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Deuteronomy chapter 5. We're 
going to take two weeks off from our study in the Gospel of John. 
Preachers of the Gospel also need to be preachers of the law. 
Many pastors in Canada have agreed today to preach on biblical sexuality 
in response to the passage of Bill C-4. And then typically 
in January is Sanctity of Life Sunday, so God willing, next 
week we'll look at that particular doctrine or that topic. So for 
our text this morning, we're going to look at the seventh 
commandment, Deuteronomy chapter 5 and verse 18, but I'll read 
the context or read the surrounding verses beginning in verse 1. 
And Moses called all Israel and said to them, here, O Israel, 
the statutes and judgments which I speak in your hearing today, 
that you may learn them and be careful to observe them. The 
Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. The Lord did 
not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, those who 
are here today, all of us who are alive. The Lord talked with 
you face to face on the mountain from the midst of the fire. I 
stood between the Lord and you at that time to declare to you 
the word of the Lord, for you were afraid because of the fire 
and you did not go up to the mountain. He said, I am the Lord 
your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of 
the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods 
before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, 
any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is 
in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 
You shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord 
your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon 
the children to the third and fourth generations of those who 
hate me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love 
me and keep my commandments. You shall not take the name of 
the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless 
who takes his name in vain. Observe the Sabbath day to keep 
it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. Six days you shall 
labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath 
of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work, you 
nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your 
female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your 
cattle. nor your stranger who is within 
your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest 
as well as you. And remember that you were a 
slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you 
out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm. Therefore, 
the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day. Honor 
your father and your mother as the Lord your God has commanded 
you, that your days may be long and that it may be well with 
you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you. You shall 
not murder. You shall not commit adultery. 
You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness 
against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor's 
wife, and you shall not desire your neighbor's house, his field, 
his male servant, his female servant, his ox, his donkey, 
or anything that is your neighbor's. These words the Lord spoke to 
all your assembly, in the mountain, from the midst of the fire, the 
cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice. And he added 
no more, and he wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave 
them to me." Amen. Well, let us pray. Our God and 
our Father, we thank you for your written word. We thank you 
that you have given us the scriptures given by inspiration of God and 
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and 
for instruction in righteousness. God, give us a commitment to 
that written word. Give us an adherence and an allegiance 
to it. God, in the face of a culture 
that is trying to tear it away, that is trying to strip it down, 
trying to classify it as myth, may your people confess it and 
may your people live in light of it. And even now, God, guide 
us as we consider the seventh commandment and its appropriateness 
for our own current situation in a day and age where men call 
good evil and evil good. And may you help us to be faithful 
in terms of sexual ethics. May you help us to be faithful 
in terms of our justification by your grace. May we live in 
light of that, with that gratitude and that response that is consistent 
with the blood-bought children of God. Do forgive us now for 
all of our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And 
may it be the case today that as the law is preached, the gospel 
would be preached. that sinners would hear of Jesus 
Christ and the reality that He's altogether lovely and chief among 
10,000. May your Holy Spirit attend, 
and may the Spirit bring conviction foresaid, and may the Spirit 
set forth Christ in His offices to save, and may sinners come 
to Him and find blessing, and find joy, and find life everlasting. And we ask this in Jesus' name, 
amen. Well, as we look at the Ten Commandments 
or the Decalogue, you'll notice again in chapter 5 at verse 18, 
there is this prohibition against adultery. Now, when we look at 
the commandments, I think the Westminster Larger Catechism 
is correct here. It says that under one sin or 
duty, all of the same kind, are forbidden or commanded. In other 
words, sexual sins are subsumed under the seventh commandment. 
Turn for an illustration to Exodus chapter 21. Exodus chapter 21, 
specifically at verse 1, just to show you how the function 
of God's law was in this context. Exodus chapter 21 in verse 1. 
The giving of the law is in Exodus chapter 20. So the Ten Commandments, 
the Ten Principles are given. And then in 21.1 it says, Now 
these are the judgments which you shall set before them. And 
what Moses, under God, now does is applies the general principles 
of the Ten Commandments to society at large. Look, for instance, 
at chapter 21, beginning in verse 12. We have laws concerning homicide 
and then laws concerning bodily injuries in chapter 21, 18 to 
32. When we trace that back, we see 
it's the sixth commandment. The commandment says, you shall 
not murder. Well, how do we put that into practice in civil society? 
Well, that's what these case law applications do, and the 
same is true with reference to sexual sin. The reference, you 
shall not commit adultery, deals with or entails all kinds of 
violations against God's law. So that when we study scripture, 
we're to remember the Ten Commandments, again, governing principles, 
general laws and statements, but then the biblical authors 
go on to explain how we understand those things as individuals, 
as families, and in society. So I want to look at two things 
this morning. First, the basis of this commandment, and secondly, 
the prohibition of the commandment. And it's quite detailed, there's 
a lot that the Bible says concerning sexuality, so let us strap in 
and listen to the word of the living God. But in the first 
place, I want you to turn to Genesis chapter 2. When we look 
at the basis of the commandment, we need to understand the purpose 
of God in marriage. What the Bible says concerning 
sexuality and the lawfulness of it is given to us in Genesis 
2, beginning in verse 18. Here is the lawful confines in 
which men and women express their sexuality. Notice in Genesis 
2 at verse 18. And the Lord God said, it is 
not good that man should be alone. I will make him a helper comparable 
to him. Out of the ground the Lord formed every beast of the 
field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see 
what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each 
living creature, that was its name. So Adam gave names to all 
cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. 
But for Adam, there was not one found, or there was not found 
a helper comparable to him. And the Lord God caused a deep 
sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept. And he took one of his 
ribs and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which 
the Lord God had taken from man he made into a woman, and he 
brought her to the man. And Adam said, This is now bone 
of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman, because 
she was taken out of man. Therefore, a man shall leave 
his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they 
shall become one flesh. And they were both naked, the 
man and his wife, and were not ashamed." That's foundational. That is fundamental. That is 
crucial with reference to our understanding of sexuality as 
it consists in this world. God sets the parameters, God 
defines the parties, God sets forth the context, and it's the 
covenant of marriage. And when we look at this particular 
passage, we'll notice that marriage was in the first place companionship. Adam named all the animals. He 
saw that there was a female dog answerable to the male dog. He 
saw that there was a female cat for the male cat. but there was 
not one comparable unto him. So God makes the woman and brings 
the woman to the man. Why? Because it's not good that 
Adam is alone. Even without sexuality, persons 
can still be joined together in marriage. If one or both parties 
are paralyzed and cannot engage in the conjugal relationship, 
that does not invalidate the marriage. It's a covenant of 
companionship. As well, we see the practice 
of sexual intimacy. Again, this is the covenantal 
context. It isn't a free-for-all. It isn't 
something that God gives to creatures and says, go ahead and do whatever 
it is you want to do with it. Go ahead and abuse whatever you 
want with it. No, there are strict rules that 
govern the practice of sexuality with reference to God Most High. 
He is the legislator. He is the creator. He is the 
one who makes the determination concerning lawfulness among the 
creatures. And sexual intimacy is certainly 
a prerogative. It's a blessing. It's a good 
thing. And of course another purpose 
is procreation. God blessed them and he commanded 
them to be fruitful and multiply. So we would expect that whatever 
arrangement that God had fashioned would be such that procreation 
could obtain. That doesn't happen in a sodomite 
or a homosexual relationship. We have God make one man with 
one woman, and that is to be a permanent transaction. So the 
purpose of God in marriage is a basis for the command. But 
as well, the function of God's law for mankind. He didn't just 
create and say, go ahead and figure it out. See, as parents, 
we don't do that. We don't take our two-year-olds 
and say, go ahead, figure it out. No, we tell them, don't 
run with scissors. Don't lick your finger and put 
it into an electrical outlet. Don't do things that would endanger 
yourself. We govern them. We legislate 
over them. We understand what is best for 
them. And as a result, we speak those 
things that are most appropriate for their manhood or womanhood. God does that. God legislates. God gives the commandments so 
that heaven, or rather earth, doesn't look like hell. Without 
God's restraint, without God's law, without that knowledge of 
God in man, we would all conduct ourselves like Satan and the 
devils. And so God has given us that 
law to restrain and to constrain. And then as well, in terms of 
the basis of the commandment, the sanction attached by God 
to the violation of the commandment. There are several sexual sins, 
offenses, in the Old Testament that have the death penalty as 
a punishment. That's not the purpose for our 
discussion this morning. I have at least thoughts about 
that in terms of our certain position in the New Covenant, 
but the death penalty was appended with reference to transgression 
of specific sins, as well the wrath of man. Turn over to Proverbs 
chapter 6 for just a moment. Proverbs chapter 6, there's something 
about sexual sin that even mankind knows is an affront. He knows 
that it's abhorrent. And Solomon speaks to this to 
his sons in Proverbs chapter six. And notice at verse 30, 
he says, people do not despise a thief. We'll back up for just 
a moment. He says, can a man, in verse 
27, take fire to his bosom and his clothes not be burned? Can 
one walk on hot coals and his feet not be seared? So is he 
who goes into his neighbor's wife. Whoever touches her shall 
not be innocent. Man's not visiting a prostitute. 
This man has committed the sin properly of adultery. He has 
gone into his neighbor's wife. Now notice how Solomon comments 
on this in terms of man's response to this violation. Verse 30, 
people do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy himself 
when he is starving. We don't say, wow, I can't believe 
you're starving to death. How dare you steal food to eat? 
We don't condone it, and neither does Solomon in the verses following, 
but we get it. We understand a man is starving, 
his children are starving, his wife is starving. We might expect 
him to have that temptation or inclination to go and steal something 
so that he can alleviate their hunger. It's something that resonates 
with us. It's not completely off the radar. Wow, I can't believe you were 
starving to death, so you fetched out a free... you stole a ham 
from Walmart. No, we get it. We understand 
it. And Solomon again underscores this. Notice in verse 31. Yet 
when he is found, he must restore sevenfold. He may have to give 
up all the substance of his house. 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." What do you mean 
wounds and dishonor? Her husband's gonna dot your 
I. Her husband's gonna go off on you. Her husband is going 
to inflict pain upon you. And again, Solomon appeals to 
this as a truism among men. We don't despise a thief if he 
steals because he's starving, but we despise a man who violates 
the covenantal bond that exists between a man and his wife. To 
do that is to take fire into your bosom. It is to court fate 
in the wrong way. Notice, 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. 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. The 
New Testament says the same thing. Hebrews chapter 13, not in terms 
of man's wrath against man, but God's wrath against man who violates 
that sacred bond, that covenant of companionship. Covenant means 
something as far as God is concerned. Hebrews 13, we read in verse 
one, let brotherly love continue. Do not forget to entertain strangers 
for by so doing, some have unwittingly entertained angels. Remember 
the prisoners as if chained with them, those who are mistreated 
since you yourselves are in the body also. Notice, marriage is 
honorable among all. God's provision to the creature 
is the gift of marriage, that covenantal boundary wherein sexuality 
is to be practiced, not outside, not against, not under. You are not to operate in a manner 
that is inconsistent with God's law. So marriage is honorable 
among all and the bed undefiled, but fornicators and adulterers 
God will judge. The Puritan Thomas Watson made 
this observation concerning adultery. He 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. A 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 it is to be an instrument to draw another to hell. So the 
basis of the commandment, you shall not commit adultery, is 
the purpose of God in marriage, the function of God's law for 
mankind, and the sanction involved with transgressing God's law. 
Now let's move secondly to the prohibition in the command. Now, 
this is going to find out everybody. There is none of us who can say, 
oh, I'm so pure, I'm so upright, I am so righteous. Remember the 
Sermon on the Mount. The Lord Jesus says it's not 
just the external act, but it's also the internal lust. And I 
have yet to meet a man or woman in my life, now I'm not 80, but 
I am 55, and I have not met anybody who says, well, I've never had 
a lustful thought. There was one who never had a 
lustful thought. And in the 33 years of his life, 
that was the embodiment of righteousness. And it's that righteousness which, 
by God's grace, is imputed to us and received by faith alone. For the rest of us, some of these 
sins are more grievous than others, but we will find ourselves at 
some place in this particular list. Now in the first place, 
the acts prohibited by the commandment, the act of adultery. The sexual intercourse of a husband 
with the wife of another or of a wife with the husband of another. Leviticus 18 and verse 20. Leviticus 
20 and verse 10. Deuteronomy chapter 22 and verse 
22. This is an attack on the most 
fundamental and basic building block of society. Society cannot 
function in disregard of God's created order. Society cannot 
propagate itself if it's given over to homosexuality. Society 
must be regulated from a word by God and we must be compliant 
with that. Adultery attacks the civil order 
at its most basic and foundational place. It is an attack upon the 
family. And with reference to the attack 
upon the family, it has been multiplied ever since the Garden 
of Eden. That is something that the devil 
knows that if he can destroy, if he can twist, if he can bring 
into disarray or disrepute, that he will have won a great victory. 
Unfortunately, he is growing by leaps and bounds in this attack 
upon the family vis-a-vis the sin of adultery. The prophets 
oftentimes attacked adultery as a social evil. In other words, 
a body politic that is given over to betrayal at the most 
fundamental level, what is to prohibit them from betraying 
others? If you betray your husband or 
your wife, why in the world would we ever think you wouldn't betray 
us? If you can't express fidelity 
in the basic context of marriage, then you're not a faithful human 
being. And if that is the case for anyone 
here, repent, look onto the Lord Jesus Christ. Understand that 
sexual sins are not the unpardonable sin. Understand that sexual sins 
are not the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost. There is forgiveness 
with thee, the psalmist says, that thou mayest be feared. David 
wrote that having understood what it was to be forgiven of 
having committed the sin of adultery and having covered it up by the 
sin of murder. David said, if thou, Lord, shouldst 
mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? He understood. He 
knew all too well what he was experientially acquainted with, 
but he rejoices in that gospel reality. that there is forgiveness 
with thee. 1 John 1, if we confess our sins, 
even sexual sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to 
cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So while I hope and pray everybody 
today is preaching on the law relative to sexual ethics in 
Canada, They're preaching the gospel, because we're preaching 
the law to lawbreakers. And the only hope, the only blessing, 
the only remedy is the blood of Jesus Christ's Son, which 
cleanses us from all sin. So the act of adultery, Craigie 
says, adultery of one partner in a marriage involved not only 
unfaithfulness to the other partner, but also unfaithfulness to God. Secondly, the act of fornication. And fornication is sexual relations 
outside of the covenant context of marriage. If Genesis chapter 
2, verses 18 to 25 are paradigmatic for the sexual expression of 
man and woman, then to engage in sexual activity outside of 
that covenant context To engage in it in an unlawful manner is 
condemned by God. We saw that in Hebrews chapter 
13 and verse 4. Marriage is honorable among all. But adulterers and fornicators, 
God will judge. You see, in the 60s, in America 
at least, I don't know what was going on in Canada, but you had 
the sexual revolution. And they brought in this sexual 
revolution as a means by which man would know liberty. Man brought 
bondage. and chains and oppression upon 
himself when he steps outside the lawful use which God intended 
to imbibe in that which is unlawful. Just hear me. There is no joy 
and liberty and blessing in a life of sin. Jesus speaks to this 
in John 8. He says, whoever commits sin 
is a slave of sin. The Son is the one who sets you 
free. Young people, young men, young 
women, guard your hearts. Listen to the Apostle Paul in 
1 Thessalonians chapter 4. He says, this is the will of 
God for you, your sanctification, that you abstain from fleshly 
lusts, or abstain rather from sexual immorality. It's 1 Peter 
2, where we are told that we need to abstain from fleshly 
lust, which is war against the soul. So adultery, wrecking the 
covenantal bond in marriage, but fornication, not even having 
regard for the covenantal context, not having any regard for what 
God has decreed and determined, but rather doing whatever it 
is we feel inclined to do. It's like the period of the judges, 
or the time, I think it's prior to the judges, when there was 
no king in Israel and every man did what was right in his own 
eyes. That's modern Canadian society. There is no king in 
Israel and everyone does what is right in their own eyes. So 
adultery and fornication. Thirdly, we have the act of incest. Incest is when persons engage 
in sexual relations in family situations that are too close. 
Our confession describes it this way, marriage ought not to be 
within the degrees of consanguinity, there ought not to be blood relation 
or affinity, relation by marriage, 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. Leviticus chapter 18, Leviticus 
chapter 20, Deuteronomy chapter 22, And then 1 Corinthians chapter 
5, it is actually reported that among you, one of you had your 
father's wife. And instead of dealing with it 
the way that a church should, you have rather been arrogant. 
You have rather boasted about it. Paul reproves, he rebukes 
the church in Corinth because this incestuous relationship 
by affinity had obtained in their ranks and the church didn't deal 
with it. What do you think is in Paul's 
mind? What do you think is guiding Paul's path? It's Leviticus and 
Deuteronomy. It's the Old Testament prohibition. 
It's the Old Testament realization that God alone defines sexual 
congress. Fourthly, I need you to turn 
to Deuteronomy chapter 22. There's a lot of misunderstanding 
in Deuteronomy 22, and I want to disenfranchise that of us. This is the act of rape, and 
he gives specific reasons, and I'm sorry if this is not the 
kind of content that you'd like on a Sunday morning. But again, 
brethren, We may be in places like these, like this, because 
the church hasn't ever done this. The church doesn't visit the 
law of God. We don't proclaim what God's 
Word actually says to civil society. We don't proclaim what God's 
Word says to the individual, to families, to churches, and 
to life in this world. It's not all just about principles 
on how to be a better us. The law of God is given for restraint 
over the creature and so that if we're found out, we seek after 
Christ, that one who lived and died and rose again. Notice in 
Deuteronomy chapter 22 at verse 22. If a man is found lying with 
a woman, married to a husband, then both of them shall die. 
The man that lay with the woman and the woman, so you shall put 
away the evil from Israel. So the sin of adultery is condemned. But now notice the seduction 
of a betrothed woman, verses 23 and 24. If a young woman who 
is a virgin is betrothed to a husband, and a man finds her in the city 
and lies with her, then you shall bring them both out to the gate 
of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones." The 
young woman, notice, because she did not cry out in the city. 
In other words, she was complicit, she agreed to this, she allowed 
herself to be seduced, and she went with this particular man. 
And the man, because he humbled his neighbor's wife, betrothal 
was legally binding, so you shall put away the evil from among 
you. Notice the next incident, the rape of a betrothed woman 
in the countryside. But 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." You see that? She cried out, 
or she was in the countryside where her cries wouldn't be heard, 
but she resisted this. She was not complicit. She did 
not go along with this seducer, this man who forced her. You 
shall do nothing to the young woman. There is in the young 
woman no sin deserving of death. Now notice what this next statement 
says. For just as when a man rises against his neighbor and 
kills him, even so is this matter. That underscores the heinousness 
of this sin. It's a vile, reprehensible, vicious 
assault upon the image of God to rape a human being. For he 
found her in the countryside, and the betrothed young woman 
cried out, but there was no one to save her. Now notice the next 
section in verses 28 and 29. This is the seduction of a single 
woman. Now, the single woman in this 
incident complies. She goes along with it. That's 
why they're treated differently. It's not because you had legal 
obligation as a betrothed woman that was not given to you if 
you were single. No, it all has to do with complicitness on the 
part of the woman. Notice in verse 28, if a man 
finds a young woman who is a virgin, who is not betrothed, and he 
seizes her. That's a different verb than 
what we find in verse 25. Verse 25 is Force. Verse 28 is not force. The NIV is wrong to translate 
this as rape. He seizes her and lies with her. 
Now notice, and they are found out. She's complicit. She's there 
with him. She has agreed to this particular 
situation. Then the young man who lay with 
her shall give to the young woman's father 50 shekels of silver, 
and she shall be his wife because he has humbled her. He shall 
not be permitted to divorce her all his days. This parallels 
with Exodus chapter 21, 16 and 17. So it's not the case that 
if you were betrothed, then it was a capital offense for the 
man. If you weren't betrothed, then he could just pay off your 
debt. No, it's a different situation. The betrothed woman in the second 
scenario cries out. The betrothed woman in the second 
scenario resists. It is an actual forced rape. 
When it comes to verse 28, this man seizes her. No force is involved 
here. But the fact that she is complicit, 
that puts it into a different category of criminal sanction. 
And then verse 30, a man shall not take his father's wife nor 
uncover his father's bed. Again, that is incest. So we've 
got adultery, fornication, incest, rape. Fifthly, the act of homosexuality. Homosexuality is condemned by 
God. I realize that's not a popular 
statement today. I realize that persons resist 
that. I realize that even in the church today, there's a great 
deal of confusion concerning same-sex attraction. The Bible 
says it's sin. I didn't write it, brethren, 
but I'm going to tell you what it says. Scripture is clear at 
the point of a condemnation of homosexuality. You've got Genesis 
18 and 19, Sodom and Gomorrah. God judged Sodom and Gomorrah 
and the cities on the planet for what? Their filthy and lewd 
conduct, according to Jude's epistle. You've got Leviticus 
18, 22, Leviticus 20, 13. Turn to the New Testament teaching 
on the same subject in terms of its condemnation of homosexuality. Look at Romans chapter 1. Romans 
chapter 1. Now, I realize that there are 
those who say, well, what Paul is dealing with is a non, sort 
of, faithful homosexuality. It's a profligate, wicked type 
of it. No, it's the act of homosexuality. 
Again, when Paul writes New Testament texts, he's got Old Testament 
texts in his mind. When he prohibits the Corinthians 
from engaging in incestuous relationships, he's got Leviticus and Deuteronomy 
in his head. So when he's writing against 
homosexuality in the Roman Empire, who do you think or what do you 
think he has in his head? He has the law of Moses. God's law 
is always applicable to all men everywhere, irrespective of what 
covenant you live in. There is a trans-covenantal utility 
for the moral law of God. And the seventh commandment is 
binding, whether you're a Jew, whether you're a Gentile, Whether 
you're in America, whether you're in Canada, whether you're in 
Africa, or whether you're in Asia, it doesn't matter. You 
are subject to the law of God. So the apostle, with the Old 
Testament law in his head, is writing New Testament epistles 
and condemning the same sorts of sins. Notice in 126, for this 
reason, God gave them up to vile passions. for even their women 
exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise, 
also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their 
lust for one another, men with men, committing what is shameful, 
and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error, which 
was due." That's unequivocal. That is not... You cannot do 
exegetical sort of tap dancing there to say, well, he's just 
dealing with those who are profligate and have a multitude of partners. 
He's condemning the act of homosexuality. See, the law of God is absolutely 
crucial, but also the created order. When you look at God's 
creation account, He makes man, He makes woman. He gives them 
specific function. He gives them a specific role. 
He gives them specific identity. He gives them specific details. And they jive together. When 
we invert that created order, when we turn it on its head, 
that is abandonment of God's law. That is a rejection of God's 
order. And you see it in the garden. 
God made Adam and he gave Eve to help and they were to exercise 
dominion over the creature. What happens in chapter three? 
It gets flipped on its head. You've got a talking snake coming 
to Eve and Eve giving fruit to her husband. There is an inversion 
in the created order. That's why the apostle speaks 
about that which is against nature. It isn't supposed to function 
that way. It's not supposed to work that 
way. That is not according to the mind and will of God Most 
High, who has infinite wisdom. Notice in 1 Corinthians chapter 
6. 1 Corinthians chapter 6, the Apostle makes a repetition that 
I think troubles some New Testament readers. I'm sorry, 1 Corinthians 
6 at 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. Aren't homosexuals and sodomites 
the exact same thing? Paul is using technical terminology. One word describes the active 
partner, and the other word describes the passive partner in a homosexual 
relationship. He condemns it. But notice, before 
we get on our high and lofty horses, he condemns everything 
else too. See brethren, we are against 
sexual sin, but we need to be against all sexual sin. What 
about the fornication that happens in churches that doesn't get 
dealt with? What about the other types of sexual sins that we 
don't see them as bad? Look at what Paul does, neither 
fornication or fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor 
homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards. You might've said, okay, I'm 
successful, I got through all those. Look at the next one, 
nor revilers. You use your tongue in a perfect 
way every moment of every day. No, you don't. A reviler, unrepentant, 
is going to go to the same hell with an unrepentant sodomite. 
But the beauty of the gospel is what he goes on to say. Nor 
extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 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. This is why I said, The sexual 
sins we find condemned in the Bible are not the unpardonable 
sin. Corinth was notorious for sexual 
sin. They made the word, the city 
of Corinth, into a verb. To Corinthianize was something 
like to engage in sexual immorality. Remember, it's at the end of 
this particular chapter. Look at what he says in verse 
18. Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is 
outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins 
against his own body. Or do you not know that your 
body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you 
have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought 
at a price, therefore glorify God in your body and in your 
spirit, which are God's. Beautiful, isn't it? There is 
forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared. If you are 
a sinner this morning and you haven't believed on the Lord 
Jesus Christ, please listen to that. Please come to the Savior. 
Look unto Him and be ye saved. All the ends of the earth, for 
I am God and there is no other. He says through the prophet Isaiah, 
There is forgiveness with God that He may be feared. 1 Timothy 
chapter 1, again the Apostle highlighting the sin of homosexuality. Verse 8, 1 Timothy 1.8, We know 
that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, knowing this, that 
the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and 
insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy 
and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, 
for manslayers, for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, 
for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that 
is contrary to sound doctrine, according to the glorious gospel 
of the blessed God which was committed to my trust." Pretty 
simple reading of very simple text. Just because we don't like 
conclusions doesn't mean it gives us the ability to engage in exegetical 
finesse and try to ram our particular interpretation down the throat 
of the apostle. He is working in the context 
of biblical law. He is functioning under the government 
of God. He is given inspiration by the 
Spirit to pen the very Word of God. Of course, there will be 
consistency between the New Testament expression of the law of God 
with the Old Testament expression of the law of God. The sixth 
is, again, something that we don't like to think about, something 
that the Old Testament addresses in Exodus 22, Leviticus 18, Leviticus 
20, and Deuteronomy 27, and one that we're probably going to 
see more of. It is the act of bestiality. 
It's horrific to even have to say such things. I remember Andy 
Hamilton one time preaching on sexual sin. And he made this 
observation that I thought was so perceptive. He said it should 
make us hang our heads in shame as the creature of God that we 
have to be told not to lie with animals. that we have to be told 
something that is so base and so coarse and so wretched, but 
the Bible speaks to it. Why? Listen to one commentator 
on the book of Deuteronomy. He 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. You have had to have 
seen the court cases challenging this in the last few years here 
in Canada and in America. It's just ungodly. It's unrighteous. It's unholy. Do you realize that 
the man, the professor of bioethics at Princeton University, a university 
that was founded to train missionaries and pastors, says that bestiality 
is fine, but not with chickens because it can kill them? A man, 
he just got a high honor as well. This is the kind of stuff that 
is passing today for academia and for scholarship. It is wretched 
and it is condemned by the God who made us and who made all 
things. Next, you have the act of unlawful 
divorce. unlawful divorce. Now, there 
are sermons that I have preached on divorce. I do not believe 
that all divorce is unlawful. I believe that the Bible permits 
and authorizes divorce in the case of porneia and in the case 
of desertion. And with desertion, I would include 
spousal abuse. God is not commanding you ladies 
to go ahead and take another dot in the eye for your man. 
That is wicked and vile and reprehensible. And if there is ever a reason 
to sue out for divorce, the Bible gives that. In a post-fallen 
world, when God made Adam and Eve, as Jesus has questioned, 
And Matthew chapter 19 says, from the beginning it was not 
so. But because of the hardness of your hearts, Moses authorized 
permission. Moses lawfully authorized certificates 
of divorce. And again, with reference to 
sexual immorality. And the word is porneia. Not 
moikeia, which is adultery. It's not just adultery. A man 
or a woman engaged in porneia is giving their spouse authorization 
to sue out for divorce. Now, obviously you can forgive. 
Obviously you can seek counsel. Obviously you seek to deal with 
it. But brethren, there is that exception given by our Lord Jesus. And Paul makes the exception 
for desertion in 1 Corinthians 7. Now, here I must add something 
as well. I think Jay Adams is right. In 
his little helpful book on divorce and remarriage, he says, oftentimes, 
in the church, people who have been divorced are treated like 
pariahs. They're treated like second-class citizens. In fact, 
John Piper and Votie Bauckham argue that it is never, ever 
authorized to engage in divorce. That's simply wrong. That is 
simply wrong. It is a failure, first and foremost, 
to do justice to Deuteronomy 24, and then Matthew 5, Matthew 
19, and 1 Corinthians chapter 7. If a person has lawfully exercised 
his or her right under God to sue out for divorce, they are 
not to be treated as second-class citizens by the holy and righteous 
Pharisees that populate churches today. You see this distinction. You say, well, you can't get 
married in the church if you're divorced. What if it was a lawful 
divorce? Are we more righteous than God? Are we more fastidious than God? Are we more concerned for integrity 
than God? God authorizes divorce to redress 
wicked situations. It's not the man that is innocent 
that has broken covenant. It is his wicked wife. It's not 
the wife that is breaking covenant. It was the wicked husband. You 
see, brethren, if God authorizes something, we have no right to 
prohibit that in terms of biblical law. The next one, and this may 
be a bit of a surprise, the act of immodesty. The act of immodesty. In other words, we are not supposed 
to dress to try to garner the eye of anybody other than our 
wives or husbands. And even then, we ought to use 
lawful restraint when we're outside of our bedrooms and our living 
rooms. Immodesty is condemned by God. Proverbs chapter 7, Solomon 
is able to describe a woman, the strange woman, as wearing 
the attire of a harlot. Now, she would have probably 
been dressed far more conservatively in the attire of a harlot in 
Proverbs 7 than what most people wear on the beach today. She 
would have been a whole lot more conservative. But in any culture, 
in any time period, there is the identifiable attire of a 
harlot. and that woman who is plying 
her wares is going to wear such to try to captivate young foolish 
men. Immodesty is wrong, and especially 
when it comes to the church. Jesus condemns this in Matthew 
5. The apostle Paul tells us governing 
rules for Christian church worship. He wants the men everywhere to 
pray, lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting. And he wants 
the women to dress modestly. What's his point? He doesn't 
want you struggling, looking at sister whoever, because you're 
supposed to be praying. Now, I realize men are pigs most 
of the time. Men have issues, to be sure, 
and men have their challenges. But ladies don't help. Don't 
add fire to that. Understand the appropriateness 
of clothing for specific times. It's intriguing, when Joseph 
is fetched out of the prison to go speak to Potiphar, he changes 
his clothes and he shaves. You mean there's times when you 
don't have to change your clothes and shave? Yeah, when you're 
not being fetched by the king of Egypt. But there are times 
when you need to clean up a little bit. you need to make sure that 
you dress appropriately for the situation. Matthew Henry said, 
men sin, but devils tempt to sin. And this just isn't a women 
problem either. Men, definitely, not me, I don't 
have to worry about that, but men, be careful, be on your guard, 
and watch. Immodesty, as he says, men sin, 
but devils tempt to sin. Ninth, polygamy. Polygamy is 
a challenge because in the Old Testament, people were polygamous. 
But in the beginning it was not so. God made Adam and He made 
Eve. He didn't make Eve and Lucy and 
Gene. He made Adam and Eve. That was 
paradigmatic for the creation order. One man, one woman, till 
death do us part. Now, after sin, when sin comes 
into the world, you see men do things like take on additional 
wives. So when God regulates polygamy, 
it's not necessarily condoning the practice, yeah, everybody 
should be polygamous. It is rather protecting the innocent 
parties. In other words, if a man took 
an additional wife, he was not to deprive his previous or first 
wife of food, sexual intimacy, or clothing. He was still supposed 
to provide those things to meet her needs. So it's a law given 
in a post-fall world to regulate a practice in order to protect 
innocent parties. Just like divorce. If there had 
never been sin in the world, there would have never been a 
need for divorce. But in a post-fall world where men do vicious things 
to their wives and women do vicious things to their husbands, God 
provides redress in His law in order to protect innocent parties. 
It is a most excellent benefit of God's wisdom as it applies 
to a post-fall world in which we live. So polygamy. Next is 
the act of prostitution. Leviticus chapter 19, verse 29. I'm gonna say something. It's 
probably gonna shock your sensitivities. It was not a crime in Old Testament 
Israel. It would have been a sin before 
God, but it was not a crime. Remember Solomon's expression 
of wisdom? Two harlots come and they talk 
about the baby that had died. He doesn't say away with you, 
go get in jail. No, that's not the issue. Again, 
it was not a criminal offense in Old Covenant Israel but it 
would have always been a sin against God Most High. I would 
suggest eleventhly, the use of pornography. And here, Matthew 
5, 28. And all of us need to take heed to this. All of us 
need to guard our hearts. Young people, I don't even want 
to say especially, because old people can sin this way as well. 
But when I was young, I didn't walk around with a phone in my 
pocket that had access to just about everything in the world. 
There are temptations or instruments that are useful in the hand of 
the devil today. A good thing. Phones are great. 
Texts, you know, keeps you off the phone and, you know, the 
brief call and you got to look up what's the population of Delhi 
and you can look it up on Google. It's a beautiful thing. But, 
you know, as well as I do, there is great potential there to be 
led astray or to purposely go astray. The use of pornography 
is not good. It is condemned. I put it in 
the category of Matthew 5, 28. He who looks upon a woman to 
lust. That's the only purpose behind 
pornography. It's not to highlight the beauty 
of God's created order. As Andy Hamilton in that sermon 
on sexual sin said, when a young man is engaged in self-manipulation 
or engaged in sin, he's not thinking about a beautiful horizon. He's 
not thinking about cultist laity. He's thinking about base images 
of God's image bearers. And then the last one, and there's 
probably others, but you can turn to Deuteronomy 22. This 
one needs to be addressed. And I know it causes Concern, 
I know it causes pain. I can't imagine what I would 
do in a scenario where my son or daughter wanted to engage 
in what I believe God is condemning in 22-5. A woman shall not wear 
anything that pertains to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman's 
garment, for all who do so are an abomination to the Lord your 
God. Transvestitism and transgenderism. I do not believe 22-5 is saying 
that a woman can't wear trousers. I don't think that's it. I don't 
think it means that a woman can't wear socks because men wear socks. It's when you purposefully try 
to represent as the opposite sex. It's when you're a transvestite 
and put on clothing, if you're a woman, to try and look like 
a man, or if you're a man to try and look like a woman. And 
transgenderism takes that to the very organic end point in 
terms of actually getting surgery to make that happen. Now, listen 
to Bill C-4. In the preamble, after telling 
us what we can't do, it says, whereas conversion therapy, and 
I mentioned this a couple of weeks ago, if the government's 
beef is against inflicting pain on people, you know, shock treatment 
on people, I'm not into conversion therapy, if that's the definition. 
I would never say grab somebody, take a child from their home, 
put them in a seat and, you know, sprinkle water on them and put 
a fan on them and beat them with rubber hoses and try to keep 
them from any sort of a wrong sexual expression. No, that's 
wrong. But if you read Bill C-4, that's not the issue. It's not 
the paddles trying to, you know, cajole somebody or get somebody 
back into their way. It is even to talk to them. It's 
even preaching a sermon like this. But in the preamble, listen 
to what it says. Whereas conversion therapy causes 
harm to society because, among other things, it is based on 
and propagates myths and stereotypes about sexual orientation, gender 
identity, and gender expression. including the myth that heterosexuality, 
cisgender gender identity, and gender expression that conforms 
to the sex assigned to a person at birth are to be preferred 
over other sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender 
expressions. Now, if you're paying attention, 
brethren, and I'm not suggesting that this government actually 
cares about science, but if you're paying attention, this preamble 
not only classifies the Bible as myth, it classifies science 
as myth. Of course, what God made you 
in the womb to be affects the expression of your sexuality. That's not a myth. To suggest 
that a man do what a man's supposed to do, and to suggest that a 
woman does what a woman is supposed to do, that's been science for 
millennia. That's just been the way it is. Persons have always recognized, 
whether they were the most barbaric of persons, that you need a man 
and a woman to propagate the species. That is self-evident. That is obvious. To consign the 
Bible and science into the category of myth is where we've fallen. This is where we're at today, 
and this is why pastors are preaching on biblical sexuality to say 
no to the federal government. And in the history of the world, 
matters of great importance vis-a-vis ethics, morals, the way that 
we live, the way that we conduct ourselves, have always been done 
in terms of theology, in terms of religion, in terms of philosophy. They're the ones that have produced 
the ethicists. We are now being told by the 
federal government that our decree stands. And if you don't fall 
in line with that, there will be criminal sanction up to five 
years for sermons on quote-unquote conversion therapy. Brethren, 
I think And I'm sure you know this from the last two years, 
we got huge problems in terms of federal government. They're 
doing exactly what they're telling us we can't do, which we've always 
done because western civilization is founded on Judeo-Christian 
ethics. They want to just obliterate 
that. They want to just wave it off. 
They want to just consign it to criminal activity to tell 
a man, you need to remain a man. To tell a woman, you need to 
remain a woman. Again, that may be a tough pill 
for those persons to swallow, but they better be able to deal 
with a few tough pills. They ought to be able to deal 
with a bit of pushback. If my 10-year-old wanted a tattoo, 
I would try to talk him or her out of it. I would try to give 
them some pushback. I wouldn't expect them to crumble 
and stop and say, oh, I just can't have it. You need to take 
in the information and the data. Do you know how many people there 
are that are thankful for conversion therapy? Those persons who say, 
I was on my way to making a huge mistake, an irreversible mistake. You can get a tattoo covered. 
Some of that other stuff you can't fix. That's a bell you 
can't unring. That's a sight you can't unsee. 
That's a decision that has lifelong implications. And a bit of time 
on the front side is absolutely crucial to make such decisions. And that discussion should take 
place with parents, should take place with pastors, should take 
place with persons who have an interest in your life, not the 
federal government. Justin Trudeau the other day 
said, we have a new app for mental health. You want to track my 
mental health? Thank you, but no thank you. This government that has admitted 
to spying on 33 million people in the last two years. Brethren, 
the bigger problem, as I perceive it, is that we've got a government 
who wants to be as God. They want to cut us off from 
all comfort and communion in our church lives and fellowship, 
and they want to create a dependent population on the civil state. That is horrifying. That is gruesome. That is vile. So, with reference 
to the sins indicated, there are more to be sure, but they're 
certainly the main ones. Now, in terms of the manner of 
violating the commandment, the external act. Engaging in any 
of these activities is wrong. You can't do it. It's that simple. Why can't I have a girlfriend? Why can't I have a boyfriend? 
Because God said no. You should love that bit in Ephesians 
chapter 6. Children obey their parents and the Lord. Why? Because 
they have all the... No, it's right. What happened 
to that on the part of parents? This is right. This is what God 
commands. This is what you need to abide. No, no, no, buts. God doesn't 
give us, you know, several options. Go ahead and pick whatever it 
is you want. And this is not a condemnation of sex. The Bible 
is very pro-sex. Sometimes people have that opinion 
of Christians. Oh, you Christians are funny guys. No, God made 
Adam and Eve. He knew exactly what they were 
gonna do. He programmed them and made them 
to do that. There's nothing wrong with that 
expression of love in the marriage context, in the covenant boundaries 
that are established by God. It's when we go astray, when 
we go wayward, when we imbibe all these other things, that's 
wrong. So obviously the external act, the Westminster Larger Catechism, 
what are the sins forbidden in the Seventh Commandment? The 
sins forbidden in the Seventh Commandment, besides the neglect 
of the duties required, are adultery, fornication, rape, incest, sodomy, 
and all unnatural lusts. But as I've said, and I've alluded 
to, internal lust. Matthew chapter 5, the Lord Jesus 
says, I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for 
her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. That's 
a prohibition that we only, and it works both ways. If a woman 
looks upon a man to lust, she's in sin too. I guess we have this 
thought that it's only men that lust after women. Women lust 
after men. I mean, their book covers with 
the guy with 18 inch guns and flowing hair and the bronzed 
body would seem to indicate that women have that sort of an allure 
as well, or attraction to a man. I'm not a rocket scientist, I'm 
not Dr. Ruth, but I certainly have witnessed 
this. But it's the internal lust. I 
say to you that whoever looks at a woman, to lust for her has 
already committed adultery with her in his heart. Spurgeon said, 
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. Thomas 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 you've got the 
external act. You've got the internal disposition. 
As well, you've got the use of corrupt and filthy speech. All 
corrupt or filthy communications or listening thereunto. And then 
you've got the association with idleness, gluttony, and drunkenness. It's intriguing that when the 
Westminster larger and the Westminster shorter, perhaps not the shorter, 
but the larger certainly, indicates that loss or gluttony and drunkenness. What's the point there? I think 
the point is simple. The failure to govern every passion 
produces a climate conducive to indulge in any passion. In other words, if you can't 
control yourself with food or drink, then very often there 
is a lack of an ability to control yourself with sexuality. So that 
is the exposition of the command, you shall not commit adultery. In terms of some quick thoughts 
of application. First, the means for protection. I love our confession of faith 
here. It says, marriage was ordained for the mutual help of husband 
and wife, for the increase of mankind with a legitimate issue 
and the preventing of uncleanness. As I've often told the young 
men in our church, when you propose to your bride-to-be, it may not 
necessarily be wise for you to say, I wanna take you as my bride 
for the preventing of uncleanness. She may give you a bit of an 
odd look or raise her eyebrow, but that's part of it. That's 
part of it. God, in his goodness and in his 
kindness, provided a vehicle for which we can express our 
sexuality. Yeah. If you're a young man and 
you're pining away, get a good job, work hard, and find a woman. If you're a woman, same thing. 
Find a man. Oh, I'm just burning with lust. 
God's given provision. Find somebody, be active, be 
proactive, and search them out and be the kind of guy or girl 
that they should want to marry. In other words, start on yourself, 
take heed to your own flock, make sure everything's in order, 
and then go find somebody to share your life with. The means 
for protection is marriage. Solomon in Proverbs 8 gives us 
three R's to help us with reference to sexual purity in the relationship. 
Remove your way far from the woman who entices you that's 
not your wife. Rejoice in the wife of your youth and remember 
that God sees everything that you do. Proverbs 5, three R's, 
sexual purity. Remove, rejoice, remember. Secondly, 
in terms of the rejection of the seventh commandment. This 
is all over, isn't it? I mean, it's like every single 
day there's something new. And I think it's a bit deceptive incongruous, let's say that. 
Well, the government says, I can't try to keep you from doing this, 
but the media can certainly tell your kids that they should. They 
can certainly try and capitalize on this. and seek to program 
and proselytize and, you know, drag queen story hour in public 
libraries in the United States. What's the design and purpose 
for this? It's to normalize that which 
God has said you're not supposed to do. So there is this prevalence 
of sexual sin in North America. There is prevalence of sexual 
sin even in the church. Unbiblical divorce. Now again, 
persons can repent. Persons can be forgiven. Persons 
can have blood atonement through our Lord Jesus Christ. It's wonderful, 
but we need to deal with it. Fornication, not sodomite fornication. Everybody's upset about that 
in the church today, but man on woman fornication is wrong 
too, and we need to condemn that. The absence of preaching the 
law of God because we don't want to offend anybody. Brethren, 
I'm sorry, but the church has to offend somebody or she ain't 
doing what she's supposed to do. In Luke's gospel, with reference 
to John the Baptist, he not only told Herod that it was unlawful 
for him to have his brother's wife, but everything else that 
Herod was doing that was unlawful too. John the Baptist would have 
been the guy that Herod wouldn't want at his parties, because 
John the Baptist would have been there saying, that's wrong, that's 
wrong, that's wrong. Brethren, if we don't preach 
the law, men will never see their need. for Christ. He said, I 
didn't come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. And 
with reference to the prevalence of sexual sin and this government 
intrusion, the federal government stepping out of their lane into 
the arena of ethicists and saying what we can and cannot do. If 
you've not thought about government overreach over the last two years, 
I would suggest you probably give it some attention at some 
point down the road. They can't control viruses, brethren. They can't control the climate 
or weather. They can't control things that 
they are saying they have the purview and the responsibility 
over. They don't have that. God has 
the prerogative. It's God who's over viruses. It's God who's over climate. 
This whole concept of climate change. Oh, it rained more than 
it ever has. That's signs that you need to 
give more tax money to the federal government and we need to reduce 
fossil fuel. Reduce fossil fuels? Are you 
nuts? God made the world and everything 
in it, and he knew good and well there would be an industrial 
revolution. He knew good and well there would be a gasoline-powered 
engine. He knew good and well that man 
would exercise dominion, as he was called to, and take fossil 
fuels and do wonderful things with them. This is just a money 
grab and a power grab, and I'm sorry if you don't like me saying 
that. And then finally, the use of 
the seventh commandment. In our church, we are reformed. 
That means we have a reformed view or understanding of the 
law. And in the reform, they have a threefold use of the law. 
The civil use, it's given to restrain man's wickedness. Without any law, we would be 
hell on earth. The second use is what's called 
the pedagogical use, or the child-tutor feng shui. So that when men, 
women, boys or girls hear the law of God, and they see that 
they themselves are sinners before God, we preach the gospel to 
them. We tell them about Jesus. You 
are a lawbreaker. You have rejected. You have transgressed. You have rebelled. But there 
is good news in our Lord Jesus Christ. And then there is the 
normative views. And the people of God must abstain 
from sexual sin. God's given you a wife or given 
you a husband. He's been very benevolent and 
very gracious. We need to practice biblical 
marriage, and we need to mortify sin. We need to put to death 
the deeds of the body that we may live, and that by the Spirit, 
according to Romans chapter 8 and verse 13. I want to read one 
more text, then we're done. Turn back to 1 Corinthians chapter 
6. 1 Corinthians chapter 6. Verse nine, 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. And such were some of you. Praise God Almighty. And such were some of you. All 
of us in this room ought to be shouting for joy at this point. And such were some of you. We were what's described there. 
We may still struggle with what's described here. And such were 
some of you. But notice the power of the Christian 
gospel. Notice the glory of the work 
of our Lord Jesus Christ. 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. Remember John chapter 
8, the woman caught in adultery. The Pharisees bring her to Jesus. She was caught in the act, in 
the very act. If she was caught in the very 
act, why didn't you bring the man? Why didn't you bring him 
too? John tells us they weren't doing this because they were 
concerned about justice. They weren't doing this because 
they were concerned with biblical law. They were trying to test 
Jesus. They were trying to trap Jesus. 
So of course Jesus bends over and he starts writing something 
on the ground and he says, let him who is without the first 
stone cast the stone at her. That's the law of witnesses. 
Deuteronomy chapter 19. Those men could not because they 
had girlfriends, they had consorts, they had something on the side. And so when they all abandoned, 
when they all depart, Jesus looks upon her and says, where'd they 
all go? And then he says, go and sin 
no more. Now, by saying that, he doesn't 
mean she can be perfect, she's going to be exact, entire, and 
perpetually obedient. Don't sin this sin anymore. He forgives her, and he cleanses 
her from the adultery, and the sin, and the shame, and the darkness 
of that moment. He washes her clean in His precious 
blood and sends her on her way. If she had been in the church 
at Corinth and heard the Apostle Paul say, and such were some 
of you, there would have been a hearty amen in her heart expressed 
to him for that blessed statement. There is forgiveness with thee 
that thou mayest be feared. Let us pray. Our Father in heaven, 
we thank you for your word. We thank you for the clarity 
at the point of sexual ethics. And God, we see the confusion 
in our own day, and it does perplex us to live in a day much like 
the prophet Isaiah's, when men called good evil and evil good. 
We ask God that you would be merciful in this land. We ask 
God that as this word goes forth today, the people of God would 
be instructed, sinners would be instructed, the gospel would 
be proclaimed, and that the people of God would rejoice, and that 
those who are unbelievers would, by grace, believe. And we do 
pray for our civil government. God, we know this is no easy 
task, but we certainly see it as a more difficult task when 
they oppose you and your revelation. God, be merciful to our prime 
minister, be merciful to our premiers, to our lawmakers, and 
we pray that they would not be in the business of legislating 
Immorality and we ask this in the name and for the glory of 
our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen Well, we'll close with a 
brief time of meditation