson would probably just recoil in horror at what has happened today. The pedagogical use. You may be the only person in the world that the Seventh Commandment doesn't find out. If you are that one person, you cannot pay attention for a moment. But for the rest of us, the seventh commandment ought to send us to Jesus. Can anyone here say they've never had an untoward thought? Can anyone here say they've never given an untoward look? Can anyone say here they've always dressed in a manner that is appropriate and modest and all those things? Could you say with that young man in Matthew's gospel, all these things I have kept from my youth, probably on one point or another out of this category of 11, one of those things finds us out. The pedagogical use of God's holy law simply means this. The law shows us our sin. You may have come here tonight thinking you're an alright guy or an alright girl. Perhaps in the course of the exposition you have found out that you're not as alright as you once suspected. That is one of the proper uses of God's law, to point out our sin, to show us our evil, to show us where we fall short, so that we will then flee to the Lord Jesus Christ. He is always the recourse. He is always the haven. He is always the refuge in any and all situations. Those who have sinned sexually may repair to the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ and find therein forgiveness. They may find therein washing in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. If I would have continued reading 1 Corinthians 6, Well, let me just continue reading it. You can turn there so you can see it for yourself. It truly is an amazing declaration by the Apostle Paul. So if you have been found out tonight in your sin and you have not come to the Lord Jesus Christ, listen to what Paul says is the benefit, the blessing, the joy, and the privilege for those who do come to the Lord Jesus. Notice in 1 Corinthians 6.9, do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. Verse 11, and such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God." Isn't that good news? Isn't that a glorious statement? Isn't that beautiful that the Lord Jesus Christ washes He justifies, he sanctifies, and he promises to glorify us. Come to the Lord Jesus. Incidentally, this particular passage teaches us something concerning the nature of homosexuality. We are not born that way. It is not hardwired into us. Now, I'm not saying that pressures or issues or situations in youth or in childhood don't have an effect upon us, but it's not the case that we're born hardwired this way, because it wouldn't be the case that such were some of you. You can't stop Windows 10 from being Windows 10. You can't stop something that is hardwired one way to be another way. That is grace. It comes to sinners and it washes, the blood of Jesus washes, cleanses, and purifies us. And in the third place, with reference to the use of the seventh commandment, the normative use. The normative use. I suspect that this is where most of us are in our application of the seventh word. In the first place, the abstention from all sexual sin. That means to abstain from all sexual sin. First Thessalonians 4, verse 3, for this is the will of God, your sanctification, that you should abstain from sexual immorality. This is the will of God for you. You ever do that? I wonder what the will of God is for my life. Well, there it is, brethren, in big, stark, black letters. You want to know what the will of God is for you, young people? Your sanctification. That you abstain from sexual immorality. That'll be a full-time job. You need to make sure that you are applying yourself to it. 1 Peter 2.11. He urges the pilgrims, he says, abstain from fleshly lusts, notice, which war against the soul, which war against the soul, sexual sin, wars against the soul. So the abstention from all sexual sin. In the second place, the covenanting of and the practice of Biblical marriage. That is the legitimate expression for our sexuality. And if God has ordained that that is the case, and we are having struggles in this particular area, I alluded to it earlier, find a bride. Find a man. Get married. Say, I do. Covenant together and traverse this earth with the companion that the Lord God has given to you. Within marriage. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 7 that the man has authority over the woman and the woman has authority over the man. There ought to be the use of the marriage bed in the Christian merit. It ought to be frequent. It ought to be wholesome. It ought to be happy. God has given that to us. The marriage bed is undefiled, the Apostle says in Hebrews 13. So use it. The third place, the mortification of sin. You need to cut off sin. Jesus continuing in Matthew 5, 29 and 30, if your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it far from you, for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you, for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish than for your whole body to be cast into hell." Now Jesus speaks metaphorically. Origen took this seriously and engaged in self-castration. Spurgeon says, yet let no man plead this literally and therefore mutilate his body as some foolish fanatics have done. This is a metaphor. Jesus is not suggesting that you take a hatchet tonight and actually chop off your arm. Jesus is not saying that you find a sharp knife in the kitchen drawer and gouge out an eye. But Jesus' metaphor underscores the seriousness of dealing with sexual sin. Spurgeon again says, better a blind saint than a quick-sighted sinner. If Christ is going to use such a metaphor, it highlights or underscores the gravity of the sin involved and the necessity of the people of God to deal radically with it. And in the final place, the recognition, as I started out with tonight, of the close association between the two tables of the law. How in the world will we ever maintain fidelity with reference to the seventh commandment if we have disregarded the first four? If we have rejected God the Lord, if we as believers are not engaged in communion with God the Lord, if we have other gods before Him, if we are idolaters, if we are blasphemers, if we are Sabbath breakers, guess what's going to happen when it comes to the application of that second table? That close association must be observed, it must be respected. The way to sexual purity is to maintain communion with God Almighty. Those two tables hold together. A rejection of the first will lead inevitably to a rejection of the second. We see it obviously in society, in a death culture, a culture that hates Jesus Christ and thereby loves death. We see it in society. Why don't we see it in our own hearts? You may be struggling tonight with this, that, or the other. You say, well, how do I deal with this? Maybe you need to come back over here and start to get alone with God. Maybe you need to work on your own spiritual state before Jehovah. Maybe you need to be engaged in Bible reading and in prayer that's more fervent and more earnest. Maybe you need to be a regular attender to the public means of grace. Maybe instead of being absent from the supper, you're there when the householder is serving his weary pilgrims that necessary covenant meal. Those are the ways, brethren, of finding help with reference to the second table. So may I encourage all of us to take seriously this seventh word, and by the grace of God, to resist those temptations and to abstain from sexual immorality. Well, let us pray. Our Father, we thank you for the Word of God and the fact that you protect marriage, that you say to us, that you command us, that you bid us to keep this most basic covenantal bond intact. We pray, our Father, that you would help us to take these things to heart, help us to be prayerful concerning this particular word, and help us, God, to abstain, and help us to resist, and help us to mortify, and help us to have faithful, godly marriages wherein we honor and glorify you. Go with us now, we pray, and watch over us in this coming week. May your face shine upon us, may your peace be in our hearts, and may you keep and preserve each of your people here. And we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord, amen.