I invite you to turn with me to Ezekiel chapter 23. Ezekiel 23, we read together verses 36 through 49. This is a chapter of Scripture in which the Lord is talking about Israel, the split kingdom, as two adulterous sisters. In the first half of the chapter, He talks about each one of them separately and about their captivity to come, and then in the portion that we will read, He talks about them together. We read this in connection with our consideration of the commandments of our God as summarized by the Heidelberg Catechism, Lord's Day 41 this morning, as we consider the seventh commandment. Ezekiel 23, beginning at verse 31, as we hear now the Word of God. The Lord said to me, Son of man, will you judge Ohola and Oholiva? Then confront them with their detestable practices, for they have committed adultery and blood is on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols. They have sacrificed their children whom they bore to Me as food for them. They have also done this to Me. At that same time, they defiled My sanctuary and desecrated My Sabbaths. On the very day they sacrificed their children to their idols, they entered My sanctuary and desecrated it. That is what they did in My house. They even sent messengers for men who came from far away, and when they arrived, you bathed yourselves for them, painted your eyes, and put on your jewelry. You sat on an elegant couch with a table spread before it on which you had placed the incense and oil that belonged to me. The noise of a carefree crowd was around her. Sabians were brought from the desert along with men from the rabble, and they put bracelets on the arms of the woman and her sister and beautiful crowns on their heads. Then I said about the one worn out by adultery, now let them use her as a prostitute for that is all she is. And they slept with her as men sleep with a prostitute so they slept with those lewd women Ohola and Oholibah. But righteous men will sentence them to the punishment of women who commit adultery and shed blood because they are adulterous and blood is on their hands. This is what the Sovereign Lord says. Bring a mob against them and give them over to terror and plunder. The mob will stone them and cut them down with their swords. They will kill their sons and daughters and burn down their houses. So I will put an end to lewdness in the land that all women may take warning and not imitate you. You will suffer the penalty for your lewdness and bear the consequences of your sins of idolatry. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord. And turn with me to page 54 in the back of the Psalter hymnal. page 54 as we consider this article of our confession, article, Lord's Day 41, questions and answers 48 and 49 as we confess what we believe together. Page 54, top of the page. Question 108 asks, What is God's will for us in the Seventh Commandment? God condemns all unchastity. We should therefore thoroughly detest it and, married or single, live decent and chaste lives. Does God in this commandment forbid only such scandalous sins as adultery? We are temples of the Holy Spirit, body and soul, and God wants both to be kept clean and holy. This is why He forbids everything which incites unchastity, whether it be actions, looks, talk, thoughts, or desires. beloved congregation of our lord jesus christ with the sixth commandment you shall not murder which we considered a few weeks ago we were taught that god places a shield of protection over life especially human life and that's because that life is precious to him but that shield of protection is over more than just our neighbor's physical living and breathing. It also covers those things associated or attached to life, which include relationships. And the seventh commandment deals with the most important relationship that exists among mankind apart from one's relationship to God, and that is the marriage relationship. This is the most important relationship that God has instituted or and ordained between a man and a woman. And although He has determined that not all should enter into this relationship, yet all people are called upon to protect the marriage relationship. God calls His church, His believers, to be holy, even as He is holy. And He directs our holiness by way of the holiness of His commandments. And therefore, with regard to marriage, He says, you shall not commit adultery. And positively that means believers are called to grateful living through honoring marriage. The Word of God teaches us that we are to honor marriage, to hold it in high esteem, to regard it highly. Summarizing the truth of Scripture, question and answer 108 instructs us to honor marriage first of all by respecting the relationship of marriage. Again, question 108 What is God's will for us in the seventh commandment? God condemns all unchastity. We should therefore thoroughly detest it and married or single live decent and chaste lives. Why is marriage to be considered so honorable? Well, first of all, because it comes from God. It is a creation ordinance of God which He instituted between Adam and Eve before sin entered the world. Marriage is a covenant relationship between a man and a woman in which they bind themselves to each other and with each other by leaving their fathers and mothers, cleaving, sticking themselves together, never to be separated, and becoming one flesh, pointing to unity. There is to be unity in every way, physically, spiritually, and emotionally. And this unity is demonstrated and signified by sexual intimacy. That's the highest expression of unity. Sexual intimacy and activity and all that goes with it, like thoughts and desires and actions, has been reserved by God only for the marriage relationship between a man and a woman. Outside of marriage, it is nothing more than prostitution. I mentioned the earlier service. Maybe some of you, a week before last, saw the sign by the church just south of here. And the title of last week's sermon was Sex, What Has Love Got to Do With It? I don't know what the sermon was about, of course, but as I considered this commandment, maybe a better title for us would be Sex. What does marriage have to do with it? You see, God tailor-made Eve to be a helper fit, especially for Adam. She was to complete and fulfill Him, and therefore one of the functions of sexual intimacy is companionship and pleasure. But also through this, God intended to populate His earth. Adam and Eve were to be fruitful and multiply. The marriage and the family are the source of life in all areas in church and society. And to mess with and damage marriage and family is to mess with and damage the church and society. And as well, the noble character of the Christian marriage is that it is to be a reflection of Christ and His church, as Ephesians 5 says. Beginning at verse 22, Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, His body, of which He is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her. This is a profound mystery, Paul says, but I am talking about Christ and the church. The Lord's table, beloved, is for Christ's faithful bride. Even in the Old Testament, God revealed His relationship with His people, the Israelites, using the metaphor of a marriage. And unfortunately, Israel is often spoken of as an adulterous wife. We find that in Isaiah 57, as well as Ezekiel 23, which we read, and then also the prophecy of Hosea, as we know, clearly points this out to us. But it's interesting, I think, that God begins His holy Word, the Bible, with a marriage between the first man and woman, and the Bible ends in Revelation with the marriage of Christ and His church. Marriage is a holy institution set apart by God. But a holy institution which between a man and a woman is to be lifelong. But sin has also attacked this institution. Satan knows that the marriage and the family is the church and society in miniature form and that God builds His church largely, not exclusively, but largely through Christian families. And therefore, already in the Garden of Eden, He placed His crowbar at the foundation of the family to try to pry it loose from its foundation and to make it unstable. He works to destroy the marriage relationship through adultery and through fornication outside of marriage. Satan has taken that sexual intimacy, that sign and seal of the unity of the marriage relationship and removed it from and used it to destroy marriage. Marriage and sexual intimacy is to be only between one man and one woman. There are to be no third parties. And it's not to be between a man and a man, or a woman and a woman, or a person and an animal. Parents, why is it important to teach your children about God's view of marriage and intimacy? Because the world is all too ready and prepared to teach them about it, but from a completely wrong perspective. It's no secret that Satan has taken that which is meant to be private between a husband and a wife and made it very public. In fact, of all the tools Satan employs to tempt man, one of the most effective tools in his tool bag is man's own flesh. He knows that we can't seem to resist it. He has taken the sins of the flesh, lust, and sexual promiscuity, and perversion, and adultery, and things like that, and literally flooded society with it. So that so much of what we see on TV, or in the movie theater, or read in magazines, or so much of what we hear on the radio, so much of what we see in the public places, especially at the beach on a hot day, promotes exactly that which God commands against. Many men and women have glamorized their careers and gained both worldly popularity and profit from transgressing the Seventh Commandment. God indeed made the human body and sexual intimacy to be beautiful between husband and wife. But the world has given a completely different and twisted definition to what this beautifulness is by way of things like Playboy magazine and other pornography and nude art and so many other things. Ours is a day of dramatized adultery and social acceptance where what you do is your business and what I do is my business. But God says no. It's my business. You see, the marriage relationship, as God has ordained and explained it, especially in Ephesians 5, is to consist of love, honor, and fidelity, or faithfulness. And that includes faithfulness in sexual intimacy between the husband and wife, and only the husband and wife. But with the fall in the sin, Satan works to introduce a third party, and therefore when that happens, in any given situation, one or more marriages are attacked and possibly destroyed. Scripture is clear that the hearts and the desires of men have been turned so that unfaithfulness runs wild, especially with regard to the marriage bed. Matthew 19, verse 6 says, There Jesus said, Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate. But that's exactly Satan's goal through adultery. What is adultery? It is the violation of that faithfulness, especially with sexual intimacy, that faithfulness that is to characterize the marriage relationship. Adultery is when that which was created good and pure and chaste becomes rotten and impure and unchaste, again, because of a third party, whether in thought or word or action. Not just action, but also thoughts and words. And when this happens, beloved, not only is the physical marriage damaged, but that tarnishes the image of the marriage between Christ and His church which our marriages are to reflect. And it destroys the unity of which the Lord's table speaks. You see, we face an anthem today that says, if it feels right, it must be right, so do it. But God says, only do what is right. In sin, the world has removed the idea of conjugal faithfulness in or out of marriage because, you know, that's old-fashioned and it's really kind of an obsolete idea. And after all, we are liberated today. We have rights, you know, and by right we should be able to satisfy the lusts of our bodies. And there are now laws to legalize and regulate fornication, allowing same-sex marriages or members of the opposite sex to live together, qualifying for governmental benefits and in some cases employee benefits. Beloved, we are commanded to respect the marriage relationship by thoroughly detesting all unchastity and married or single live decent and chaste lives. Unchastity is unlawful according to the law of God. Not the laws of man, but it is unlawful, unholy, and impure sexual activity in all of its forms. Why are we to hate it? Because God condemns all unchastity. And adultery is unchastity and God hates it. There are a multitude of Scripture references, especially in the first five books of the Bible, which point out that the penalty for adultery was death. As well, any unchaste actions were considered to be an abomination. In Leviticus 18, we find laws of sexual morality, including a long list of don'ts regarding physical impurity with regard to relationships. And the Lord teaches there that by doing what He says not to do, one becomes defiled and stained and polluted. And verses 26 and 28 of that chapter says, You shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations, either any of your own nation or any stranger who dwells among you, lest the land vomit you out also when you defile it, as it vomited out the nations that were before you. Adultery and unchastity make God sick to his stomach, in a manner of speaking. And God demonstrates how much He hates unfaithfulness when He talks about the spiritual adultery of His people. Again, verses 46-49 of Ezekiel 23. This is what the Sovereign Lord says, Bring a mob against them and give them over to terror and plunder. The mob will stone them and cut them down with their swords. They will kill their sons and daughters and burn down their houses. So I will put an end to lewdness in the land that all women may take warning and not imitate you. You will suffer the penalty for your lewdness and bear the consequences of your sins of idolatry. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord. And in Colossians 3, verse 5, Paul says, Put to death your members which are on earth, fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. And then in Galatians 5, Paul gives a list of the works of the flesh, including adultery, fornication, uncleanness, and lewdness, and says those who practice such things will not, will not inherit the kingdom of God. Is this serious stuff? You bet it is. Adultery and unchastity are a misuse of something God created to be used properly within the marriage relationship. He will not put up with it. And we respect that relationship when we hate the unchastity that God hates, but also we respect it by living decent and chaste lives, married or single. 1 Corinthians 6 tells us why this is important. Verses 18-20, flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple 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 body. As those who are saved by grace through faith, we confess that we belong to our faithful Savior, Jesus Christ, body and soul. And as those who are redeemed, we have become temples of the Holy Spirit, those whose lives along with our bodies are to be presented as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God. And that's why self-examination, beloved, is necessary in order to come to the Lord's table. Have we been living a monogamous relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ? You see, this is for all of us. Those who are married and those who are not. Those who are married are to respect their own marriages as well as the marriages of others. And those who are not married are to respect the marriages of others. because together we are involved in that spiritual marriage of Christ and His church. All believers are temples, dwelling places of the Holy Spirit, and the body house is to be kept clean for the one who dwells in it. God's shield of protection over the marriage relationship calls for those in the marriage relationship to respect that relationship so that they might not threaten or attack it from inside out. And it is to be respected by those not in the marriage relationship so that they might not threaten or attack it from outside in. And either way, to respect it is a demonstration of love for your neighbor as yourself. To live decent and chaste lives is to live according to God's design in or out of the marriage relationship. This honors God and it honors the marriage relationship. And this honor is also demonstrated then in the second place by promoting the purity of life. Now this digs a little bit deeper into what it means to live a decent and chaste life and probably affects all of us more, even the single and the married alike. Question 109 asks, in essence, if adultery is limited to the act of sexual intercourse with one who is not your spouse. You see, it's not uncommon, beloved, for young dating couples and even Christian couples to wrestle with this question. What is going too far? That is physically speaking. What is going too far? And unfortunately, so often the line is drawn at intercourse. If we haven't done that, then we're okay. Everything else is fair game. But you see, adultery, like all sin, isn't limited to simply doing this or not doing that. It is a matter of the heart and includes thoughts, words, desires, intentions, as well as actions. The Catechism rightfully makes that clear in number 109. Does God in this commandment forbid only such scandalous sins as adultery? We are temples of the Holy Spirit, body and soul, and God wants both to be kept clean and holy. That is why He forbids everything which incites unchastity, whether it be actions, looks, talk, thoughts, or desires. And our Lord Himself said in Matthew 5, You have heard that it was said to those of old, You shall not commit adultery, but I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Now we hear these words, and each one of us must confess that we are not or have not been pure before this commandment. We are all defiled, guilty, not once, not twice, but many times. Some struggle with this daily in some way, shape, or form. And we must recognize this as sin and understand that the catechism rightly leaves no room for escape. Everything that incites, or as the older version says, entices, or we might say invites unchastity. There's only one who remained guiltless in body and soul, our faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. And therefore, by the grace of God, those who are in Him receive the benefits of His righteousness and purity. Praise God, huh? And as those who are a part of His royal bride, we are called to work by the power of the Holy Spirit, to work to keep our lives pure, body and soul. And the Catechism tells us how. You see, what this means is that any looks, touches, jokes, innuendos, thoughts, or desires toward or about others with a sexual and adulterous connotation is a violation of this commandment. And any time we set our affections on another who does not belong to us, be it in thought, words, imaginations, or actions, we are committing adultery. Beloved, it may even be subtle, like confiding in a person of the opposite gender at work instead of your spouse at home, or becoming overly friendly with one of the opposite gender. It violates the marriage covenant. And again, of course, the examples are endless, but the point is when you look at others, What you see and think and desire is of utmost importance. Some say, I may look, but I may not touch. But if that look comes with impure and inappropriate thoughts and a desire to touch, you may not look. We are called to respect the image of God in others who, if they are believers, are also temples, dwelling places, of the Holy Spirit of God. Beloved, promoting the purity of life isn't easy, especially since Satan again has made it his business to literally flood the world with all kinds of demonstrations of adultery working to remove the shock. It stands on the street corner. It lies in the sun on the beach. It is available for all ages on primetime TV. It's on the bookshelf or in the magazine rack. Even our boys and girls can't go to the store to get a piece of candy without seeing it at the checkout register. Music lyrics are filled with it. Consider the question. Are you at all shocked anymore by what you see and read and hear? Does it at all make the hair stand up on the back of your neck? You see, with the sin of adultery, we're talking about temple desecration. But on the cross, Jesus wrestled not only for my soul, but also for my body. And He won. As a believer, my body and soul are His possessions. And when I consider Christ hanging on the cross, then I may not and I cannot do whatever I want with my body. I may not allow my passions to run wild. Sometimes young people argue with their parents for certain fashions or hairstyles or to participate in certain dangerous activities and their excuse is, it's my body, I can do what I want with it. Nope. Not true. Those who confess Christ belong to Him, body and soul. Those who have been baptized have the sign and seal of God's covenant promise upon them. And Christ's ascension, beloved, was the event which guarantees our life In heaven, body and soul. Even the boys and girls must understand that this physical body created by God and purchased by Christ must be preserved as a pure and holy temple and therefore young people. Young people, you must, by the grace of God, exercise restraint when your blood is rushing and Satan whispers in your ear, go ahead and violate that beautiful temple by impure acts and selfish and foolish sins. He says, live for the moment. Don't worry about the consequences. You can deal with that later. No. Don't even allow yourself into those situations. Many marriages have been mortally wounded, even destroyed before they even began because of premarital sexual activity. We ought to respect each other's bodies. as sanctuaries of the Lord. And we must be on guard for everything which incites, again, or invites unchastity. We also need to understand that it's possible to commit adultery, as our Lord said, in the heart, without the other person even knowing about it. But not only are we to avoid that which incites or entices us, but we may not entice or invite others to participate in unchaste activities through our actions, our looks, our talk, our thoughts, our gestures, our desires. This is done by flirting at times. It's done by suggestive speech or close bodily contact or bodily movement. Maybe that's the deadly danger behind dancing. But also, beloved, suggestive clothing. Girls, ladies, please listen. Your body is a temple, not a theater for a show. And if it is your desire to be noticed and turn heads, you are sinning. If you are dressed to kill, as they say, then spiritually speaking, you might just do that. Enticing, inviting, was one of the faults of the two sisters in Ezekiel 23, verses 40-42. Notice, they even sent messengers for men who came from far away and when they arrived, you bathed yourself for them, painted your eyes and put on jewelry. You sat on an elegant couch with a table spread before it on which you had placed the incense and oil that belonged to me. Total invitation. God has created sexual intimacy to crown the unity of being husband and wife, That unity which is to reflect the union between Christ and His church. And to violate that unity, beloved, is to cast a stain on that heavenly marriage. And as evidence of spiritual adultery. We are commanded to keep from adultery, not first of all because of the pain and the torment and the punishment. The Bible warns that's a factor to be sure. But first of all, we are commanded to keep from it. As Joseph said, when tempted by Potiphar's wife, How can I do this great wickedness and sin against you? Yes, resisting temptation can be difficult when the enemy makes violating this commandment look pleasant and sweet and fun and feels so good. Even though his design and his goal, listen close, is the destruction of the body and the soul. But the deepest motivation to live a decent, chaste, and temperate life, both married or single, is the glory of God. The glory of God. And because Christ has purchased my body at a high price. Those who live for today for the pleasures of the here and now, selfishly enjoying ungodly pleasures, will destroy marriage. And for them, there is no heavenly inheritance with God. And they will not enjoy the eternal marriage of Christ and His bride, only eternal separation from the bridegroom. But our Lord, congregation, remained completely pure for His bride, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. That's the awesome message of the Lord's table, of the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ. We are called not to serve our desires with our bodies, but to serve our Savior with our bodies. It's a battle, isn't it? Yet a battle in which we must be engaged in the strength of the Spirit and can be engaged by the grace of God. And when we fall, when we fall, and when we fail, and we confess our sin, it must be our comfort that if we sometimes through weakness fall into sin, We must not therefore despair of God's mercy. Jesus Christ paid the penalty and died for all of our sins, even the sins of the flesh. How comforting. That's why, and only why, we may come to His table in confidence. He renews us daily, actions, thoughts, words, bodies, through the sanctifying and purifying power of the Holy Spirit so that we may confidently pray in the hour of trial Jesus plead for me lest by base denial I depart from thee when thou seest me waver with a look recall nor for fear or favor suffer me to fall