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All right, you can turn to Deuteronomy chapter 5. Deuteronomy chapter 5, as we continue to work our way through the Ten Commandments, remember the book of Deuteronomy is the people of Israel, the second generation on the plains of Moab ready to enter into the Promised Land. And basically it's a series of exhortations by Moses to the children of Israel to prepare them for the conquest. So basically there's a historical review where they had been and what God had done for them in chapters 1 to 4. and then the exhortation to pursue covenant loyalty from chapter 5 to 28. So the bulk of the book is taken up with that. Central to that is the Ten Commandments or the Decalogue in chapter 5. And then there is a summary and conclusion in chapters 29 and 30, followed by the succession of Joshua, in chapter 31, and then the death of Moses recorded in chapters 32 to 34. So as we consider the Ten Commandments, the first four are our duty toward God, and then the latter six are the duty toward man. So tonight we're looking at the Seventh Commandment, most likely part one. There's a lot going on with reference to the 7th commandment. Much like in the commandment, you shall not murder, all acts of unjustifiable homicide are included in that particular precept. And so all manner of sexual sin is traced back to the 7th commandment. So I want to I want to go over this again in a bit more detail than we would normally do on a Sunday morning. There's no children present. Obviously, these are adult themes, but we're all adults. We all have the Spirit. We all should be able to navigate through Scripture. And I think it's very important for us to understand, especially Deuteronomy chapter 22, because it's often used against believers or against Christians to show some arbitrary ethics sexually with reference to God. So I want to deal with that. Hopefully tonight, so we've got first the basis of the commandment, we'll spend a bit of time, and then secondly the prohibition of the commandment. We'll look at the various sins involved with reference to sexual sin. So I'll just read the section. And then we'll start. So beginning in chapter five at verse one, and Moses called all Israel and said to them, hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your hearing today, that you may learn them and be careful to observe them. The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. The Lord did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, those who are here today, all of us who are alive. The Lord talked with you face to face on the mountain from the midst of the fire. I stood between the Lord and you at that time to declare to you the word of the Lord, for you were afraid because of the fire and you did not go up the mountain. He said, I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them, nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me. but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love me and keep my commandments. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. Observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work. you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm. Therefore, the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day. Honor your father and your mother as the Lord your God has commanded you, that your days may be long and that it may be well with you, may be well with you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you. You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife and you shall not desire your neighbor's house, his field, his male servant, his female servant, his ox, his donkey or anything that is your neighbor's. These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly, in the mountain, from the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice. And he added no more. And he wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me. Amen." Well, as I said, we'll look first at the basis of the commandment, the commandment assumes the institution of marriage, and we see the institution or the ordinance of marriage given to us by God in the book of Genesis. So, we'll turn there in just a moment, but I think our confession of faith gives a good sort of understanding as to the purposes behind marriage. In chapter 25, paragraph 2, it says, marriage was ordained for the mutual help of husband and wife, for the increase of mankind with a legitimate issue, and the preventing of uncleanness. So, turn back to Genesis chapter 2. Genesis chapter 2. So as we look at the basis of the commandment, there are three things to observe. First, the purpose of God in marriage. Secondly, the law of God. And then thirdly, the sanction. We learn a lot about a particular law based on the sanction or the penalty involved for the infraction or violation of it. So with reference to the purpose of God in marriage, as our confession says, the mutual help of husband and wife. Notice in Genesis chapter two, specifically at verse 18. Remember the context, God has created all things seen and unseen in the space of six days and all very good. When we get to verse 18 in chapter 2, this is the first time in the creation week that there was something that was not good. According to 2.18 it says, And the Lord God said, It is not good that a man should be alone. I will make him a helper comparable to him. Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam, there was not found a helper comparable to him. 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 the 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. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed." So the mutual help of husband and wife, the two other things that are indicated in the confession of faith, could possibly suffer somewhere along the line. For instance, the increase of mankind with a legitimate issue. It could be for various reasons that one or both parties are not able to produce seed. And then in terms of the preventing of uncleanness, well, that's obviously a necessity for marriage. but it's the companionship or the prevention of uncleanness speaks specifically to sexual intimacy. But again, if one or both parties are hurt or injured in such a way that there can no longer be that sexual congress in a marriage, it doesn't invalidate the marriage. What is fundamental or foundational to the marriage is a covenant of companionship. It is not good that man should be alone. The other two things are essential to be sure, but again, because of medical issues, because of car crashes, because of gunshots, or whatever it might be, there could be the case where someone is physically unable to engage in sexual intimacy, but again, that doesn't invalidate the marriage. So central to the biblical ideal is that this is a covenant of companionship. So Genesis chapter two, it is not good that a man should be alone. I will make him a helper comparable to him. So Eve is fashioned by God from Adam and brought to him to be a helper comparable to him. A help me, to help him in his particular tasks. But as well, the increase of mankind or procreation. Turn back to Genesis chapter one. Genesis chapter 1, verses 27 and 28. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him. Male and female he created them. Then God blessed them and God said to them, be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth. So the increase of mankind. This is a benefit or a blessing by God. in the marriage relationship. It's the means by which we propagate the species. This is the means by which we fill the earth. And it's certainly connected to that institution of marriage. It's not supposed to be done apart from marriage, but within that covenantal context that God has established in creation. And then thirdly, the prevention of uncleanness. And here, specifically, legitimate sexual intimacy. Again, within the context of covenantal marriage. God is not anti-sexual relations. God is anti-sexual relations outside the covenant of marriage. In fact, if you look back at Genesis chapter 2, specifically at verse 25, and they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. God made them to function in that particular capacity. It's not icky, it's not bad, it's not dirty. It is rather what God ordained and God instituted it, not just for procreation, but also for the intimate and enjoyable time that husbands and wives share together. You can turn to Proverbs chapter 5. Proverbs chapter 5. where you see this emphasis. Now Roman Catholicism pretty much isolates or confines the sexual act to procreation. But in so doing, they don't sound like Solomon in the book of Proverbs. In Proverbs chapter five, notice specifically, Basically, you've got three R's to avoid sexual, or to embrace sexual purity. Basically, remove your way from any temptation, verse 8, rejoice in the wife of your youth, in verse 18, and then remember God is watching you according to verse 21. But notice specifically in verse 18, let your fountain be blessed and rejoice "'with the wife of your youth as a loving dear "'and a graceful doe. "'Let her breast satisfy you at all times "'and always be enraptured with her love. "'For why should you, my son, be enraptured "'by an immoral woman and be embraced "'in the arms of a seductress?'." And then turn to 1 Corinthians chapter seven. 1 Corinthians chapter seven. Again, the idea being what is the purpose of God in marriage, the mutual help of husband and wife, the increase of mankind, and the prevention of uncleanness. I've often joked that young men in our churches don't typically engage or ask a woman's hand in marriage by saying, and for the prevention of uncleanness, I'd like to take you as my wife. But that is certainly what is intended by the confession of faith. And they're not just making this up. The Apostle Paul has to deal with this in 1 Corinthians 7. Notice in verse one, now concerning the things of which you wrote to me, it is good for a man not to touch a woman. Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband. Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise, the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Do not deprive one another, or do not defraud one another, except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer, and come together again, so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. But I say this as a concession, not as a commandment." I think that applies specifically to verse 6. or verse 5. If you want to for a time for fasting and prayer, you can have that as a thing. I think that's what verse 6 is applying to. But then notice he says, for I wish that all men were even as I myself. And I think he's referring here to his own celibacy. But notice that celibacy isn't a learned behavior. Celibacy isn't something that you can pursue. Read a book and become celibate. Notice, but each one has his own gift from God, one in this manner and another in that. So Paul had been given the gift of celibacy. Some speculate that he was married at one time. to be a pious pharisaical Jew in the first century, most likely it was the case that he was married. Some suggest that the things that weren't lost to him, according to Philippians chapter 3, was that perhaps his wife was not down with him becoming a Christian, and left him. Now, that's all speculation, but it does make sense with reference to a first century Pharisee that most likely they would have been married, but whether or not he was or not, he has been given the gift of celibacy. See, the Roman Catholic priesthood, you're assuming or you're hoping or you're praying that all these guys happen to have the gift of celibacy. Well, all these guys don't happen to have the gift of celibacy. And because you have shut down the natural course for their pursuit of sexuality, they oftentimes molest children. I know it's not confined to Romanism. I know it happens in Protestantism. but statistically it happens more when you shut off from men the legitimate expression of sexuality vis-a-vis marriage and you tell them that they must perform as celibates when they're not celibates, when they've not been given the gift of celibacy. So Paul highlights this reality And then in verse eight he says, but I say to the unmarried and to the widows, it is good for them if they remain even as I am. But if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion. That's always the answer. So I think generally speaking, verse nine and verse two give us a general approach to the prevention of uncleanness within marriage. Marriage is good for the prevention of uncleanness. Marriage is good specifically so that those who cannot exercise self-control should marry, because it's better to marry than to burn with passion. So there's a general principle, but I think verses 3 to 5 specify a specific purpose within a Christian marriage. Notice what the apostle says in verse 3. Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her and likewise also the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body but the wife does. Do not deprive or do not defraud one another except with consent for a time. Brethren, I'm not gonna argue that when a man or a woman becomes unfaithful, it's necessarily the fault of the partner that held out on them. I'm not gonna say that. But I am gonna suggest that with reference to the Apostle Paul, in the context of a biblical, godly marriage, there is frequent, often, and recurring sexual intimacy on the part of husbands and wives. Paul says, do not defraud, do not hold back. Do not use it as a reward for good behavior. Do not use it as a ticket for whatever thing that you need to get done. Do not do that when it comes to sexuality within the context of Christian marriage. Paul's emphasis is very clear. Generally speaking, if you don't have the self-control or the gift of celibacy, then get married, because it's better to marry than to burn. But if you do find yourself in a believing marriage with a husband and a wife that are committed to the Lord Jesus Christ, then you need to be committed to the Lord Jesus Christ the way the Lord Jesus Christ commands through his holy apostle, the apostle Paul. Do not deprive one another, except with consent. Not without consent, with consent for a time that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. And again, I think verse six, but I say this is a concession, not as a commandment. I give this as a concession, verse five, if you want to, with consent for a time for fasting and prayer, go right ahead. But that's not a commandment. The commandment is do not deprive one another. The commandment is do not defraud one another. The commandment is be generous to one another in the context of Christian marriage. And again, I'm not justifying infidelity on the part of either partner, but let's not help each other to hell and let's not help each other to sexual sin by being the kinds of people that are disobedient to what God says very clearly in scripture. So the mutual help of husband and wife, the increase of mankind in terms of procreation, and the prevention of uncleanness. That is why God ordained marriage. Those are three ingredients or three essential functions within the context of marriage. That's it. That's the beauty of it. Mutual help, increase of mankind, prevention of uncleanness. Now in terms of the law of God, we've got obviously the Decalogue. We're looking at Deuteronomy 5, verse 18. You shall not commit adultery. So it finds its way into the Decalogue. Remember, with reference to those who are unfaithful to their spouses, they're then immediately unfaithful to the living and true God. And if somebody's unfaithful to their spouse, they're going to be unfaithful to just about anybody and everybody. I remember when Bill Clinton was, you know, scandalized in the White House. And my thought way back then was, you know what, if a guy can't faithfully, you know, commit to his wife, Why would we want him in a position of leadership or pastors? If a pastor is not the one woman man that Paul commands in 1 Timothy chapter 3, if he can't, you know, control himself in that basic fundamental arrangement, then why in the world would we want him to lead the church of the living God? That's Paul's argument. If a man does not know how to manage his own household, how's he going to take care of the Church of God? If he can't get those basic fundamental relationships down, don't give him more responsibility. This ain't the government where you mess up and you move up. That ought not to be the case. So obviously the 7th commandment in the Decalogue. And then of course the application of the Decalogue. Sexual sins in the Bible all trace back to the 7th word. And there's a lot of them. And again, probably not all of them tonight. But just a sampling, adultery, fornication, incest, rape, sodomy, bestiality, the act of unlawful divorce. I might actually do a specific lesson on that. Immodesty, polygamy, prostitution, pornography. I know these aren't happy subjects, brethren, but if we don't get our minds filled with what the truth of God says, we may be prone to wander and prone to leave the God that we love. And then, of course, transvestitism and transgenderism. I mean, that would be better left to Deuteronomy 22.5, just leave it with the transvestites. If a man wants to dress like a woman, God says don't do it. If a woman wants to dress like a man, and I don't think it means, you know, men wear socks, so therefore women shouldn't wear socks. or, you know, men wear shirts, so therefore when... I don't think it means that. I think it's purposefully trying to be a transvestite, being a woman trying to look like a dude, being a dude trying to look like a woman. Then, of course, transgenderism, I mean, we've made it such that you go right ahead. We'll take you at 12 or 13 and cut off perfectly good body parts and, you know, twist you and warp you into this conception that, you know, you're not what you should have been by God's design. So there's a lot of sexual sin. There's a lot of things out there that are certainly necessary for the Christian church to think properly on. So you've got the Decalogue. You've got the application of the Decalogue. And then there's a text in Hebrews chapter 13. Hebrews chapter 13. You can go there. Very clear, very obvious, very much a reflection on what love looks like in terms of the context. Notice in 13.1, let brotherly love continue. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing, some have unwittingly entertained angels. Remember the prisoners, as if chained with them, those who are mistreated, since you yourselves are in the body also. So let brotherly love continue. General overarching concern, verse one. specifically with reference to strangers, verse 2, specifically with reference to prisoners, verse 3, but then notice marriage. This speaks specifically about marriage. Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled, but fornicators and adulterers God will judge. So again, the idea of sexual relations, God's not anti. God is not, you know, that's icky, that's a necessary evil. No, that's prudishness on the parts of people that are taught weird things. But as far as 13.4 is concerned, marriage is honorable among all and the bed undefiled, but fornicators and adulterers God will judge. So the purpose of God in marriage, the law of God, this again, basis of the commandment, but the sanction. Let's go back to Leviticus chapter 20. Leviticus chapter 20, sanction. What's the penalty for violating the seventh commandment? Leviticus 2010, the man who commits adultery with another man's wife, he who commits adultery with his neighbor's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death. And we'll see that later when we look at Deuteronomy chapter 22. So obviously the death penalty, right? The death penalty. Now, you'll say, well, that's in Leviticus and we're now in the times of Romans and 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians and what of it? Personally, if the civil government wanted to institute a capital punishment for adultery, I wouldn't have a problem with it. I think it would clean up sexual ethics pretty quickly, or at least take it out of the public sphere and put it behind closed doors. But I'm not standing out in Ottawa. I think we've got other fish to fry presently. Governments are free to impose the death penalty for adultery. Certainly God's government in Old Covenant Israel saw fit to engage in that kind of a penalty. But not only the death penalty, turn to Proverbs chapter six because there's another problem or penalty experienced by adulterers. And that's a punch in the eye or the nose from the husband of the woman. Look at Proverbs 630, people do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy himself when he is starving. We just don't. God is so honest and so beautifully clear, and as he comes here to us through Solomon, he appeals to us at the most basic level. If you know somebody is starving and they stole, you're not infuriated. How dare that man steal? No, you get it, he's starving to death. However, he should be punished if he's caught because you're not supposed to steal. Look at verse 30, people do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy himself when he is starving, yet when he is found, He must restore sevenfold. He may have to give up all the substance of his house. Again, it's one of those things. It's wrong, and we know it's wrong, and the guy's going to be penalized for having committed a wrong, but at some level, we kind of get it because he's starving to death, and he figures, you know what? I'm going to nail this ham. I'm going to take it out in the parking lot. I'm going to mow it down because I'm starving. Again, we get it at some level. But notice then he changes direction. Verse 32, whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding. Why is that? Because we have no pity for an adulterer. We can understand why a guy would steal a ham because he's starving. We can't understand why a guy would go into his neighbor's wife. That's just wretched, vile, disloyal, godless, and worthy of lots of punishment. So, whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding. He who does so destroys his own soul. Wounds and dishonor he will get, and his reproach will not be wiped away. Who's he going to get these wounds and dishonor from? Notice in verse 34, Jealousy is a husband's fury. Therefore, he will not spare in the day of vengeance. He will accept no recompense, nor will he be appeased, though you give many gifts. The husband's going to punch you out. when he finds out that you had his wife. The husband's going to be furious because he's jealous, and he's not going to spare in the day of vengeance. Therefore, you're going to get wounds and dishonor, and your reproach will not be wiped away. So you have the wrath of God through the civil government in terms of the execution of adulterers, but also the wrath of man. And then God, specifically fornicators and adulterers, God will judge. When you get to the Lake of Fire in Revelation chapter 22, guess who one of the groups in there swimming are? It's the sexually immoral. The sexually immoral, those who continue impenitent against God in those pursuits. Listen to Dabney talking about the problems of adultery. He says, we're all to take the license of the adulterer Men would in due time be reduced precisely to the degradation of wild beasts. The sin of the adulterer, therefore, is scarcely less enormous than that of the murderer. The latter, murder, destroys man's temporal existence. The former, adultery, destroys all that makes existence a boon. Everything good about existence is destroyed by adultery. I mean, yeah, you can take away a man's existence, but you can take away the goodness of his existence when it comes to adultery. Listen to Thomas Watson. The adulterer not only wrongs his own soul, but does what in him lies to destroy the soul of another. and so kills two at once. He is worse than the thief. For suppose a thief robs a man, yea, takes away his life. The man's soul may be happy. He may go to heaven as well as if he had died in his bed. But he who commits adultery endangers the soul of another and deprives her of salvation so far as in him lies. Now, what a fearful thing is it to be an instrument to draw another to hell. And that's in his exposition of the Ten Commandments. Again, this is not one of those particular sins or crimes that, for the most part, the history of the world has looked favorably on. And again, it's not just a Christian violation. The light of nature teaches us this. The pagans had a good appropriation of this. Not saying they conducted themselves with godliness and righteousness, but typically speaking, in most societies through the history of the world, marriage was held in great regard. And to violate that particular covenant bond is vile, and wretched, and horrible. Whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding. He who does so destroys his own soul. So the basis, the purpose of God in marriage, the law of God, and then the sanction imposed for the particular sin. Now, in terms of the prohibition, let's look at adultery. Again, the sexual intercourse of a husband with the wife of another or a wife with the husband of another. Now, this jeopardized big time the fidelity or rather the structure of a covenant society. I mean, basically, family is foundational to everything. If you got bad families, you're going to usually have a bad society. It's the fundamental building block of good society. So, you know, self-government, you know, keep your own heart with all diligence for out of it, you know, spring the issues of life, Proverbs 4.23. We all need to exercise that self-government, that self-restraint. And that should then hopefully build up good, solid families. And then from good, solid families, we have good, solid churches, and we have good, solid societies. Well, when you've got breach at the basic fundamental level, you're going to have problems It's systemic. You're going to have, you know, all kinds of just bad things. And so, adultery in Old Covenant Israel was a bad thing. It was very much frowned upon. The sin of adultery is mentioned because the family is the basic unit of the covenant society. To destroy that basic unit is to assault the entirety of the society. As family goes, so goes churches. As men go, so goes... We've got to exercise those levels of government that God has instituted. We can't look to the federal government to solve all our problems. Self-government always comes first, then family government, church government, things like that. If we compromise in these things, we're going to be in big trouble. Craigie, commenting on the commandment in Deuteronomy, says adultery of one partner in a marriage involved not only unfaithfulness to the other partner, but also unfaithfulness to God. So it's just a breach of the basic covenantal arrangement for the children of Israel. And the prophets attacked adultery as a social evil. There were times in certain prophets they would liken idolatry to adultery. So in other words, you've gone a-whoring from God is an indictment concerning idolatry. To go a-whoring from God means that you've left Yahweh and you've gone after the various gods of the peoples around them. But there was actually also physical adultery that was going on on the part of Old Covenant Israelites. I mean, we saw it in numbers. We see it, you know, unfortunately all the time. But those prophets denounced that and declaimed that. And very often you would see a connection in the prophets between, you know, a rejection of the first table when we have no fear of God, it usually ends in a rejection of the second table. If I don't fear God as I ought, then I'm not going to conduct myself toward my fellows as I ought. It's a basic, you know, integral system. If we reject or resist the living and true God, then the latter six commandments mean nothing. Why not be insubordinate? Why not murder? Why not commit adultery? Why not steal? Why not lie? Why not covet? If I don't care one bit for the four commandments with reference to God, if I have other gods before him, if I'm an idolater, if I'm a blasphemer, if I'm a Sabbath breaker, then I'm not going to be fastidious in keeping the latter six. They go together, and very often the prophetic denunciations of Old Covenant Israel's sin, they hammer them on first table sins, and then hammer them on second table sins, and you see this close connection between the two. It's not usually the case that a society that rightly fears God is filled with adulterers. A society that rightly fears God is filled with murderers. It's just not the way it's done. If you rightly fear God, Commandments 1 to 4, you're still going to struggle in the latter, you know, 6, but it's not going to be widespread, full-scale apostasy the way it is when you reject God. So the prophets attacked adultery as a social evil. So adultery is obvious, and again, overarching in terms of Deuteronomy 518, but all other sexual sins flow from that. The second is fornication, and basically that's sexual relations outside of marriage. Again, God's not anti-sex. You get that sometimes. God has an axe to grind with sacks. No, he doesn't. He made sacks. You don't think when he made Adam and Eve, he knew exactly what they were going to do. He purposed and designed them to do that very thing. God is pro-sexual intimacy in its proper covenantal context. That is crucial. Get rid of the context, get rid of the covenant. God is anti, lawless, illicit, reckless sexual activity. So, sexual relations outside of marriage. And again, several texts indicate this. The most recent that we have seen, Hebrews 13, 4, marriage is honorable among all and the bed undefiled, but fornicators and adulterers God will judge. So, fornication and adultery. The third is incest, and I, you know, I'm following Westminster larger catechism in terms of the order here, but incest, the Bible speaks very much to that. It's not just, you know, an isolated thing here or there. It's obviously in Leviticus 18, Leviticus chapter 20, we'll see it in Deuteronomy 22, should we get there tonight, and then 1 Corinthians chapter 5. Now, with reference to our confession, again, a good summary articulation of biblical data concerning the ordinance of marriage. In 25.4, it says, marriage ought not to be within the degrees of consanguinity or affinity. Consanguinity is relation by blood. Consanguinity is relation by blood. You're not supposed to marry your sister. I think first cousin is as close as it gets. I'm sorry, second cousin. First cousin is a no-no, that's what I meant. I think from first cousin, definitely a no-no, and then going out that way, yeah, I think you gotta be very careful with that. So marriage ought not to be within the degrees of consanguinity, so that's blood relation, or affinity. And affinity is relation by marriage, which the Leveret Law seems to indicate that once a party dies, that relationship by affinity is no longer binding. For instance, the Sadducees ask Jesus, or they trip up Jesus, and Jesus tells them that story about the the woman whose husband died and then she married the brother and then so on and so forth. Well, obviously you couldn't marry a brother so that death annulled that relationship by affinity. So the Leverett Law seems to indicate that death annuls the relationship by affinity. So affinity is a relationship based on marriage, but if an integral party dies, then you're no longer having that relationship of affinity. I think that makes sense, it makes sense in my head, but back to the confession. Marriage ought not to be within the degrees of consanguinity or affinity forbidden in the word, nor can such incestuous marriage ever be made lawful by any law of man or consent of parties, so as those persons may live together as man and wife. So basically, people don't have the right to overthrow God's word. You can't just say, well, you know, we'd rather it be you can marry your own brother. No, you can't do that. You cannot suspend what God has commanded. And of course 1 Corinthians 5, you know, when Paul comes to deal with the church in Corinth, what seems to be in his mind as he deals with this particular sin? Well, it seems to be Leviticus 18 and Deuteronomy 22 and Deuteronomy 27, which seems to indicate that there are laws, even outside the Decalogue, that have some binding influence or normative sort of regulatory power within the context of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. So notice in 5.1, it is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles. That's what I meant earlier. The pagans, light of nature, They get things right throughout the history of the world. And in this respect, Paul is upbraiding the church in Corinth saying, you know what? There's Gentiles that function better than you when it comes to these sorts of interpersonal relations. So it's not even named among the Gentiles that a man has his father's wife. And you are puffed up and have not rather mourned that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you. So not only was the deed done, and not only did you know that the deed had happened, but you were puffed up about this particular deed. Some speculate they had an over-realized eschatology, they had, you know, some weird views of sanctification or, you know, the already being present. even though we're in the not yet, who knows why, but specifically they are reproved here for not reacting or responding to this man who had his father's wife. So this was obviously a relationship by affinity. It's not consanguinity, it's affinity, his father's wife, and you're just not supposed to do that, and so Paul orders his excommunication from the context of the church. So then turn to Deuteronomy 22. We will get here, and this will be the last text we look at. I realize now being in Deuteronomy 5, we're going to eventually be in Deuteronomy 22, but it makes sense to deal with it here. So Deuteronomy 22, specifically verses 22 to 29, what often happens amongst opponents of Scripture is that they try to pit verses 25 to 27 against 28 to 29. They say things like, well, you know, a woman that is raped and betrothed, you know, she is afforded victim status. Whereas in, you know, the case of a single woman in verses 28 and 29, she's not victim status. She rather just has to marry this guy that raped her. Now, the NIV, unfortunately, translates the word as rape in verse 28. But it's not a good translation at all. And I think it feeds this huge misunderstanding that there's an arbitrariness or a capriciousness based on whether or not a woman is single. If a woman's single, she has no protection from the law. That's the latter situation, 28 and 29. If a woman's single, she's not protected. But if a woman's betrothed or has a legal relationship to a man that's a husband, well, then she's afforded protection in the law. Now, brethren, we need to know how to answer that, because that's a huge one. If they're right, that's problematic. It's okay to rape a single girl, but you can't rape a betrothed girl? I mean, that is a problem if that's legit. So that's why I think it's good to spend a little bit of time here in Deuteronomy 22. Again, not a happy subject. I get that. I understand that. You know, studying biblical ethics, God deals with the world as it is. And as it is, people rape people. Women are victimized. There's a lot of bad things that happen in this world. What cannot be a help to the lot of bad things that happen in this world is bad Christian argument that gets caught up in saying, well, yeah, that doesn't seem fair that a single woman doesn't get protected by the law. So let's just work our way through. Notice the sin of adultery, basic. I mean, I don't want to say basic, but the basic sin of adultery in verse 22. If a man is found lying with a woman, married to a husband, then both of them shall die. The man that lay with the woman and the woman, so you shall put away the evil from Israel. So again, pretty cut and dry. We already see that in the book of Leviticus. Now, verses 23 and 24 deal with the seduction of a betrothed woman. The seduction of a betrothed woman. Now, betrothal renders her as a wife, okay? It was more than just an engagement. Honey, I want to take you as my wife for the prevention of uncleanness. Here's a promise ring, and in five years we'll say our vows. No, there was more legal power with reference to a betrothal. In fact, you'll see that in the text. But notice, the seduction of a betrothed woman. Verse 23, if a young woman who is a virgin is betrothed to a husband, and a man finds her in the city and lies with her, then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones. The young woman, notice, because she did not cry out in the city. What does that indicate? It means she was complicit. She complied with this. She went along with it. She didn't cry out. She didn't resist. And the man, because he humbled his neighbors, noticed wife. She has that status based on betrothal. So you shall put away the evil from among you. So you've got the case of the seduction of a betrothed woman, and this betrothed woman complies with the seduction. That's what's happening there. Next is the rape of a betrothed woman in the countryside. Notice in verse 25. But if a man finds a betrothed young woman in the countryside, and the man, notice, forces her and lies with her. That's rape language. Forces is necessary to prove the crime of rape. And here we've got forces her and lies with her, then only the man who lay with her shall die. So in other words, the rapist dies. You don't punish the victim. You don't shame the victim. You don't, you know, parade her. She has been violated. She has had a crime committed against her. She has been hurt. Notice in verse 26, but you shall do nothing to the young woman, there is in the young woman no sin deserving of death. For just as when a man rises against his neighbor and kills him, even so is this matter. You know what, maybe I put too much stock on this just as, but it sounds to me like God through Moses by the Spirit is indicating that murder, or rather rape, is just as murder. It's just as bad. I mean, yeah, there's not a cessation of existence, but there is a cessation of goodness wrapped up in that existence until that person has had the time to process and to deal with and work through the trauma and the victimizing she has received. And hopefully it involves the execution of the man that did that to her. Because I think that's part of the healing process is to see justice brought and to see punishment meted out. Verse 27 is explanatory. For he found her in the countryside, and the betrothed young woman cried out. Remember the one before, did not cry out in the city. In the city, she could have been helped. In the country, she's probably not going to get any help. But nevertheless, she cried out, but there was no one to save her. Now, verses 28 and 29 is the seduction of a single woman, the seduction of a single woman. Notice in verse 28, if a man finds a young woman who is a virgin, who is not betrothed, and he seizes her, he's not forcing her. This is a different verb. To translate this as rape is very problematic because it's not the same language that's employed in say verse 25 with forces her. So verse 28, if a man finds a young woman who is a virgin who is not betrothed, then he seizes her and lies with her. Notice, and they are found out. they are found out. It seems to include her in this particular activity, not as an unwilling participant that's crying out, whether it's in the city or whether it's in the country, but rather she's participating in it. Then verse 29, then the man who lay with her shall give to the young woman's father 50 shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife because he has humbled her. He shall not be permitted to divorce her, all his days. And this brings this then right into line with something that's already been in the Pentateuch, specifically Exodus chapter 22, verses 16 and 17. So, these two together participate in, you know, fornication, and they're found out by the father, and the father says, you've got to marry her. That's not rape. That's not the same instance as what was previous to that. And to interpret he seizes her as rape language is not a good way to go. And then verse 30 deals with affinity. A man shall not take his father's wife nor uncover his father's bed. That's exactly what Paul is dealing with in 1 Corinthians 5 and verse 1. Well, we will stop there. Again, not a happy subject, but there's only a few more to get through next week. But we've got to think biblically. If murder is rampant in our age, which it is, we should have biblical responses to those acts. If sexual sin is rampant in our age, which it is, we need to be able to think clearly and we better be able to navigate a Deuteronomy 22 when people say, well, it's okay if you're betrothed and you get protection from the law, but if you're a single woman, there's no, that's not it at all. You've got to just read the text, and that's not what's happening at all. So I'll pray, and then if there's any questions or comments. Father, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You that it does address a fallen world, and we know that this world is fallen. We know there is much sin, and we know there is much depravity. And even in the days when these things are written, we see it right there in the prophets. We see it in the Pentateuch. We see this kind of gross sin. And yet, Father, we pray that you would guide us to think clearly with reference to these issues, help us to have a good mind for Scripture when it comes to ethics, but as well help us to guard our own hearts, to guard our own minds, to guard our own marriages, and to be faithful where you have called us to be. And we ask this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen. Well, any questions or comments? To the legislature that says the age of consent should be 12? You probably don't want to know what I would say to the legislature. It's horrific. It's horrific. Yes, sir? How do we, as Christians, interact with family members, whether they're unbelieving or believing, who have come to accept so much like sexual deviancy in today's culture, like it's so normalized, whether homosexuality or adultery and things like that. Yeah. You know, obviously scripture deals with it so severely, but it's just so widely accepted. It's almost not a shame, like Proverbs 6. Like in some ways it is, but in other ways it's like, well, everyone does it. Yeah. Yeah, those are tough questions. How do we deal when it's right there at our door? Faithfulness in our own homes, faithfulness with our own spouses, faithfulness in instructing our children, when people come over, if subjects come up, yeah, I mean, I think we need to be faithful to speak the way the Bible speaks. And especially if the person professes faith, you know, you can go to texts. It's not mysterious. It's not like, you know, when we get to say sodomy, for instance, it's not like, you know, this one obscure text in Leviticus. They always try to make it seem like that. And it's just not. And, you know, sin is disorder. It's chaos. And, you know, all of these bespeak disorder and chaos. And so I think as Christians in our own homes, and I'm not saying you go to whatever offending family member this is with your bullhorn, sit in their living room and shout them down, but we always need to be ready to give a defense, and it's hard, it's tough. People are gonna go, wow, this guy is too much, or he's this. But what are the alternatives? We just have to tell the truth. And if they're professing believers in Christ, you know, I'd like to think that the Holy Spirit, you know, if not working on them right then and there, maybe it's a process. Maybe, you know, the more they're exposed to the truth, they'll come around. I do think as well it's helpful to... you know, maybe challenge people at times, not in an offensive, nasty sort of way, but how come a generation ago the Church was pretty much universally convinced that homosexuality was wrong? Like, where do you think they got that? And why do you think it's changed? Could it be that we have basically been worn down by, you know, media, by entertainment, by, you know, has there been this frog in the pot sort of a thing where we haven't realized that we've been cooked? You know, I don't doubt that cultural influences are strong and cultural influences have hit the church strong in such ways that, you know, there's denominations where you could be a homosexual minister or, you know, the Church of England just installed a woman as their archbishop. So we've got problems, but we also have answers. And I don't say this, this is gonna sound proud, and I'm sorry, I don't know how not to sound proud, but we're actually right. You know what I mean? Like we can exegetically prove where God says you're not supposed to do that. So, you know, that's always a help. I, if people think I'm an idiot or they think I'm, you know, weird or whatever, Hey, you know, I am right. And I have a clear conscience before God, which is where ultimately it matters. So. But yeah, it is tough. I mean, just to see what people accept and are okay with, and yeah, it's rough. What's the argument for, say, Abraham had two sons from two different women, and was it Jacob had four wives? Yeah. Was that, but it was sort of, it wasn't That's what some people say. I think that the original intention of God is one man, one woman. You know, once sin, and I mentioned this last week, you know, if there was no fall, there would be, you know, no laws. for slavery, there'd be no laws for murder, there'd be no laws for polygamy. So God institutes polygamy laws not to endorse the action of polygamy, but to protect innocent parties in polygamous relationships. So the original intention by God is one man, one woman for life. But because sin comes along, you know, divorce is dealt with in the Bible, polygamy is dealt with in the Bible. So these are not to be seen as endorsements. Oh, I can go have five wives because David did. No, those are laws enacted to protect innocent parties. There's various reasons why polygamy, I think, at least at the time of the monarchy, it was more political than it was romantic. It was sealed alliances with other kings and you married their daughter and you got benefits in terms of kingly relations. Now, when Solomon takes on a thousand, there's obviously more going on than just kingly relations. He just flat out sinned. He just rebelled against God. So yeah, that it's in the Bible, so is murder. So is adultery. So is, you know, all these things. God's word is not sanitized. It's not cleansed from, you know, a true accounting of what man looks like. And it is what it is. I mean, these guys did have several wives. Yeah, it's not usually the case that they had happy, they didn't have happy, harmonious homes either, you know. which is the most basic argument. I can't even deal with one. I mean, I can't do well with one, let alone two or five. I mean, I'm happy with the one I've got. It just would be tough. All right.