← Back to sermon library

Please turn with me in your Bibles 
to Deuteronomy chapter 5. Deuteronomy chapter 5. The Lord 
willing, we'll return to our studies in Matthew's gospel in 
two weeks' time. Next Sunday morning, we'll have 
the baptism and a sermon appropriate to that occasion. This morning 
is some extended application from last week's sermon, The 
Bible and Abortion. I had made the comment that if 
the obvious application with reference to sexual immorality. 
No sexual immorality, no pregnancy, and hence no abortion. I thought 
it would be good for us to expound the seventh commandment, you 
shall not commit adultery, because this is indeed a prevalent sin 
and a perennial temptation even to the people of God. So it's 
good for us to inform our consciences concerning the Bible and what 
it says concerning sexual immorality and God's demand, God's command 
that we maintain integrity in this area of our walk and our 
life. But I do want to read it in its 
context, so please join with me and look with me to Deuteronomy 
5 and 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, 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, let us pray. Our God and 
our Father, we thank you for the Holy Scriptures. We thank 
you that they are given by inspiration of God. They're profitable for 
doctrine, for correction, for reproof, for instruction in righteousness. And even now, God, we pray that 
you would thoroughly furnish us unto every good work. As we 
look at a society that is engaged in, more often than not, a church 
that is engaged of flagrant violations of this seventh commandment. 
May you cause us as your people to take heed, and may you supply 
the Holy Spirit so that we may resist these temptations. And 
Lord God in heaven, that we may pursue holiness and righteousness. 
Father, we ask that you would forgive us now for our transgressions, 
cleanse us in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, wash us and 
purify us and sanctify us and cause us to receive with thanksgiving 
your holy word. And for any and all who have 
come here this morning that are outside of Christ, those who 
are dead in their trespasses and sins, we don't appeal to 
them in their goodness, we don't appeal to their free will, We 
appeal to a sovereign God who is able to change the hearts 
of men, women, boys and girls. And we pray that today would 
be the day of salvation and that you would demonstrate that those 
things that are impossible with men are possible with you, even 
causing sinners to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And we 
pray these things in his most blessed name. Amen. Well, just 
a bit of a statement concerning the place of the Ten Commandments 
here in Deuteronomy chapter 5. It is a second giving of the 
law. Literally, that's what Deuteronomy 
means, second law. It's not a second in terms of 
kind, but it's a repetition of the same law that was delivered 
by God at Sinai in Exodus chapter 20. Remember the children of 
Israel were supposed to go into the land of promise, but they 
grumbled against God, they murmured against God. And God said, this 
generation will not enter into the land. So He raised up this 
other generation here. They're on the plains of Moab. 
They are about to enter into the promised land. And what the 
book of Deuteronomy is, essentially, are several exhortations by Moses 
to the people to prepare them to go in and conquer the Canaanites 
for the glory of God and in fulfillment of the promise of God to Abraham. 
Now, the Ten Commandments are oftentimes broken down into two 
tablets or two tables. Notice what it says in verse 
22. It says, and he wrote them on 
two tablets of stone and gave them to me. Now, more often than 
not, we see that the first stone or the first tablet had the first 
four commandments and then the second stone had the latter six. 
Both stones contained all of the commandments. The reason 
why there was two is there was a copy for the sovereign and 
a copy for the recipient. And those two copies were placed 
into the Ark of the Covenant for safekeeping. But for helpfulness, 
we do break them down into two tables. Commandments 1 to 4 are 
our duty toward God, and commandments 5 to 10 are our duty toward man. It's a helpful way to remember. And I would suggest before we 
proceed here, having considered a violation, a gross violation 
of the 6th commandment last week with reference to murder, and 
the murder of the pre-born, those babies, helpless babies, in their 
mother's womb, and this morning as we consider sexual immorality, 
Sixth and Seventh Commandment violations are oftentimes the 
result of first table violations. In other words, if men are idolaters, 
if men are blasphemers, if men are Sabbath breakers, if men 
reject the God of the first table, then all bets are off with reference 
to the way they deal with one another. More often than not, 
the prophets, when they would come to prosecute the nation 
of Israel for their sin against God, would make that connection. You turn from God and you engage 
in all sorts of societal wickedness. In other words, if persons are 
living consistently with those first four commandments, seeking 
to honor and to fear and to glorify and esteem God, well then the 
argument goes that the second table of the law should be put 
into practice as well. So it really ought not to surprise 
us when we look at society and we see murder rampant, we see 
sexual sin rampant, we ought to be able to trace that down 
to the root cause. We live amongst a people who 
do not fear God. We live amongst a people who 
reject and resist the God of heaven and earth. And the same 
sorts of things face the nation of Israel in their history as 
well. Well, as I said, our focus this 
morning is on the seventh commandment, Deuteronomy 5, verse 18. We're going to look at several 
passages of scripture, but I want to do two things specifically. 
First, look at the basis of the command, and then secondly, the 
prohibition of the command. In terms of the positive aspect 
of the command, I'll just read the Westminster Larger Catechism 
because if you follow the prohibition, the positive aspect should be 
obvious to you as we work through this particular material. But 
in the first place, the basis of the command, we find it here, 
the law of God. Deuteronomy 5, verse 8, the Decalogue, 
the Ten Commandments. Whenever you hear us refer to 
Decalogue, that means ten words, the Ten Commandments of God. We need to understand that this 
was written upon the heart of Adam at his creation. Our confession 
of faith makes this observation. This same law that was first 
written in the heart of Adam, or man, continued to be a perfect 
rule of righteousness after the fall. It's delivered at Sinai, 
it's summarized in the Decalogue or in the Ten Commandments. So 
God at the outset created man in his image and wrote his law 
upon his heart. Like John Lightfoot says, Adam 
had as much law in the garden as Israel did at Sinai, in yet 
less words and without the thunder and the lightning. But he was 
created in God's image, the law is hardwired in his heart, and 
he is prohibited from engaging in such wickedness. But as we 
move through Deuteronomy and Exodus, we see the giving of 
the seventh commandment, and then we see its application societally. We see its application in the 
community. In other words, what does it 
mean to not commit adultery? It has to do with all sexual 
sin. And we'll look at that when we 
look at the prohibition contained in the command. So, the law of 
God, the Decalogue, the Word of God, we see this New Testament 
principle as well, marriage is honorable among all, and the 
bed undefiled, but fornicators and adulterers God will judge. 
Submit to you that whenever the New Testament authors are treating 
the issue of sexual sin, they've got the Old Testament in their 
mind. When Paul comes to deal with 
the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians 5 with reference to incest, what 
do you think is informing the apostle as he writes concerning 
that situation? It's the books of Leviticus and 
Deuteronomy. When the apostle Paul condemns 
sodomy in Romans 1, in 1 Corinthians 6, and in 1 Timothy 1, What do 
you think is informing his mindset? It is the law of God given to 
Adam in the garden, summarized in the Ten Commandments at Sinai 
and again here at the plains of Moab. That law is still binding 
on the people of God and on societies as a whole today. It isn't gone 
anywhere. It isn't to be neglected. It 
isn't to be rejected. It isn't to be resisted. Rather, 
it is to be obeyed. as well, the purpose of God in 
marriage, just concerning the basis of the command. In the 
first place, it's the law of God. Secondly, the purpose of 
God in marriage. See, God gave us a great gift 
with reference to that relationship, but He has defined the context 
wherein it is to operate. In other words, God isn't anti-relations. God isn't anti-that exhibition 
of love between a husband and a wife. He made it. It's good. It reflects His kindness and 
His mercy to His creatures. But He defines the context wherein 
it is to be practiced. In other words, he gives the 
good gift, but he also specifies where the gift is to be utilized, 
and that gift is in a covenantal marriage. And marriage has three 
essential purposes. First, it is a covenant of companionship. It's a beautiful thing in the 
Genesis account. All throughout the creation, God saw what he 
made and he said it was good. There's one time in that creation 
week where God said something wasn't good. It was when he saw 
that Adam was alone. Now, again, God's not discovering. 
God's not in a process of learning and growing in his understanding. 
The narrative is accommodated to us, the reader. It is accommodated 
to us, the man, and we are to understand when God sees that 
Adam is alone, he reports that this is not good. So he fashions 
Eve and brings her to Adam in the first place for companionship. You see, Adam is busy naming 
animals, and he sees male dogs and female dogs. He's busy naming 
the animals, and he sees male cats and female cats. I know 
God created them too. He sees the birds, and they're 
pairing off, and he sees all these things. But Adam sees there's 
no helpmate, or no one comparable to himself, so God answers for 
him and brings this, or answers to him and brings this woman 
to him. It's companionship. It's a blessed thing the Lord 
gives us to traverse this globe with a companion, one who is 
joined to us. As well, the practice of sexual 
intimacy, or as our confession of faith states, the prevention 
of uncleanness. Again, not the way a suitor comes 
to propose to his bride-to-be. I want to marry you for the prevention 
of uncleanness. She will look at you like you're 
the least romantic fellow on the face of the earth, but this 
is 1 Corinthians 7 material. This is biblical. This is the 
language of scripture applied through the 17th century confession 
of faith. It is a prevention of uncleanness. 
If God has spoken the seventh commandment and has demanded 
from his creature sexual integrity, he has given a blessed outlet 
in terms of biblical marriage so that we can express ourselves 
that way and in that context alone. And if you are a young 
man, a young woman today, and you are in a relationship today, 
I really ask you to pay heed to this message this morning, 
because this is an area where more often than not, young people 
go astray. I'm not picking on young people, 
it's an old people problem as well. But more often than not, 
when a man and a woman, a young man and a young woman, they begin 
a relationship, this temptation gets really serious and presents 
itself very intently. So please heed the word of God. 
as it speaks to this particular situation. So the practice of 
sexual intimacy within marriage, Genesis 2.24, Proverbs 5, 18 
and 19, 1 Corinthians 7, verses 1 to 9, Paul specifically indicates 
there that we're not to deprive one another in the context of 
a healthy marriage. It is robbery for you to hold 
out on your spouse something that God has authorized to be 
practiced in that relationship. It's not icky, it's not weird, 
it's not strange, it's not dirty. God made Adam and Eve and God 
knew precisely what they were going to do when he brought Eve 
to the man. And then in the third place, 
a purpose for marriage is procreation. Genesis 1, 27 to 28. Again, men, you'll be so romantic 
when you say, I want to marry you so that we can procreate. 
She's going to be swept off her feet by your choice of language 
there. That's a purpose in marriage, 
Genesis 1, 27 and 28. Malachi the prophet, God seeks 
a godly offspring. We need to understand that this 
is a blessing from the Lord in the context of a covenantal marriage. 
So the basis of the command is seen first in the law of God, 
secondly the purpose of God in marriage, thirdly the sanction. 
In other words, how do we know God means business about something? 
We know when he means business about something by the penalty 
attached to the violation of that something. We see in the 
Old Testament, we'll see this fleshed out when we look at the 
sins forbidden, the death penalty was mandated for certain crimes, 
sexual sins. We as well see that one of the 
things that is built in man is wrath toward this particular 
sin. Turn to Proverbs 6 for just a 
moment. So if we're looking at the penalty, 
I would say it's threefold. The death penalty by a civil 
magistrate. Secondly, the wrath of man. Notice 
in Proverbs 6, verses 30 to 35, people do not despise a thief 
if he steals to satisfy himself when he is starving. We don't 
hate the guy, do we? He goes to Walmart and he puts 
a turkey under his jacket and he goes out so he can feed himself 
and his family. It's a crime. It's wrong. He 
must pay restitution as Solomon specifies in the passage, but 
we don't hate the guy, do we? I mean, we might hate a guy who 
embezzles millions of dollars from old people and their retirement 
funds. That's a whole different sort of property crime. But in 
this instance, Solomon is a realist. 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 doesn't say it's 
okay. It's because you don't hate him, 
don't penalize. No, he still must repay, and 
he must restore sevenfold. Or he may have to give up all 
the substance of his house. That may mean he has to become 
an indentured servant in order to pay back the debt that he 
owes. Now notice what he goes on to 
say in verse 32. 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. Where do you think 
the wounds and dishonor come? Well, Solomon's going to tell 
us. It's not like the divine fist comes out of heaven and 
punches the guy square in the mouth. But it says, 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 him many gifts. Note 
the logic of this passage. Solomon is preparing his sons 
for life, and he tells his sons that for you to engage in adultery 
is to jeopardize your very life. Yes, because God's word has sanctions 
against it. Yes, because hell is the final 
state for those who continue in penitent. But you're going 
to jeopardize your standing in the community when that husband, 
full of wrath and anger, beats you to a pulp. You need to understand 
there are consequences associated with this and every sin. I think 
we've lost that today. I really believe, we don't believe 
there's consequences associated with our actions. We do things, 
we get away with it, nothing ever happens, and so it emboldens 
us and it makes us even more earnest to perpetuate wickedness. Parents, do your job and discipline 
your kids while they're little so they learn that sin has its 
consequences, but as well the wrath of God. Hebrews 13, 4, 
again, marriage is honorable among all and the bed undefiled, 
but fornicators and adulterers, God will judge. You need to understand 
that. Your parents may not know what 
you're doing. Your husband or your wife may not know what you're 
doing. Your pastor or elders might not know what you're doing. 
But God always knows. In fact, this is one of the things 
that Solomon says in Proverbs chapter 5 concerning sexual purity. He gives his sons three R's to 
sexual purity. The first is remove your way 
far from her and do not go near the door of her house. The second 
R is rejoice with the wife of your youth. A great way to prevent 
uncleanness is to engage in what God has commanded to take place 
in the context of a covenantal marriage. But the third R is 
to remember that the ways of a man are before the eyes of 
Yahweh. He sees their paths. We ought 
to fear. We ought to tremble. We ought 
to have a holy contemplation of the reality 
that if we continue impenitent against God, as Paul says in 
Hebrews 13, 4, fornicators and adulterers, God will judge. So the basis of the command is 
certainly God's law, which is a reflection of His will, His 
character, His very nature. Secondly, the purpose of God 
in marriage, and thirdly, the sanction attached. Now let's 
look at the prohibition of the command. Specifically, what we 
find is you shall not commit adultery. So, in the first place, 
the first sin forbidden is adultery. It's repeated in Leviticus 18.20, 
Leviticus 20.10, and Deuteronomy 22.22. Kyle and Dalich define 
it this way, the sexual intercourse of a husband with the wife of 
another or of a wife with the husband of another. You really 
see how the commandments are about integrity, how the commandments 
are about sanctity. The sixth is the sanctity of 
life, the integrity of looking upon human beings with respect 
and dignity. The seventh is about the sanctity 
of marriage. You don't cheat on your spouse. 
You don't go to another. You don't violate that covenant. 
You don't do what is so common today. The sin of adultery is 
mentioned specifically because the family is the basic unit 
of the covenant society. To destroy that basic unit is 
to assault the entirety of society. In other words, when you look 
at society, especially yesterday, if you happen to see the news 
and the situation going on in Washington, DC, that is an evidence 
or a manifestation of something that is even more at a root. It's the destruction of the family. Craigie, a commentator on the 
book of Deuteronomy, says adultery of one partner in marriage involved 
not only unfaithfulness to the other partner, but also unfaithfulness 
to God. You see, remember the particular 
context. God said, I am Yahweh who brought 
you out of Egypt, who brought you out of bondage. So now he 
declares to them or testifies to them how they are to live 
as free men, as free women. Well, free men and free women 
keep their covenants. Free men and free women take 
their vows seriously. Free men and free women deny 
themselves and put a knife to their passions and look to their 
wives or their husbands alone. You shall not commit adultery. 
The word of God could not be clearer on this particular ground. 
Dabney says, were all to take the license of the adulterer, 
men would in due time be reduced precisely to the degradation 
of wild beasts. The sin of the adulterer, therefore, 
is scarcely less enormous than that of the murderer. The latter, 
murder, destroys man's temporal existence. The former, adultery, 
destroys all that makes existence a boon. Listen to Watson in his commentary 
on the Ten Commandments. 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? I think Watson's absolutely correct. Adultery. Secondly, fornication. Relations outside of marriage. As I said earlier, God gave us 
marriage, and he is to be praised for that. Isn't it a blessing? Isn't it a boon? Isn't it a joy? If you're answering no, then 
you need to repent and get things right with your spouse. God's defined not only the purposes, 
but God has defined that it's solely and alone in that covenantal 
context that the privileges can be exercised. I kind of liken 
it to this. You know, a man wants to have 
the privileges associated with marriage, or a woman. It's not 
just men that are wretched in this particular situation. Every 
man that is sexually vile typically is with a woman. We must conclude, 
hence, that she is vile as well. unless she is being raped, which 
we will condemn as we proceed in our exposition. They want 
the privileges, they want the benefits, but none of the responsibilities 
involved. I'm sorry, I hate to break this 
to you, but God, the lawgiver, doesn't say that's okay. In other 
words, if you're going to enjoy the privileges, you must take 
to yourself the responsibilities. And fornication is a means to 
use a good gift God's given in a particular context to rip it 
out of that context and use it to gratify your lust. You say, 
oh, but pastor, we love each other. Then get married. Honor God. Fear God. Do what God says. What better 
way to communicate your love to your boyfriend or girlfriend 
than to take that most serious step and bind yourself to them 
covenantally till death does you part? It is not love to fornicate. It is the gratification of lust. Thirdly, incest. Some of these 
things are difficult. Like last Sunday, that sermon's 
tough to preach. My least favorite sermon to preach 
is the sin of abortion. I don't mean because I don't 
think it's the word of God. It's not because I don't think 
that it's necessary for us to hear. It's just hard to talk 
about babies being butchered, isn't it? In the same way, it's 
hard to talk about what men created in the image of God have done 
to gratify lusts. Just look at society to see an 
exposition of Ecclesiastes 7.29. What does Solomon say? He says, 
behold, I have found only this. God made man upright, but they 
have sought out many devices. incest, brutalizing someone that 
is in your family. Our confession of faith defines 
it thus. Marriage ought not to be within 
the degrees of consanguinity. That means by blood by blood 
or affinity, that means by relationship, 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. You see this prohibition in the 
book of Leviticus, chapters 18 and 20, and then again, excuse 
me, in Deuteronomy chapter 22, verse 30. And as I said, 1 Corinthians 
5, Paul condemns in a new covenant situation among the Corinthian 
church a case of incest because it's actually reported among 
you that a man has his father's wife. Again, these are unsavory 
subjects to consider on a Sunday morning at noon. You're gonna 
go home today and say, was your church service uplifting? Oh 
yeah, it was great. It's wonderful. We heard about 
incest. You can hear about it here in 
what the scriptures say or turn on your news probably today, 
tomorrow, any day this week and hear this same catalog of vices 
portrayed in a context that is not biblical. Fourth, rape is 
prohibited by God. Deuteronomy 22, Deuteronomy 22. I find there's some confusion 
about Deuteronomy 22, among unbelievers certainly, but even among some 
believers. I want to spend a whole long 
time on this particular subject of rape. but realize the Scriptures 
forbid it. There are four specific situations 
being addressed in Deuteronomy 22, verses 23 to 30. Incidentally, 
the very beginning part of Deuteronomy 22 is a prohibition of fornication, 
unchastity on the part of a young woman that is betrothed to be 
married. But notice in Deuteronomy 22, 23 to 30, essentially what 
we have is the seduction of a betrothed woman that is consensual in verses 
23 to 24. We have the rape of a betrothed 
woman in the countryside in verses 25 to 27. And then we have the 
seduction of a single woman in verses 28 to 29. Okay, sometimes 
unbelievers and sometimes believers posit this idea that the Bible 
says if somebody rapes a betrothed woman, they must be put to death. 
If they rape an unbetrothed woman, no, it's not that big of a deal. 
That's not what the text is saying. If you have the NIV, you're wrong. You have a wrong translation. 
The specific situation that we find in verses 28 to 29 is consensual. It is an unbetrothed woman who 
consents to this sexual sin. It's parallel is Exodus 22, 16 
to 17. She is not raped. So the Bible 
is not saying, if you raped a woman that is betrothed, that's a death 
penalty offense. But if you rape a woman that's 
unbetrothed, that's not as bad. That's not what it's saying. 
That's not what is declared in this instance. You have the seduction 
of a betrothed woman in verses 23 to 24. It is consensual. We know it's consensual because 
she did not cry out in the city. That is key to understanding 
this passage. She didn't cry out. If she didn't 
cry out, it's because she consented to it. But notice in verses 25 
to 27, the rape of a betrothed woman in the countryside. She 
does cry out, but there was no one to save her. This is not 
consensual, this is rape. And note what God says concerning 
rape in verse 26. But you shall do nothing to the 
young woman. There is in the young woman no sin deserving 
of death, for just as when a man rises against his neighbor and 
kills him, even so is this matter. Now maybe the way I read this 
particular passage, but I certainly think it teaches that rape is 
just as the crime of murder. Rape is just as the sin of murder. That it is, in a sense, a murder 
upon a woman in a way that is very much similar to ending her 
very life. And then as I said, verses 28 
and 29, even though the word seized is used there in the New 
King James, it doesn't mean seized by force. Notice it goes on in 
verse 28 to say, and they are found out. Then the men who lay 
with her shall give to the young woman's father 50 shekels of 
silver. So brethren, men may disagree with the teaching of 
God in the book of Deuteronomy. And Christians, unfortunately, 
try and disagree, but at least get it right. God's Word is not 
saying there's a severe and stricter punishment for those who rape 
a betrothed woman over those who rape an unbetrothed woman. 
The rape of the unbetrothed woman is a fiction. She consents in 
this situation. As I said, you can look further 
at Exodus 22, 16 and 17 later. But again, forbidden by the seventh 
Word. As well, sodomy, another prohibition 
under the Seventh Commandment. And remember I said that the 
law was first given to Adam in the garden? How else do you explain 
Sodom and Gomorrah? What standard is God holding 
those cities of the plain to? Some nebulous, undefined thing? 
No, it's his law. You see the penal sanctions attached 
to particular crimes and sins prior to Exodus 20, don't you? What law do you think is in place 
at that time? It's the law written on Adam's 
heart, which is codified, summarized, declared for us in Sinai, at 
Moab, in this Decalogue. But the law was always there 
at man's creation. Sodomy is forbidden by God. We call it today homosexuality. God calls it an abomination in 
Genesis 18 and 19. Leviticus 18.22, Leviticus 20.13, 
Romans 1.26 and 27, 1 Corinthians 6.9, and 1 Timothy 1.10. See, it's not just an Old Testament 
thing. You'll hear this sometime, that was the Old Testament. This is like magic dust for the 
people who hate the Bible. Oh, just sprinkle some magic 
dust and just say, that's the Old Testament. That doesn't concern 
us. That's not for us. Sure, Israel, 
as a theocracy, had some pretty strict penalties against that 
sort of thing. But in the New Testament, it's all about love. 
It's all about grace. It's all about mercy. It's all 
about kindness. Is it an intriguing that our 
master said, if you love me, you'll keep my commandments? 
None of them had to say, what commandments are you talking 
about, Lord? Of course they knew. Or when Jesus commissions his 
disciples to go, therefore, make disciples of all the nations, 
baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy 
Spirit, and teach them to observe all things that I have commanded. 
Now, I realize there are some New Covenant theologians and 
dispensational theologians that just try to scour the New Testament 
pages to find the commands of Jesus. You know what's a much 
simpler way? Yahweh spoke through Moses. It's not Moses versus Jesus. It's the same law in whichever 
covenant you find yourself, whether at old or new, God says, you 
shall not lie with a man the way you do with a woman. Paul 
affirms this in Romans 1. He says that the women exchange 
the natural use for that which is unnatural. What do you think 
he means by that? Well, as long as it's monogamous, 
no. As long as it's born out of love. 
Brethren, it's not loving to violate God's holy law. 1 Corinthians 
6, and such were some of you. Paul doesn't say, well, now that 
you're converted, go ahead and remain as homosexuals. Just find a partner that you 
can love and be monogamous toward. It's an amazing thing what exegetes 
try to do with the biblical text. Again, I said this isn't a happy 
sermon, and it's unfortunate that this next one even needs 
to be mentioned, but bestiality. You know, we hear that word, 
and we think, oh, that doesn't happen. It happens a lot. I don't 
know if you read the news, but it happens more often than one 
would think. There are specific prohibitions 
in God's word against it. Remember hearing Andy Hamilton 
one time say, it should make us hang our heads in shame that 
we have to be told not to do that. It should make us hang 
our heads in shame that God's word actually has to command 
us in this particular situation. Peter Singer, he's the professor 
of bioethics at Princeton University. Bioethics, life ethics, you know 
what Peter Singer advocates for? Bestiality. Except not with chickens, 
because it kills chickens. I'm not making this up, brethren. One must ask the question, if 
it hasn't already risen in your head, how does he know it kills 
chickens? We have a man that is the professor 
of bioethics at a university that was established to prepare 
men for the gospel ministry that has published writings on bestiality. One commentator says, 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. A seventh prohibition 
or a seventh sin is unlawful divorce. You've heard me preach 
Matthew 5. You've heard me preach Matthew 
19. I do believe the Bible authorizes divorce. I believe the Bible 
legitimizes or gives that law to redress a sinful situation 
and provide protection for the innocent party. I am all for 
that. I believe the scriptures demonstrably 
from Genesis to Revelation taken as a consistent whole will show 
that God Most High does authorize divorce in certain situations, 
but not in every situation. And so when we divorce unlawfully, 
according to our Lord Jesus Christ, that is to make oneself an adulterer 
or to make one's ex-spouse an adulterer. So unjust divorce 
or unlawful divorce. Another thing that is prohibited 
in the Seventh Commandment, and the Westminster Larger Catechism 
is most helpful in 138 and 139. In fact, if you've not read the 
Westminster Larger Catechism on the commandments of God, do 
so. It's very informative, very instructive. You'll see how the 
reform dealt with the Ten Commandments. They looked at the prohibition 
of the commandment, then they looked at the positive aspect 
of the commandment. In other words, what is required 
in the commandment, what is forbidden in the commandment, and it details 
in a very helpful summary statement what things are prohibited. And 
one other thing is immodesty, immodesty. Again, I'm going to 
go home and say, I didn't like what he had to say. Well, I'm 
sorry, but Matthew Henry made this comment, and I believe he's 
right. Men sin, but devils tempt to sin. Men sin, but devils tempt 
to sin. We need to be careful in this 
area of modesty. What's Paul's mandate for worship 
in 1 Timothy 2 with reference to women? Dress modestly. I mean, men are confronted with 
image out there. When they come to church, it 
ought not to be a battle to reflect the praises of God in their singing 
or rehearse the praises of God in their singing. And this isn't 
just a woman thing. Men can be a modest too. We need 
to care enough about each other to help each other to heaven. 
Except this zany idea that that's what the people of God ought 
to do. We ought to help each other to heaven. I think that's 
what husbands and wives ought to do for one another. Help each 
other to heaven. Don't fight against each other. 
Don't make it more difficult. Don't make it drudgery. Don't 
make it something that is that much more of an obstacle, but 
help one another. And in the context of the local 
church, Paul says, I don't permit a woman to teach or exercise 
authority over a man. But I also want them to be adorned 
appropriately, be adorned appropriately, be modest. A ninth is polygamy. multiple wives, or polyandry, 
multiple husbands. It typically doesn't happen that 
polyandry is the majority report. It's polygamy that seems to be 
more in play. The practice was obviously tolerated 
in the Old Testament, but monogamy is everywhere in Scripture assumed 
as the ideal as a creation ordinance, Genesis 2.24, and firmly reinforced 
by Jesus, Matthew 19.5, And Paul in Ephesians 5.31, monogamy. You're not supposed to have more 
than one wife or more than one husband. You're supposed to toe 
God's line when it comes to this particular situation. A tenth 
is prostitution. Leviticus 19.29, there was a 
good talk the other night by a lady called Natalie who lives 
in Guatemala and has a ministry to prostitutes in that particular 
city. And she said some things that 
really struck a chord with me and caused me to reflect later 
from that talk. One of them being that there's 
no one more despised in society than a prostitute. You know, 
people of different races and ethnicities and all of that, 
all have in common a disdain for prostitutes and their society. 
On one hand, we pity them and know that they are image-bearers 
that are in sin and are in rebellion to the living God. On the other 
hand, we need to appreciate the fact that prostitution is wrong. 
But it's not just the woman standing on the street, it's the guy who 
goes to her. This disconnect, right? You see 
it in scripture itself. John 8. They want to test Jesus. So they bring a woman caught 
in adultery in the very act. And they say to Jesus, this woman 
was caught in adultery, caught in the very act. Where's the 
guy? Where's the man? If she was caught 
in the very act of adultery, where is he? Did he vanish? Did 
he disappear? Or are you just not concerned 
about him? You know, men will disdain those 
ladies on the street, and yet some will even visit them. It's 
just wicked. Don't do it. Pornography. Pornography. Jesus addresses 
this very clearly. So if you go home and you say, 
oh, that pastor preached on something that, you know, it's not too 
delicate or it's not too proper to preach on. What does Jesus 
do in Matthew 5, in the Sermon on the Mount, before his disciples 
and before great multitudes? He says, you've heard that it 
was said to those of old, you shall not commit adultery, but 
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 wrong. If you guys are stuck in that 
stuff, or you girls are stuck in that stuff, repent and forsake 
it. Follow Jesus' counsel, cut off 
right hands, gouge out right eyes, deal radically with it 
because you're violating the seventh word. It is an abuse, 
it is a sin, it is a practice that has no sanction from God 
in scripture. Jesus condemns it here and now. And of course, it leads to personal 
fornication, you know, 99% of the times. Say that that way 
for the older young people and the children, you can try and 
explain that one when you get home. So those are some things. I don't think this exhausts everything 
that the seventh word has to say concerning the specific sins 
forbidden, but we should observe that both the external act and 
the internal disposition are condemned. The external act and 
the internal disposition. We just ran through a list of 
particular sins that are forbidden. To be sure, if you commit adultery, 
if you commit fornication, if you commit incest, if you commit 
rape, you commit sodomy, you commit bestiality, you unlawfully 
divorce, you are an immodest person, you are a polygamist, 
you are a prostitute, or you have engaged in pornography, 
you have broken the commandment. But as we see, there's an internal 
aspect involved here. The Westminster Larger says, 
all unclean imaginations, thoughts, purposes, and affections in our 
words here of Christ 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. Spurgeon makes this observation 
on Matthew 5, 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. Do you get that? Don't fill your 
eyes and your heart with this stuff. Don't you know how difficult 
it is? Really? We have to deal radically with 
sin. I don't know where we got this 
mindset that the Christian life today, it's so different than 
what it used to be. No, it isn't. What's Paul tell 
Timothy in 1 Timothy 1? Wage the good warfare. How does Paul describe his Christian 
life at the end? I have fought the good fight. Good fight, brethren, because 
it's God's fight and we need to fight on with Paul and with 
Timothy when it comes to this particular situation. Watson 
comments, 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. And then the use of corrupt and 
filthy speech, Ephesians 5, 3-7. Another interesting thing the 
catechism does, and I think with biblical warrant, is the association 
with idleness, gluttony, and drunkenness. Idleness, gluttony, 
and drunkenness. You say, I get drunkenness because 
when David was trying to get Uriah to sleep with his wife, 
David got him drunk. It lowers inhibitions. It moves 
a man to do things that perhaps he otherwise wouldn't do. But 
idleness? Idleness is the devil's playground. 
We live in an affluent society. We have a lot of leisure time. Idleness breeds sin, brethren. 
Be busy, read theology. I got a zany idea, read your 
Bibles. Not anybody has time for all 
this other stuff. Actually I do, unfortunately. 
Idleness, gluttony, gluttony. Here's what I think the connection 
is. A failure to govern every passion produces a climate conducive 
to indulge in any passion. Let me just read that again. 
Not because I think it's so profound, but because it sounds similar, 
and I don't want you to miss the important. A failure to govern 
every passion, idleness, gluttony, drunkenness, produces a climate 
in the soul of a man or woman conducive to indulge in any passion. In other words, if you can't 
put a knife to your throat with reference to a buffet, it may 
be the case, and I'm not saying every time, I am not saying this 
is formulaic. I am trying to shed some light 
on why I think the Westminster Larger and why the Bible links 
gluttony and drunkenness in this particular context. If you cannot 
control your passion in one area, you may not control it in another 
area. In other words, brethren, Paul, 
the apostle, tells us to put on the Lord Jesus Christ and 
to make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts. Take 
the language applied by Paul, put on the Lord Jesus. What should 
we conclude from that or imply or infer from that? Holiness 
is a universal endeavor. You're not supposed to just be 
godly in the kitchen, but you're supposed to be godly in the bedroom 
too. You're not supposed to just be godly in your homes, but you're 
supposed to be godly in your workplace. You're not supposed 
to be just employee of the month. You're supposed to be faithful 
and godly in your church. You're not supposed to just be 
in each of those areas, but in society as well. You see, we 
can't pick and choose what parts of holiness we're going to pursue. And if we're not governing all 
of our passions, we may not be able to govern any of our passions. So I suspect that's what the 
divines at Westminster had in mind when they said, idleness, 
gluttony, drunkenness, and of course, unchaste company. We 
shouldn't keep unchaste company. Oh, but I'm trying to win them 
to Christ. Then by all means, win them to Christ. But don't 
fornicate them into the kingdom. You've got to know when to draw 
lines, brethren, with reference to unchaste company. Positively, 
as I said, I'll just read this and then we'll make some concluding 
observations. 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." You know what you young dudes 
or young girls that are pining away for this relationship ought 
to do? Get jobs, get yourself ready, and get a spouse. You 
know the best way to prevent uncleanness, men? Get a job, 
prove yourself, and go find a woman and marry her. Don't you have 
15 helps on meditating? Get married, dude. Do what God 
says. It's a beautiful thing. Marriage 
by those that have not the gift of continency. That means the 
ability to go through life without having those relations. And then 
it goes on to say conjugal love. You know what? As married couples, 
this ought to be an aspect of the marriage that is frequently 
engaged in. Before you men say, yeah, brother, 
press this one home. This is not all that marriage 
is about, but it is a vital component. Sometimes Christians are Gnostics, 
oh no, it doesn't matter. It matters, and Paul says it 
matters in 1 Corinthians 7, and he says it is to rob or deprive 
your spouse when you do not engage in this activity. Conjugal love 
is one of the best things to prohibit and prevent these things. And cohabitation, diligent labor 
in our callings, Diligent labor in our callings. Here's what 
I think the confession or catechism means here You want to be too 
tired at night to turn on porn? You know work so hard in a given 
day that when your head hits that pillow you're going to sleep 
Be diligent in your callings. Use your time wisely. Be faithful, 
hardworking. We ought to be too tired to spend 
the time necessary to sin against our God, shunning all occasions 
of uncleanness and resisting temptations thereunto. Well, 
in conclusion, I had a statement concerning the rejection of the 
Seventh Commandment. We're going to move from there 
to the use of the Seventh Commandment. Something else I much like, I 
don't know if that's correct, I really like about the Reformed 
tradition is the Reformed understanding of the three uses of the law. 
In other words, there's three ways to use the law of God. In 
the first place, there's the civil or political use of God's 
law. In other words, God's law revealed 
to us at Sinai, at the plains or in the plains of Moab, reflecting 
what was originally written upon the heart of Adam, promised with 
reference to New Covenant reality in Jeremiah 31, when the prophet 
announces that in the New Covenant, God is going to write his law 
upon our hearts. What do you think that means? 
It means the law that has always been for the people of God. The civil, political use, in 
other words, it ought to be applied by governing authorities. I argued 
this last week. Murderers ought to be executed 
by the civil magistrate. Gross sexual sin, which is criminal 
in nature, ought to be punished as well. It's Greg Bonson and 
a book written in 1978. Now, I know that on the one hand 
doesn't sound like a long time ago, but for some of you it was 
ancient. It's funny to me that 50 used to seem old to me. It 
doesn't seem old anymore. But Bonson said this in 1978. 
Imagine if he were alive now and saw the sorts of things that 
are rampant. I mean, we have states sanctioning 
same-sex marriage. Bonson said homosexuality that 
is publicly accepted is symptomatic of a society under judgment. 
See, persons want to look at what happened yesterday and call 
this liberty? This is bondage of the worst 
sort, brethren. Men enslaved to sin. You got 
a group of women who are out there, you know, raising their 
fists and screaming, we don't need men. The whole point of 
the screaming is except to pay for our birth control and our 
abortion. And if Planned Parenthood, at 
least south of the border, is continued to be pressed, you're 
gonna see far more uprising because it's almost sacramental to the 
left, this issue of abortion. It's almost like their baptism 
or Lord's Supper, the way they talk about an institution that 
is built for the murder of babies is scary. It's scary. I mentioned, was it last week 
or two weeks? I mentioned it last week, so 
it must've been that week. Some interfaith clergy gathered 
together to bless a new planned parenthood in Washington, DC, 
referring to it as sacred space. Now, to Moloch worshipers, it 
would be sacred space, but to anybody that would profess Jesus 
Christ, it's absolutely abominable and wicked. So 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. 
That's his example in Romans 1. I mean, he's got disobedient 
to parents in there too. Don't think that Paul's just 
got an axe to grind with homosexuality. Isn't that interesting? If we 
oppose homosexuality, we're homophobes. I'm not afraid of them. I'm afraid 
of God and His wrath that will fall upon them if they don't 
repent and forsake their sins. Nothing homophobic about it. 
Paul was not a homophobe. Paul understood the law of the 
living God. And he says that when a society 
continues down this path, it gives a manifest evidence or 
manifested evidence that God has given them over. This is 
not liberty. This is not joy. This is not 
happiness. This is bondage. The second use of the law is 
what's called the pedagogical. And we're going to press that 
a little bit more in a few minutes. But pedagogical. You need to 
understand the law of God has a pedagogical function. Kids, 
pedagogical means teacher. Child, tutor. What does the law 
do? It shows us our sin. It condemns 
us. It says with Nathan to David, 
thou art the man. And when we're brought to that 
point, blessed be God, we look to Calvary. The law is an instrument 
to drive sinners to the cross. You see, while the church neglects 
preaching the law, all in the name of grace, grace, gospel, 
they are removing one of the most effective implements for 
making the gospel glorious. If men don't see their sin, if 
men don't see their rebellion, if men don't see their just condemnation, 
why would they ever see their need for the Savior? And in the 
third place, the normative use of the law, the third use of 
the law for the reformed is how we, as God's people, use the 
law. So the idea being, in the pedagogical, 
the law points us to Christ. We, by God's grace, go to Christ. We, by God's grace, believe on 
Christ. We, by God's grace, are justified 
freely by His grace. And then with reference to this 
normative, Jesus points us to the law and says, you have the 
Spirit now, go do what I say. It's a beautiful relationship. 
The law drives us to Christ. Christ points us back to the 
law as our pattern for sanctification, as our rule of life. This is 
why in John 17, 17, Jesus can pray, sanctify them by thy truth. Thy word is truth. I'm not growing 
in my holiness, pastor. Do you read your Bible? No. I'm not growing in my understanding 
of the truth, pastor. Do you read your Bible? No. We 
are sanctified by truth. We are sanctified by God's holy 
law. The Spirit takes not some undefined 
nebulous concepts out there, but he takes that blessed revelation 
of who God is, and he applies it in our hearts. Well, with 
reference to the normative use, how do Christians apply the seventh 
commandment normatively? First of all, the abstention 
from all sexual sin. Stop. If you are doing it, stop. You don't need to stand up and 
announce yourselves, not what I'm saying, but I am gonna tell 
you, you need to stop. 1 Thessalonians 4. Everybody 
always wants to know, what is the will of God for me? Couldn't 
be clearer than 1 Thessalonians 4. This is the will of God for 
you, Paul says, to the Thessalonians. Your sanctification, that you 
abstain from sexual immorality. If you're struggling today with 
knowing God's will for your life, you should be satisfied, because 
God says, don't commit sexual sin. 1 Peter 2, abstain from 
fleshly lusts, which war against the soul, not give in to them, 
not feed them, not cater to them, not cuddle them, but put a knife 
to the passions. And I don't mean physically, 
don't cut your throat. The practice of biblical marriage. 
Perhaps you are in a lull. Perhaps your marriage is not 
doing as it ought. Go home and repent. Go home and 
hug each other. Go home and confess your sins. I don't understand this with 
us either. I haven't been reading my Bible, pastor. You know what 
the answer is? Go read it. We make things so much more difficult. I haven't been that great of 
a husband. And typically that means I want to wallow in my 
self-pity and have a pity part. Just go love your wife and do 
what you're supposed to do. I've been a terrible wife. Then 
go submit to your husband. Fix it. What happened to that 
dynamic in our Christianity? We need therapy. We need long 
sessions, long protected sessions of pastoral counseling. No, we 
just need to obey. We just need to do what God says. 
So if you're engaged in practices that are ungodly, unlawful, unholy, 
such as sexual sin or a marriage that is a mess, fix it. The mortification 
of sin. If your right eye causes you 
to sin or scandalize you, 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." I need 
to say this, but the Lord is speaking metaphorically. Origen, 
the church father, thought he was speaking literally and he 
actually castrated himself. He is speaking metaphorically. Spurgeon said, yet let no man 
plead this literally and therefore mutilate his body as some foolish 
fanatics have done. Consider this, if you actually 
cut your right hand off and you actually gouge your right eye 
out, you're probably gonna then sin with your left hand and your 
left eye. I hate to break the news to you. 
Right? Oh, not me, brother. I look at 
that stump and I wouldn't sin. Okay, tell us how that goes for 
you. You know what we have until the 
day we die? The world may leave us alone 
for that much during a day. Satan may leave us alone for 
that much during the day. You know who we'll always have 
is our flesh. You're swimming through that River Jordan. Satan 
may be with someone else, the world may be far behind, but 
guess who's still screaming in your ear, go sin, go sin, go 
sin. He's speaking metaphorically. 
He highlights the need to deal radically with sin. Or as Spurgeon 
says, better a blind saint than a quick sighted sinner. And I think it's helpful, as 
we started off, to see the connection between the two tables. You're 
not gonna gain any victory with reference to sexual sin if you 
are neglecting God. You are not gonna gain any victory, 
and I'm borrowing or co-opting a very overworked and unfortunately 
used term. You know, victory, I have the 
victory. Well, we ought to pursue victory with reference to sexual 
sin. But you're not gonna gain any 
if you're an idolater, a blasphemer, and a Sabbath breaker. It's an 
amazing thing. We want God to sanctify us, but 
we won't use the means God's given to us to sanctify us. Let me just be honest. Oh, no, it's a lot more complicated. 
No, it's not. Quit trying to complicate everything. We've got big problems. It helps 
us to acknowledge that and to cast ourselves upon the mercy 
of a gracious God. That's the beauty of Christianity. That's the goodness of the gospel. 
Recognize the close relationship between the two tables of the 
law. Maintenance of communion with God will help guard us from 
violating relationships with others. This ought not to be 
rocket science. If I'm living in close communion 
with God, hopefully the idea is, is I won't go join myself 
to a harlot. Isn't what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 
chapter 6? Flee sexual immorality. How can 
you join Christ who is in union with you to a harlot? Don't do 
that. Glorify God in your body and 
your soul. And let's revisit that pedagogue. 
Let's revisit that pedagogical use. It is interesting. I mentioned 
that lady on Friday night, how she said that women that are 
engaged in prostitution are oftentimes the most despised in society. 
You know who showed mercy to prostitutes? Was Jesus. Isn't 
it amazing? Don't you get giddy when you 
consider the Bible Don't you just kind of get overjoyed when 
you look at the sorts of people that God saves? I mean, you should 
look in the mirror and just be baffled and absolutely perplexed. So I don't think when we get 
to heaven, we're gonna be seeing people saying, oh, you're here, 
you're here, you're here. I think they're gonna be saying, 
you're here? You made this? Yeah, isn't Jesus wonderful? Consider that woman, which was 
a sinner in Luke 7. We looked at that several weeks 
ago. I argue she was more than likely a prostitute. She goes 
into the house with that boldness of faith and she takes her hair 
and her tears and she wipes the feet of the Savior. How does 
Jesus respond to her? He welcomes her. I believe she's 
already justified by faith. I believe she was already saved. 
This was an expression of her love and adoration and worship 
for the Savior. What about that woman caught 
in adultery I referred to earlier in John chapter 8? What does 
Jesus do? Neither light can damn you. Go 
and sin no more. Now understand there, brethren, 
he's not saying go be Wesleyan perfected. He's not a perfectionist. He's meaning do not go commit 
this sin anymore. In other words, don't engage 
in sexual sin that is immoral and ungodly and unrighteous. 
This is a mark of sanctification. This is a mark of having come 
to Christ. He will save His people from their sins. He doesn't save 
His people to continue in their sins, and the law defines that 
for us. And then in the final place, 
we ought to appreciate 1 Corinthians 6. If the pedagogue, the law 
of God, has convicted us this morning, I hope and pray that 
that's the case. I hope the Spirit is at work 
in your hearts. I hope and pray that the Spirit 
is moving each and every one of us to consider these things. 
If you are a believer, then repent and forsake your sin. If you're 
an unbeliever, then I invite you to come to Jesus. Look at 
the Jesus whom we preach. Look at the Christ of the gospel. 
Notice in 1 Corinthians 1, 6, I'm sorry, 1 Corinthians 6, verse 
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. Paul knows what he's saying here. 
He's not saying the same things twice. People read that and say, 
why does Paul say essentially homosexuals and homosexuals? 
He's using two great words that had technical definition in the 
particular context he's writing. One refers to the active participant 
in a homosexual relationship and one to the passive participant 
in that homosexual relationship. So he points out homosexuals 
nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor 
revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. So 
before we proceed, we need to understand it's not just sexual 
sin. You may be here right now being able to say, you know, 
I've never committed adultery. I've never committed fornication. 
I have nothing, you know, no interest whatsoever, you know, 
in that litany of sins that were, you know, declared prohibited 
by God. So I guess I'm off the hook. It's one commandment among 
10. Notice what Paul says in this 
passage, nor thieves, nor covetous. I love 1 Corinthians 6, because 
if you can actually say, you know, I haven't done any of those 
external deeds, you have been covetous. I don't care who you 
are, I don't care your background, you have been covetous. You are 
covered in 1 Corinthians 6, 9 to 10. Nor drunkards, now notice, 
nor revilers, speaking ill of people, slandering people, gossiping 
about people. nor revilers nor extortioners 
will inherit the kingdom of God. Now note the beautiful news. 
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. If the Holy Spirit has brought 
conviction of sin to you today, if you are a believer, repent. 
If you are a believer, forsake. If you are a believer, get things 
right. If you are an unbeliever, believe 
on the Lord Jesus Christ. Look to Him and you will have 
everlasting life. That is precisely what the Good 
News is all about. Let us pray. Our Father, we thank 
you for the Word of God, and we thank you for its comprehensiveness, 
and that it speaks to every area and issue of our lives, speaks 
not only to our actions, but to our thoughts and to our words. We ask that you would cause us 
to think through the implications of this seventh commandment, 
cause us by your grace to repent and forsake any sin, and to be 
looking unto Jesus Christ all the days of our lives. Go with 
us, we pray, through Christ our Lord. Amen.