Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

I want to begin this morning with a question.

Which sin has crippled an entire generation of men and has prevented them from serving Christ?

Which sin has Satan used to accuse Christians of their guilty consciences and has left Christians feeling shameful?

Which sin has broke more hearts than we can number and has left a whole generation disillusioned with marriage?

Which sin has brought division in marriages, in families, and in churches?

Which sin has made Christians isolated, detached, and withdrawn from the church community?

Which sin has made people delay marriage, divided marriages, and has broken marriages?

Which sin has aborted children, left orphaned children, enslaved children, and prostituted children?

Which sin has caused pastors to step down from ministry causing hurt to families and churches?

Which sin has caused non-Christians to turn away from the hypocrisy of Christians and turn to a different lifestyle and community?

The sin I want to address this morning is the sin of sexual immorality.

Today we will be looking at the seventh commandment which says:

Scripture Reading:

And as we see today, the commandment not to commit adultery extends to all forms of sexual immorality.

Recap

If the sixth commandment dealt with the preservation of human life, the seventh commandment deals with the preservation and sanctity of human marriage.

I don’t have to give you statistics or articles proving the point that sex is a real problem with our society.

It is so much of a problem that we as a culture redefine human identity according to sexual identity with the sexual revolution we are experiencing.

Everyone has been affected or will be affected regarding the sexual brokenness we see all around us.

This is why the seventh commandment not only commands us to refrain from sexual activity with someone who is not our spouse, but it positively preserves the dignity and value of human marriage in our society because the family is the basic building block of society.

If you break marriages, you break families.

And if you break families, you break societies.

I believe this was Satan’s plan from the beginning because Satan attacked the first marriage in the Garden of Eden.

And by disrupting their marriage, he was successful in bringing about the Fall of Man.

Today, I want to get real practical and give strategies to fight sexual sin so that you would be able to fight personally, and we as a church fight this sin corporately.

And first we will ask 2 questions....and I want to give real practical strategies to help you fight sexual sin...

What does this commandment teach?

What are some practical strategies in obeying this commandment?

I. What does this commandment teach?

First, the commandment teaches that we are not to engage in sexual activity with someone who is not our spouse.

Any sexual activity outside of the covenant of marriage between one man and one woman is sin in God’s eyes.

Adultery then is marital infidelity.

The commandment is meant to protect the one flesh union of one man and on woman in covenant relationship until death do them part.

In the ancient world this sin is often referred to as “the great sin.”

In fact, the commandment was so serious in Israel that people were put to death for violating this commandment according to and the book of Deuteronomy.

There were tests in ancient Israel to see whether a woman or man were unfaithful to their vows.

And if a person was found lying to the priest, they would be brought under a divine curse which is found in .

But I would never commit adultery pastor alex....

As we have seen in our Scripture reading, Jesus shows that the true intent of the law is not just sleeping with someone who is not your spouse, he goes to the very heart of the matter.

And shortly after, he says,

Matthew 5:31-

That marrying someone who was unlawfully divorced is also considered adultery.

Paul does the same thing in his letters showing that command to not commit adultery extends even to immorality and homosexuality:

Look at Paul who goes through the second table of the law: fifth commandment “strike fathers and mothers”, sixth commandment “for murderers”, seventh commandment “sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality”, eight commandment “enslavers”, ninth commandment “liars and perjurers.”

The Greek word in the NT is porneia which could mean “having sex with a prostitute”, but the NT use this word to generally refer to all sins that deviate from God’s pattern and design within marriage.

So the command to not commit adultery refers to any sexual sin that happens outside of marriage that is not lawful by God and it includes sins such as:

Masturbation, pornography, premarital sex, extramarital sex, bestiality, same-sex sex, adulterous sex.

To even sins of the heart as Jesus defined immorality by using the word lust which refers to an inordinate desire or a warped desire that has gone terribly wrong.

Luther, for example, said,

“[T]his commandment applies to every form of unchastity, however it is called.

Not only is the external act forbidden, but also every kind of cause, motive, and means.

Your heart, your lips, and your whole body are to be chaste and to afford no occasion, aid, or encouragement to unchastity.”

Luther

Likewise, the Heidelberg Catechism says,

QUESTION 109.

Does God in this commandment forbid nothing more than adultery and such like gross sins?

Since our body and soul are both temples of the Holy Ghost, it is His will that we keep both pure and holy; for which reason He forbids all unchaste actions, gestures, words, thoughts, desires, and whatever may entice thereto.

Q. 70.

Which is the seventh commandment?

A. The seventh commandment is, Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Q. 71.

What is required in the seventh commandment?

A. The seventh commandment requireth the preservation of our own and our neighbour’s chastity, in heart, speech, and behaviour.

Q. 72.

What is forbidden in the seventh commandment?

A. The seventh commandment forbiddeth all unchaste thoughts, words, and actions.

Adultery is not just an external action that happens in the bedroom of someone who is not your spouse, adultery happens in the heart.

Therefore we are all in trouble if we don’t have the gospel.

How can we obey this commandment to preserve us in our thought life, words, and actions?

This commandment applies to whether you are a child, young person, dating, married, divorced, or older saint.

It applies to every single one of us in this congregation.

II.

What are some strategies to fight sexual sin?

1. Have a Biblical View of Sex and Marriage

Genesis 2:25-

Genesis 2:

Marriage is one of the fundamental institutions of human societies.

Why did God design marriage?

Well it was designed for companionship “It was not good for man to be alone.”

God designed marriage for children “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.”

(Original pattern, but some are not able to have children because we live in a fallen world).

God designed marriage for pleasure “It is very good.”

Pastor Alex, why are you talking about sex? It’s inappropriate to talk about this topic about this when you are in the pulpit.

I think why the church has experienced so much sexual brokenness is because we don’t teach about it enough!

If we are not going to teach our children and our people a healthy view of sexuality and marriage, the Devil will!

The pop stars and cultural icons of our day will teach our children a vision of sex that is contrary to the Bible.

So don’t be naive to the world we live in today.

We need to prepare our children and our people so that they can give a defense for the hope that is within us and see the beauty and plan for marriage.

And when it comes to the topic of sex, the church has taught people that sex before marriage is sin.

And sex before marriage is shameful.

But the church has failed to to teach that sex within marriage is commanded and is beautiful.

You remember our studies in Proverbs:

The Bible devotes a whole book to marital intimacy:

Song of Solomon 4:17

SHE

Let my beloved come to his garden,

and eat its choicest fruits.

HE

5 I came to my garden, my sister, my bride,