Marriage (One on One?)

X7 No Adultery Exodus 20:14

Exodus 20:14 NASB 2020

“You shall not commit adultery.

Add from Drury, you don’t get to wreck someone else’s marriage to clear your own conscience. In past sexual sins confess to God. An apology is not an apology if it implicates someone else. Response: Come pray for God to protect your marriage. We need to give more permission to say it’s hard.

We live in a day that is profoundly confused about everything, especially marriage. Marriage, in the Bible, is a very sacred thing. It is created and established by God Himself. He brings Adam and Eve together, He officiates their wedding. He gives mankind the great gift of marriage. It is the first institution established by God, it is a BIG DEAL!

MARRIAGE IS SERIOUS... If you're here this morning and you're single... I wouldn't encourage you to rush into marriage. If you're here this morning and you're married.... I wouldn't encourage you to rush out of marriage. It is serious. It is a BIG DEAL. God created us as sexual creatures. Man and woman.

At creation, In Genesis 1:28 we find God blessing the relationship of Adam and Eve and we hear Him say, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish, birds and all animals...”

God has brought the Children of Israel out of Egypt, out of the bondage of slavery. He expresses to them His great love for them and His concern with their lack of love for Him and to one another. He knows that lust brings bondage and slavery. He knows there is no end to its burning desires. He knows the world says, “do whatever, if it feels good or makes you happy...” Yet, commandment number 7 makes it clear “No Adultery.” (Text) “You shall not commit adultery...” Exodus 20:14 (ESV) (Pray)

ADULTERY IS A MAJOR PROBLEM IN OUR WORLD...MAJOR!! Let me give you some heartbreaking stats... One or both spouses in 41 percent of marriages admit to cheating on their spouse physically or emotionally. The average affair lasts two years. 74% of men say they would cheat on their spouse if they knew they wouldn’t get caught, women don’t be so hard on us; 68% of women responded the same way. Adultery is a “hot topic.”

It seems stories of adultery are all that is being talked about or produced. A scandal between celebrities or politicians. Tabloid break-ups and who’s up next. Think of the popular movies in our day. Think of the popular books in our day. Think of the reality TV shows that center around lust.

Adultery is everywhere. We can have it at the swipe of a thumb. We don’t even recognize it because in our minds we believe it’s normal and there’s nothing we can do about it. Did you know there are websites out there that give the world instant access to an affair. One boasts they have over 47 million members!!!! Their slogan... “Life is short, have an affair.” The world around us says this is all ok. While adultery may be entertaining to an outsider looking in, it’s a completely different story when you find out your spouse has something going on the side with someone else. Adultery has major ripple effects. It destroys marriages and rips families apart. God says this is not ok... He knows the dangers of adultery and He says, “do not do it!”

If you are single today, please don’t tune out! All of these principles apply to you...

If you’re practicing sleeping around in your singleness why would anyone think it would stop at marriage? God wants to prepare you for marriage in your singleness.

(JIMMY ONLY) Watch Your Eyes And Guard Your Heart...

So in a world that worships sex and celebrates adultery..

HOW CAN WE OVERCOME THE TEMPTATION? KNOW YOUR WEAKNESS...

Know your weaknesses and stay away from them. Krispy Kreme Hot Now Sign may be a problem for some of you... Wendy’s may be a problem. Strip Club... Definitely a problem! Know your weaknesses and stay clear of them. Know what you have and know what it took to get there. Understand what’s at stake. Your family. Your home. Your witness. Your career. Your finances. It could all be taken away with one bad decision. IT IS NOT WORTH IT! Come clean NOW before you are trapped. If you’re struggling, if you’re considering, if you have messed up... Come clean before it’s too late. Get some help. We must communicate. I want our church to be filled with godly honest relationships, and godly honest marriages and you can’t be in a godly relationship if you’re living in adultery. God established marriage and He placed boundaries on it to protect it. Honesty breeds intimacy.

God’s plan for your marriage is intimacy. Proverbs 5:18-20, God encourages us to “be blessed and rejoice in the wife of your youth... don’t be chasing after the hooker.” God is about intentional intimacy in our marriages not just sex. Not just words but a commitment. Adultery isn’t an issue of temptation, it’s an issue of intimacy... No intimacy or lack of intimacy, breeds and leads to loneliness. Intimacy is not strictly physical but it’s understanding the needs of your spouse. Author and Speaker Christine Caine said, “there’s really only one love language and that’s to die to self.”

We all know what our spouses want and need. We make a choice as to whether or not to fulfill that need, and frequently, use the fact... That our needs are not being met as a reason to not fulfill theirs. Anyone see the flaw in that progression?

Unfortunately, it’s too much of a reality, I don’t meet your needs because you don’t meet mine, turns into meeting the needs of the other out of obligation, which is the opposite of intimacy and marriages become reduced to resentment and arrangements that have us looking for more. And that’s when we start looking.

But God gives us a physical example of every aspect of our spiritual relationship with Him and what it should look like. Marriage is no different. MARRIAGE IS A COVENANT... It’s a covenant according to God’s Word. Malachi 2 says, “The LORD was witness between you and the wife of your youth.” He’s speaking to the men here. “She is your companion and your wife by covenant.” There's a major debate about how to define marriage. As christians we define marriage as a covenant.

Some define marriage as a civil contract, as Christians we define marriage as a biblical covenant! A civil contract is really just between two people. It’s more of a business arrangement; it’s a legal arrangement. But the biblical understanding, the way God ordained it, is that it is not merely civil but covenantal—meaning, it’s not just two people. It’s two people and God who oversees the covenant. It’s a covenant and it’s...

A PICTURE OF THE AMAZING GRACE OF GOD...

Ultimately, the greatest wedding of all is the wedding between Jesus and His people. Revelation 19 says that history ends with a wedding and then a party. The Marriage Supper Of The Lamb. The church is like a bride wearing white. We don’t worship other gods because that’s cheating on God. When we’re worshiping other gods, we’re cheating on Jesus. We participate in false religion and spirituality. We’re cheating on Jesus. The church is to be like a bride and that Jesus is like a groom, and marriage is to present and to prepare people for that ultimate reality.

Adultery in marriage is almost never limited in fault to the one committing the act. Some would say cheating on your spouse, but it’s a bit more complicated and detailed than that. It is defined as a voluntary relationship--physical or emotional--with someone else. Being unfaithful, or disloyal, having a fling, playing hanky-panky, two-timing, having a bit on the side, fooling around, a dirty weekend. “

I want you to remember the words of our Jesus in Matthew 5:27-30.. “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.

Sex between 1 man and 1 woman inside the boundaries of marriage is what God blesses, it’s what God approves. SO NOW WHAT?? TALK TO JESUS... TALK TO YOUR SPOUSE.

You may need to have a talk. The first talk is with Jesus. And if there is adultery or adultery of the heart, you need to have the talk with Jesus. You need to confess your sin to Him. The second talk, talk with your spouse. I’m going to ask the two of you to pray before you meet.

You don’t do this in a way that is hasty. I want you to schedule a time to have this talk. And say, “You know what? “Pastor says we need to have a talk. “We’re going to carve out time to do that. “It’s going to be private. It’s not going to be when the kids are running around the living room when we’re trying to have this talk. It may mean that we even have to go away for an overnight somewhere so we have uninterrupted time. We need to be honest. We need to communicate. I want our church to be filled with godly relationships, and godly marriages.