A God who Speaks: The Seventh Commandment

Let us pray.

Our Father, you said in your word,

I will be your God and you will be my people.

And Father, if we have this, we have everything.

We pray that you would give us ears to hear your word

as you, our God, speak to us, your people, this morning.

And may your word do its perfect work

and change us to be more like your son, Jesus.

We ask it for his sake. Amen.

Please be seated.

If you're visiting with us, we warmly welcome you.

This morning, we've been doing a series this summer

on the Ten Commandments.

And this morning, we come to the seventh commandment.

You shall not commit adultery.

What do you think?

Is there a reason why God should command

that marriage is to be between one man and one woman?

Until death do they part?

Why should it have to be this way?

The God who created this world

with all of its astonishing diversity,

flowers and trees, teeming life in the seas,

birds of the air, bugs and creeping things,

more incredible than anything science fiction

could ever come up with,

not to mention galaxies, stars, planets,

without number.

No two snowflakes.

Exactly the same, we're told.

Well, why, given this enormous creativity

and diversity,

should God insist that there is only one

acceptable form of marriage,

only one acceptable relationship

for sexual expression,

that sex is for the lifelong heterosexual marriage

of one man and one woman,

and that any other form of sexual expression is wrong,

or even sinful?

Why should a man not have two,

or three, or four wives?

Or for that matter,

why should a woman not have more than one husband?

Why shouldn't two people

who love and care for each other

have sexual relations,

even if they aren't married,

or not yet married?

Or why shouldn't,

as our society is pressing upon us,

loving homosexual couples

be permitted to marry,

or to have sexual relations,

even if they choose not to marry?

And why is it so wrong in a marriage

for one of the partners,

being a mature adult,

to have a harmless fling on the side,

perhaps away on a long business trip,

perhaps because the marriage relationship

has grown cold,

or dreary, or limiting?

Isn't all this just an arbitrary rule

that limits human freedom

and creativity?

Well, first,

we need to make sure

that that actually is

what God really does say.

After all,

our Canadian Parliament

has decided that

they have the authority

to define and redefine marriage

as they see fit.

According to this view,

marriage is just a social institution

that humans have developed,

something not unlike democracy,

and which we're free to tinker with

as social realities change.

But how does the Bible

describe marriage?

I invite you to turn with me

to the very beginning of your Bibles,

to page 2 in the Pew Bible,

or to Genesis chapter 2.

Genesis 2 · chapter mention

It's probably page 2

in whatever Bible you've got,

I would guess.

Just a word of a caveat.

Today, we're going to look up

more scriptures than we normally do.

Our hope is to draw together

a big theme across all of scripture.

So I hope I don't weary you.

Let me know if you do,

if I do.

But I'll try not to dwell long

on each passage,

but we'll try to pull out

a few key points

as we build this biblical picture.

All right, so Genesis chapter 2.

Genesis 2 · chapter mention

Let's look at verse 18

on page 2.

Genesis 2, 18.

And the Lord God said,

It's not good that man

should be alone.

I'll make him a helper,

comparable to him.

And then jump over to verse 21.

And the Lord God caused a deep sleep

to fall on Adam,

and he slept.

And he took one of his ribs

and closed up the flesh in its place.

Then the rib which the Lord God

had taken from man

he made into a woman.

And he brought her to the man.

And Adam said,

This is now bone of my bones

and flesh of my flesh.

She shall be called woman

because she was taken out of man.

Therefore,

a man shall leave his father and mother

and be joined to his wife,

and they shall become one flesh.

So here we have the story

of the original marriage.

And we can observe several things.

First,

that marriage is ordained

and created by God,

not by people.

Second,

that God provided marriage

in response to a genuine need.

It's not good

that man should be alone.

Third,

we see that marriage

is elevated above

all other personal loyalties

in a person's life

under God.

The married man,

in this case,

leaves his father and mother.

Marriage severs

what would otherwise

be the most important

human relationship of all.

A husband must put his wife

above all others,

and so too the wife,

her husband.

And fourth,

the husband and wife

are joined together

to become one flesh.

Joined together.

One flesh.

This speaks of many things,

primarily

of the sexual union

with the husband

and the wife,

but also of the entire

shared human experience

in marriage.

They're joined together

as one,

physically,

emotionally,

socially,

in every way.

This way of speaking

conveys to us

the intimacy,

the mutual care,

the tenderness,

the love

that God intends

for marriage.

marriage.

And so,

in summary,

this primeval marriage,

it shows us that

marriage is the exclusive,

lifelong bonding

of one man

and one woman

in a life

that's fully shared.

God joins them together

so that they belong

fully

and only

to one another.

But to understand

why this has to be,

why,

it still doesn't explain why,

we need to observe

a recurring theme

in the Bible

from the beginning

to the end.

And it's namely this,

that marriage

represents

the covenant relationship

of God

with his people.

God

is the husband

of his people.

The Lord

is the husband

of his people.

The marriage relationship

and the marriage covenant

then points

beyond itself

to the intimate

relationship

with God

for which every human soul

longs and yearns

in the barrenness

of this fallen world.

Well,

there are many,

many places

in the Bible

where this idea

is presented

and the implications

of it are drawn out

for us.

And I might wear you

even doing the little bit

I'm hoping to do,

so we won't look at them all,

but one of the clearest

of all

is in the prophet

Ezekiel.

I invite you to turn

with me to that.

It's on page 726.

This will be

our longest

text.

But Ezekiel's

very graphic,

so it shouldn't

wear you out.

Ezekiel 16,

page 726.

I'll just read

the first part of that.

Again,

the word of the Lord

came to me saying,

Son of man,

cause Jerusalem

to know

her abominations.

And say,

thus says the Lord God

to Jerusalem,

your birth

and your nativity

are from the land

of Canaan.

Your father was an Amorite

and your mother a Hittite.

As for your nativity,

on the day

that you were born,

your navel cord

was not cut.

Nor were you washed

in water

to cleanse you.

You were not rubbed

with salt

nor swathed

in swaddling cloths.

No,

I pitied you

to do any of these

things for you,

to have compassion

on you.

But you were thrown

out into the open field

where you yourself

were loathed

on the day you were born.

And when I passed

by you

and saw you

struggling

in your own blood,

I said to you

in your blood,

live.

Yes,

I said to you

in your blood,

live.

I made you thrive

like a plant

in the field

and you grew,

matured,

and became very beautiful.

Your breasts

were formed,

your hair grew,

but you were naked

and bare.

When I passed by you

again

and looked upon you,

indeed,

your time

was the time of love.

So I spread my wing

over you

and covered your nakedness.

Yes,

I swore an oath

to you

and entered into

a covenant

with you

and you became

mine,

says the Lord God.

Then I washed you

in water.

Yes,

I thoroughly washed

off your blood

and I anointed you

with oil.

I clothed you

in embroidered cloth

and gave you

sandals of badger skin.

I clothed you

with fine linen

and covered you

with silk.

I adorned you

with ornaments,

put bracelets

on your wrists

and a chain

on your neck

and I put a jewel

in your nose,

earrings in your ears

and a beautiful crown

on your head.

Thus you were adorned

with gold and silver

and your clothing

was of fine linen,

silk and embroidered cloth.

You ate pastry,

a fine flour,

honey and oil.

You were exceedingly beautiful

and succeeded to royalty.

Your fame went out

among the nations

because of your beauty

for it was perfect

through my splendor

which I had bestowed on you,

says the Lord God.

So here Ezekiel

reviews the history

of the nation of Israel.

Their origin

was like a newborn baby girl,

unwanted by her parents,

exposed,

left to die.

And the Lord finds the baby

in this condition

and he mercifully saves her.

Years later,

the girl has grown

to become a beautiful young woman

and the Lord comes to her again

and clothes her

and marries her,

marries her.

He becomes her husband,

bound to her by covenant

and he lavishes upon her

many wonderful gifts

with the result

that she is much admired

by others.

And so all that exalted Israel

as a special nation,

all that made her dignified

and wonderful

in the sight

of all the other nations

was a free gift

from the Lord

who loved his people

with a unique covenant generosity.

She owed him

absolutely everything.

But how did Israel

respond

to all of this

demonstration of kindness

and love?

Let's read a bit further.

Verse 15.

But you trusted

in your own beauty,

played the harlot

because of your fame

and poured out your harlotry

on everyone passing by

who would have it.

You took some of your garments

and adorned multicolored

high places for yourself

and played the harlot on them.

Such things should not happen

nor be.

You have also taken

your beautiful jewelry

from my gold

and my silver

which I had given you

and made for yourself

male images

and played the harlot

with them.

You took your embroidered garments

and covered them

and you set my oil

and my incense

before them.

Also my food

which I gave you,

the pastry of fine flour,

oil and honey

which I fed you,

you set it before them

as sweet incense

and so it was,

says the Lord God.

Moreover,

you took your sons

and your daughters

whom you bore to me

and these you sacrificed

to them

to be devoured.

Were your acts

of harlotry

a small matter

that you have slain

my children

and offered them

up to them

by causing them

to pass through the fire

and in all your abominations

and acts of harlotry

you did not remember

the days of your youth

when you were naked

and bare

struggling in your blood.

The language here

is explicit.

It's graphic.

It's perhaps even offensive

to our ears

and I didn't read

the worst of it.

But if so,

it's no less offensive

than the wickedness

of the unfaithfulness

of God's people

to him.

Each of the gifts

that God had given

to his people,

her fine garments,

her beautiful jewelry,

her choice food,

she had turned around

and used

in the worship

of other gods.

And so she had betrayed

her true husband,

the Lord.

Even his own children

were taken

and sacrificed

in the rites

of idol worship.

And all of this

came about

because his people

forgot their humble beginnings

and they were utterly

ungrateful to God

for his grace

and his mercy

and his kindness,

his generosity,

his love

freely shown to them.

Well, again,

we don't have time

to look at it now,

but the chapter continues

with warnings of judgment

upon the nation

for its unfaithfulness.

But the warnings

end in a note of hope.

And let's jump over

to that.

If you turn over

the page

to verse 59

of the same chapter.

For thus says

the Lord God,

I will deal with you

as you have done

who have despised

the oath

by breaking

the covenant.

Nevertheless,

I will remember

my covenant

with you

in the days

of your youth

and I will establish

an everlasting covenant

with you.

Then you will remember

your ways

and be ashamed

when you receive

your older

and younger sisters,

for I will give them

to you for daughters,

but not because

of my covenant

with you.

And I will establish

my covenant

with you.

Then you shall know

that I am the Lord,

that you may remember

and be ashamed

and never open

your mouth anymore

because of your shame

when I provide you

an atonement

for all you have done,

says the Lord God.

There is a promise

here

that the marriage

between the Lord

and his people

will someday

be restored

and enjoyed again

forever.

Well, on that note,

we'll fast forward

to the New Testament,

to the coming

of Jesus Christ,

because it's in him,

it is in Jesus

that we finally meet

the bridegroom

of the covenant people.

In Jesus,

the Lord finally comes

as the divine husband.

You may know

the words of John the Baptist

when he said,

you yourselves

bear me witness

that I said,

I'm not the Christ,

but I've been sent

before him.

He who has the bride

is the bridegroom.

The friend of the bridegroom

who stands and hears him

rejoices at the bridegroom's voice.

And Jesus also described himself

in these terms.

That's why he repeatedly

used parables

of weddings

and marriages

with himself

as the bridegroom.

But this is made

most clear of all

by Paul

in his teaching

on marriage

in the letter

to the Ephesians.

And there,

he draws a parallel

between

the marriage

of a husband

and a wife

and the ultimate marriage

of Christ

and the church.

Let's turn over

to that.

Ephesians 5.

It's on page 1015.

This parallel shows us

that

a Christian marriage

that is lived out

the way God requires it

becomes a sort

of a living gospel,

a visible parable

to the world.

Let's

pick it up

at verse 30.

Page 1015,

Ephesians 5,

Ephesians 5:30

verse 30.

For we are members

of his body,

of his flesh

and of his bones.

For this reason,

a man shall leave

his father and mother

and be joined to his wife

and the two shall become

one flesh.

This is a great mystery,

but I speak concerning

Christ

and the church.

Nevertheless,

let each one of you

in particular

so love his own wife

as himself

and let the wife see

that she respects

her husband.

Paul declares here

that believers

in Jesus

are members

of the body of Christ.

Not members

like you're members

of the RA club

or something,

but members like

hands and feet

and eyes and ears,

that kind of member.

You could even say

that to Jesus Christ,

he can look

at his people

and say,

this is now

bone of my bones

and flesh of my flesh,

the very basis

and foundation

of marriage

like we saw

back in Genesis.

that's what leads

to that great mystery

in verse 32.

I speak concerning

Christ

and the church.

Because human marriage

points to

and represents

and reveals

and symbolizes

the true marriage

of Christ

and his church.

That's why it's so important

for the husband

to love his wife

and for the wife

to respect her husband.

because the human marriage

makes visible

to the world around us

the eternal romance

between Christ

and his body.

It depicts

the sacrificial love

of Christ

and the joyful

human response

of devotion.

The human marriage

and the human home

reflect in miniature

the beauty

of the shared love

between the bridegroom

and the bride.

And that's why

human marriage

is so precious

in God's eyes.

And it's also

why marriage

even though it's

the strongest

of all the human relationships

is not ultimate

or final

but it points

beyond itself.

So what does all this

mean for us?

Human marriage

is in miniature

the marriage

of Christ

and the church.

Well it means plenty.

first of all

to quote

a man named

Ray Ortlund

the biblical story

what I've been trying

to lay before you here

lifts before us

a vision

of God

not as Lord

only

or King

or Creator

but as our lover.

the gospel

is the voice

of our husband

who has proven

his love for us

in his death

on the cross

and calls

for our

undivided love

in return.

The gospel

reveals that

as we look out

into the universe

ultimate reality

is not

a cold

dark

blank space.

Ultimate reality

is romance.

there is a God

above

with love

in his eyes

for us

an infinite joy

to offer to us

and he has set himself

upon winning

our hearts

for himself

alone.

The gospel

tells us the story

of God's love

and it calls us

to answer him

with a love

on our part

that cleanses

our lives

of all

spiritual

unfaithfulness

because this

is the most

deadly

adultery

of all.

Turn with me

to James

James 4:4

chapter 4

verse 4

it's on page

1047

1047

James

pulls no punches

adulterers

and adulteresses

do you not

know that

friendship

with the world

is enmity

with God

whoever therefore

wants to be a

friend of the world

makes himself

an enemy

of God

here we see

the same charge

that the Old Testament

prophets like

Ezekiel

were laying

at the feet

of Israel

and it's now

laid against

the church

of Jesus Christ

a Christian

cannot have it

both ways

we cannot

give our best

affections

to the world

while also

enjoying a right

relationship

with God

and notice

that it is

merely the desire

for friendship

with the world

James says

whoever wants

to be a friend

of the world

makes himself

an enemy

of God

it's not

total immersion

in the world

or identification

with it

but merely

the wish

to be on good

terms with the world

James isn't

seeking only

to guard us

from worldly

patterns of behavior

he's calling us

away from

even the desire

for the world's

approval

that is

spiritual

adultery

because no one

who wishes

to be God's

friend

God's

wife

can allow

himself to be

drawn after

the world

with its ambitions

and affections

for instance

what is our

relationship

with our current

consumer culture

pleasure

at heart

are we

gratefully

content

with what

our heavenly

husband has

given us

or are we

addicted

to the material

goods of this

world

are we

seeking pleasure

and luxury

through the

idols

of our modern

world

the things

that are

thrown at us

from every

side

because if we

do we

insult

the value

and joy

that we

ought to place

in our heavenly

husband's

all-sufficiency

and we need

to be confronted

by this verse

the matter

of our

faithfulness

to Jesus

Christ

is of

eternal

importance

he uses

strong words

if you want

to be a

friend of

the world

you make

yourself

an enemy

of God

it's a

warning to

the church

we must

place

ourselves

under

the word

of God

which is

our covenant

document

and carefully

guard

ourselves

because if

we want

to avoid

the charge

that Jesus

laid against

his contemporaries

of being a

sinful and

adulterous

generation

we can't

afford to

be careless

or to

take these

things

lightly

our

sinfulness

that still

dwells within

us is

very seductive

and so if

we truly

desire to

be faithful

to Christ

we must

allow God's

word to

deeply

search

our inner

lives

our hearts

because as

the bride

of Christ

we must

remain

open

and responsive

to our

heavenly

husband

and we

must quickly

turn back

to him

whenever we

become aware

of any

glimmer

of unfaithfulness

in us

and so covenant

faithfulness

is a deeply

felt

enjoyment

and preference

for the love

of God

the love

of Christ

his favor

whatever the

cost

in terms of

hostility

even from

the world

and adultery

spiritual

adultery

on the other

hand consists

in a lingering

wish for the

world's favor

even as we

wish to enjoy

the benefits

of being

a Christian

this kind

of hypocrisy

provokes

God's jealous

anger

but not

all

adultery

of course

is spiritual

adultery

that would

be

that would

be wrong

because although

the body

is not

primary

in God's

eyes

it certainly

isn't

nothing

and so

there is

of course

also included

in the purpose

of the

seventh

commandment

you shall

not commit

adultery

that we

pursue

modesty

and purity

with our

bodies

in all

of our

sexual

relations

and we

need to

know that

God has

provided the

intimate

companionship

of marriage

as the

remedy

the sole

remedy

s-o-l-e

sole

the only

remedy

to keep

us from

plunging

into

ungodly

lust

turn with

me to

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 7 · chapter mention

chapter 7

page

991

1 Corinthians

7

it's true

that some

people

have received

a special

grace from

God

in this

matter

of

sexuality

and sexual

relations

and they

can contentedly

remain single

some for

life

some

just for

a time

that's

shown in

verse 7

page 991

1 Corinthians

7

7

Paul says

I wish

that all

men were

even as

I myself

but each

one has

his own

gift from

God

one in

this matter

and another

in that

some are

gifted

but not

all

to remain

single

but Paul

is also

very clear

here

that those

who struggle

to control

themselves

sexually

ought to

get married

so he

says in

verse 2

nevertheless

because of

sexual

immorality

let each

man have

his own

wife

and each

woman her

own

husband

they need

to get

married

because those

who seek to

have sexual

relations in

any other

way

find themselves

striving

against

God

marriage

is the

sole remedy

that he

has provided

to resist

temptations

to sexual

immorality

it's much

more than

that

but it's

not less

than that

and so

if you

this morning

find that

your power

to control

lust

is failing

you

then it's

reasonable

to conclude

that the

Lord has

imposed

on you

the necessity

of getting

married

that's what

he says

in verse 9

if they

cannot exercise

self-control

let them

marry

for it's

better to

marry

than to

burn

with

passion

it's

very clear

finally

Jesus

himself

shows us

the true

extent

of the

application

of this

law

you shall

not

commit

adultery

in the

Sermon

on the

Mount

page

836

page

836

Matthew

Matthew 5:27

chapter 5

verse

27

Jesus

said

you have

heard that

it was

said to

those of

old

you shall

not

commit

adultery

but I

say to

you that

whoever

looks at

a woman

to lust

for her

has already

committed

adultery

with her

in his

heart

it's

just the

same as

with

murder

as we

saw

last week

if you

were

with us

that

Jesus

shows

that

God

is

not

only

concerned

with

the

body

with

the

external

actions

but

with

the

state

of

a

person's

heart

it's

possible

entirely

possible

to

commit

adultery

just

by

lustfully

looking at

another

person

now it's

I think

especially guys

sometimes get

hung up on

this

it's not

this kind

of looking

isn't just

seeing someone

and finding

them attractive

but it's

looking with

lustful intent

it's the

lustful intent

that is

critical

and in

this matter

let me

suggest by

the way

that at

least as

brothers and

sisters in

Christ

we can

show love

to one

another

and help

one another

by dressing

modestly

and speaking

modestly

so we don't

provoke or

seduce each

other to

lust

but

finally

Jesus also

teaches

another way

that we

commit

adultery

he teaches

that remarriage

after a

divorce

that was

not legitimate

in the eyes

of God

is also

adultery

jump down

to 31

on the same

page

Jesus said

furthermore

it's been

said

whoever

divorces

his wife

let him

give her

a certificate

of divorce

but I

say to

you

that whoever

divorces

his wife

for any

reason

except

sexual

immorality

causes her

to commit

adultery

and whoever

marries a

woman who's

divorced

commits

adultery

friends

these

these are

challenging

words

these are

very difficult

words

in a culture

where half

or more

of our

marriages

end in

divorce

but at

peril of

throwing

something out

that could

be very

painful

and leaving

it

we just

need to

realize

that these

words

if nothing

else

reflect

the great

importance

that God

places

on marriage

and the

covenant

of marriage

as a

lifelong

union

of a

man and

a woman

and one

that's

ultimately

joined

together

by him

and so

to sum

up

marriage

is not

just another

mutation

of human

social evolution

like democracy

it's a

divine

creation

and it's

intended

to reveal

the ultimate

romance

that guides

all of

time

and all

of eternity

this is the

real reason

why

premarital

sex is

wrong

because it

toys with

the biblical

mystery

and the

covenant

as you can

see God's

moral command

is concerned

with far

more than

the risk

of acquiring

a sexually

transmitted

disease

and this

is also

why

extramarital

sex

or adultery

is wrong

because it

violates

the mystery

the covenant

and this

is also

even why

same-sex

marriages

are wrong

because they

misrepresent

or distort

the mystery

the mystery

that marriage

represents

the union

of Christ

and his

church

two who

are very

different

and yet

one flesh

not the

same

and this

is also

why every

faithful

and loving

marriage

Christian

or not

is precious

to God

because it

shines with

the light

of Christ's

love for

his people

and of

their devotion

to him

in all the

darkness

of this

present

evil age

and it

also points

us to

this

that God

wants

us

he wants

ourselves

he wants

our hearts

our loyalty

our love

for himself

alone

he wants

to find

in us

believe it

or not

the same

sense

of intimate

belonging

to him

that is

appropriate

to the

sexual

union

on the

human

level

that's

what Paul

was saying

in Ephesians

it's a

mystery

but it's

true

God

wants

us

to

treasure

him

above

all

else

and we

show him

our love

by our

faithfulness

to his

word

by following

him

obediently

wherever he

goes

by it

being our

heart's

desire

that we

would

rather

die

than turn

aside

one step

from following

him

in order

to follow

the world

and we

show him

our love

finally

by savoring

and clinging

to and

and meditating

on

the hope

and the

eager expectation

of eternal

union with

him

in the new

Jerusalem above

our only

and ultimate

true

fulfillment

i'll close

with the

words of

john

in the

book of

revelation

let us

rejoice

and be

glad

giving the

glory to

him

for the

marriage

of the

lamb

has come

and his

bride

has made

herself

ready

to her

it has

been

granted

granted

to be

clothed

with fine

linen

bright and

pure

for the

fine

linen

is the

righteous

deeds

of the

saints

blessed

are those

who are

invited

to the

marriage

supper

of the

lamb

amen

h