Turn with me this morning to first Timothy chapter one Bible. First Timothy chapter one, Paul gives the goal of the instruction that he, along with Timothy, were to aim at. Timothy had been left at Ephesus. His responsibility was to teach, I believe, the leaders of the church there. Church was sizable, seems as though there may have been, as with any big city, multiple congregations, people who believed in Christ. Paul says in verse five, the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. For some men straying from these things have turned aside to fruitless discussion. Keep the main thing, the main thing. But then he says, verse seven, wanting to be teachers of the law, even though they do not understand either what they're saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions. And so Paul is addressing the use of the law among those Ephesian believers Verse 80 says, but we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, realizing the fact that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers. Verse 10, and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching. Notice the next verse, according to the blessed or the glorious gospel of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted. It moves from law immediately to gospel. The purpose of the law based on Paul's instruction here is to expose sin. It's for sinners. That certainly is those who do not know the Lord Jesus as their Lord and Savior for them to recognize their need for Christ. It's also for those who have come to Christ. It's for us as well to see what sin is so that we might not live according to the ways of the world and sin in our lives. One writer said, the cross means nothing apart from the law. The law reveals sin, it shows the disease. The cross, and of course Christ upon the cross is the remedy. And we are commanded many times in the New Testament with regard to things that relate to the law, but we're not always given the background of the law. But when Paul gives instruction to the believers, for instance, at Ephesus himself, undergirding any moral discussion is the law of God as it had been declared and revealed what was right and what was wrong. So when he says in Ephesians 5, the imitators of God as beloved children and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. That's how we are to live as imitators of God. But then he says, but immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you as is proper among saints. No immorality, no, the word is pornea, no impurity. Akatharsia is uncleanness. Those things should not even be named among you. That shouldn't be a part of certainly the church or the lives, any individual life within the church. God has called us out of darkness and into light. And then beyond just the behavior, there's also this, he says, there must be no filthiness and silly talk or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving a thanks. In other words, the speech, the language, the things that we say. The communication that we have with one another should not have a hint of those things, even. He says, for this, you know, a certainty that no immoral, impure person or covetous man of Christ and of God. So what is the basis for Paul's moral commands? The basis is the law of God. It's the law of God that defines sin. It's the law of God that exposes sin. And it's our task as believers to come to an understanding of what God's word says. We ask, of course, give us understanding, but as we study God's word and we spend time together, The purpose of studying the law is so that we ourselves will be sanctified. And also as we preach the gospel to those who are lost, we'll understand what sin is so that we can then proclaim the gospel and proclaim the good news. Certainly that all men are sinners, but what is sin? The law defines that. The law gives instruction regarding, you can see it there, 1 Timothy 1. And other places as well. Whenever you see those commands and the epistles that give direction morally, the foundation of those, especially when it says, put to death these sins, is the law. And you can certainly find within the epistles reference to the command that we began studying last week, the seventh word of the Decalogue, you shall not commit adultery. We looked at the point that the seventh commandment guards the sanctity of the marriage covenant, that it forbids the breaking of that covenant. It also forbids all sexual sin that would lead to unfaithfulness to God, certainly unfaithfulness within marriage. What are the sins forbidden in the seventh commandment? Pastors in Westminster and teachers ask, the sins forbidden in the seventh commandment besides the neglect of duties required are adultery, fornication, rape, incest, sodomy, and all unnatural lusts, all unclean imaginations, thoughts, purposes, and affections, all corrupt or filthy communications or listening thereunto, wanton looks, Impudent, that's improperly forward or light behavior, immodest apparel, bravening of lawful and dispensing with unlawful marriages, allowing, tolerating, keeping of grudges and resorting to them, entangling vows of single life, undue delay of marriage, having more wives or husbands than one at the same time, unjust divorce or desertion, Idleness, gluttony, drunkenness, unchaste company, the city of songs, books, pictures, dancing, stage plays. They lived in the 17th century, not this century. There'd be more listed out, wouldn't there? If the application of this command was given within this culture, And why did they make such applications? Because those things, not just in the 17th century, but even going back into the time of the New Testament and before, were active pursuit of sin and wickedness that was corruptive to God's people, and certainly to a nation. Jesus, as he gave instruction in this commandment, remember, went right to the heart. And let's look over there again at Matthew 5, Jesus' instruction in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5. What is Jesus teaching regarding this commandment? Matthew 5, 27, you've heard that it was said, you shall not commit adultery. Jesus is not changing the commandment here. He's not intensifying. He's rightly explaining. He's showing the spirituality of it. When he says in verse 28, but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. See, that's what the law aims at. It doesn't just aim at the external behavior. It aims at the heart. And that's why it's a sin to hate your brother in the heart. He went through that command with regard to murder in verses 21 through 26. And he's also dealing with anger in the heart. Obviously it's a sin to murder, but beyond that, You could say internally, there's a sin that takes place prior to the murder ever being committed, and that's murder in the heart, that's sin too. Notice Jesus goes on to give some instruction following this interpretation of the law. Verse 29, he says, if your right eye makes you stumble, he's just been talking about looking at a woman with lust for her. He says, if your right eye makes you to stumble, tear it out and throw it from you. for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell." He's again indicating that the judgment for such a sin is hell, it's eternal punishment. Verse 30, if your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you for it's better for you to lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. What is Jesus teaching? Is he literally teaching gouging your eye out or dismemberment? No, he's teaching that sin has eternal consequences and that it is necessary to take radical steps to deal with it. And yeah, you would say that based on what he describes there, that's radical steps. I don't think that's actually what he's saying ought to be done, but that's how serious you need to take this, how serious it is. One person looking at this text said this, sin being a very destructive force must not be pampered. It must be put to death. Temptation should be flung aside immediately and decisively. Dilly-dallying is deadly. Halfway measures work havoc. The surgery must be radical. Right at this very moment and without any vacillation, the obscene book should be burned, the scandalous picture destroyed, the soul-destroying film condemned, the sinister and yet very intimate social tie broken and the baneful habit discarded. In the struggle against sin, the believer must fight hard. Shadowboxing will never do. So how are you doing with regard to your fight against sin? Are you fighting? It is a fight. And the world is no friend to grace. I'm gonna return to that a little bit. But Jesus goes on here in verse 31. Notice he says, it is said, or it was said, whoever sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce. But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery. Whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. So Jesus here has forbidden adultery in the heart, but he also forbids divorce for every reason except for the reason of adultery. And I like a translation, which is a little interpretive, but I think gives the sense of what Jesus said there. You might ask the question, how can a man by divorcing his wife make her, who is, you might say, the innocent party, commit adultery? And the translation goes like this. Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a divorce certificate. But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife, except in the ground of her infidelity, exposes her to adultery. And whoever marries a divorced woman involves himself in adultery. And so it exposes her to adultery. It's not forcing her to commit it. It puts her in a situation where if she's married again, because of the unjust divorce that now she's in a position to commit adultery. Jesus gives other instruction with regard to divorce. Turn over if you would to Matthew chapter 19. Pharisees came to Jesus, verse three, testing him and asking and says, is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all? And he answered and said, have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female and said, for this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh. It's God's purpose for marriage, not only male and female. but for life, one flesh. Verse six, so they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate. They said to him, why then did Moses command to give her a certificate of divorce and send her away? Verse eight, he said to them, because of your hardness of heart, Moses permitted you to divorce your wives. But from the beginning, it has not been this way. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman, commits adultery. The disciples said to him, if the relationship with a man with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry. Jesus was taking a very strict interpretation of certainly the law. And he was showing in part that Moses' command regarding divorce was permitted, but it wasn't God's purpose from the beginning. In fact, if you read Deuteronomy 24, you see that Moses was actually regulating remarriage. He wasn't purposing to give the men of Israel reason to divorce their wives for just any reason. Now, let's go a step further, because the New Testament certainly does. Turn over to 1 Corinthians 7, Paul, in responding to some of the questions that the Corinthians have, gives them a whole chapter filled with instruction on relationships, marital relationships, singles. Verse 10, He says, but to the married, I give instructions, not I, but the Lord, that the wife should not leave her husband. But if she does leave, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband and that the husband should not divorce his wife. Now, we can get into all the implications of those statements, but the point is, if there is for some time a separation between a married couple, there ought to be reconciliation, but there shouldn't be remarriage. Now, verse 12, but to the rest, I say, not the Lord, that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever and she consents to live with him, he must not divorce her. Okay, so the idea that if a person is not a believer, this raises an issue of a yoke that is not equal But if there's a willingness of that unbeliever to stay with the believer, then that relationship should remain. Notice he says, verse 13, and a woman who has an unbelieving husband, and he consents to live with her, she must not send her husband away. So the idea is if there's a believer in a relationship, they're not to send away their unbelieving spouse. They're to remain together if that desire of the unbeliever is such. Why? Verse 14, for the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband, for otherwise your children are unclean, but now are they holy. Yet if the unbelieving one leaves, what does Paul say? Let him leave. The brother or sister is not under bondage in such cases, but God has called us to peace. And that's sometimes the case for someone who has joined together with a believer. And whether through their life, they show that they're an unbeliever, or whether they, even though they claim to be, or whether they've just not claimed to be a believer at all, sometimes they just leave. And is the believer bound after that? I think Paul's teaching here is that a person is not bound, certainly not bound to stay in the marriage, but the implication is they're not bound to that marriage and they can remarry. And we could certainly take more time with this overall subject, but you can see based upon the context of Jesus' statements in the Gospels and the statements here that God highly values the marriage relationship. and breaking it is a serious offense to God. There's obviously forgiveness. And even within a marriage where there has been adultery, there can be reconciliation. And I believe that would be God's desire. First of all, prior to any seeking of divorce, even though Jesus gave that exception, there would be the desire that there'd be forgiveness, that there'd be reconciliation. Sometimes based on what has happened, it's not possible. And as God, by his grace, works in each of our lives, praise the Lord that if we have made mistakes, if you have made mistakes in the past, and we all have, but we have sought to reconcile, and if that didn't happen, but we sought God's forgiveness, certainly God has forgiven, and that sin is under the blood. There's forgiveness with God. the destruction of relationships, the pain of that, that may be ongoing in our life. You know, the Lord cares about that too. The Lord cares about that too. And he gives grace. You know, it'd be an easy thing to just not talk to really not talk about adultery at all. It'd be an easy thing to just kind of talk about other things that make us happy and joyful. But the reality is that if we have sinned, if there's sin in our life, whether it relates to this or anything else, that we need to be sanctified. Our minds need to be renewed. If we have sinned, and we all have in the past, and our mind has been disordered, and we've walked in a path of life that is forbidden by God, avoidance of the subject is not really the helpful thing. As painful as it may be, the word of God is there to strengthen us, The word of God is there to change us, sanctify us, cleanse us, and yes, even comfort us in his love if we've sinned against God. Now, there certainly is, you could look through the teaching of gospels, there certainly is an innocent party in divorce. Do you know that God divorced Israel? Turn to Jeremiah chapter three. I say God divorced Israel, obviously we're talking about God and nation. But the context here is God speaking about the nation of Israel. And he uses this image. Look at verse six. Then the Lord said to me, Jeremiah, the days of Josiah the king, have you seen what faithless Israel did? She went up on every high hill and under every green tree and she was a harlot there. I thought after she has done all these things, she will return to me, but she did not return. And her treacherous sister, Judah, saw it. And I saw that for all the adulteries of faithless Israel, I had sent her away and given her a writ of divorce. And yet her treacherous sister, Judah, did not fear. And she went and she was a harlot also. I saw that for all the adulteries of faithless Israel, I had sent her away and given her a writ of divorce. What was the purpose of the divorce? It was to formalize the breach. It was to formalize the treachery. It had already taken place. Now it was a matter of exposure and law. That's the idea. Now, again, we're talking about a relationship between God and nation, but I think you get a sense there, the purpose of divorce. If someone makes a mockery of their marriage covenant and just lives in adultery with all sorts of other people, what happens to that innocent party? Or even if it's just one person, what happens to that innocent party? Their life is being made a mockery. The covenant is being held in contempt and the purpose of the divorce But you could say many divorces in this day don't happen that way. But the purpose of the divorce was to be made public that faithlessness so that the person would be ashamed for their sin and return. Look at verse 11. The Lord said to me, faithless Israels, prove yourself more righteous than treacherous Judah. Go and proclaim these words toward the north and say, return faithless Israel, declares the Lord. I will not look upon you in anger for I am gracious, declares the Lord. I will not be angry forever, only acknowledge your iniquity that you have transgressed against the Lord, your God, and scattered your favors to the strangers under every green tree. And you have not obeyed my voice, declares the Lord. Return, oh, faithless sons. And he goes on. What's the purpose? The purpose is divorce, to make the treachery public, expose the sin, and through shame, the person who has sinned comes back in repentance to the one they've sinned against, because God obviously didn't sin. Now, we're talking about a nation, again, even within, if you were to look at the history of the nation to the point at which this is said, we're talking about a long period of patience, and grace and mercy from God prior to this. And I would just say that if reconciliation is possible, that's God's desire. If it's not possible because of an impenitent art, that person shows themselves to be an unbeliever. That's where you'd have to go back to 1 Corinthians 7 and reason according to a person who's really an unbeliever. Now, this is not an easy subject to deal with, certainly. In the Word of God, there are certainly Old and New Testament passages, and we would take what God's Word says as our guide, the rule for our faith and for our practice. And if there was ever to be a question about your circumstance and your life, or maybe what's happened in the past, mind needs to be renewed and erected by the word of God. Jesus in his teaching, even in the Sermon on the Mount, is drawing attention to an issue where adultery can occur, where there is an unjust divorce. And so that's a danger. And Lord willing, we'll be able to deal with that in a little bit more depth in our study of ethics in our Christian life hour. But I wanted at least because the Lord draws attention to it and the word of God does to address it. There's certainly more that those pastors of Westminster dealt with and drew attention to that we can even deal with today. But I want to ask you to turn to Romans chapter one. Beyond the sin of adultery, In Romans 1, Paul's exposition of the gospel begins with confrontation of idolatry that leads to, in the lives of those who commit idolatry, uncleanness. And you can see that progression in this passage as there's a rejection of God, then God grants those who reject him their own desires. Verse 24, it says, therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurities so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. Why? For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the creator who is blessed forever. Aside from the mention of homosexuality in the next couple of verses, the first thing that is mentioned here as an evidence of idolatry is fornication, sexual sin. those who are not married engaging in sexual intercourse with one another. You can see that prohibition in scripture from the book of Acts when the early church saw Gentiles coming to Christ, putting their trust in Christ. There was a desire to give them guidance. Should they be circumcised? No, they shouldn't be circumcised. They don't need to become a part of the Jewish nation, but they should live according to God's standards of what is holy and right. And so they wrote after James gave his judgment, to the churches, and I'll read what James said. He said, therefore, it is my judgment that we do not trouble those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles, but that we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols and from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood. So in that short list of what James was giving instruction to those Gentile churches about, it was that sin that was primary. That sexual immorality, Paul, of course, deals with that in 1 Corinthians 9, 6, Galatians 5. It oftentimes comes at the very front of the list. Galatians 5, 19, now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are immorality, impurity, sensuality, and he goes on. This sin of fornication, outside sex outside of marriage is something that should ought to be taught. It's taught as the very basic of the Christian life. Turn over, if you would, to First Thessalonians chapter four. Finally, then brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus that as you've received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God, just as you actually do walk, that you excel still more. For you know what commandments we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. Paul's talking to a very one of the earliest churches, the church there at Thessalonica. He had been there with them. He had given them direction, not only the gospel message, but then direction as to how to live following, receiving the gospel. And then what does he say? This is commandments given, he says, by the authority of the Lord Jesus. This is Christ's will. Verse three, for this is the will of God, your sanctification, that is that you abstain from sexual immorality. that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in lustful passion like the Gentiles who do not know God. and that no man transgressed and defrauded his brother in the matter, because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification. So he who rejects this is not rejecting man, but the God who gives his Holy Spirit to you." Now, to take those commands of scripture to draw attention to this sin and to say that God forbids this, this is a sin against God, displeasing to God, sex outside of marriage. My guess is, as you talk to people in this world, some of them would even laugh at you, that this is a problem. This is what the world promotes. Very, very common. The entertainment industry thrives on promoting this kind of sin. It's just a part of life. But it shouldn't be a part of life in church. Not for the redeemed. Yes, we're washed and we're cleansed, but we can't go back into that filth and live that way. Author by the name of Nancy Piercy wrote a book on the issue of some hard questions related with sexuality and our culture. She recounts a conversation with a young woman She said, the main message I got growing up in church was don't get pregnant. That was her main thing. Just don't do that. Just don't let that happen. She says a solely negative approach often leads to hypocrisy. Years ago, our family attended a highly respected Bible church until our high school aged son in the youth group. The kids at church are worse than the kids in my high school, he said. They drink more, they use more bad language, they're constantly talking about their sexual relationships. That the church leaders were unaware because the teens were careful to conceal their behavior. Now, do things happen? Concealed? People don't know? Of course they do. My Christian high school, on the surface, everything looked respectable. If there was anything that came out, it would be dealt with. But if you went into the locker room, it was a different story. I heard fellow students talking about their sexual experiences and sometimes even bragging about them. I remember going to my locker as a senior in high school, and some of my classmates were talking about things. And I, only by God's grace, was trying to live a godly life. And something triggered in them to not talk about that. But I heard what they were talking about prior to getting to my locker. It kind of moved in a different direction. I'm not claiming that I would not be susceptible to that, but I'm just saying in an environment where the Christian teaching is the public focus, that what can go on beneath the surface can be immorality and sin, fornication, wickedness, uncleanness. And really, God knows. Christ knows. Christ sees every corner, every dark corner of this church. So the message is not, don't get pregnant. The message consistent with this passage in 1 Thessalonians is in 1 Corinthians chapter six, flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the emerald man sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you've been bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body. And what is the challenge? The challenge is sometimes before someone has heard that message, they live like a Corinthian, right? And that's where Paul's preaching the gospel. And I hope any preaching the gospel in the context of this sin would help us to see that there is forgiveness. There's forgiveness. God's grace and mercy sent Christ in the world so that he would shed his blood so that our sins might be forgiven. But following a Corinthian lifestyle, or even a lifestyle, maybe it was just one time or just a few times, but you realize your sinfulness, the point now is to live a life of holiness and godliness, a life that flees that immorality, a life that pursues a relationship with God, a relationship with his people. Glorify God in your body. That's the message to every person. to me, to you. Fornication obviously can be aggravated. It can be promiscuous. The sin of the woman at the well seems to be an aggravated sin as she was living outside of marriage with a man after having five husbands prior to that. So fornication can be aggravated. It can also be continuous. The idea of cohabitation or living together That's just simply continual fornication. Somebody who's living with sexual intimacy without that covenant of marriage. Taking the prerogatives of marriage, but not the covenant of marriage. And that's sin, plain and simple. November 26, 2019, there was a Pew Research publication that says among adults, 18 ages, 18 to 44 of the share who have ever cohabited, 59% is larger than the share of this in America as they did this poll. Then the share who have ever been married, this represents a significant change from roughly a decade ago when 54% of adults in this group had ever cohabited. In other words, it's switching. The idea of cohabitation is more dominant than actually the idea of marriage. It's not to say that there are more people cohabiting now, but people who have in the past is increasing. It's sin. In fact, in the Old Testament, that sin is called heart. And while harlotry or prostitution would be a bigger category, when there's an instance of it, that's how God refers to it. So a girl living in her parents' home can profane her father's house, according to law, if she lives in that way, if she sins in that way. Obviously for young men as well, it's not more favorable to one or the other. Both are sinners. but you can look through the law and see that sin of harlotry condemned, but in the context, it's not just prostitution for the sake of money, it's living unfaithful as a single person in a sexual relationship. 1 Corinthians 10, verse eight, Paul said, nor let us act immorally as some of them did, and 23,000 fell in one day. Paul's giving a warning to the Corinthian believers that that act of probably religious context, but sexual sin was what caused the death of 23,000 people in one day, that God would take the lives of all of those people. It's sin. Incest. homosexuality, self-fornication or self-gratification, polygamy. You could go on and see within the scriptures, the sins connected with this commandment, sexual sins being forbidden or by principles in scripture shown to be wrong and simple in the eyes of God. Now, what leads in this direction? What pushes in this direction? Obviously, we know our own hearts. We're sinful people. The heart is deceitful, desperately sick. Who can understand it? Jeremiah says. Romans 1 gives attention to the lusts of our own heart, which when we're given over to the lusts of our own heart, what do we pursue when we don't have God's word and his spirit to direct our lives? Instead of self-control, it's no control. It's doing whatever we want, as opposed to being driven by the commands of God. And what is right? What is influencing this? The world. Paul says in Ephesians chapter two, and you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the year, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. So there's the world, but Paul connects the world with the spirit who is now working in the sons of disobedience. He says among them too, we all formerly lived in lust of our flesh. Indulging the desires of the flesh and mind and whereby nature children of wrath, even as the rest. Beyond that, that spirit that works in the sons of disobedience. How does he interact with us? How does the devil influence the church? Well, he's got the world in his pocket. The entertainment industry, everything that's coming our way by means of promotion, what is against God's will, it's just moving in that direction. One writer in his book called The Christian's Great Enemy, an exposition of first Peter, speaking of the devil, he says, he has no power indeed of obtaining directly the knowledge of the human heart. That's the peculiar prerogative of him who made it. "'I, the Lord, search the heart,' he says in Jeremiah, "'I try the wings,' but he carefully observes our conduct "'and shrewdly draws conclusions "'respecting our prevailing dispositions. "'His temptations are regulated "'by the information he thus obtains. "'He suits the snare to the habits of the bird "'he means to entrap. He draws the lustful, I'll use a different word than he used, the word voluptuous, but the word lustful, into the way of iniquity by the lure of pleasure, the avaricious by the promise of gain, the ambitious by the prospect of glory. He goes round about his victims that he may spy where is the quarter in which they are the weakest or least afraid of attack that he may assault them there. He takes advantage of everything in their temper, age, and condition to give effect to his suggestion. I'll just stop for a moment. Does that mean that the devil is paying attention to me? Well, probably not. He's a finite being. But he knows humanity. He's been around a long time. He knew Job. He knew Job personally, but he knows humanity. And so when he sets his traps, it doesn't matter what man. He sets the trap, he just knows man. And so the trap is set. And whether that's a click on the internet, or the picture in a book, or the story in a book, or whatever it might be, the devil has a way of promoting this sin. And he knows what lure you like, again, because he knows you mean. Sometimes, Brown went on to say, he gets possession of the citadel of the heart, as it were, by storm without allowing opportunity or time for repelling the assault. At other times, he proceeds to sack and mine, and without alarm to the conscience, affects his nefarious purpose. In other words, the devil is subtle, and he has subtle ways of attacking us. we can bring in influences into your life and mine, certainly through the world, that we just don't see, we don't see the danger coming. And that's why certainly as Jesus gave that direction in Matthew chapter five, we need to remember that the battle is in the heart. And the battle in the heart doesn't need an external provocation, but if it has external provocation, then that needs to be dealt with. Our heart is filled with wicked lusts. We don't need that external provocation to cause ourselves to sin, but when there is the external combined with the internal, a fire can get started. And if you're not controlled by the spirit of God, there's no telling where that's gonna end up. And so this discussion, this commandment and this ensuing discussion afterward is necessary. Warnings are necessary. That's why repeatedly within the New Testament epistles and the Old Testament laws, there's a calling out of this sin. You can see it in 1 Corinthians 10. That's why in the Proverbs, there's attention drawn to parents as they instruct their children. And this subject is the matter of discussion. Now you would certainly say at an appropriate time. Yes, at an appropriate time. But let's turn to Proverbs chapter six. And at least see the biblical pattern. What's the biblical pattern? Well, chapter five says, my son. I think you could certainly say my daughter as well. Chapter six, my son. The context is father, son, chapter seven, my son. And from Proverbs five to seven, certainly before that as well, but the topic that we're talking about in Proverbs five to seven, there's some very specific instruction. from a father to a son. In other words, a heart-to-heart conversation. Look at verse 20. Proverbs chapter six, verse 20. My son, observe the commandment of your father. Do not forsake the teaching of your mother. Bind them continually on your heart. Tie them around your neck. When you walk about, they will guide you. When you sleep, they will watch over you. When you awake, they will talk to you. For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light and reproofs for discipline are the way of life. For what? What is the word of God for? Verse 24, to keep you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress. Do not desire her beauty in your heart or let her capture you with her eyelids. For on account of a harlot, one is reduced to a loaf of bread and adulterous hunts for the precious life. Can a man take fire in his bosom and his clothes not be burned? Or can a man walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched? So is the one who goes in to his neighbor's wife. Whoever touches her will not go unpunished." And he goes on. The instruction is given in anticipation of the temptation. And he gets even more specific in chapter 7 as he starts to describe a circumstance of a naive, foolish, simple young man who doesn't know any better, which is presumably where this young man is. So that he won't be ensnared by this sin and be captured with the cords of this woman and end up where? Look at the end of chapter 7. Now, therefore, my sons, listen to me and pay attention to the words of my mouth. Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways. Do not stray into her paths. For many of the victims she's cast down and numerous are all her slain, her house is the way to Sheol, descending to the chambers of death." Prior to that warning, he has given instruction about watching out for her flattery, and that goes both ways in relationships, for immodest dress, and that goes both ways, for boisterousness, for rebelliousness, for forwardness, for flirtatiousness, for directness, for suggestiveness, for persuasiveness, all of these things, the father is saying to the son, I'm gonna give you an illustration of someone who's foolish, and in the end of his foolishness, he's gonna find himself in the grave. Father to son. It's not just the negative either, it's the positive. Turn over the chapter five. Because the very command, you shall not commit adultery, relates to this covenant, the covenant of which, the covenant of marriage is a wonderful thing when it is kept. The relationship between a man and a woman is a beautiful thing, if it's right. So verse 15, Proverbs chapter five, drink water from your own system and fresh water from your own well. Should your springs be dispersed abroad, streams of water in the streets, let them be yours alone and not for strangers with you. You can see he's not just talking about water here when he says in verse 18, let your fountain be blessed and rejoice in the wife of your youth. As a loving hind and graceful doe, let her breast satisfy you at all times. Be exhilarated always with her love, for why should you, my son, be exhilarated with an adulteress and embrace the bosom of a foreigner? And he actually answers that question. Why is this so serious? Because of course God has forbidden it. Not only has God forbidden it, but he's gonna judge it. Not only does he judge it in eternity, but he judges it in life. Look at verse 21. For the ways of a man are before the eyes of the Lord, and he watches all his paths. His own iniquities will capture the wicked, and he will be held with the cords of his sin. He will die for lack of instruction, and in the greatness of his folly, he will go astray. You see, verse 21 tells us there is an ongoing witness to all of our actions, whatever they may be. There's no private mode when it comes to God. There's no incognito. I'm using those words intentionally, because you can change your internet browser in such a way that you think nobody's watching. God is always watching. God is always watching. He sees. He knows. He knows the heart. I don't know where you're at today in your own heart. I know even in studying this subject, this is a sobering subject to study. It's certainly a sobering thing to preach on. Yes, our God is a God of forgiveness, but our God is a God of holiness. It's a God of holiness. Pursue holiness, without which, what did he say in Hebrews? No one will see the Lord. This needs to be our life. If I've sinned, okay, you may have sinned. Today, you need to repent. Be earnest about it. Be radical as Jesus gave direction. Make some decisions. Get a filter if it's a matter of your computer. If it's a matter of a relationship that you know is a problem, break it off. Seek reconciliation with your spouse. God is watching. Marriage is honorable and all, and the bed undefiled, but whoremongers are sexually immoral and adulterous. God will judge. May the Lord help us. Our Father in heaven, as we bow in your presence, we're reminded of Our own sinfulness, our own wickedness, Lord, these things that you have forbidden in your word touch upon sins we may have committed, may be committing. Lord, bring us to a place of repentance even this day. There's not a one of us, Lord, who can claim perfect faithfulness. When your word says such for some of you, we don't want to put certain sins in categories that we fall outside of, because we know that the seeds of every sin lie in our hearts. It may just be a matter of the specific provocation, specific temptation, circumstance we found ourselves in and we succumb to our flesh. We thank you, Lord, for the healing of your forgiveness. Thank you, Lord, for your help with bad memories. Some of us, all of us certainly are ashamed of our sins. We may be more ashamed because of the way that we live. And that shame may be something that we continue to deal with. But we thank you, Lord Jesus, that you have by your blood cleansed us, given us a perfect white robe of righteousness that cannot be taken away. We thank you, Lord, that as you look upon us, as you've justified us, it's just as if we've never sinned in your sight. So we thank you again for the cleansing blood, for the righteousness that you provide. Help us to live in the light of it and help us to fight the good fight of faith. Certainly today, Lord, there could be someone who's just defeated and discouraged when it comes to sin in their life. And I pray that they might not be discouraged today, but that they would look to you. Knowing that you're a perfect savior, and not only can you forgive them, but you can bring them by your power to a life of obedience and godliness That's all our desire, Lord. We ask for your grace and for your help. We pray in Jesus name. Amen.