Sunday, July 3, 2016 am
OTHERS (21)
Sins of Society
Adultery
This
year we are examining the theme of the Christian and his relationship to
others. We have examined
attitudes and noted how we are to be examples in every aspect of our
lives. How we conduct
ourselves has an effect on others.
Last month, we noticed a few sins of society and how they affect
others (modesty, gambling, drinking, and in our last lesson we examined
the sin of fornication. Due
to time constraints we were unable to complete our study of sexual sins,
so this morning it is my hope that we finish this study and portion of
our study concerning others.
In
our last lesson we established that fornication is any unlawful sexual
relations – that is any such relations outside of a God sanctioned
marriage. 1 Corinthians 7:2
makes this clear that the solution to avoiding fornication is to marry.
Hebrews 13:4 notes that marriage is honorable among all, but
fornicators and adulterers God will judge.
For a further study of this subject consult my previous lesson.
In
our lesson today we want to address adultery.
(Lord willing, in our next portion of this study of others, we shall
begin an examination of the relationship of Christians to one another.)
a.
There are passages that make a distinction between fornication and
adultery (Matthew 19:9, 1 Corinthians 7:2, Heb. 13:4, 1 Cor. 6:9,
Galatians 5:19, etc.).
b.
Adultery is a type of fornication which involves illicit sexual
relations with one other than your spouse.
The New Testament word
adultery is μοιχάω (moichaō) and is defined as to be guilty of
infidelity (BDAG). It means
sexual relations involving at least one partner who is married to
someone else.
c.
It receives special attention
(as a form of fornication) because of the sacredness of marriage vows,
the bond intended to be present in marriage and the violence it does to
that relationship. When a
couple enters into marriage bonds, they are entering into a SACRED
covenant with God and each other.
It is a covenant that is intended to be for life (Genesis 2:24, Matthew
19:4-6).
Malachi 2:13-16 describes the treachery of one who abandons his wife of
covenant. The NKJV says that
the LORD hates divorce because it covers the land with violence.
This covenant is so sacred that under the New Law God permits the
innocent party to put away the guilty party and remarry for this cause
and this cause ONLY! Matthew
5:32, Matthew 19:8-9. It is
important that we understand this passage.
d.
Under the Old Law:
It was one of the 10 commandments
(Exodus 20:14).
Adultery carried the penalty of
death! (Leviticus 20:10).
Proverbs 6:32 says, “Whoever
commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding; He who does so
destroys his own soul.”
e.
The terms adultery and
fornication were used of God
to describe the unfaithfulness of Israel (His people) to idolatry that
caused Him to put them away (cf. Jeremiah 3:8).
In fact, the book of Hosea describes how he was instructed to
take a wife of harlotry who would be unfaithful to him.
This illustrated how Israel had been unfaithful to God and thus
He had the right to put her away.
And He did.
f.
We also note in Matthew 19:8-9
and 5:32 that for one to divorce and remarry for any other cause, was to
commit adultery. This
includes putting one’s spouse in a situation where if she/he remarries
they will be guilty of adultery.
This demonstrates that unless God severs the marriage, it is binding
for life. We cannot make
up our own rules and interpretations and reason that all is fine and we
are the exception.
g.
Today some seek to redefine what adultery actually is and how it relates
to divorce and remarriage.
i.
The act of divorce - Some have
advocated that adultery is the act of breaking the covenant of marriage
(the point being that if one divorces, the act of divorce is the
adultery – as a result, on can “repent “of that act and resolve to
never “divorce” again, but they are free to remarry.
This is an abuse of the term for selfish reasons.
- Consider Leviticus 20:10 which as noted, calls for the death penalty
for adultery. The LXX uses
the Greek term (μοιχεύσηται, moicheusētai).
Is one to be put to death for “filing papers to divorce”?
- In John 8:3, a woman was brought to Jesus who was caught in the act of
adultery (μοιχείᾳ, moicheia).
The people reasoned that according to the law she was to be put
to death. Why?
Was it because she sought to divorce her husband?
The argument is ridiculous and selfish.
ii.
Mental divorce - Others
advocate that when the “fornication” was committed in relation to
divorce and remarriage is irrelevant.
Some describe this as mental divorce – a term that distinguishes
between the legal act of divorcing and the declaration in God’s eyes.
But in Matthew 19:8-9, Jesus speaks of divorcing (putting away) FOR (a
marker of cause or reason as the basis for a subsequent event or state –
‘because of, on the basis of’ – L&N, 89.27) the cause of fornication.
In other words, the reason for the severing of the marital
relationship is because one’s spouse violated their marriage covenant by
committing fornication.
When one divorces for another cause, fails to fulfill their marital
duties or abandons their spouse and then WAITS for them to “commit
adultery”, they are IN NO WAY innocent!
The divorce is NOT “for the cause of fornication” and thereby
there is no right to remarry (another).
In such cases, both parties in the “remarriage” are in an
adulterous relationship.
iii.
Only believers - Still others
teach that the results of adultery in remarriage only applies after one
becomes a Christian. They reason
that the prohibitions of Matthew 19:8-9 only apply after one becomes a
Christian. In obeying
the gospel, they reason that since all one’s sins are washed away, that
would include past divorces and remarriage.
This dismisses the premise of Jesus in Matthew 19:4-6 where Jesus took
the marriage covenant all the way back to the garden of Eden and ALL
marriage.
It also fails to properly define repentance and its fruits.
Cf. 2 Corinthians 7:9-11.
iv.
All of these cheapen the
warnings of scripture as to the sacredness of marriage as a lifelong
covenant. They also dismiss
the plain teachings of scripture.
While my observations here only address the arguments in a
superficial fashion, they give the foundation of why these views are
sinful and typically selfishly motivated.
h.
Think of the damage that is done by adultery in a marriage.
Truly, it is a sin to be avoided.
This is where we test our genuineness in putting to death the old man of
sin and putting on the new man of God.
In an article addressing the subject of covenant breaking as a
adultery, the author concluded[1],
“We do not help our worldly contemporaries by contriving theories which
leave them in their sins. Yet that is precisely what some of our
brethren have done. May God grant us the courage to speak the truth in
love; but yes, it must be the truth.”
I say amen to that!
In a recent study with some
brethren, the following statement was made: “There are questions I
cannot answer, but there are also answers I cannot question!”
We must accept what God teaches in this and all matters.
Our influence toward others
depends upon our willingness to come out from among them and be separate
(2 Corinthians 6:17).
Just because something has become accepted without our society and
culture, does not make it something that we can participate in.
As noted in the introduction, there are many other sins we could
address. In the sins we have
studied today and the past few weeks, let it be clearly understood that
what we do has an influence on others, for good or bad.
Let us choose to be lights for Christ and not manifesting the
darkness of Satan. Think
about it!
[1] Jackson,
Wayne. What is
Adultery?
https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/343-what-is-adultery,
June 30, 2016.