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All right, you can turn in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 5. Deuteronomy chapter 5. Just curious who popped in here. Make sure they don't have a gun. But I've got good protection between us if you do have a gun.

So Deuteronomy chapter five, the largest exhortation in the book of Deuteronomy given to the children of Israel on the plains of Moab prior to their entry into the promised land that God had given by way of gift. And he mentioned or he promised that to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And so now the second generation is going to go into the land, conquer the land and possess the land.

Well, I'll read chapter five, and then we'll get to the third and last part of the seventh commandment, verse 18, you shall not commit adultery. So I'll read beginning in 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 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 we've considered the seventh commandment, it was absolutely crucial, not only as it reveals to us God's will, for man and God's nature in terms of His holiness and covenant-keeping and not violating a sacred trust. It's also central in Israel's redemptive life that families be strong, just as it is today. If the families aren't strong, then typically churches aren't strong and society isn't strong. And fundamental to that is integrity within the marriage relationship. If we are faithless or we lack integrity at that basic level, then it's probably easier to lack integrity and express faithlessness to those outside of our home. So this was very fundamental and foundational. And a command, by the way, that they violate prolifically.

So when you continue on in the Old Testament, yes, they do conquer the land, but they don't fully dispossess the land of the Canaanites. And as time goes on, they increasingly become like the Canaanites. So then God raises up oppressors. He raises up foreign enemies. So Specifically, Assyria destroys the northern kingdom in 722 BC, and then the Babylonians destroy the southern kingdom in 586 BC.

So God's law is not capricious. It's not arbitrary. It's not simply for those outside of Israel. But when Israel functions like those outside of Israel, then they reap the same judgment, and they reap the same penalties and the consequences for their infidelity. So we've looked at the basis of the commandment. The commandment assumes, obviously, the institution of marriage. Remember that marriage wasn't just a social thought on the part of man. Hey, this would be a good thing to do. No, it was given by God in the creation of the world. So it's a creation ordinance. and God gave it, specifically for the mutual help of husband and wife. It's a covenant of companionship. It was not good that man was alone, so God made a helper comparable to him and brought her to him.

So the mutual help of husband and wife. Secondly, the increase of mankind or procreation. The Bible is very clear there, be fruitful and multiply. and then the prevention of uncleanness through legitimate sexual intimacy. Again, God's not anti-sexual intimacy. God created it, but God specifies the context in which it is to be practiced. It's not to be practiced alone. It's not to be practiced with another person that is not your spouse. It's not supposed to be a homosexual relationship, but it's one man and one woman engaged in that prevention of uncleanness through legitimate sexual intimacy.

And, of course, the law of God stipulates and regulates it, and the law of God also specifies penalties or sanctions for those who violate the Seventh Commandment. So, of course, we have the Seventh Commandment here in Deuteronomy, but in Hebrews 13, 4, we read, marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled, for fornicators and adulterers God will judge. When you turn to the book of Revelation, chapter 21, verse 8, it tells us who's in the lake of fire. And there's all kinds of sinners there, but of course, sexually immoral persons. So it's not something that is vague. It's not something that is undefined. It's not something that's up for interpretation. The Bible is very clear with reference to legitimate sexual relationships.

So then we looked at the prohibition of the commandment. And again, I know this isn't a joyful subject. I know the discussion of sin is not something you typically like after dessert on a Wednesday night, but we are studying Deuteronomy, and central to Deuteronomy is the Decalogue of the Ten Commandments, and so it's good for us to inform our minds and hearts concerning these sins. So we've considered the act of adultery proper, Leviticus 18, Leviticus 20, Deuteronomy chapter 22, and of course the New Testament. there in Hebrews 13, 4. That's when one party in a marriage relationship goes outside of that covenantal boundary and has relations with another person. So again, it is to destroy that bond that one man has with one woman.

As well, we've looked at the sin of fornication, sexual relations outside of marriage. Again, God's not against sexual relations, but it's supposed to be in marriage, and so fornication is condemned. The act of incest, either by consanguinity, which is a relationship by blood, or affinity, which is a relationship by marriage. It's a relationship that's not blood, but if I'm married to someone, then I have affinity with that person's sister or brother or whoever. Then you've got the act of rape. We saw that in Deuteronomy 22. And again, I think Deuteronomy 22, 22 to 29 is very important for Christians to get their minds wrapped around because bad translations, for instance, the NIV, at least in the latter part, translates a particular clause as rape when it's not rape and it suggests some sort of different treatment depending upon whether a woman was betrothed or not. But that's not the issue, that's not the emphasis. If you're interested in that, we've already covered it. Let me know, I can send you the notes.

Then we looked at the act of homosexuality. Again, the Bible condemns it. It's not something that, as long as you're monogamous in a homosexual relationship, then it's okay. What the Bible forbids is promiscuity. No, it forbids the act. You're not supposed to do that. Sin is chaos. Sin is disorder. Sin is to invert God's created order. And so when persons engage in that, which is contrary to nature, it is against the law of God. We looked at the act of bestiality. Again, man lying with an animal or a woman lying with an animal. Again, not a happy subject or a topic or a thing to think about, but Scripture prohibits it. Scripture is clear. We see that often. Unfortunately, it has to be repeated often in Scripture.

We looked at unlawful divorce. Again, the Bible permits divorce in certain situations, but if you go against Scripture and you divorce for any old reason at all, then anything subsequent to that is unlawful, and it can then be an adulterous situation. We looked at immodesty. Again, immodesty is something that the Bible frowns upon. That woman in Proverbs chapter 7, she's married, she has a husband, and yet she's dressed in the attire of a harlot. When Jesus is condemning the sin of lust in Matthew chapter 5, I don't think it's a stretch to suggest that by that condemnation or prohibition we ought to make sure we're modest. 1 Timothy chapter 2, Paul regulates conduct in the church, the men are supposed to pray, the women are supposed to conduct themselves in modesty when they come into the house of God. We looked at the act of polygamy. Again, it's practiced in the Old Testament. There's legislation given. Legislation is oftentimes given for post-fall sins. For instance, if there had not been a fall, there would never be divorce. And therefore, any laws regulating divorce in a pre-fall world, there would be no necessity. But in a post-fall world, when there's divorce, then there's legislation given in order to protect the innocent parties.

Same with polygamy. It's not the case that when you see laws regulating polygamy, it's thereby authorizing polygamy. But in a post-fall world, when men multiplied wives, those multiplied wives needed some form of protection from biblical law. So God, in his kindness and mercy, regulates in those particular situations. Now, of course, polygamy, oftentimes, at least with kings or monarchs, was practiced for political ends. A king's son or a king's daughter would marry another king's son or another king's daughter to forge political alliances. But it was also sexual in nature.

1 Kings 11, you see Solomon. led away, led astray by a thousand women, and ultimately he's having relations with them, and then he's bowing to their gods. So polygamy is not the norm. Polygamy did happen, it was regulated, but as Stuart says, monogamy is everywhere in scripture assumed as the ideal as a creation ordinance firmly reinforced by Jesus and Paul. We looked at prostitution, and there I said that the Bible always condemns it, it's a sin, but in Old Covenant Israel, it wasn't a crime. Now that doesn't mean go out and become a prostitute or go out and solicit prostitutes, but when you look at the Old Testament, there was prostitution and those persons weren't arrested, but it was always frowned upon, always a sinful act, and there is a difference between sin and crime.

Not all crime is sin, For instance, preaching the gospel in a Muslim country. That's a crime in a Muslim country, but it's not a sin. And not all sin is a crime. For instance, covetousness. If I covet, I shouldn't be punished by the civil authority for thought crime. So not all sin is crime, not all crime is sin, but prostitution was a sin, was not a crime in the Old Covenant, but always frowned upon. And then we ended at the use of pornography in Matthew chapter 5, specifically by a man to look like a woman or the attempt by a woman to look like a man. That's wrong. The Bible, again, calls that an abomination. It is disorder. It is chaos. It is to invert God's created order and his design for the world.

Men are supposed to be men, and women are supposed to be women. I realize that's a revolutionary concept in 2025 in North America, but that's everywhere maintained in scripture. Masculinity is not bad. Femininity is not bad. Masculine people that try to be feminine is bad, and feminine women trying to be men, that's bad. It's a wrong thing. It's disorder. It's sin. It's transgression. So of course, transvestitism or cross-dressing for the purpose of trying to be a woman if you're a man or trying to be a man if you're a woman is condemned here in Deuteronomy 22.5.

By extension, transgenderism, going through the process, taking hormones. If you're a man, taking estrogen. If you're a woman, taking testosterone. It's occurred to me as I've gotten older that men tend to decrease in testosterone. Sometimes men want some hormone replacement therapy and they want a bit of testosterone. It's probably easier for a 12-year-old girl in Canada to get testosterone treatments than a 59-year-old man. And I'm not suggesting I'm going to go find testosterone. I'm simply giving an illustration. Brethren, that ought not to be. It ought not to be the case that through chemical means, we try to reverse what God intended for us at our birth.

If you're a man, embrace masculinity. If you're a woman, embrace femininity. Don't try to mix up what God has purposed. but not only chemical means in terms of estrogen and testosterone, but surgical procedures where they actually cut off body parts in an attempt to transition men to women and women to men. It is simply ungodly. It is an abomination. If transvestitism is condemned in Deuteronomy 22, 5, and it is, it's called an abomination, then certainly seeking to do so through chemical means or through surgical means is equally an abomination to the Lord God Most High.

Now, there's a book that was written in the last couple of years by a lady named Abigail Schreier. She looked into this, and she wrote the book called Irreversible Damage, The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters. And some of the things that she mentions in that book are very eye-opening. It used to be pretty much consistently that it was a male tendency to want to be a female. But the numbers have far turned with reference to young women now wanting to be men. And she speculates or hypothesizes that a lot of it happens online. A lot of these kids are looking for their identity. They're talked into things by influencers, and they end up down this path that is, in the language of the title of her book, irreversible damage. She says, with reference to transgenderism or gender dysphoria, that means not being comfortable if you're a man as a man, not being comfortable as a woman if you're a woman. In the last decade, and I think this book is only a couple of years old, adolescent gender dysphoria has surged across the West. In the US, the prevalence has increased by over 1,000%. 2% of high school students now identify as transgender, according to a 2017 survey of teens issued by the CDC. In Britain, the increase is 4,000%. And 3 quarters of those referred for gender treatment are girls. Again, unsurpassed change with reference to what has been the case. 

Not that it was ever OK for a young man to want to be a woman. That's still wrong. It's still an abomination. But all these young women wanting to be men is a new development in the sexual rebellion that we are witnessing. As well, she mentions this with reference to LGBTQ, the alphabet of various sexual offenses. She says the study also revealed, this is, actually no, I don't, I think she got this from a news story online. The study also revealed that while LGBT identification has been stable in older generations, it has risen significantly in younger generations. Hence why I think it's important for us to do a detailed study in the Seventh Commandment because this isn't theory. This isn't out there. This isn't happening at a small tribe in Africa. It's all around us. It's in our public schools. It's in our homes. It's in other people's homes. It's unfortunately in the church. Some churches even tolerate it and promote it. And that is unfortunate and shameful when God calls it an abomination. 

And she says, with reference to LGBT, over 20% of Gen Z adults, now Generation Z, those born between 1997 and 1999, or 1997 to 2012 is the span, but those born between 1997 and 1999 identify as LGBT. That's 20%. That is enormous. That's not, well, that's somebody else's problem. Well, it is, but it's probably going to be your problem at some time in your life. Somebody you know, somebody you're connected to is going to have this, followed by 10.5% of millennials. They were born 1981 to 1996. 4.5% of the last and greatest generation, Generation X, Those are the ones born in 65 to 80. And then 2.6% of baby boomers. Baby boomers were 1946 to 1964. So you can see generationally, it's not just a doubling. It is a multiplication exponentially of the amount of people that are dysphoric with reference to their identity as God had built them. And so these are staggering numbers and do elicit from the church a compassionate, loving, we don't scream in people's ears with bullhorns, but firm and biblical response to what is happening around us. 

So again, Deuteronomy 22, 5 may seem to be a bit obscure. People battle whether that means a woman should never wear trousers. But it certainly condemns transvestitism and, by extension, transgenderism, something that is rampant and something that is growing. Of course, with transgenderism, you see the dominance of men and women's sports, that we're at a place where a man can compete in a woman's sport and win. That, you know, what other society ever has ever entertained the thought of such a thing? And then, of course, the perversion of child grooming that goes with that. You know, you take an impressionable child, yeah, you could talk him into wanting to be a frog if, you know, he's got a relationship with you and you are persuasive and are able to prevail upon him. So there's a whole host of things that are corollary to this whole transgender movement that, again, I think elicit from the Church a healthy biblical response and an appeal to the Word of God. 

Even at the most basic level, God created them male and female. He didn't create 10 genders or whatever number we're up to, 150 or 160 genders. that we're at today, he made them male and female. If persons don't get that basic axiomatic fundamental principle down, then we're not doing our job. We need to maintain this. There's no fluidity. There's no room for error. There's no room for margin. It is what it is. Men are men. Women are women. Embrace that and live within that boundary. 

Now, I struggle to even mention pedophilia, but again, it's a reality in our age. It seems to me to have a sexual component to be sure, but it's also got, you know, dominance, it's got torture, it's got all kinds of ruination that are violations of other parts of the Decalogue as well. I'd want to, you know, pin the Sixth Commandment on a pedophile also. You're killing, you're basically killing that person. Rape is as the sin of murder according to Deuteronomy 22. Well, certainly the rape or the grooming of a young child for that specific purpose is vile. It's an abomination. And Jesus says, whoever causes these little ones to stumble, that it be better for a millstone to be hung around his neck, cast into the depths of the sea. So these are vile prohibitions of the Seventh Commandment that the Church needs to have a commitment to the authority of Scripture when we rebut and when we reject and when we refute these positions. And when they come into the Church, or if they're attempting to come into the Church, we need to hold the line. It doesn't matter if we appear to be, you know, unloving. It doesn't matter if we appear to be unkind. We need to hold the line with reference to Scripture because God defines what proper conduct is. 

Now, that doesn't mean that if somebody wants to come and hear the gospel, of course they can come and hear the gospel. But that's different than welcoming them as church members without fruits of repentance. And certainly fruits of repentance connected to sexual sin is no longer engaging in sexual sin. So those are prohibitions. 

Now, when we come to the manner of violating the commandment, there's a whole host of ways we can violate the commandment. Obviously, the external act. So Westminster Larger Catechism, which I'm leaning on a bit tonight, question 139, what are the sins forbidden in the Seventh Commandment? The sins forbidden in the Seventh Commandment, besides the neglect of duties required, are adultery, fornication, rape, incest, sodomy, and all unnatural lusts. sort of where I kind of patterned the list that we looked at in terms of prohibition. 

So the external act, committing adultery, committing fornication, committing incest, obviously that is a transgression of the seventh word. But as well as we learned from the Sermon on the Mount and those other texts that we considered with reference to Jesus' words, the internal disposition. the internal disposition. Jesus says if you look upon a woman to lust, you've already broken the commandment in your heart. So it's not necessary for the actual external act to be engaged in if the internal heart has already committed the sin. 

Again, Westminster Larger, all unclean imaginations, thoughts, purposes, and affections. So the internal disposition As I've mentioned, you can cut off hands and you can gouge out eyes, which I said last week is metaphor. Don't actually cut off your hand. Don't actually gouge out your eye. Jesus is teaching you to deal radically with sin. But if you cut off your right hand and you pluck out your right eye and you haven't dealt with your heart, you're going to sin with your left hand and your left eye. It begins in the heart. Proverbs 4, keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. 

So obviously the external act, obviously the internal disposition, but continuing in Westminster larger catechism, the use of corrupt and filthy speech. All corrupt are filthy communications or listening thereunto. You can turn to Ephesians chapter 5. Ephesians chapter 5 where that kind of thing is denounced or that kind of thing is condemned, Ephesians chapter 5 specifically at verses 3 to 7. 

But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness Let it not even be named among you as is fitting for saints, neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man who is an idolater has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore, do not be partakers with them. 

And then a final part of Westminster Larger Catechism is when it says, idleness, gluttony, drunkenness, unchaste company. Idleness, gluttony, drunkenness, and unchaste company. Why is that? I think the mindset of the divines, reflecting on the totality of scripture, is that a failure to bridle every passion can result in giving vent to any passion. If you are not universally pursuing things that are chaste and temperate and godly and modest, then the tendency is to pursue various other things. 

I'm sure that I've mentioned a series or a couple of sermons that Andy Hamilton preached. I mentioned Andy. He's married to Rebecca. That's who we get the Myanmar updates from. He was a former football player. He got converted. He was a pastor for 20 years in Louisiana. He preached a couple of sermons on maintaining sexual purity in a sensual age. And he dealt with that particular emphasis, idleness, gluttony, drunkenness, and unchaste company. When you give way to those particular things, oftentimes it gives way to other things as well. 

So that's all the negative that I have tonight. So we'll look at the positive. And again, going to lean on Westminster larger at 138. So 139, what are the sins forbidden in the seventh commandment? 138, what are the duties required in the seventh commandment? The first is the preservation of chastity, the preservation of chastity in body, mind, affections, and words. Good overarching principle, the preservation of chastity. If you turn to 1 Thessalonians 4, the apostle addresses this specifically. 1 Thessalonians chapter four, specifically at verse three, for this is the will of God.

Have you ever wondered what the will of God is for your life? A lot of people have and a lot of people do. I wonder what God's will is for me. Usually that question is in the context of where will I go to university, who am I gonna marry, what color house am I gonna live in, am I gonna have a boat, am I gonna have a summer home, all that sort of thing. What's God's will for me? Well, God's will, first and foremost, is revealed in Scripture, His law. What does He demand, and what does He call us unto? So in 4.3, we have that unequivocal statement, this is the will of God.

Now, there's other statements in Scripture that we know is the will of God. This isn't the only part of the will of God. But notice, your sanctification specifically that you should abstain from sexual immorality, that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God, that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such as we also forewarned you and testified. For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness, Therefore, he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit.

So verse 3, very clear, this is the will of God, your sanctification, that you should abstain from sexual immorality. Verse 4 is a bit of a perplexing verse in terms of interpretation, that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel. Some suggest that means a man not controlling but possessing his wife, who is the weaker vessel. She is his vessel. And a robust, godly, Christian marriage with frequent sexual relations is a great help to abstain from sexual immorality. Or it could be a man or a woman possessing their own sexual vessels in such a way that they maintain chastity and sanctity, and they don't engage in promiscuity or sinful fornication. So again, either way of interpretation, it is the substantiating verse with reference to verse 3, that you should abstain from sexual immorality, and then specifically, by way of application, that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor.

So the preservation of chastity. Secondly, watchfulness over our senses. You can turn to Proverbs chapter 4. Proverbs chapter 4. watchfulness over our senses. That's what the catechism says. Watchfulness over the eyes and all the senses. So earlier, just a bit ago, I quoted verse 23. Proverbs 4, 23, keep your heart with all diligence for out of it spring the issues of life. And as I always like to do, I try to point out, notice the emphasis in verse 23, keep your heart. Not keep everybody else's heart. Keeping your own heart is a 24 hour a day, seven day a week, 365 day a year job or task. That doesn't mean you can't help your wife. That doesn't mean you can't help your husband. That doesn't mean you can't help your children. The emphasis, in terms of Solomon's admonition to his sons, is keep your heart with all diligence. In other words, regulate it, engage in self-control, self-discipline.

Self-control, according to the Apostle Paul in Galatians 5, is a fruit of the Spirit. Go figure. Self-control? How is that a fruit of the Spirit? Well, the Spirit's working in you to control yourself. Self-government is always the primary emphasis in Scripture. Be careful to observe, in the book of Deuteronomy, yourselves. There is this emphasis. But further, notice how that verse, verse 23, is surrounded by other body parts. So let's pick up in verse 20. My son, give attention to my words, incline your ear to my sayings, do not let them depart from your eyes and keep them in the midst of your heart. For they are life to those who find them and health to all their flesh. Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. Now note, put away from you a deceitful mouth. Put perverse lips far from you. Let your eyes look straight ahead, and your eyelids look right before you. Ponder the path of your feet. Let all your ways be established. Do not turn to the right or the left. Remove your foot from evil."

So not only does Solomon give us the emphasis in terms of government of our own hearts and self-control, but it should be fleshed out through those other parts of our body. It ought to affect the way we live, affect the things that we look at, affect the places that we go. That's the emphasis. So a watchfulness over our senses. And again, Jesus in Matthew 5, 28. If your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out. Again, metaphorically, don't do that. Don't come next week with a missing eye or a cut off hand. Butler said I should do that because I've been struggling in this particular area. It's metaphorical to emphasize how radically you should deal with your sin, but the emphasis is on govern yourself, watch yourself, guard your heart, guard your eyes, guard your thoughts, guard your ways, guard your feet, all those things.

The next is the practice of temperance. And it says, keeping of chaste company, modesty, and apparel. So the practice of temperance. Those things are crucial. Keeping of chaste company. If you hang around with sexually profligate people, you'll be tempted to be sexually profligate. Bad company corrupts good morals. Who you surround yourself with, more often than not, bleeds over into your own life. If you hang out with bank robbers 24-7, one day you're going to wake up and say, I feel like robbing a bank today. It just happens. The kinds of people that you keep company with, it's going to affect you. And I think that's the emphasis there.

Fourth, the pursuit of biblical marriage. It speaks specifically of conjugal love and cohabitation. Remember in the confession, one of the reasons for marriage is the prevention of uncleanness. How do we prevent uncleanness? By legitimate sexual relationships. And that is only in a marriage. Only in. That's the arena. That's the place. That's the one area where you can engage in that activity without condemnation or without any penalty. And we'll look a bit at that when we close tonight.

And then the next is the exercise of diligence in our callings, which is interesting. The exercise of diligence in our callings. Turn to Proverbs 7, a text that I know we looked at probably two weeks ago, but it's about a a young man that's enticed by a woman. And if you look at 7.6, for at the window of my house I looked through my lattice and saw among the simple, I perceived among the youths, a man devoid of understanding. So he tells us right at the outset, this isn't the brightest bulb in the chandelier. He's a simple man. He's a young man. He's devoid of understanding. And here's his tale. Here's his story. How do I know this? It's not because I have a crystal ball and see his IQ. It's not because I gave him a test on the internet and he came out as a dummy. No, he's simple and he's devoid of understanding because of what I saw.

Verse 8, passing along the street near her corner. And he took the path to her house in the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night. Again, the favored time of sinners. Typically, you don't go out in broad daylight at noon and visit prostitutes. Not that I have any experience in doing this, but I know that could sound that way. But I have to imagine that noon probably isn't the most popular hour for prostitution. It's got to probably be in the covers of darkness. So in the twilight, in the evening, in the black, and dark night. Again, that just alerts you to this is not good. You know, some of us have the idea that nothing ever good happens after, it's getting earlier and earlier for me now, probably 9.30, but you know, 11-ish. Good things, morally speaking, ethically speaking, yeah, you could have, you know, discover a cure for cancer at 2 a.m., great. But for the most part, no, good things don't usually happen. You should be asleep. In other words, diligent in your calling. If you're asleep at 2 a.m., you're not visiting prostitutes at 2 a.m. That's kind of a good thing.

But then notice in verse 10, and there a woman met him with the attire of a harlot and a crafty heart. She was loud and rebellious. Her feet would not stay at home. At times she was outside, at times in the open square, lurking at every corner. So she caught him and kissed him. With an impudent face, she said to him, I have peace offerings with me. Today I have paid my vow, so I came out to meet you, diligently to seek your face, and I have found you.

It's not that he's got a low IQ, it's that he's a dummy being seduced by a married woman. So with her enticing speech she caused him to yield, with her flattering lips she seduced him. Immediately he went out after her as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks. till an arrow struck his liver as a bird hastens to the snare. He did not know it would cost his life.

Now, therefore, listen to me, my children. Pay attention to the words of my mouth. Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways. Do not stray into her paths, for she has cast down many wounded, and all who were slain by her were strong men, the present author included, the present author's father included,

but the point with reference to diligence in our callings is specifically at verse 11. Her feet would not stay at home. What's the implication? Her feet should have stayed at home. While her husband was away, she should have redecorated. While her husband was away, she should have made freezer meals. While her husband was away, she should have cut the grass. While her husband was away, she should have cleaned the garage. While her husband was away, she should have been diligent in her calling, not going out to the city square, lurking about and enticing young men and inviting them into her bed.

Brethren, there's a simple reality that I have observed, and I don't think I'm a rocket scientist for having done so, but when sinners have a lot of time or extra time and or money, they sin. Time should be filled up. Time should be utilized. I think that's the emphasis, again, with these Westminster divines reflecting on scripture, asking questions, how is it that somebody could fall into sexual sin?

Well, her feet would not remain at home. She's loud and rebellious, which is not consistent with diligent labor in her calling. And this young man, devoid of wisdom, he shouldn't have been out at night. He shouldn't have been out in the city square where these kinds of people are lurking, enticing him.

If you do not use your time the way God, now I'm not saying every moment of every day is always in your Bible. I'm not, you know, we got to work. Uh, we got lots, lots going on. We got kids, we got, you know, all kinds of stuff, but diligence in our callings very often can be a good help and restraint against sin. Cause if you're at work doing what you're supposed to be doing, you're not, not at work doing what you're not supposed to be doing.

And remember King David, you know, that, that scene in second Samuel chapter 11 and 12, I think it's a bit moralistic. to hang this on that, but I'm gonna. David didn't go out to battle, as was the custom of kings. David, you should have gone out to battle, because if you'd gone out to battle, you wouldn't have been on your roof that night, you wouldn't have been looking over at Bathsheba, and you wouldn't have been sexually aroused, and you wouldn't have called for her, you wouldn't have laid with her, you wouldn't have impregnated her, you wouldn't have killed her husband Uriah, and you wouldn't have seen that baby die.

So, you know, diligence in our callings, it may seem a bit awkward or odd, or how could that ever come from this? You waste time, you open yourself up to engage in lawlessness. And then finally, the confession, or catechism rather, says the rejection of ungodliness. Keshu didn't get all this other stuff. It says, shunning all occasions of uncleanness and resisting temptations thereunto. So the shunning of all or all occasions of uncleanness and resisting temptations thereunto.

Resisting temptation is to resist sin. If you don't dally around with the temptation, most likely you're not going to jump into the sin. And so it stands to reason that you would keep temptation at an arm's length so that you don't end up engaging in the sin that that temptation for that prevention of uncleanness. 1 Corinthians 7, we looked at that, 1 to 5. Hebrews 13, again, verse 4, marriage is honorable among all and the bed is undefiled. It's the legitimate arena for the expression of sexuality in the context of marriage.

Now go to Proverbs 5. I hinted at this, but I think it bears a bit more of an explanation. You've probably heard, at least we heard it in America, the three R's, you went to school for the three R's, reading, writing, arithmetic. I know that arithmetic starts with an A, but they just made it three R's, reading, writing, arithmetic. When we homeschooled our kids and I... What's that? It does, yeah, you're right. Again, it's just the way it was, the reading, writing, arithmetic. You know, when I was involved in homeschooling, that's what I, you know, I want to teach you to read, write, and do math. We're not dissecting frogs. That's not a necessary life skill. You can do that, you know, if you're so inclined when you move out and get married. You can go dissect all the frogs you want. But reading, writing, arithmetic.

Well, I think in Proverbs 5, there's three R's of sexual purity. And if you notice in 5.8, well, 5.7, you've got to get the warning, the tone or the tenor of the passage. Therefore, hear me now, my children, and do not depart from the words of my mouth. So Solomon is a dad. Solomon had a good dad. These were theologians, both David and Solomon, excellent theologians in their own right. David wrote much of the Psalter, great theology. Solomon, at the dedication of the temple, obviously paid attention to his father David when he was waxing eloquent on theology. So Solomon understood this. So Solomon is teaching generally, but remember Solomon's a king. And he's training his sons to take the throne. And in order for a king to rule properly, he needs to abide by the law of God. He needs to have these things internalized, and he needs to make sure he exercises fidelity in these basic areas. So he says, therefore, hear me now, my children, and do not depart from the words of my mouth. Remove your way far from her and do not go near the door of her house, lest you give your honor to others and your years to the cruel one. So the first R is remove. Remove yourself from temptation. Don't look at porn. Don't go downtown to the city square where the prostitutes hang out when it's dark. There's just some basic fundamental principles that we can apply and employ to not get caught up in these things.

Remove your way far from her. Remove your way far from her, but note the particular direction. Do not go near the door of her house. That's always intrigued me. He doesn't say don't go near her bed. Don't go near her door. Because if you go near her door, you're going to go near her bed. Maintain that fidelity. Carve a wide swath around her front porch. If there's a woman there that wants to entice young men, don't go near her door.

Well, I just want to go give her the gospel. No, no. He said, do not go near the door of her house. Give her the gospel in the broad daylight, you know, when there's a pastor there and there's no chance of compromise.

Now, notice then, well, let's just continue the passage. And here's why. Remove your way far from her. Do not go near the door of her house. lest you give your honor to others and your ears to the cruel one, lest aliens be filled with your wealth and your labors go to the house of a foreigner. And you mourn at last when your flesh and your body are consumed and say, how I have hated instruction and my heart despised correction. I have not obeyed the voice of my teachers nor inclined my ear to those who instructed me. I was on the verge of total ruin in the midst of the assembly and congregation.

It's usually not the case that people who are unfaithful in their marriages and end up divorced go on to live happy, productive lives filled with money and prosperity. They're paying for their sins tangibly. They're paying child support. They're giving their money away to others. because of their compromise and because of their sin, and they come to that point and say, how I have hated instruction and my heart despised correction. I've not obeyed the voice of my teachers nor inclined my ear to those who instructed me. I was on the verge of total ruin in the midst of the assembly and congregation.

And while it should be, there's penalties and consequences for a life of sin. When you compromise in that particular area, there's going to be repercussions. He continues, verse 15, here's the admonition with reference to prevention of uncleanness in terms of a good wife or a good spouse or a good marriage. Drink water from your own cistern and running water from your own well. You've got one. God's given you a wife. God's given you a husband. Drink from your own cistern and the water from your own well. Should your fountains be dispersed abroad, streams of water in the streets? Let them be only your own and not for strangers with you.

Now here's the second R, rejoice. Verse 18, let your fountain be blessed and rejoice with the wife of your youth. Again, that's a fundamental, covenantal obligation in marriage. It's not a bartering tool, clean the garage and I'll reward you. That kind of behavior is bad. That kind of behavior where a basic, fundamental, covenantal aspect of relationship is used as a chip, a bargaining tool, a threat, No, you're supposed to enjoy your married relationship because Solomon says so. 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?

God's given you a legitimate outlet. God has given you a mechanism for the prevention of uncleanness. Use that Don't compromise yourself and go into the arms of an immoral woman.

And then the third R is remember. And I know that verses 21 to 23 don't contain the word remember. Just like I know writing begins with a W. Actually, that took me a second. But I know that arithmetic starts with an A. There's no word remove but to keep the three R's staying. And since they took liberties with their three R's, I'll take liberty with mine. Remember is the overarching concern in verses 21 to 23. Notice. Remember God's sovereignty. Remember what Solomon teaches in Proverbs 15. The eyes of Yahweh are in every place beholding the good and the bad. So you need to remember this, that you may be in the twilight, you may be in the dark, you may be in the blackness of night, you may be in the city square, miles away from your own home, but there is one that sees, and there is one that knows, and there is one that weighs you in the balance.

Notice verse 22, So remove your way far from her, rejoice in the wife of your youth, and remember that God is watching all your ways. So the means for protection, marriage, generally, but specifically what we have here in Proverbs chapter 5. I would suggest, secondly, go back or go over to Proverbs chapter 6. We looked at this. Again, I think it bears repetition to sort of summarize all that we have looked at under the seventh commandment.

Proverbs 6 at verse 20. My son, keep your father's command and do not forsake the law of your mother. Bind them continually upon your heart. Tie them around your neck. When you roam, they will lead you. When you sleep, they will keep you. When you awake, they will speak with you. For the commandment is a lamp and the law a light, reproofs of instruction of the way of life, to keep you from the evil woman, from the flattering tongue of a seductress.

You know, Solomon isn't got some strange fetish with reference to sexual sin. He condemns a lot of sin all throughout the Book of Proverbs. But again, he's a king instructing future kings. And what is a temptation or a tendency for a king who has a lot of time and a lot of money? It's probably to multiply wives. And again, Solomon, unfortunately, his words to the, you know, notwithstanding, sets a terrible example in First Kings chapter 11. Probably, initially, the wives that he had, political alliances. But when you get up to a thousand, Yeah, there's not that many political alliances to be forged. And he loved them, and they turned his heart away. So he's instructing kings to sit on the throne and to do so with integrity and sexual integrity and fidelity.

Verse 25, do not lust after her beauty in your heart, nor let her allure you with her eyelids. For by means of a harlot, a man is reduced to a crust of bread, and an adulteress will prey upon his precious life. Can a man take fire to his bosom and his clothes not be burned? Can one walk on hot coals and his feet not be seared? So as he who goes into his neighbor's wife, whoever touches her shall not be innocent. He's saying there's multiplied penalties and problems and consequences associated with violating the Seventh Commandment. And then he elaborates and amplifies that in a very realistic approach to sin and sinners in verses 30 to 35.

People do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy himself when he is starving. Nobody despises a thief who's starving to death and he goes and steals a turkey. It's not right. We don't condone it. We don't say, go ahead and steal turkeys. In fact, he's going to talk about him being punished for stealing that turkey. I used to say ham, but no Jew would have stole a ham, but they might steal a turkey. I don't know. Do Jews like turkeys? Whatever it is, they might steal. But axiomatically, people don't despise a thief if he steals to satisfy himself when he is starving. That doesn't surprise us. My kids are starving. That's why I stole this turkey or this beef. Yet, verse 31, he's speaking realistically. He's speaking as a man would speak to his sons. Yet, when he is found, he must restore sevenfold. He may have to give up all the substance of his house. So it's not surprising to us. At some level, we understand it. At some level, we might even sympathize. The guy's starving. His kids are starving. His wife is starving. I can't condone it. It's not right. But I kind of get why he stole. But he's got to be punished, verse 31.

But verses 32 to 35, by contrast, nobody understands the adulterer. Nobody sympathizes with the adulterer. Nobody comes to the side of the adulterer and says, yeah, that's great. I get it. 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. Why? Because jealousy is a husband's fury, and he's going to punch your lights out. When he finds out what you did with his wife, he's going to beat you. Again, Solomon is not telling us what should be, he's telling us what is. What is, is at whiffs. He's not going to be bought off because you violated his marriage. He's going to punch you. He's going to hurt you. And then you're going to go to hell if you don't repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. So you got God's judgment, you got man's judgment as well.

I would suggest, thirdly, the rejection of the Seventh Commandment. We've seen it. Prevalent sins, fornication, adultery, pornography, homosexuality, and the growing transgenderism that we are seeing all around us.

And then finally, how do we use the Seventh Commandment? What are the uses of the law? Civil or political use, it functions as a restraint to keep man from being as bad as he can possibly be. Pedagogical, it functions as a tutor to show us our sin and to point us to Jesus. And then normative use is how Christians, blood-bought children of God who have the Spirit, how are they supposed to live in light of the Seventh Commandment?

So with reference to the civil use, this is Ursinus in his commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism. Speaking about Seventh Commandment violations, he says the magistrate should punish these heinous sins and abominable transgressions with extraordinary punishments. You won't hear that today. In fact, you'll see it everywhere promoted. You'll see it everywhere, you know, even subsidized. You'll see all kinds of, you know, government attempts to ruin children's lives with transgenderism. 

Whereas Zercinus says the magistrate should punish these heinous sins and abominable transgressions with extraordinary punishments. Brethren, when you break down the basic fundamental building block of society, which is the family, you're basically turning society into hell on earth. And if the government does not proactively step in, and I'm not suggesting, again, thought crime or anything like that, outward acts of sexual perversion or transgression should be dealt with. 

Now, in terms of the pedagogical, I'll just quote Lloyd-Jones again. I quoted him when we considered pornography last week in Matthew 528. He says, thou shalt not commit adultery. Of course not. But is it in our hearts? Is it in our imagination? Do we like it? God forbid that any of us should be able to look at this holy law of God and feel satisfied. 

So again, the child tutor, pedagogical function, when we look at the seventh commandment, yeah, it probably finds people out. Most of us don't want to murder people. We just don't. Most of us don't think in our beds at night, boy, I want to go kill that bank teller. I want to end his life because he gave me a bad look. Most normal people don't think about or fantasize about murder. But most people, you know, that have sexual desires, you know, at some level think about that. And if they're not guarding their hearts and minds and not restraining and not practicing those things we've talked about, yeah, you know, who of us has ever avoided the scrutiny of the seventh commandment? And that's what he's saying. Is it in our imagination? Do we like it? God forbid that any of us should be able to look at this holy law of God and feel satisfied. 

If we do not feel unclean at this moment, God have mercy upon us. If we can conceivably be satisfied with our lives because we have never committed an act of adultery or of murder or any of the, one of these things, I say that we do not know ourselves, nor the blackness and the foulness of our own hearts. We must listen to the teaching of the blessed Son of God and examine ourselves, examine our thoughts, our desires, and our imagination.

" And then he says, I thank God that I have a gospel which tells me that another who is spotless and pure and holy, utterly holy, has taken my sin and guilt upon himself. Pedagogue, how do we know our sin and misery? The law of God tells us. When we know that sin and misery, we go to the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ for forgiveness, for the imputed righteousness of Christ, for the Holy Spirit, so that we can live in light of that commandment, which ends us on the normative use. The abstention from all sexual sin, the practice of biblical marriage,

 Again, I think that all of us need to examine marriage in light of Holy Scripture. We need to look at 1 Corinthians 7. We need to ponder the ramifications of the old King James specifically in verse 5. Do not defraud one another. New King James has, do not deprive one another. You know, if a husband or a wife is not willing to engage in the sexual relations that are their covenantal obligations in a marriage, you're handing a loaded gun to your partner. We live in a sensual age, as Andy Hamilton said, and we need to guard against the encroaching sin and temptation, and the means that God's given for us to do that is in marriage. 

and then the recognition of the close association between the two tables of the law. If we are not in line with the first four commandments, if God is not our priority, if God's honor and glory is not our priority, we don't care much about the second table. We're not going to care about our neighbors if we don't care about God. And so it always begins by seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and then these things will be added to us. So the tables are closely related. If you do not have the first in your heart or a desire to comply with the first table of the law, then more than likely the second table isn't really going to hold out any appeal to you either. 

So I'll pray, and if there's any questions or comments, we can discuss. 

Father, we have covered many things here tonight. We pray that you would help us to think clearly concerning the Seventh Commandment and what it prohibits and what it commends, and help us, God, in this church, as far as families, as far as marriages, to be faithful to be in earnest, to be obedient to the revealed will of God. Give grace to all of us to maintain sanctity and prevention of uncleanness. I pray for all the single people that you would grant them the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit with reference to this commandment, that they too may seek those things that are pleasing in your sight. 

And God have mercy on a lawless generation, a generation that celebrates the murder of the unborn, the murder of elderly people, and all manner of sexual perversion. And God, we pray that the protection of children would be paramount, that these little ones would not be coaxed into transgenderism, they would not be violated by wicked men, that you would have mercy and that there would be laws in place for the maintenance of justice and peace. And we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.