 "Thou shall not commit adultery" The Lord called His people to Mt. Sinai. In a terrifying display of His power, the mountain quaked and fire and smoke permeated the air. As He gave Moses the Commandments, the Lord said, clearly and distinctly, "Thou shall not commit adultery." Now, I want to say right now, that if upon reading that you conclude that this is just on other reminder that you are disqualified for anything good because you have messed up in this area, then you are wrong. As with any sin, there are inevitable consequences, but adultery is not the unpardonable sin. You can leave here today with a brand new start. Still, it is a command. The Lord is saying, in essence, "Get this. This is important." Sometimes advertisers use the claim, "Our product is unadulterated." By this they mean that the product is pure, or uncontaminated. The dictionary defines adulterated this way, "To debase by adding other substances." That is the essence of adultery. We add to the mix other things and other persons that contaminate that which the Lord intended to be pure. Note what the Lord did not say. He did not say, "Thou shall not have sex or want sex." We always focus on the prohibition, and forget that a loving Father says what He says because He wants the best for us, and He knows how things work . . . and how they don't work. As we tackle this timely subject, I think that you are going to be nicely surprised to learn that the Lord is committed to our fulfillment, and this command, just like all the others, is a reflection of that great love. Pastor Jim |
