The 7th Commandments, Pt. 3
Lesson # 17-119
Pastor/Teacher, Jim Rickard
Grace Fellowship Church
Before we begin, if you are a believer in the
Lord Jesus Christ, (If You have - Trusted in Him for Eternal Life), it is
important to prepare yourself to: Take-in God’s Word and/or Participate in a
Communion Service, so take a moment to name, cite, or acknowledge your sins
privately, directly to God the Father. This will assure that you are in
fellowship with God the Father & the Holy Spirit’s convicting ministry will
then be able to teach you as the Holy Spirit is the real teacher.
1
John 1:9 says— “If we confess [simply
name, cite, or acknowledge to God the Father] our sins [known sins], He
is faithful and just to forgive us our sins [known sins] and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness
[all unknown & forgotten sins].”
For those of you who have not yet accepted Jesus Christ as
your Lord & Savior, please see: The
Salvation Message @ the end of this document.
2 Pet 3:9, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some
count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to
perish but for all to come to repentance.”
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The Doctrine of the Ten Commandments Related to the Church Age, Part XXIII. Mat 5:27-28, 31-32; 19:18; John 8:3-4; Rom 2:22; 3:19; Rev 2:22.
The Doctrine of the Ten Commandments Related to the Church Age, Part XXIII. Mat 5:27-28, 31-32; 19:18; John 8:3-4; Rom 2:22; 3:19; Rev 2:22.
The 7th Commandment,
Pt 2.
Ex 20:14; Deut 5:18, “You shall
not commit adultery.”
Adultery
is defined as voluntary sexual intercourse between a married or engaged person
and a partner other than their spouse. This is also called infidelity. Under
Divine Institution #2, Marriage, the 7th Commandment has been given
to protect every right man and right woman, even before they meet, and to
protect their relationship after they marry.
As
noted previously, adultery, even in the form of idolatry, was called “the great
sin” in, Gen 20:9; 39:9; cf. Ex 32:21, 30-31; 2 Kings 17:21.
Ex
32:21, “Then
Moses said to Aaron, ‘What did this people do to you, that you have brought such
great sin upon them?’”
Ex
32:31, “Then
Moses returned to the LORD, and said, ‘Alas, this people has committed a great
sin, and they have made a god of gold for themselves’.”
With
the punishment for adultery between a man and woman being death, you can
imagine that idolatry by the Israelites would call for their death or
destruction too, Ezek 16:37-38.
Ezek
16:38, “Thus I
will judge you like women who commit adultery or shed blood are judged; and I
will bring on you the blood of wrath and jealousy.”
Because,
idolatry was a continual problem for Israel and Judah before the exile, YHWH
commanded the prophet Hosea to marry an adulterous woman as an object lesson to
the people of Israel, who were committing adultery against YHWH by worshiping
other gods, Hosea 3:1.
Hosea
3:1, “Then the LORD said to me,
‘Go again, love a woman who is loved by her husband, yet an
adulteress, even as the LORD loves the sons of Israel, though they turn to
other gods and love raisin cakes’.”
Dried
raisins or cakes were used in idolatry, cf. Jer 7:18; 44:19. The cakes denote the sweetness and lusciousness,
yet still the dryness, of any gratification apart from God, which is preferred
to Him. In addition, this tells us of the lustfulness and dryness of
relationships in adultery, over opposed to the gratifying relationship God has
designed for us with our right man and right woman.
Therefore,
whether horizontally in the 7th Commandment or vertically in the 2nd
Commandment, we are not to commit adultery.
New
Testament Usage:
Even
in the times of our generation with the so called “sexual revolution,” man may
think he has changed this commandment, but he has not. This commandment still
stands today.
The
first time “adultery,” is used in the NT is by Jesus in the Sermon on the
Mount, Mat 5:27-28. There Jesus told
us that anyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed
adultery with her in his heart. Cf. Mat
15:19; James 1:14-15. This tells of the genesis of the sin being in the
mentality of your soul. When David entered into the physical sin with
Bathsheba, it first began in the mentality of his soul, 2 Sam 11:2-5, which also led to murder.
Mat
15:19, “For out
of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts,
false witness, slanders.”
James
1:14-15, “But each
one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. 15Then
when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished,
it brings forth death.”
Therefore,
mental adultery is condemned, where the underlying principle is to have a pure
heart before God, as you walk by means of the filling of the Holy Spirit with
the Word of God cycling through your soul.
This
commandment uses the Greek Verb MOICHEUO, μοιχεύω that
means, “to commit adultery,” which is used 14 times in the NT, Mat 5:27-28, 32; 19:18; Mark 10:19; Luke
16:18, (twice); 18:20; John 8:4; Rom
2:22, (twice); James 2:11, (twice);
Rev 2:22.
In
Mat 5:32; Luke 16:18, Jesus taught
on divorce where adultery is a bona fide basis for divorce.
Mat
5:31-32, “It was
said, 'Whoever sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce';
32but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the
reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced
woman commits adultery.”
As
noted, if adultery is committed in the marriage, (“unchasity” – PORNEIA,
“fornication, prostitution, adultery, etc.), it is lawful for a man or woman to
divorce their spouse who committed the act and be married to another. And, in
the new marriage, they are NOT committing adultery. The committing of adultery
in a new marriage only occurs when someone is divorced for other reasons than
adultery. Cf. Mat 19:9; Mark 10:11-12.
In Mat 19:18; Mark 10:19; Luke 18:20, we
have the episode of the rich young ruler who wanted salvation based on his
works. As we have previously noted, Jesus gave him a list of commandments to
keep including “adultery.” Yet, as Jesus noted, keeping the Law does not save,
only faith in Him does, i.e., “come follow Me.”
Likewise,
in James 2:11, “adultery” is used to
tell us that if we are trying to keep the Law for salvation, (which cannot be
done), and transgress any one of the commandments, we have broken them all and
are liable to the law for condemnation. Salvation is found only through faith
alone in Jesus Christ alone, Eph 2:8-9;
John 3:16; Acts 16:31.
In
John 8:3-4, Jesus taught about love
and forgiveness, as well as the sin of self-righteous arrogance, when the
Pharisees were trying to entrap Him using the Law regarding adultery. This is
when Jesus responded, “he who is without
sin cast the first stone.” MOICHEUO is used in vs. 4, where the cognate Noun MOICHEIA, “adultery,” is used in vs. 3.
In
Rom 2:22 and forward, Paul is giving
a discourse and uses adultery to state we are not saved on the basis of keeping
the Law.
In
Rom 13:9, we see the listing of
several commandments including, “do not
commit adultery,” where we are taught that when we have AGAPE Love towards
our neighbor, we fulfill the whole Law.
In
Rev 2:22, we have the warning to the
church at Thyatira. It tells us that following false religions is committing
adultery against God, i.e., idolatry, cf. Rev
17:2; 18:9. The examples given are the Nicolaitans and Balaamites. These
false teachings where preaching a doctrine of licentiousness, a supposed
“liberty,” that believers could enjoy with respect to carnality and lewdness.
We see this today too, and therefore, it has always been a threat to the people
of God.
The
“deeds of the Nicolaitans,” Rev 2:6,
and the so-called “doctrine of Balaam,” Rev
2:14, sought to promote the toleration of the sin of adultery so prevalent
in that day, while encouraging Christians to adapt their own life-styles to
that of the surrounding world. This doctrine was particularly seductive in
Thyatira where it appeared in a spiritual disguise. In each of these contexts,
the message was “Repent!” However, it is clear from the later chapters of the
Book of Revelation that even the horrific judgments poured out in the “last
days,” will not cause men to repent of such sins, Rev 9:21. As a result, immoral men will be excluded from God’s
eternal realm, Rev 21:8, 27; 22:14-15.
Therefore, adultery is used in the Bible to describe both apostasy and negative
volition toward Bible doctrine, Rev
17:1-5; cf. Jer 3:8-10; Ezek 16:23-43; 23:24-28.
Other
cognates of MOICHEUO include:
1.
The verb MOICHAOMAI μοιχάομαι that also means, “commit adultery,” which is
used 4 times in the NT, Mat 5:32, (at
the end); 19:9; Mark 10:11-12. These
all have to do with Jesus’ teaching on Divorce as noted above.
2.
The Adjective MOICHALIS, μοιχαλίς that means, “adulteress or adulterous,”
is used 7 times in 6 passages the NT in Mat
12:39; 16:4; Mark 8:38; Rom 7:3 (twice);
James 4:4; 2 Peter 2:14.
To be continued Thursday, Nov. 9, 2017
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A PERSONAL NOTE FOR YOU
John 6:47 says: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who
believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life.”
Notice
again what John 6:47 says, “he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life.” It doesn’t say, “will have;” it says,
“has.” Therefore, the very moment you believe Jesus Christ’s promise of
everlasting life, you have it, and it can never be lost or taken away from you [John 10:28-29]. Furthermore, the gift
of everlasting life [also called eternal life in Scripture] is available to
every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.
John 3:14-18 says: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the
wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in
Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He
gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but
have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn
the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in
Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because
he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
Eph 2:8-9, “For by grace are ye
saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any
man should boast.”
If you have never accepted Jesus
Christ as your Lord and Savior, I am here to tell you that Jesus loves you. He
loves you so much that He gave His life for you. God the Father also loves you.
He loves you so much that He gave His only Son for you by sending Him to the
Cross. At the Cross Jesus died in your place. Taking upon Himself all of your
sins and all of my sins. He was judged for our sins and paid the price for our
sins. Therefore, our sins will never be held against us.
Right where you are, you now have
the opportunity to make the greatest decision in your life. To accept the free
gift of salvation and eternal life by truly believing that Jesus Christ died
for your sins and was raised on the third day as the proof of the promise of
eternal life. So right now, you can pause and reflect on what Christ has done
for you and say to the Father:
"Yes Father, I believe that Your Son, Jesus Christ,
died on the cross for the forgiveness of my sins."
If
you have done that, I Welcome You to the Eternal Family of God !!!
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Grace Fellowship Church
Pastor/Teacher: James H. Rickard
23 Messenger Street, Unit 3
Plainville, MA 02762
Copyright © 2001 - 2017.
Property of: James H Rickard Bible Ministries
All Rights Reserved.
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