Let's start this meeting with God by openly professing to one another and to God:
Our help is in the Name of the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.
Beloved, grace and peace be to you from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, through the
mighty working of God the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Psalm of praise: 136:1, 2, 3
Prayer
Psalm 51:8
Scripture reading: 1 Corinthians 10
Scripture
text: 1 Corinthians
10:8; Catechism Lord's Day 41
We must not indulge in immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three
thousand fell in a single day. (1 Cor. 10:8 ESV)
The seventh commandment is one of the commandments that, when it is not kept, causes most harm
to our neighbours and ourselves. From this commandment we learn that the Lord becomes most
upset about any form of unchastity, because this commandment symbolises the relationship
between the Lord and his church.
1. The Lord's view on unchastity
2. Marriage is an ordinance of creation
1. The Lord's view on unchastity
This commandment deals with a matter on a physical level, but at the same time deals with the
spiritual relationship between the Lord and us.
- On a physical level it teaches us about our calling within and outside of marriage. We
should chaste.
- The Bible teaches us that when we can manage to be chaste, the Lord will preserve us as
well as the congregation - in body and spirit.
Since the very beginning the Lord has seriously warned against transgression of this
commandment.
- Leviticus 18 and 20 contains a list of transgressions regarding the seventh commandment -
and the Lord required the last penalty to be paid for all of these.
- Elsewhere in the Bible it is said that people who act unchastely should be burnt to
death.
The death penalty and the sentence of being burnt to death are of course
symbolic of eternal death and hell when people persist in committing these sins, because it
reflects violation of fellowship with the Lord.
The Lord tells us why He takes this sin so seriously:
- First, this sin ruins man's body and soul.
-
- God created every person in his image. This implies that we should reflect God's
holiness in all aspects of our lives.
- Even our thoughts should reflect the Lord's faultlessness.
- Now it happens that unchastity separates man's soul from God because the impurity
referred to in this commandment means and accomplishes a breach with the Lord, because
the Holy Spirit does not want to live in defiled temple.
- Therefore the Lord calls idolatry and apostasy adultery against Him.
- Secondly, this sin ruins God's institutions.
-
- Marriage was one of the first institutions the Lord established between people. It
was meant to be the foundation upon which world history would develop.
- When marriage collapses the church and every level of society will obviously be
affected.
- In the third place, people bring ruin upon one another through this sin.
-
- Unchastity often leads to more sins, such as deceit, dishonesty, lies,
self-justification and even murder.
Two Scripture passages especially are very clear about this issue.
- One is Galatians 5:19, where the Lord teaches that the practices of man's are common
knowledge: unchastity, impurity and immorality.
- In 1 Thessalonians 4:3 we read the following:
For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from
immorality;
In summary:
- Unchastity ruins man to such an extent that he cannot fully reflect the image of God -
his very best.
- It degrades us from a person who is a child of God to one who follows the destructive
work of the devil.
- This is why the Lord's grace is withdrawn from those who persist in committing this sin,
and why these people suffer from the curse of misery caused by this sin.
- And then the Bible also announces in the last few verses of Revelation that adulterers do
not belong to the kingdom of God.
The Lord teaches us that He does not want to see our bodies being
defiled, because they are his temples and they are holy to Him. The Holy Spirit lives in our
bodies and therefore we should keep them pure and holy.
2. Marriage is an ordinance of creation
Take note of how the first marriage was established. The Lord made one wife for Adam. They had
to live together in a loving relationship. With this the Lord laid down a rule (ordinance) for
man in the course of history: one man marries one woman.
- The fact that the Lord gave Adam one wife only, reveals that this is the way the Lord
wants it to be. These two people should together live according to their divine calling. And
they should arrange all their activities in consideration of each other.
- Their calling is to work out their destination to God through this marriage.
-
- The foundation is love for God and love for each other.
- Unchastity is a false form of love as it is in direct opposition to the Lord's will.
- From the outside it may be very attractive, but inside it's hollow because it has no
solid base and is dishonest.
The Lord Jesus once said to a group of men around him:
You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say
to you that every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her
in his heart. (Matthew 5:27, 28).
- The Lord Himself spoke and emphasised that He even regards lustful thoughts as adultery.
- The evils of free love and living together also fall in the category of this command.
The Lord does not allow any arguing about this.
- He made it very clear hat people who sin in this regard should repent and adjust their
values, otherwise the Lord will condemn them.
- In whatever matter of principle - therefore also in this matter - it's not about the
standards we set, but only about the standards set by God.
The seventh commandment is an appeal to us to live a holy life.
- In these days it is an essential commandment, as many people no longer regard marriage as
a divine institution.
- They regard it as an ordinary contract that can be cancelled at their own sweet will. If
people so easily get divorced - as often happens these days - the holiness of the Lord does
not form part of such a marriage.
All people are not equally guilty in respect of this commandment, and therefore we should
also consider the grace contained in this commandment.
- The seventh commandment is also a prayer of one who wishes to live a holy life and remain
pure.
- He wishes to hear this commandment of the Lord because temptation presents itself every
moment.
- This commandment then becomes a power that also encourages us to pray that the Holy
Spirit would lead us and protect us against our lusts.
This commandment also calls for education. We have children
growing up.
- This commandment should teach them from early childhood to aim at physical holiness. They
should understand that their lives should reflect the presence of the Lord.
- They should therefore understand that, on the one hand, they are called upon to live a
holy life, but on the other hand that, if they do not keep the command, the Lord in his
omnipresence is aware of what we do.
This commandment also calls for repentance.
- There are groups of people who practise free love as part of recreation and cult rituals.
- The most obvious example of this is Satanism - but don't think for one moment that our
own children cannot be influenced by them, because many of the events and parties our
children sometimes attend resemble occultism with, inter alia, the theme of free love.
The above makes one think of when the Lord warned his people against the foreign
influences of other nations and cultures.
- The Lord actually ordered them to kill these people. He motivated it as follows:
And you will accept their daughters, who worship other gods, as wives for
your sons. Then they will cause your sons to commit adultery against me by worshiping other
gods (Exodus 34:16 NLT).
Parties and cults are not the only things that threaten our children's upbringing. The TV and
radio do the same.
- Many TV programmes are in direct opposition to the seventh commandment. We should be wary
in the way we deal with these things.
- On the radio we often hear an appeal for safe sex instead of encouraging complete
abstinence outside of marriage.
The Lord Jesus is not unmerciful against people who sin against this commandment but who
deeply regret what they have done and truly repent.
- On various occasions the Lord Jesus showed that his propitiation also applies to these
sins.
- Every time - as in the case of the adulterous woman - he said that He did not judge her,
but that she should not sin again.
- He sent her off with the assurance that she had been forgiven completely and that she
could carry on with her life - fully aware of his propitiatory love.
As people who have been renewed through the salvation accomplished by Jesus we should
fight against all forms of unchastity.
- He has changed us and gave us his Holy Spirit so that we have the power to fight against
these sins in his Name.
- He also died so that those who feel remorse because of this sin and repent can enter his
kingdom.
- He made propitiation for us so that the Holy Spirit can live in our pure bodies - and
rejoice in these temples, namely our bodies.
Let's read together Catechism Lord's Day 41.
108. Q. What does the seventh commandment teach us?
A. That all unchastity is cursed by God.[1] We must therefore detest it
from the heart[2] and live chaste and disciplined lives, both within and outside of holy
marriage.[3]
[1] Lev. 18:30; Eph. 5:3-5. [2] Jude 22, 23. [3] I Cor. 7:1-9; I Thess. 4:3-8;
Heb. 13:4.
109. Q. Does God in this commandment forbid nothing more than adultery and
similar shameful sins?
A. Since we, body and soul, are temples of the Holy Spirit, it is God's
will that we keep ourselves pure and holy. Therefore He forbids all unchaste acts, gestures,
words, thoughts, desires,[1] and whatever may entice us to unchastity.[2]
[1] Matt. 5:27-29; I Cor. 6:18-20; Eph. 5:3, 4. [2] I Cor. 15:33; Eph.
5:18.
Amen.
Closing prayer
Closing hymn: Psalm 146:8
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit
be with you all.
Amen.
Dr MJ du Plessis
Reformed Church Bellville
Date: 27 March 2005 (evening)