Exodus 20:14 says, “You shall not commit adultery.”
Well that pretty much sums it up, right? But what exactly is adultery? You may hold to the common notion that adultery is when a man and woman are married, and one partner has sexual intercourse with somebody else. That is a true definition of adultery, but there’s more to it than just that.
Read what Jesus has to say about it in Matthew 5:27-30: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.” Ouch!
Guys, have you ever looked at a woman lustfully? That could mean checking out a hot babe you see walking down the street, or enjoying a centerfold in a magazine, or even looking at seductive photos online. All of those count as adultery in the eyes of Jesus.
Ladies, have you ever looked at a man lustfully? That could mean enjoying the tight pants of football players, or paying extra attention to a TV commercials with a half-naked man, or dreaming what will happen when that guy with a cute Facebook picture finally asks you out. All of those count as adultery in the eyes of Jesus.
But you may be thinking, what if I’m not married? Yep, it’s still adultery. That person you’re checking out, is he/she your spouse? No? Well then it’s adultery, because you aren’t married to them.
The Hebrew word used Exodus 20:14 literally does mean the act of sexual intercourse outside of marriage, but it also has a figurative meaning of committing idolatrous worship, or worshipping something (or someone) that is not God. That definitely fits the situations listed above - you’re worshipping somebody else’s body rather than God.
Where in your life have you committed adultery already? What steps can you take to prevent that from happening again?
Saturday morning, you sit down for breakfast, have a cup of tea or coffee, and just when you are about relax into your day, the doorbell rings. You didn’t have guests coming, so you curiously walk into the foyer and peek out the window. And then your moral and ethical struggle begins.
On the porch are people you have never seen before, but you know who they are. They either are wearing white shirts with black name tags, or dressed somewhat conservatively clutching a “watchtower” magazine. Do you answer? What if they saw you? If you let them in, you know they are going to talk about the Bible, or their bible, or something spiritual...now what?
We have all had these feelings when members from a local Jehovah’s Witness or Mormon community come to evangelize us (Yes, I know Christ Followers do this too – I respect the reason and the courageous faith – I disagree with the methodology because of its “retail sales” like results). First of all, I want to give everyone permission to not open the door. It may be inhospitable initially, but the greater evil is allowing someone who is loaded to the gills with psychological sales tactics and twisted teachings about the Bible to have access to you when you are not prepared. Make no mistake, like any door-to-door sales pitch, this is a “sales” call they are making.
Jesus challenges us to be hospitable – and to welcome strangers – in order to share the Gospel (HIS Word) with anyone. JW’s and Mormons are included in that challenge. So, how do we prepare? What should be our attitude?
I had an experience a number of years ago, where a JW approached me in a local supermarket – he worked there. We struck up conversation, and when he found out I was a seminary student at the time, he started to quickly twist and turn through the Bible. It turned from conversation, to control. I was very keenly aware that I was scrambling for my metaphorical snorkel. Then he tossed out the question – “Did you know that the Catholic Church declared that the Trinity, is a non-Biblical concept?”
That quick little comment was designed to throw me off, and it did. He didn’t know my background, but somehow he supernaturally (demonic) picked the one topic that would sidetrack me. Then by the time I scrambled back into the conversation he had already wrapped up his point. He stood there asking me how I could believe Jesus is God, and probing me to consider what the JW prophets teach. Embarrassed for my Jesus, and disappointed in myself, I excused myself from the conversation – finished my shopping and made my way to my mentor’s house. We debriefed the encounter, and he showed me the exact moment I was overrun by a clever (but deceptive) argument.
The Catholic Church had recently made a statement that the word “Trinity” was not a Biblical word. However, they affirmed that the concept of Trinity or Tri-unity of GOD (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) was DEFINITELY Biblical. I had been duped by my lack of knowledge of current events, and by a slick and deceptive sales pitch. Once he saw he had distracted me from the Bible, this JW had me where he wanted me.
We went back and looked at John 20:24-29. Please take a moment to read it in context – I am going to paraphrase the encounter. This is one of the moments where Jesus returns to His disciples after the resurrection and shows them he is risen from the dead. This is the moment where the Disciple Thomas has just finished saying, “I will not believe (He is risen) until I can touch the nail holes in his hands, and put my hand in his side (where Jesus was pierced by the guards to ensure he was dead).” At that moment Jesus appears among them and says to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
To which Thomas replied, “My Lord and My God!”
This is a verse that is troubling for the JW’s because they deny Jesus as GOD and say he had an honorary title because he lived a good life. They try to say that Thomas was looking at Jesus to say, ‘my lord’, and then up to heaven to say, ‘my god.’ There is no way in the context of this verse that Thomas was talking in two separate directions. And Jesus responds directly to Thomas’ statement, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
I thanked my mentor for sorting that out with me, and then went home and started praying for another encounter with this man. Years passed. And I would see him occasionally in the store, but the minute I would start to walk toward him, he (without seeing me) would scurry off in another direction. It was like something unseen was keeping him from having another conversation with me. Several more years passed and I had the opportunity to counsel former JW members who broke free from the cult, and were recovering from being controlled and abused. (Again, I know there are so called “Christian” groups that are abusive and controlling.) I learned a great deal from these hurting people, and some of them were former teachers and evangelists in the JW church. My point is once they learned to read their Bible and understand the context without the “prophets” interpreting everything for them, they, like Thomas, came face to face with the Jesus who IS God.
God has a tremendous sense of humor. One Saturday morning, as I finished a cup of coffee, there was a knock at the door, and the doorbell rang. I peeked out, feeling all the feelings I described at the beginning of this blog. As I looked out, it was not the Morman young men I had spoken to before (that’s another story), it was the Jehovah’s Witnesses. And in particular – it was THAT guy from the store. I prayed, then I opened the door and greeted him warmly. I walked out on my porch and sat down on one of the chairs. He started almost the same exact progression of scripture and doctrines he had lead with at the store 8 years earlier. I sat quietly for a few minutes and listened. When he finally took a breath, I said, “you don’t remember me do you?”
With a shocked and puzzled tilt of his head he peered through his tinted eyeglasses, and stammered, “no…no I guess I don’t.” Then as he opened his mouth to start back into his rant (as if I had never said anything), I said, “you work at [name of store], we met 8 years ago and talked in the automotive section. You asked me if I knew the Catholic Church had declared the Trinity a non-Biblical concept. “ A look of panic swept over him, and he started looking around for the fastest exit. I warmly tried to calm him down, and said, “I am so glad you are here, I have been looking forward to continuing that conversation.” His ears perked for a moment and he re-engaged.
I said, “ I did some studying, did you know the Catholics declared it a ‘non-biblical word’ but affirmed that the tri-unity of God is Biblically accurate?” He went from his renewed calm to almost fearfully agitated. I was sitting back in my chair inviting him to continue listening. I said, “I would like to have the chance to ask you some more questions. Can we talk about John 20:24-29 – Where Jesus appears to His disciples and Thomas says, ‘my Lord and my God’?” For a brief moment he started to sputter out parts of scripture references, parts of concepts from scriptures. I said nothing, waiting. He looked like a computer that just had a complete meltdown and was displaying random letters and numbers (and sounded like it to). He started to lose all composure and cohesion, and then he just stopped talking, froze for a brief moment, and then darted off my porch. Three other people were with him, knocking on neighbors doors, and when they saw him bolting for the car, they started rushing back too.
I stood up, now annoyed that he would run. I talked loud enough for all my neighbors to hear. I said, “Where are you going? I thought you wanted to talk about Jesus? You knocked on my door on a Saturday morning, and invited me out to talk, and when I ask a few simple questions you are running away? Why? I want to talk with you about Jesus. I want to explore the Bible with you and dig into the meaning that comes out of a Jewish context. Why are you running away? “ And with that they were in their car, and literally sped off out of the neighborhood. Maybe I enjoyed that a little too much. ☺
When Jesus said, “ you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free,” he meant it. And He said that verse in the context of encouraging the Disciples to hold to HIS teachings, and not the teachings of other “prophets” or cultic leaders. I was able to be hospitable. I was free to let the man speak about his faith, and I was able to be non-threatening in my invitation to continue to the discussion. I was able to extend an opportunity for relationship with a man who only saw me as a target, and who never remembered me. What made him afraid, what made him and his friends run, ultimately, was walking closer to the Truth.
So, if your doorbell rings, are you ready to be hospitable? Are you ready to discuss Truth? Or are you running because you do not know the Truth of God’s Word? Maybe you know the True theology of the Bible but are not walking in the Truth and see people as “targets” also?
If you don’t know what the Bible teaches, or you read it and don’t understand it – get a translation that is easy to read, and a commentary that interprets Scripture in context. And if you have religious sales persons come to your door, pray first, then let God’s Word help you freely be hospitable.
Some resources I think are good for starters:
- “365 Day Devotional Commentary” – by Lawrence O. Richards- www.followtherabbi.com
- Life Application Study Bible
The First Law of Thermodynamics states that matter or energy cannot be created or destroyed in a closed system.
The Second Law of Thermodynamics states that there will always be a general tendency from order to disorder in a closed system.
What is this talking about and how is this relevant? Both of these laws scream in the face of the naturalistic account of Evolution. How do we make sense of it all? Let us dig a little deeper here. With the First Law, we cannot suddenly have new matter or loss of matter, nor can we have new energy or loss of energy. It all has to go somewhere. Yes, the sun heats the earth, but we notice the earth is not continually getting warmer and warmer. It cools down at night. The energy the sun provides has to either be converted into useful energy, which plants do well, or it has to escape the earth. This makes the sun part of the system.
Evolutionists will often say that because of the First Law that there could be no creation. But wait? If God could not create because of the First Law, how could matter and energy get there in the first place? Some will go as far as saying that matter and energy are eternal because of the First Law. That is not what Scripture says. Scripture is clear that God created everything from nothing except his voice. Many references point this out like Genesis 1:1, Hebrews 11:3, and John 1:3. The Creation was a miracle. It cannot be explained by science. Science can show what pieces God used to put the universe together and how they are used. But it cannot explain how the pieces got there. We have to take that by faith, as Christians or as Evolutionists. We can only know that God created the universe because God has revealed it to us. He told us he did it. It’s not what science says either. The Second Law demonstrates there had to be a beginning of the universe.
The Second Law also provides a lot of havoc for the Evolutionist position. Why? Because every observation we have of our world shows a trend for order to disorder. From organization to chaos. I have seen many times where a believer in Evolution will try to save their position by describing how the earth is not a closed system and that adding energy is the answer to it all. However, this does not help them when you really think about it. It actually makes it a whole lot worse. Energy is always destructive. Always, unless you have a well-designed, purposeful mechanism that can control and direct that energy. Let me illustrate.
We added a lot of energy to Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Did anything organized or beneficial come out of that energy? In 2005, Hurricane Katrina added a lot of energy to New Orleans and the area. Anything organized come out of that? Energy always is destructive unless there is a mechanism to guide and direct it. Chlorophyll is an amazing machine in plants that converts sunlight energy into plant food and oxygen for us. The parts of chlorophyll are so intricate and complex that the most advanced factories and plants we have today still cannot compare. And we cannot see chlorophyll with our naked eyes. We need a microscope to see it.
Now here is the kicker. No matter what mechanism we have, there is not one that is 100% efficient. Not one that can take every bit of energy provided and use it completely for something beneficial. There is always a loss of energy due to heat or other waste in every energy exchange. Remember, 100% efficient just breaks even. For Evolution to be true, each mechanism would need to be greater than 100% efficient because they predict a gain of function that was not there before. And before life began, there were no such mechanisms in nature because life did not exist yet. Every mechanism is less than 100% efficient and so it is all going towards decay and destruction. This is also evidence that there was once a perfect state of the universe. Because we are going from order to disorder, and we still have order today, that means that there had to be up to perfect order in the past.
Evolution is impossible because of this realization. The Natural Sciences do not reflect what is expected for Evolution to be true. In fact they can only make sense in light of Biblical Creation. Why is that? That will have to wait for another post. In all my studies on this issue, I am running out of natural laws that God instilled during the Creation Week that Evolution and its natural consequences do not violate. But they are in perfect alignment with the Biblical Worldview that we need to adhere to.
At Worldview Warriors, we seek to promote the grace, hope, and love that come with the truth of who Jesus is and what he has done for us. So, you might question why in the world I would draw attention to the death penalty in the title. Well, hopefully it got your attention so that I can now cite the Scripture from which it was drawn. “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry” (Colossians 3:5). You see, the “required death penalty” does not refer to some punishment that you and I must face for our acts of fornication, because Jesus already paid it for ALL sin. Instead, it’s the sentence we must give to that which separates us from Christ. Paul is clear in Romans 8:1 that there is “no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”. But to be IN Christ Jesus, one cannot also still be IN his old self. This is why Jesus said that if anyone wanted to come after him, “he must deny himself” (Luke 9:23). Simply put, fornication is the failure to deny oneself sexually.
There’s a reason why I wrote that specifically the way that I did. Many of you are probably thinking, “Wait a minute, I don’t have to deny myself sexually within my marriage”. Well, it’s true that you don’t have to FULLY deny yourself. Within marriage, God has given you a way to explore and enjoy the gift of intimacy and sexuality. However, I would argue that some denial of self is still required. What if your partner doesn’t want to do things the way you do or simply isn’t interested at the same time you are? Should you demand it or try to fulfill your desires apart from your spouse? Of course not! Is there a married man or woman out there who has never even had so much as a thought about another person sexually? I doubt it. Is pornography an acceptable substitution because the romantic flame between you and your spouse has burnt out? Looking lustfully is the same as doing, according to the very words of Jesus in Matthew 5:28. So as you can see, the denial of self regarding sexual desires (or even “needs” as some foolishly call them to avoid responsibility) is still needed within a marriage.
In addition to needing to deny oneself within a marriage, we also must practice this denial before marriage. No matter how early you got married in your life, I don’t think it’s possible that anyone reading this had their very first thought or desire for sexuality AFTER they were already married. When I was in high school, the big campaign for Christian purity was called “True Love Waits”. We signed pledges to remain abstinent until we were married, but none of us really had a clue just how hard that would be. I will be 33 years old this August and am still not married. Had I known in high school that the youth group pledge would be for 16 years and counting if I chose to keep the commitment, I probably wouldn’t have given it a passing thought. It’s not just as simple as saying it or willing yourself to do it. Denying oneself, especially sexually, requires intentionality that goes beyond the moment a decision is needed.
You can almost hear the passion in the Apostle Paul’s voice as he urges Christians not to merely abstain from sexual immorality, but to “put it to death”! Monday’s post by Katie listed another place in 1 Corinthians 6:18 where believers are told to “flee” it. Do you think maybe Paul realized how difficult it was and how prevalent of a problem it was even in the church? Guess what? Paul wasn’t the first one to see this problem threatening the church.
In Matthew 15, Jesus is addressing both Pharisees and his disciples after they bring to his attention some that were breaking the traditions of the elders by not washing their hands before they eat (v. 2). Jesus goes on to tell the two groups separately in verse 11 and then in verse 18 that the things that “come out of the mouth” are what make a man “unclean” rather than what goes into the mouth. As he further explains it to his disciples, he lists things that come out of the heart as “evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander” (v. 19), and then declares, “These are what make a man unclean” (v. 20). Evidently, the religious leaders AND Jesus’ disciples were more worried about silly, non-biblical traditions regarding cleanliness than eradicating the sins of their hearts, which included sexual immorality. In my opinion, this was out of convenience. What’s easier, dealing with dirty hands or addressing the issues of the heart? Fast-forward it to today and things are quite similar. Is it easier to worry about styles of music, the color of the carpet, and church politics than it is to aggressively end sin in our lives? You better believe it is, and the lack of commitment to battling sin in many churches is evidence that we’ve tried to take a seemingly easier path.
The times in my life where I have personally failed in the area of fornication have been when I was not intentional about fleeing it or putting it to death. Conversely, the times I’ve experienced victory have been when I made other intentional decisions regarding denying myself what the flesh wanted. If you are reading this and are struggling with sexual immorality of any kind, know that you certainly aren’t alone. Abraham, Jacob, Samson, and David were just some of the many followers of God in the Old Testament who committed sins of sexual immorality. Yet, Hebrews 11 lists them among the “faithful”. That means they were not defined by their sins, but instead by their forward-looking belief in the One who never failed and who saved them from their sins. This faith was not purely emotional, but was shown through action. The same can be true for you. If your computer or TV is what leads you to immorality, get rid of it. If you’re in a relationship where you are being pressured by your partner to commit acts of fornication, it’s time to break the chain that binds you. I personally have an accountability group where we ask each other the tough questions, pray for each other, and discuss ways to eradicate the sins in our lives. We know we don’t need to be perfect for Christ to love us, but he has set the mark of holiness for us and we will not stop striving to hit it no matter how many times we miss. Will you join us in “putting to death” your immorality? Know that the battle has already been won, and we need only to walk in victory!
It is ironic that I was a wrestler because wrestling was not just a sport I participated in, it was my spiritual state. So many questions and so little time to seek answers, how can I determine what I believe when everyone is constantly trying to spoon feed me their own beliefs?! After the first week of class, maybe I will be able to manage my time better so that I can figure out how to examine these questions this week.
This week was quite a bit more mundane: two-a-days were pretty much the same. I took my beatings, got back up and did it again the next day. Classes were a little more tame, at least in Derkins class. He didn’t seem to talk about creationism at all this week. Instead he was telling us about his favorite micro-organisms and telling us what makes them so fascinating. Bible 101, still going through Romans 12, but we only meet once a week, so it will take us a while to make it through verse by verse.
With all of the everyday busyness, I was glad that I had the internet to give me some sort of a social life. After chatting with some friends on AIM, I remembered my questions. I searched for information on “science and the bible” and my search results brought up a brand new book called ID and ME. I read the summary and saw that the guy who wrote it was a big-time journalist who had converted to Christianity from atheism and was presenting the evidence that aided him in his conversion.
Derkins had told us before that faith and science were incompatible. What I was learning from this summary was that there are scientists that believe in God and they believe they have science that proves his existence. The topics seemed enormous though: The Big Bang, the Anthropic Principle, Irreducible Complexity, the Cambrian Explosion, and many others. I decided I was going to order this book, because it might prove to be an effective weapon in dissuading people from Derkins’ intellectual onslaught on faith.
As I was learning more about this book, I received a message from MGN1985: “Hi.”
Who could this be? Ought of curiosity I responded: “Hi…do I know u?”
“lol, sry I got ur sn from 1 of ur teammates. This is megan.”
“O, ic, sup?”
It’s easier to play it cool on the internet, I was actually really excited to hear from her.
“nothin wanna get icecream?”
Well of course I did! “Sure, when?”
“Be downstairs in 5 min.”
“No prob.”
Some of you reading this may say that I must be very sheltered, since I actually had to look up the word “fornication” before starting this blog post; I honestly did not know specifically what it meant! What I learned is that fornication, simply put, is consensual sexual intercourse between two unmarried adults.
So why are we at Worldview Warriors writing on this topic? Well, the question for the week is not just discussing fornication, but why it is considered sinful. As always, I turn to the Bible to find the answer to this question.
First, let’s look at 1 Corinthians 6:18, which says, “Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.” Paul, who wrote this, isn’t just making this as a suggestion if you feel like it; no, he is commanding the people at Corinth to flee from sexual immorality! The root word used in Greek here for ‘sexual immorality’ is “porneia,” the root that we get our English word ‘pornography’ from. But specifically, what does this Greek word mean? I consulted four lexicons, and the meanings I found were: sexual immorality, sexual unfaithfulness, whoredom, fornication, adultery, incest, unsanctioned sexual intercourse, and prostitution. As you can see, often Greek words don’t have just one English word that fits with them, but rather a range of words to give the general idea of its meaning. So essentially, this word “porneia” generally relates to any kind of illegitimate sexual intercourse. Legitimate sexual intercourse is defined as one man and one woman who are married, as we talked about in last month’s blog posts.
Back to 1 Corinthians 6:18, it says that all other sins are outside a person’s body, but sexual sin is against that person’s own body. Had you ever thought about it that way? If I tell a lie, that is outside my body. If I commit murder or am mean to someone, that is outside my body. But a sexual sin is done to my own body.
Why is it important whether a sin is inside or outside your body? Keep reading in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20: “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” As a follower of Christ, you have received the Holy Spirit - who is God Himself - and the Spirit lives in you. Jesus Christ died for you, to pay the price for your sins. That is the price you were bought for, Jesus’ own life. Because God lives in you and God died for you, wouldn’t it logically follow that you would want to honor God? We often honor heroes who gave their lives to save others, but what about honoring God for that? Whether you know it or not, Jesus died for YOU and He deserves your honor, not just with your emotions but with your body as well!
How do we honor God with our bodies? By not sinning sexually, since that is sin committed within your body. Earlier in the 1 Corinthians 6:13b, Paul writes that “The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality [“porneia”] but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.”
Even though the Bible is pretty clear about how it is a sexual sin to have intercourse outside of marriage, a common line of thought is that it can’t be wrong if the two people love each other and it’s consensual. But did you see anything in the verses quoted above that indicate it’s ok if you love each other? Go read the whole section of 1 Corinthians 6:12-20; I’m certain you won’t find it in there. If you follow Christ, you need to follow the directions He gives us for life, the Bible. If the Bible says it’s sin, then it’s sin.
Fortunately, we can always be forgiven of our sin, thanks to Jesus. I challenge you today to honor God not only with your life but with your body from this day forward.
Did you ever read a passage of the Bible and wonder what in the world was being said? I mean, have you read a passage where Jesus says something, and it doesn't seem to fit the reaction he gets from the crowd?
A few years ago, I learned from Ray VanderLaan that Rabbi's often taught by helping students discover the answer in God's Word instead of simply giving them the answer. If Jesus quotes scripture, or says, "go learn what this means..." He is probably using this method. When teaching this way a Rabbi would "hint" at the answer to someone's question, by referring to another passage of scripture. This style of teaching today is called "Remez" which means, "hint." Usually the passage the Rabbi quotes is just a connecting point. The verses before or the verses right after the one he quotes would contain a clear response to the person who asked the question.
Look at Matthew 9:9-13. When Jesus is asked why he selected Matthew (a tax collector) as a disciple, he says, "...go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
Our initial reaction to the statement we see recorded in Matthew, may be rather calm. I mean, it sounds good. He is reaching out to hurt and broken people. How could the Pharisees object to that?
Jesus is quoting Hosea 6:6. Go and read the whole passage around that verse, and see if you can determine what Jesus was really saying to the Pharisees. They questioned him about hanging out with sinners and tax collectors. What does he say their legalistic pursuit of religious purity, really accomplished? And what is God going to do about it?
Is it any wonder why they sometimes wanted to kill Him?
We should take caution when our legalistic view of being a Christian, trumps our sensitivity to mercy and justice according to God's Holy Spirit. And we should know the Word of God so well that we can confidently walk in obedience to God without neglecting compassion.
Did reading this help you learn a new tool in understanding your Bible?Does this help you see that there was often a broader conversation happening when Jesus or the disciples were quoting other passages? I hope this helps you enjoy a new adventure in your Bible reading.
