"Many would abhor to commit one external
act before the eyes of men, in a temple of stone; and yet they
are not afraid to commit a multitude of such acts in the temple
of their hearts, and in the sight of God!" - Adam
Clarke.
"That heart must needs wander that walks after the
eyes..." - Matthew Henry.
In the days of the Apostle Paul as well as in our present time,
the sin of fornication was and is freely indulged in.
In 1 Thessalonians 4:3, Paul admonished the Christians who were
constantly exposed to such wickedness with these words - "abstain
from fornication..." This sin included any form of uncleanness
and was aptly presented by the Apostle to be totally contrary to
the Holy Walk of the Believer. It is a sin that indeed every
Christian should "abstain" from at all cost in order to live a
chaste life - as exemplified in their disposition, speech, and
behavior.
In Exodus 20:14, we are initially exposed to the command of God
which clearly states - "Thou shalt not commit adultery." This
edict from God includes fornication along with all kinds of
mental and sensual uncleanness. It would entail exposing oneself
to impure books, songs, paintings, posters, calendars, reading
materials, movies, videos, etc. which would corrupt the mind and
excite fleshly lusts.
In Proverbs 31:3, King Solomon advised - "Give not thy strength
unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings."
In other words, don't waste the strength of your body and soul by
yielding to impure affections.
In Romans 13:13, the Apostle Paul exhorted all believers with
these words - "Let us walk honestly, as in the day...not in
chambering and wantonness..." What happens "in the day"? All
things are seen and known openly.
Christians are called to live decently and becomingly - "out in
the open" - before the view of all.
Never are they to be found participating in any "hidden," lewd,
or immodest behavior such as adultery.
Unlike the pagans who revel in such debauchery, they are called
to - "Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth;
fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil
concupiscence, and covetousness..." (Colossians 3:5) They are to
put to death, subdue, or deprive every and all evil propensity of
its power so that no member of their body ever sins against
God.
1 Thessalonians 4:3 - They understand that it is God's will that
they live holy and chaste lives - "For this is the will of God,
even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from
fornication." Their body, which is the "temple of the Holy
Spirit" and is set apart for God's service, is to be kept pure
and clean at all times. In order to keep themselves free from all
defilement of the flesh and spirit, they must check and subdue
unholy desires and cultivate holy principles to take their
place.
Make no mistake about it - all those who engage in adultery,
fornication, or any form of uncleanness, "destroyeth" their
souls(Proverbs 6:32). They are classified as being "unrighteous"
and are not saved (1 Corinthians 6:9).
We must fully understand this before going any further. The
Scriptures tell us - "...yea, let God be true, but every man a
liar."
There are certain ones today who would circulate the false
opinion that those, indulging in such acts of uncleanness, are
still saved. Not so!
The Apostle Paul warned us - "...Be not deceived..."(1
Corinthians 6:9)
Why did he say that?
Because the Holy Spirit, writing through him, knew that there
would be those who would try to flatter themselves in false
hopes, while indulging in such debauchery.
Anyone who commits deliberate sins such as adultery and
fornication is not saved and will not - "shall not" - "inherit
the kingdom of God"(1 Corinthians 6:9). THUS SAITH THE
LORD!
God made no exceptions here for Preachers either. It doesn't
matter if you have preached thousands of sermons to millions of
people during your lifetime. If you are involved in adultery,
fornication, or any form of uncleanness, you are not saved and
are headed for a Devil's Hell unless you repent of such
wickedness.
At this point, many would give off a sigh of relief for they are
not guilty as such.
But this message does not deal with outward acts which man can
see; it deals with the sin that only God can see.
The Pharisees extended adultery only as far as the external act.
They regarded any type of evil thoughts and impure imaginations
as being of little consequence or not forbidden by God's law.
However, when Jesus showed up on the scene, He "blew their
theology out of the water" when He said, as recorded in Matthew
5:27 - "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, THOU
SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTERY: But I say unto you, That whosoever
looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committeth adultery
with her already in his heart." What He did was extend the law to
cover not only the external act but the secrets of the heart as
well.
We see then that adultery is no more just a physical act; it also
involves the movement of the eyes - "Having eyes full of
adultery..."(2 Peter 2:14). The eyes become the inlet for the
heart's corrupt desires. They become the first offender, so to
speak. They gaze upon an object for a period of time until they
become "full of adultery," whereby corrupt passions wholly seize
and occupy the mind of the individual. Now, he finds that images
of sinful acts flood his imagination and he "cannot cease from
sin"(2 Peter 2:14).
This is what is called heart-adultery.
It is looking upon a woman until lust is formed in the heart, and
the mind is taken over by wicked and foul imaginations of sinful
acts of adultery. It is what Job described as allowing the heart
to walk after what the eyes see - "...mine heart walked after
mine eyes..."(Job 31:7).
At the beginning of this same verse, Job commented - "If my step
hath turned out of the way..."(Job 31:7)
Perhaps you are reading this message today and are feeling very
guilty because you have "turned out of the way" - out of the path
of virtue. You may not be involved in an adulterous relationship
per se, whereby you are committing the physical act itself, but
you are guilty of daily committing heart-adultery and
resultantly, find your eyes "full of adultery." Your mind is
flooded with unclean thoughts of another woman or women in
general.
The Lord Jesus wants to set you free today from this "yoke of
bondage." You don't have to be a slave to lust any longer. Just
cry out to Him in brokenness and heartfelt contrition, and He
will save you and deliver you. He will break the Power of
Adultery over your life.
If you are actually involved in an illicit relationship whereby
you are committing the physical acts of fornication or adultery,
then, in order to repent as the Bible dictates and be right in
God's standing, you must separate yourself from this partner
immediately. Don't linger any longer. Don't put off this
decision. Your soul is at stake. If you should die in this
unrepentant state of sin, you risk going straight to Hell for all
of eternity. Just remember - No one is worth going to Hell
for.
You may ask - Living in this adulterous and
evil generation where the temptation to lust abounds, what can a
person do in order to safeguard his heart against such filth and
impurity?
For one thing, you can do as Job did - purpose to lead a pure
life and keep a pure heart - "I made a covenant with mine eyes;
why then should I think upon a maid?"(Job 31:1) He solemnly
resolved in his heart not to ever allow his eyes or thoughts to
endanger his soul. He was determined to never fasten his eyes
upon any object that might stir up impure desires or
imaginations. With the same resolve, you can and must do the
same.
Secondly, the Lord Jesus told you what to do in Matthew 5:29 -
"And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from
thee..." The expression "the right eye" denotes a strong
adulterous passion. It depicts a wanton gazing upon "forbidden
fruit," so to speak. Jesus commanded - "...pluck it out, and cast
it from thee..."
In other words, whatever is causing you to fall into sin or be
ensnared, get rid of it immediately! Get away from it!
Flee from it!
Don't allow it to take your soul to Hell.
Lest any woman, reading this message, feel that she is exempt
from God's rebuke today - read what Matthew Henry, the renowned
Bible Commentator, has to say to the ladies - " ...And if looking
be lust, they who dress and deck, and expose themselves, with
design to be looked at and lusted after...are no less guilty. Men
sin, but devils tempt to sin."
Let's repeat that last statement again - "...Men sin, but devils
tempt to sin."
No Christian woman - daughter or handmaiden of the Most High God
- should ever be a stumbling block to her Brother-in-Christ or
any other man through her dress or lack of it. At no time, should
she wear revealing or tight-fitting clothing that would cause
another to stumble and fall into sin. Never should her breasts be
exposed or her midriff showing, except in the privacy of her
husband and him alone.
Any woman who dresses provocatively will then have to wear the
label of "devil" or "child of the devil" as Pastor Henry
commented, for she, like her Father the devil, is tempting men to
sin. No true child of God would ever think to do such an ungodly
thing.
Some questions we must all ask ourselves today are -
Are we willing to be scrutinized by the Word?
How far are we willing to go in order to be holy in God's
sight?
We may be willing to avoid all outright, blatant sins - but what
about the sins of the heart like heart-adultery which only God
sees?
How far does your commitment to Christ go?
Are you willing to let go of all in your life that is displeasing
in His sight?
Consider your ways!
May God Bless His Word.
Connie
www.walkingintruth.org
Connie Giordano P. O. Box 383016
Duncanville, TX. 75138-3016
Copyright 2004 by Connie Giordano