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Please turn with me in your Bibles 
to Deuteronomy chapter 5. Deuteronomy chapter 5. I'll begin reading in verse 6. 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. 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. Let us pray. Father, we thank 
you for your holy law. We thank you for what is given 
here in Moab. It was given at Sinai that summarizes 
what was given to Adam in the garden. We thank you as well, 
Lord God, that is given to us internally by the Spirit in this 
new covenant situation. We pray that you'd help us to 
delight in your law, to never see it as a burdensome thing. 
May we say with the psalmist, oh how I love your law. It is 
my meditation day and night. We pray for your spirit to guide 
us and to instruct us now. We pray for your spirit to help 
us to apply these things in our own lives, that we may be careful, 
that we may be watchful and prayerful concerning this seventh word. 
We pray, God, that you would again forgive us for all of our 
sins and our transgressions and be merciful to us, we pray. We ask through Jesus Christ our 
Lord. Amen. Well, just a couple of preliminary 
observations before we begin on an exposition of the seventh 
commandment in our study of the Ten Commandments. The exposition 
and application of the Ten Commandments are crucial. If you watched any 
of the news this past week, you'll have seen that Pope Francis stood 
before the United States Congress and never once mentioned the 
word abortion. He's addressing the very persons 
that have the legislative pen to argue or to rule against such 
a practice. He never mentions that. But in 
that address, he does degrade or he does denounce the death 
penalty. As far as I'm concerned, he mangled 
the Sixth Commandment. The Sixth Commandment certainly 
demands that we do not murder, but the Sixth Commandment does 
not prohibit, and the rest of Scripture demands that criminals 
guilty before God and before a civil government ought to be 
executed. I agree with Associate Justice 
Scalia that probably the United States is going to abolish the 
death penalty as well. In Canada, the last time the 
death penalty was implemented was in 62, it was overruled in 
1976. There were provisions there for 
certain military crimes. Those, in turn, were overruled 
in 1998. So I simply say this to highlight 
the fact that this is a very practical and a very necessary 
study. The people of God must understand 
what the scriptures say concerning the law and how it applies in 
our day-to-day lives and how it applies on a governmental 
level or in a societal level. Another observation before we 
begin is I don't think any of us would argue that when we look 
at the Decalogue, two of the commands that are most severely 
broken or or strenuously, or persistently rather is the good 
word, that are broken in our own day and age are the sixth 
and the seventh. You shall not murder, you shall 
not commit adultery. I will argue in our exposition 
tonight that adultery not only involves that which pertains 
specifically to a man and his wife, but adultery, or the seventh 
word, does encompass a whole host of other sexual sins. One only has to look around to 
see the violation of this law, the violation of the Sixth Commandment, 
in mass. And I want to remind you that 
these two tables of the law are closely related and closely associated. we might suggest or we might 
say that those who reject the first table, our duty toward 
God, will not relate, with reference to the second table, to their 
fellow man. In other words, if we reject 
God, we will not have meaningful biblical, ordered, godly relationships 
with other persons in society. Romans 1, I think, indicates 
this very clearly. Romans 1.18, the apostle says, 
the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness 
and unrighteousness of men. I believe that Paul's order there 
is specific. Ungodliness precedes unrighteousness. Some commentators say it's just 
arbitrary. There's no specific distinction 
with reference to the order, but the subsequent context indicates 
just the opposite. Paul deals with sins of ungodliness, 
or what we think concerning God, before he turns to those things 
that refer to our conduct toward one another. In the first instance, 
Paul says that although man knew God, they did not honor God as 
God, nor were they thankful, that they became futile in their 
understanding. They exchanged the truth of God 
for the lie, and they worshipped and served the creature, rather 
than the Creator, who is God, blessed over all. And then follows 
all of this multitude of transgressions with reference to the second 
table. So a society that rejects God vis-a-vis the first table 
of the law is a society that is going to struggle and is going 
to violate this second table of the law. So we must not forget 
this close association within the Decalogue itself. I want 
to look at three things tonight as we consider the seventh word. 
First, the basis of the commandment, secondly, the prohibition of 
the commandment, and then thirdly, the positive aspect of the commandment. But in the first place, the basis. 
has a purpose in marriage, and that purpose is threefold. Now, there are certainly other 
things we can say or include with reference to marriage, but 
there are three particulars or three necessary elements involved 
in marriage, and adultery brings destruction to each of these 
particular elements. In the first place, it is a covenant 
of companionship. In Genesis chapter 2, when the 
Lord God made this world, when Adam was engaged in naming the 
animals, Adam saw that there was not a helpmate or one answering 
unto him. There was none comparable to 
him. And God saw that it was not good. So God created Eve to bring her 
to Adam so that Adam would be complete. It is, in the first 
place, a covenant of companionship. A breach in marriage via adultery 
brings a breach to that covenant. It breaks that covenant. In the 
second place, the practice of sexual intimacy, or we might 
say the prevention of uncleanness. When Adam saw Eve, they came 
together as one flesh. Yes, in terms of the marital 
bond, but physically as well. It wasn't bad, it wasn't wrong, 
it wasn't icky, it wasn't dirty. It was the plan and the purpose 
of God Most High. And in the third place, the purpose 
for marriage is procreation. It is to be fruitful, it is to 
multiply, it is to have children. So the basis of the seventh word 
is found in the creative activity of God and in the fact that He 
ordained marriage for His creatures. But as well, the basis of the 
command is found, obviously, in the law of God. The seventh 
commandment says, you shall not commit adultery. The rest of 
the Old Testament fleshes out for us, and illustrates for us, 
multi-faceted application of the seventh commandment. And 
we're going to list those, or at least some of those, this 
evening, because it's helpful for us to see what God's word 
says concerning sexual sin. And in the third place, the New 
Testament as well regulates, mandates, commands obedience 
to God with reference to the Seventh Commandment. When we 
come to Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, he deals with the Seventh 
Commandment. When we come to the Apostle Paul 
in 1 Corinthians, when we come to the Apostle Paul, elsewhere 
in the New Testament documents, he deals with the seventh commandment. When we come to Hebrews chapter 
13, verse 4, we read that marriage is honorable among all and the 
bed undefiled within the context of marriage alone. marriage between 
one man and one woman, the marriage bed is undefiled. God is not 
anti-sexual relations. God is anti-illicit, unrighteous, 
unbiblical, ungodly sexual relations. But within the context of a covenant 
marriage, God the Lord says that it is good and marriage is honorable 
among all and the bed undefiled but for fornicators and adulterers 
God will judge. With reference to the basis of 
the command, we see it's sanctioned. The death penalty is given for 
a violation of the seventh word concerning adultery. Leviticus 
chapter 20 verse 10, Deuteronomy chapter 22 and verse 22. As well, not only the death penalty 
or capital punishment in Old Covenant Israel, but the wrath 
of man. I'd like for you to turn to Proverbs 
chapter 6 for just a moment. Very interesting statement that 
Solomon gives us there in Proverbs chapter 6, specifically verses 
30 to 35. Verse 30 of Proverbs 6, 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. This is one of those sorts of 
things that God's not saying it's okay to steal, but God is 
saying that when a hungry man steals, other persons have some 
comprehension of such an act, right? The man is starving to 
death and he walks into Walmart and he puts a brisket under his 
arm and he runs out. He still ought to be punished. 
He still ought to be penalized. There's still a sanction to be 
paid. But we're not shocked and we're not surprised. We're not 
blown away by the reality that a hungry man steals a brisket. 
This is what he says. People do not despise a thief 
if he steals to satisfy himself when he is starving. We despise 
a thief who comes and takes our car. We despise a thief who comes 
and does some things that you know, isn't very conducive to 
our happiness and our well-being. But a man who's starving to death, 
again, we don't turn the other way, we don't wink at it, we 
don't neglect it, but we don't despise the man. When he is found, 
he must restore sevenfold. He may have to give up all the 
substance of his house. You see, he's not saying, it's 
okay to steal if you're starving. He's simply saying that men don't 
despise somebody who steals when they're starving. He still has 
to pay restitution. He still has to restore sevenfold. 
Now note in verse 32 with reference to the seventh word, 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. Now the wounds and 
dishonor that he gets here are not from the civil magistrate, 
but the husband. Notice in verse 34, for 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. What is 
Solomon indicating in this particular passage? He is indicating that 
a violation of the Eighth Commandment, you shall not steal, is wrong. 
It's bad. You shouldn't do this. If you 
are found out, you need to repay sevenfold. You need to make restitution. You need to do what the law prescribes 
in such an incident. But if you're starving to death, 
people aren't going to despise you. Not so with the adulterer. 
Not so with the man who brings ruin to his own marriage, not 
so with the woman who brings ruin to her own marriage, or 
persons that bring ruin to another marriage. What Solomon recognizes 
here is the reality of the situation. When a man finds out that such 
has been the case, he will go and deliver these blows to this 
offender, to this violator of this sacred covenant that he 
has transacted with his wife. And then we find the wrath of 
God is also involved in this situation. I've already cited 
Hebrews 13.4, but fornicators and adulterers God will judge. It's one of those things that 
you ought to be cognizant of, that if you engage in sexual 
immorality, if you engage in pornography, if you engage in 
adultery, if you engage in homosexuality, if you engage in whatever the 
seventh commandment forbids, and you somehow get away with 
it as far as men or women are concerned, realize that fornicators 
and adulterers God will judge. There is that promise given in 
Scripture. Listen to a couple of older brothers 
concerning this particular sin of adultery. Dabney said, were 
all to take the license of an 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. It makes it good to have a relationship 
with a man or a woman, and when somebody comes and brings destruction 
upon that sacred covenant, that destroys a man's existence in 
terms of its encouraging aspect. Watson says 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. So the basis of the commandment 
is found in the purpose of God in marriage, the law of God itself, 
and it's seen demonstrated or illustrated in the sanction. 
Now notice in the second place the prohibition of the command. 
We'll look at the sins forbidden and then the sins committed. 
And I'm probably missing something here. I'm just giving you a sample 
list of 11 items. 11 items, people are thinking, 
we're going to be here until midnight. No, we can move through 
these pretty quickly. But as I said, adultery is focused 
on, and that's the first one to consider. Leviticus 18.20, 
Leviticus 20.10, Deuteronomy 22.22, the sexual intercourse 
of a husband with the wife of another or of 
a wife with the husband of another. I suggest that this is indicated 
here and comprehends all the other sorts of sins because this, 
in many respects, is a direct attack upon the covenant nation. In other words, the family was 
the basic unit, the basic building block of society, and such is 
the case today. So when a man or a woman engaged 
in a violation of the Seventh Commandment, what was at stake 
wasn't simply the covenantal family, but it was the covenantal 
nation at large. God takes seriously our promises. God takes seriously our fidelity. God takes seriously this whole 
issue of covenant making. We are not to engage in such 
things and then trash them. We are not to stand up here and 
say, I do, and then go out and do not. We are not to swear before 
God and men that we will stay with our beloved till death do 
us part and then go out and follow after somebody else. The Lord 
God Almighty says that this is an abomination. Craigie says 
that adultery of one partner in marriage involved not only 
unfaithfulness to the other partner, but also unfaithfulness to God. You'll hear this sometimes with 
reference to sexual sin. You'll hear this with reference 
to, say, homosexuality or prostitution. These are victimless crimes. Well, all sin ultimately is against 
God the Lord. All sin ultimately has as its 
object a violation the living and true God. the Creator has 
spoken to His creatures, we are to toe the line. We are to do 
what He says to do. So when we reject that and we 
rebel against that, it is simply not the case that these are somehow 
victimless crimes. In the second place, fornication. This includes sexual relations 
outside of marriage. Sexual relations outside of marriage. As I said, Only marriage between 
one man and one woman that has the approval of God. As far as 
the Scriptures are concerned, Hebrews 13, the marriage bed 
is undefiled. That is the place wherein that 
blessing of God is to be utilized and enjoyed. But outside that 
covenantal context, it is condemned. It is forbidden. We live in a 
society where fornication is rampant, and we as the church 
need to be even-handed here. We denounce homosexuality, and 
well, we should, but we must also denounce heterosexual fornication. Why is it any worse? It is a 
violation of the word of the living God. And in this instance, 
we see Exodus 22, 16 and 17, Deuteronomy 22, 13 to 22, 22, 
28 to 29, and Hebrews 13, 4. In fact, turn for just a moment 
to 22 of Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy 22. Some persons 
struggle here, and this is one of those passages that are used 
against Christians to show an arbitrariness with reference 
to the application of God's law. It was somehow acceptable to 
rape a betrothed woman And it was somehow acceptable, rather, 
to rape an unbetrothed woman, but you couldn't rape a betrothed 
woman. I think there are several categories that need to be understood 
in Deuteronomy. We don't have time to argue for 
each of these. If you're interested, you can 
email me later. I'll send you the notes where we do argue this 
a bit. But in verses 23 and 24 of Deuteronomy 22, what we have 
is the seduction of a betrothed woman. in verses 23 and 24. In verses 25 to 27, we have the 
rape of a betrothed woman in the countryside. In verses 28 
and 29, we have the seduction of a single woman. Some read 
that as rape. I do not believe that's a rape. 
And so the argument is that it's okay to rape an unbetrothed woman 
or a single woman, but it's wrong. No, what we have in verses 28 
and 29 is rather a place or a consensual agreement between a woman and 
a man. And then adultery with a father's 
wife, or consanguinity, or I'm sorry, affinity in verse 30. 
So just to clear up some of those particulars, you may not remember 
all that, as I said, email me and I can send you the notes. 
But adultery is condemned, fornication, incest. Incest is wrong. It is against the law of God. Leviticus 18 highlights and details 
this. Leviticus 20 Deuteronomy 2230, 
just read it, 1 Corinthians chapter 5. This was a problem in Corinth. The apostle deals with this. 
He says, I am amazed. Man has his father's wife, and 
you guys are not only not condemning it, but you become arrogant in 
this. Our confession says that marriage 
ought not to be within the degrees of consanguinity. That means 
blood relationship. or affinity, that means a relationship 
by marriage that is condemned through in scripture. 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. In the fourth place, rape. Rape. In fact, look at Deuteronomy 
22 again. Look at what it says in verses 
25 to 27. If a man finds a betrothed young 
woman in the countryside... and the man forces her and lies 
with her, then only the man who lay with her shall die. 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. For he found her in the countryside 
and the betrothed young woman cried out, but there was no one 
to save her." This was not consensual on her part. She was forced. She was raped. And as a result, 
the law of God demands concerning the rapist that he die. This 
is a crime that is just as murder, according to Scripture. In the 
fifth place, sodomy. Homosexuality. God calls this 
an abomination. Genesis chapters 18 and 19. Leviticus 
18.22. Leviticus 20.13. Romans 1, 26 and 27, 1 Corinthians 
6, verse 9, and 1 Timothy 1, 10. Let's take one sample passage, 
the one in 1 Corinthians. A lot of persons today are confused 
about this particular subject of homosexuality. Some within 
the church, some churches even, are giving sanction or approval 
to what's called same-sex marriage. Well, the scripture clearly condemns 
this. Notice in 1 Corinthians 6, 9. 
Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom 
of God? Do not be deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor 
adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites. Person C, the 
two terms used there. homosexuals and sodomites. And some would say, why does 
Paul use the same word twice? He doesn't use the same word 
twice. He uses two technical terms that 
refer to the active and to the passive partner in a homosexual 
relationship. Where does Paul get this distinction? Where does Paul understand this 
ethical distinction? It is from his dealings with 
and his knowledge of the Old Testament Scriptures. Sodomy 
is condemned in the Word of God. Homosexuality is not to be normative. It is not to be practiced. The 
church is not to recognize same-sex marriage. It is a sin before 
God and one that he calls against nature in the Book of Romans. 
in chapter 1. In the sixth place, bestiality. Again, brethren, this is probably 
not the happiest sermon you'll hear this week. Not that you're 
going to hear a lot of sermons unless you listen to sermon audio 
a lot. You think, bestiality? Why in 
the world would we need a prescription against that? I remember Andy 
Hamilton preaching a message on sexual purity in a sensual 
age and he said, it ought to make us hang our head in shame 
that God has to actually tell us not to engage in bestiality. It ought to make us hang our 
head in shame that God the Lord from on high has to tell man 
the image bearer that he is not to lie with an animal the way 
that he lies with a man or a woman. If he's a woman or she's a woman 
lying with a man or a man with a woman. Bestiality. The degree 
of sexual perversion in Canaanite culture was such that bestiality 
was fairly commonplace. Hittite laws, for example, even 
permitted cohabitation with certain animals. You remember last week 
I mentioned Peter Singer, the professor of bioethics at Princeton 
University. I checked, he's still working 
there. Another interesting thing that Singer advances or Singer 
advocates for is bestiality. As long as there is no cruelty 
inflicted upon the animal, then there can be a meaningful relationship. I'm not making this up. This 
man is the professor of life ethics at Princeton University, 
probably making a whole lot of money and advocating for the 
practice of bestiality. Except, of course, for smaller 
animals because it does hurt them and it does damage them. In the seventh place, unlawful 
divorce. Unlawful divorce. We've seen 
that in our exposition in Matthew's Gospel, both in chapters 5 and 
19. If you are divorced unlawfully, 
then any subsequent interaction that you may have is adulterous 
in nature and is condemned. In the eighth place, immodesty. 
You shall not commit adultery. The Bible also highlights the 
reality that men and women must dress modestly. We must cover 
those parts that will inflame the lusts of other persons. In 
Proverbs chapter 7, Solomon highlights the reality that there are women 
who have the attire of a harlot. Now probably that looked a whole 
lot different in Solomon's day than it looks in our day. But 
the point is that in every generation there is the attire of a harlot. In the New Testament scriptures, 
in 1 Timothy chapter 2, what does Paul say concerning women 
in the public worship of the living God? Dress as provocatively 
as you can. Be a stumbling block for your 
brothers? Be a stumbling block for the younger men? No, in chapter 
2 of 1 Timothy, in verse 8, he says, I desire therefore that 
the men pray everywhere lifting up holy hands without wrath and 
doubting in like manner also that the women adorn themselves 
in modest apparel with propriety and moderation, not with braided 
hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, but which is proper 
for women professing godliness with good works. Peter, in 1 
Peter chapter 3, addresses the same subject. And while these 
texts specifically highlight women in worship, women in their 
conduct, certainly men are included. Men are not to be immodest. Men 
are to govern themselves and to make sure that they are not 
an occasion to promote lust on the part of another person. 1 
Peter 3, 3, do not let your adornment be merely outward, arranging 
the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel. Rather, let 
it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible 
beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious 
in the sight of God." You see, the scripture enjoins upon us 
modesty in our dress, modesty in compliance with the seventh 
word. In the ninth place, we would 
include polygamy in this instance. Now, polygamy was tolerated in 
the Old Testament scriptures. You'll all know that. We ought 
not to hide that reality. We ought not to cover that fact. 
We just saw it in 1 Samuel 26. David took Abigail as his wife 
and he took Ahinoam, the Jezreelitess. chapter 25, rather. So polygamy 
was tolerated in the Old Covenant, but monogamy has always been 
the design of God from the beginning. In the creation, in the garden, 
God brought Eve to Adam. God didn't bring Eve and Lucy 
and Millie and whoever else. God gave one woman to one man 
and that was normative. It is treated as such by the 
Lord Jesus in Matthew chapter 19 It is treated as such by the 
Apostle Paul in Ephesians 5.31. In the tenth place, we would 
include prostitution here as a violation of the seventh word, 
Leviticus 19.29. This is wrong. You are not to 
sell sex for money. The only time that you may engage 
in this particular activity is in the confines of a covenanted 
marriage. That is it. That is the place. You say, well, it's so difficult 
to be single. Get a wife! Find a husband. Hitch your wagon to someone else. Do what God says. If you are 
burning in your lust, get a good job. Be presentable. Be a hard 
worker. Woo her. Cause him to see you 
so that you can find a person. to engage in this blessed privilege 
with for the rest of your life, because God says it's legit, 
according to Hebrews 13, for in the context of covenantal 
marriage. And in the final place, we would 
include pornography. Pornography. Here, Jesus speaking 
in the Gospel of Matthew says, I say to you that whoever looks 
at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with 
her in his heart. Pornography is condemned in the 
scriptures. Pornography is wrong. Pornography 
is epidemic. Pornography is everywhere. Pornography 
is at the end of our fingertips every moment of the day. If you 
have a cell phone in your pocket, it happens to be a smartphone, 
you have access to this. If you have a computer at home, 
you have access to this. Things that several years ago 
There were many obstacles between a young man or a young woman 
in order to secure pornography. Those obstacles were oftentimes 
bypassed and jumped over. We could still get it if we wanted 
it. But nowadays, those obstacles 
are removed. Those obstacles are gone. Those 
obstacles have vanished. You need to guard your hearts. You need to govern your passions. You need to watch and pray. You 
need to avoid the temptation of clicking here or clicking 
there, because once done, you may find yourself in a big problematic 
situation. I mean, the one click is problematic 
as it is. But persons get addicted to this. Persons' minds and hearts are 
saturated with the wrong things. Young people, children. I've 
read that the age that most young people today are exposed to pornography 
is very, very young. I think it's around 11 or 12. 
When I was 11 and 12, we weren't virtuous people by any stretch. 
But we were playing hide and go seek. We were playing baseball 
in the streets. We were playing football. We 
were just asking our parents if we could stay out later so 
that we could run around the neighborhood and just play like 
kids. At 12 years old, persons, kids, shouldn't even begin to 
think about these particulars. And yet now, it is the case that 
this is prevalent. Guard your hearts. Pluck out eyes and cut off hands 
so you do not fall prey to this particular sin. of pornography. Our Lord Jesus is clear. I say to you that whoever looks 
at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with 
her in his heart. And again, it's applicable to 
women as well. If you look upon a man to lust 
in your heart, then it is as if you've broken the seventh 
commandment. Take these things seriously. 
It is an epidemic sin, nationally or societally, but as well in 
the church. Persons, men, women, professing 
the true religion, who come to church and worship, using even 
the Trinity Hymnal, and preaching Reformed doctrine, persons still 
engage in this particular sin. If you are found out tonight, 
confess it to God, repent of your sin, and stop. Govern your 
passions. Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, 
Paul tells us in Romans 13, 14, and make no provision for the 
flesh to fulfill its lusts. Stop. Do not continue. Pray to the Lord God Almighty 
what we sang in 4.15, God be merciful to me, cleanse me from 
all unrighteousness, fill me with the Holy Spirit, and help 
me to take seriously our Lord's admonition to pluck out eyes 
and to cut off hands because God the Lord is serious about 
this aspect of your humanity. If this is the case in any of 
these things, May not be internet porn. It may not be prostitution. It may not be polygamy. It's 
probably immodesty for a lot of us. We need to guard our hearts 
on lawful divorce, bestiality. Hopefully that's not an issue. 
Sodomy, or rape, or incest, or fornication, or adultery, or 
any of these things. Brethren, understand that God 
is the one who has mandated for us to maintain purity in each 
of these areas. Now, how are these sins committed? 
Well, naturally, externally. The external act, the Westminster 
Larger Catechism, 139, says, what are the sins forbidden in 
the Seventh Commandment? Answer, the sins forbidden in 
the Seventh Commandment, besides the neglect of the duties required, 
are adultery, fornication, rape, incest, sodomy, and all unnatural 
lusts. The actual conduct of these particulars 
is a sin and a violation of the seventh word. But it doesn't 
stop there. The internal disposition The 
heart, the affections, the desires. As we have seen in Matthew 5, 
28, I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for 
her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. You may 
not have engaged in any of these 11 in terms of their external 
application, in terms of the actual execution of the practice, 
but it may be in the heart. There may be a giving, pondering, 
considering these particular violations in the heart of man. Spurgeon says, if sin were not 
allowed in the mind, it would never be made manifest in the 
body. This, therefore, is a very effectual 
way of dealing with the evil. Keep it out of the mind. Do not entertain vile thoughts. Resist those things. Watson says, as a man may die 
of an inward bleeding, so he may be damned for the inward 
boilings of lust if it be not mortified. So we have the external 
act, we have the internal disposition. A third way we can commit this 
sin is with the use of corrupt and filthy speech. This is what 
Paul is speaking to in Ephesians 5. Ephesians 5, the admonition 
is to walk in love as Christ also has loved us and given himself 
for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God. for a sweet-smelling 
aroma." Now notice what he goes on to say in verse 3. It is charged 
language and the context is sexual in nature. Verse 3, 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." Avoid this filthy and corrupt 
speech, according to the Apostle Paul. The Westminster Larger 
says, all corrupt or filthy communications or listening, they're undue. or listening thereunto. I didn't 
say a word, but you gave both ears to hear these particulars. It's just like the sin of gossip. 
You may not have the big mouth, but if you have two big ears, 
then you are as guilty and as culpable as the one with said 
big mouth. This is wrong to not only do 
it, but to listen to it and receive it. And in the fourth place, 
the confession, the Westminster Larger, makes this association. It highlights that idleness, 
gluttony, drunkenness, and unchaste company are comprehended in that 
seventh commandment. Now, we might think that's a 
bit of Puritan throwback. And we might wonder why in the 
world or how in the world could they ever conclude that idleness, 
gluttony, drunkenness, or unchaste company would be comprehended 
in the Seventh Commandment? Well, we could see unchaste company. 
I mean, if I hang around with somebody that's sexually immoral, 
it's probably not going to be long before I engage in something 
that is wrong. What about idleness? It's curious 
that this was the occasion, or at least a sidebar with reference 
to David when he fell into his sin with Bathsheba. It was the 
time when kings went out to battle, but David didn't go. David sent 
Joab in his place. What should David have done? 
I speak as a man because God is sovereign, but David should 
have gone out to battle, as was the custom in the practice of 
Cain's. Had David gone out to battle, 
guess where he would not have gone? He would not have gone 
up on his roof, and he would not have viewed Bathsheba. He 
then would not have called Bathsheba to himself, he would not have 
impregnated her, and he would not have had to, at least in 
his mind, murder Uriah to cover this particular sin. Idleness. What about gluttony and drunkenness? 
I think the Confession understands that we are whole persons. We 
are whole men and women. We are connected. We are systemic. We are put together, body and 
soul, in a comprehensive way. I suspect the rub here is that 
a failure to govern every passion produces a climate conducive 
to indulge in any passion. In other words, if we are not 
watchful over all appetites, then the breach has been engaged. If we are not governing our habits 
when it comes to food and drink, it'll be very easy to not govern 
our habits when it comes to sexual matters. And then thirdly and 
finally, in terms of the positive aspect of the command, I'll lean 
on the larger catechism here. What are the duties required 
in the Seventh Commandment? The duties required in the Seventh 
Commandment are chastity in body, mind, affections, words, and 
behavior, and the preservation of it in ourselves and others. 
Watchfulness over the eyes and all the senses. temperance, keeping 
of chaste company, modesty in apparel, marriage by those that 
have not the gift of continency, conjugal love and cohabitation, 
diligent labor in our callings, shunning all occasions of uncleanness 
and resisting temptations thereunto. And I think there's wisdom to 
be had in this confession or in this catechism. Diligent labor 
in our callings. Brethren, you should work so 
hard during the day that by the time it comes to lie your head 
down or lay your head down on the pillow, you're too tired 
to go out and sin. That should be the goal, right? Work so hard that you collapse 
when you get to home because you're not going to go out and 
engage in wickedness. If you've got a problem with 
porn, work hard. Watch your heart. Guard against 
that stuff. Don't be alone with your phone 
or your computer. Take tangible steps to make sure 
these things don't happen. Idleness, gluttony, drunkenness, 
unchaste company, all of these things weaken the defenses. And 
when the defenses are weak in those areas, they will be weak 
over in the sexual realm as well. Well, brethren, in summary or 
in conclusion, just a couple of thoughts and then we close. 
Notice we didn't go through the entirety of the positive aspect 
of the command. My hope is to finish the Ten 
Commandments and return to 2 Timothy so that we can start the book 
of James in the future. But the first thing we ought 
to observe is the rejection of the Seventh Commandment, as I 
mentioned, is prevalent. It is prevalent. I mean, it is 
something that is viewed all the time. It is demonstrated 
in fornication, fornication, unrighteous habitation with another 
human being outside of the covenant of marriage. It is demonstrated 
in adultery, men and or women being unfaithful to those whom 
they swore to be faithful to. What happened to our word? What 
happened to our promise? What happened to the oath? What 
happened to the vow? What happened to swearing fidelity 
to God in front of witnesses to another human being that we 
would remain with them until death does us part? Brethren, 
we need to recover that in our churches. We need to guard against 
the tendency to follow the world when it comes to fornication 
and adultery. As well, unlawful divorce. Again, 
we have considered divorce in our exposition of Matthew's Gospel. Matthew 19, we even looked at 
1 Corinthians 7. There I argue that there are 
lawful instances for divorce. Any ones that are not covered 
there are unlawful and are wrong. It is demonstrated in the widespread 
use of and abuse of pornography. As I've already mentioned, if 
this is something that is close to your heart or something that 
you have fallen into, confess it, forsake it, and repent. Stop. Do not continue to feed 
this lust. One man has well said, it's like 
starving a sumo wrestler. You don't keep feeding a sumo 
because he just gets bigger and bigger and bigger. You don't 
say, well, I'll just do it a few more times and then I'll... No, 
you've got to starve the sumo. You've got to stop engaging in 
this particular practice. And it's demonstrated in homosexuality. As I've said, it's embraced by 
some professing Christians and churches. James White has done 
numerous debates with numerous persons who try to maintain and 
argue that the Bible does not condemn faithful, monogamous, 
homosexual union. That position cannot be sustained. Our position here with reference 
to the church is that we will not perform marriages involving 
homosexuals or any other parties that depart from the original 
design at creation. One man marrying one woman. We will not submit to unbiblical 
laws or coercion on the part of the civil government. We will 
not kowtow to those demands. If the increasing pressure mounts, 
wherein we lose status, or wherein we lose recognition by BC, we 
will lose that recognition and status. We will not compromise 
on this point because marriage is one man and one woman for 
life. In the second place, in terms 
of our use of the commandment, how do we employ the Seventh 
Commandment? Well, in the civil realm, Ursinus 
says this in his exposition of the Heidelberg Catechism, the 
magistrate should punish these heinous sins and abominable transgressions 
with extraordinary punishments. Greg Bonson wrote a book on homosexuality 
in 1978, long before the Obergefell decision made by the United States 
Supreme Court. 1978, Greg Bonson said this, 
homosexuality that is publicly accepted is symptomatic of a 
society under judgment, inwardly corrupted to the point of impending 
collapse. Paul the Apostle regarded it 
as the most overt evidence of that degeneracy to which God 
in his wrath gave over the nations. Prophetic, certainly Bonson would 
probably just recoil in horror at what has happened today. The 
pedagogical use. You may be the only person in 
the world that the Seventh Commandment doesn't find out. If you are 
that one person, you cannot pay attention for a moment. But for 
the rest of us, the seventh commandment ought to send us to Jesus. Can 
anyone here say they've never had an untoward thought? Can 
anyone here say they've never given an untoward look? Can anyone 
say here they've always dressed in a manner that is appropriate 
and modest and all those things? Could you say with that young 
man in Matthew's gospel, all these things I have kept from 
my youth, probably on one point or another out of this category 
of 11, one of those things finds us out. The pedagogical use of 
God's holy law simply means this. The law shows us our sin. You may have come here tonight 
thinking you're an alright guy or an alright girl. Perhaps in 
the course of the exposition you have found out that you're 
not as alright as you once suspected. That is one of the proper uses 
of God's law, to point out our sin, to show us our evil, to 
show us where we fall short, so that we will then flee to 
the Lord Jesus Christ. He is always the recourse. He 
is always the haven. He is always the refuge in any 
and all situations. Those who have sinned sexually 
may repair to the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ and find therein 
forgiveness. They may find therein washing 
in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. If I would have continued 
reading 1 Corinthians 6, Well, let me just continue reading 
it. You can turn there so you can see it for yourself. It truly 
is an amazing declaration by the Apostle Paul. So if you have 
been found out tonight in your sin and you have not come to 
the Lord Jesus Christ, listen to what Paul says is the benefit, 
the blessing, the joy, and the privilege for those who do come 
to the Lord Jesus. Notice in 1 Corinthians 6.9, 
do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom 
of God? Do not be deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor 
adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor 
covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will 
inherit the kingdom of God. Verse 11, and such were some 
of you. But you were washed, but you 
were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the 
Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God." Isn't that good 
news? Isn't that a glorious statement? 
Isn't that beautiful that the Lord Jesus Christ washes He justifies, 
he sanctifies, and he promises to glorify us. Come to the Lord 
Jesus. Incidentally, this particular 
passage teaches us something concerning the nature of homosexuality. We are not born that way. It 
is not hardwired into us. Now, I'm not saying that pressures 
or issues or situations in youth or in childhood don't have an 
effect upon us, but it's not the case that we're born hardwired 
this way, because it wouldn't be the case that such were some 
of you. You can't stop Windows 10 from 
being Windows 10. You can't stop something that 
is hardwired one way to be another way. That is grace. It comes to sinners and it washes, 
the blood of Jesus washes, cleanses, and purifies us. And in the third 
place, with reference to the use of the seventh commandment, 
the normative use. The normative use. I suspect 
that this is where most of us are in our application of the 
seventh word. In the first place, the abstention 
from all sexual sin. That means to abstain from all 
sexual sin. First Thessalonians 4, verse 
3, for this is the will of God, your sanctification, that you 
should abstain from sexual immorality. This is the will of God for you. 
You ever do that? I wonder what the will of God 
is for my life. Well, there it is, brethren, 
in big, stark, black letters. You want to know what the will 
of God is for you, young people? Your sanctification. That you 
abstain from sexual immorality. That'll be a full-time job. You 
need to make sure that you are applying yourself to it. 1 Peter 2.11. He urges the pilgrims, 
he says, abstain from fleshly lusts, notice, which war against 
the soul, which war against the soul, sexual sin, wars against 
the soul. So the abstention from all sexual 
sin. In the second place, the covenanting 
of and the practice of Biblical marriage. That is the legitimate 
expression for our sexuality. And if God has ordained that 
that is the case, and we are having struggles in this particular 
area, I alluded to it earlier, find a bride. Find a man. Get married. Say, I do. Covenant together and traverse 
this earth with the companion that the Lord God has given to 
you. Within marriage. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 
7 that the man has authority over the woman and the woman 
has authority over the man. There ought to be the use of 
the marriage bed in the Christian merit. It ought to be frequent. It ought to be wholesome. It 
ought to be happy. God has given that to us. The 
marriage bed is undefiled, the Apostle says in Hebrews 13. So use it. The third place, the 
mortification of sin. You need to cut off sin. Jesus 
continuing in Matthew 5, 29 and 30, if your right eye causes 
you to sin, pluck it out and cast it far from you, for it 
is more profitable for you that one of your members perish than 
for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right 
hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you, for 
it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish 
than for your whole body to be cast into hell." Now Jesus speaks 
metaphorically. Origen took this seriously and 
engaged in self-castration. Spurgeon says, yet let no man 
plead this literally and therefore mutilate his body as some foolish 
fanatics have done. This is a metaphor. Jesus is 
not suggesting that you take a hatchet tonight and actually 
chop off your arm. Jesus is not saying that you 
find a sharp knife in the kitchen drawer and gouge out an eye. But Jesus' metaphor underscores 
the seriousness of dealing with sexual sin. Spurgeon again says, 
better a blind saint than a quick-sighted sinner. If Christ is going to 
use such a metaphor, it highlights or underscores the gravity of 
the sin involved and the necessity of the people of God to deal 
radically with it. And in the final place, the recognition, 
as I started out with tonight, of the close association between 
the two tables of the law. How in the world will we ever 
maintain fidelity with reference to the seventh commandment if 
we have disregarded the first four? If we have rejected God 
the Lord, if we as believers are not engaged in communion 
with God the Lord, if we have other gods before Him, if we 
are idolaters, if we are blasphemers, if we are Sabbath breakers, guess 
what's going to happen when it comes to the application of that 
second table? That close association must be 
observed, it must be respected. The way to sexual purity is to 
maintain communion with God Almighty. Those two tables hold together. A rejection of the first will 
lead inevitably to a rejection of the second. We see it obviously 
in society, in a death culture, a culture that hates Jesus Christ 
and thereby loves death. We see it in society. Why don't 
we see it in our own hearts? You may be struggling tonight 
with this, that, or the other. You say, well, how do I deal 
with this? Maybe you need to come back over here and start 
to get alone with God. Maybe you need to work on your 
own spiritual state before Jehovah. Maybe you need to be engaged 
in Bible reading and in prayer that's more fervent and more 
earnest. Maybe you need to be a regular attender to the public 
means of grace. Maybe instead of being absent 
from the supper, you're there when the householder is serving 
his weary pilgrims that necessary covenant meal. Those are the 
ways, brethren, of finding help with reference to the second 
table. So may I encourage all of us to take seriously this 
seventh word, and by the grace of God, to resist those temptations 
and to abstain from sexual immorality. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank you for the Word of God and the fact that you protect 
marriage, that you say to us, that you command us, that you 
bid us to keep this most basic covenantal bond intact. We pray, our Father, that you 
would help us to take these things to heart, help us to be prayerful 
concerning this particular word, and help us, God, to abstain, 
and help us to resist, and help us to mortify, and help us to 
have faithful, godly marriages wherein we honor and glorify 
you. Go with us now, we pray, and 
watch over us in this coming week. May your face shine upon 
us, may your peace be in our hearts, and may you keep and 
preserve each of your people here. And we ask through Jesus 
Christ our Lord, amen.