Do Not Commit Adultery Light in the Fog of Desire
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Session 8 Session 8: Ready Your Heart Do Not Commit Adultery Light in the Fog of Desire 8 Whether it was not to touch the stove or stick your head in the oven, odds are your parents instructed you in ways that both stifled your desires and preserved your life. Sometimes the rules made sense, but other times you may have chosen to throw a tantrum or two in an attempt to get what you wanted. Take a moment to read Proverbs 6:20-23, a passage that reflects the heart of a father toward his son. In this particular instance, the commands and teachings of a parent are described as watching over the reader at night and speaking with him during the day. The imagery of a lamp is powerful as well. When the object of our desire is not good for us, our emotions can fog our judgment. It becomes harder to make the right decision because we cannot see through the cloud of desire that is in front of us. However, when we hold the command in front of us and allow the light of teaching to shine through the fog, the road that we should travel becomes much clearer. Discipline is a way to life. The discipline of a father can guide us down a path that is loving, corrective, and leads to clarity. Proverbs 3:11-12 reminds us that God disciplines His children as a father disciplines his son. It is powerful to see the example of God disciplining His children toward life. If we will heed the commands of our Heavenly Father and understand His teaching, our decisions regarding sin and desire will become clear. We will not fall into sin and, as a result, will live life with clarity. Pause and Reflect – How has corrective discipline saved your life? – Why does God discipline those whom He loves? – How does obeying God’s Word bring clarity in your decisions? 72 Personal Study Guide | Summer 2014 © 2012 LifeWay Christian Resources. Permission granted to reproduce and distribute within the license agreement with purchaser. Session 8: Ready Your Heart Do Not Commit Adultery Getting to the Heart There are a number of different detective shows on television. FromLaw & Order to CSI, people love television shows that start with a crime and then tell the story of motive. The motive and the action go hand in hand. The mystery is in finding out who is guilty and why they committed the crime. Internal motives lead to external actions. Christ was interested in motives as well. While addressing the crowd in Matthew 5:27-28, He informed them that the Seventh Commandment was not just about the action of adultery but also the lust that leads to adultery. Jesus was raising the bar. In connecting adultery to lust, Jesus was laying out a view of the law that goes back to the heart. This would be the new order of things. This would be how His followers would know one another. Not just by external behaviors and prohibitions but by inward transformation. The law against adultery makes us think, I need to change my behavior. Jesus’ law against lust says, No, you need a new heart! And that is what God gives us through Jesus’ death and resurrection. Now, as believers redeemed by Christ’s blood, we are freed from slavery to lust and sin. Pause and Reflect – Reflect on your heart right now. Are there ungodly motives behind your actions? – Read 2 Corinthians 10:3-6. How will you take every thought captive to obey Christ? – What will you do today to bring your motives in submission to Christ? Session 8 73 Session 8: Group Time Do Not Commit Adultery God Displays His Glory Through People of Purity Not long ago, a commercial came out for Pepsi Max® that depicted two truck drivers eating at the same diner. One represented Pepsi Max and the other Coca Cola Zero®. The Pepsi guy strikes up a conversation with the Coke guy while the song “Why Can’t We Be Friends?” plays from the jukebox. Next, the Pepsi driver offers a Pepsi Max to his newfound friend (who happens to be wearing a Coca Cola hat and uniform). Thinking this is a sign of true friendship, the Coke driver takes a large swig of the soda. But the Pepsi driver gets his smartphone out, records the other driver, posts the video to YouTube, and then tells the guy what he’s just done. The commercial ends with the two of them launching out of the diner window in a brawl. We see the Coca Cola driver “cheating” on his company. What makes the spot effective is that Voices from we expect fidelity from the truck driver. Church History “We should fear and love In society, fidelity is often an unspoken God, and so we should lead a expectation. Perhaps it’s being faithful chaste and pure life in word to a team, a company, a brand, a and deed, each one loving product, a political party, or a social and honoring his wife or 1 cause. What does betrayal look her husband.” like in these cases? Does pledging –Martin Luther (1483-1546) fidelity by an oath or contract change the situation? Scripture has much to say about fidelity, oaths, and commitment. But Scripture’s focus is on more important things than brand loyalty for certain teams or companies or products. 74 Personal Study Guide | Summer 2014 In this session, we will look at the Seventh Commandment, in which God forbids adultery and thereby emphasizes the goodness of sex within the marriage covenant. Sexual immorality distorts the picture of the gospel and becomes an idol that controls our behavior. Jesus showed how the sin of adultery begins with lust in the human heart. Through the gospel, we are forgiven of our disobedience, and we are set free to live in purity so that others might see the goodness and glory of God. 1. Why does God forbid adultery? (Deut. 5:18) 18 “ ‘And you shall not commit adultery. Because it goes against God’s original design. The prohibition against adultery doesn’t make sense until we understand God’s original design for sexual expression within the confines of marriage. From the beginning, God established a blueprint for the family. He saw that it was not good for man to be alone, and He created woman. Adam and Eve together reflected the image of God in their relationship of trust and love. What are some passages in the Bible that extol the beauty and glory of sex within marriage? What does the prohibition against adultery tell us about God’s view of sex and marriage? Because it destroys marriages and families. When the first couple sinned against God, they became separated from God. The marriage covenant is still powerful, but because of sin, it is a fractured version of what God originally intended. Trust is broken. Marriages are imperfect. Many fall apart. A well-known story of adultery in the Old Testament is King David and Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 11. Here we see a strong king who followed after God’s heart but fell to the sin of adultery. David, the giant-killer and mighty warrior, saw from the rooftop of his palace a beautiful woman bathing. Disregarding the fact she was married to Uriah—a soldier on the front lines of his army—David slept with her. After Bathsheba informed him she was pregnant, the lust that led David to adultery next led him to lie and then led him to kill. In a remarkable display of depravity, David sent Uriah to the front lines and ordered the military commander to pull back during the fighting so Uriah would die. Have you or someone you know walked through the pain caused by adultery? What were the consequences of this sin? Why do you think immorality is treated so seriously in the Scriptures? Session 8 75 Because it damages a picture of the gospel. You may wonder what God’s law about adultery has to do with the gospel. In Galatians 3:24, Paul wrote that “the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.” If we apply this verse about the law in general to the specific law against adultery, we see that this Commandment (like a guardian) was meant to protect marriage. It protects the design of what God established from the beginning. The law also protected marriage as a picture of the gospel. The apostle Paul wrote that husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church (Eph. 5:25). Marriage is connected to Christ in that it paints a picture of our relationship with God. Because it is an expression of spiritual adultery. Physical adultery may be against a spouse, but there is always a spiritual component that is against God. That’s why David, who sinned against Bathsheba and her husband, when confessing his sin, cried out to God for forgiveness: “Against you, you only, have I sinned” (Ps. 51:4). Physical adultery is an expression of spiritual adultery. In Scripture, God often describes His relationship with His people in terms of a marriage covenant. The expectation is love and fidelity. God is faithful and constantly pursuing His people, but His people “cheat” on Him by running Voices from after idols. the Church As believers, our relationship with Christ is “As believers, through Christ now described in terms of a bride and groom. In we have been made worthy to be a place that God is James 4:4, we read that friendship with the world pleased to dwell.