Chapter One
Adultery If one continues to live in the state of adultery, see also Sexual
Immorality, p. 177; Warnings, p. 192; and Obedience, p. 111. If
one repents of adultery, see Forgiveness of Sins, p. 72; and Peace, p. 122.
1. Adultery is out of the heart.
Matt. 15:19. Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.
2. No adulterers go to heaven.
1 Cor. 6:9-10. Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit
the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually
immoral, nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor
homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards
nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
3. God will judge the adulterer.
Heb. 13:4. Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage
bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually
immoral.
4. Adultery can be avoided.
Prov. 4:23. Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the well-spring
of life.
Prov. 4:13-27.(Stay far from the path of evil.)
Prov. 6:27-28.(Don't play with fire.) Can a man scoop fire
into his lap without his clothes being burned? Can a man walk on hot
coals without his feet being scorched?
5. Shun adultery.
Prov. 6:20-35.
6. The adulteress' snare leads to misery.
Prov. 7:1-27.
7. The adulteress' snare is a deep pit.
Prov. 22:14. The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit; he who is
under the Lord's wrath will fall into it.
8. David fed the flame.
2 Sam. 11:2-3. One evening David got up from his bed and
walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a
woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent
someone to find out about her.
9. David was depressed before he confessed his sin of adultery.
Ps. 32:3-5.
10. Nathan called David to repent of his adultery.
2 Sam. 12:1-14.(The prophet Nathan spoke to David in a parable
after he had sinned with Bathsheba.)
11. David confessed his adultery, and God graciously forgave him.
Ps. 32; Ps. 51.(David pleaded for God's forgiveness and expressed
his joy after being forgiven.)
12. God forgives the sin of adultery and frees the sinner from it.
1 Cor. 6:11. That [adulterers, etc.] is what some of you were. But
you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the
name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
13. Looking on a woman lustfully is adultery; spiritual surgery is
needed.
Matt. 5:27-30. You have heard that it was said, "Do 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 sin, 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
sin, 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.
14. Beware of seductive women.
Prov. 23:26-28. My son, give me your heart and let your eyes
keep to my ways, for a prostitute is a deep pit and a wayward wife
is a narrow well. Like a bandit she lies in wait, and multiplies the
unfaithful among men.
15. Stolen water is sweet, but .
Prov. 9:17-18. "Stolen water is sweet; food eaten in secret is
delicious!" But little do they know that the dead are there, that her
guests are in the depths of the grave.
16. Keep the seventh commandment.
Exod. 20:14. You shall not commit adultery.
17. Anyone who marries a wrongfully divorced person commits
adultery.
Matt. 5:31-32. "It has been said, 'Anyone who divorces his wife
must give her a certificate of divorce.' But I tell you that anyone
who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her
to commit adultery, and anyone who marries a woman so divorced
commits adultery."
18. Anyone who divorces his or her spouse for any reason other than
adultery and marries another commits adultery.
Matt. 19:9. I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except
for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits
adultery.
Rom. 7:2-3. For example, by law a married woman is bound to
her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is
released from the law of marriage. So then, if she marries another
man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But
if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress, even though she marries another man.
19. When he was tempted by Potiphar's wife to commit adultery, Joseph refused to sin against God.
Gen. 39:6-20.
Gen. 39:9-10. "How then could I do such a wicked thing and
sin against God?" And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.
Affliction, Discipline, Chastisement, Trials
See also Comfort, p. 37; Prayer, p. 137; and Trust, p. 186.
1. Not all affliction is for specific sins. God often sends affliction
to purify and strengthen our faith, for his glory.
1 Peter 1:6-7. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little
while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These
have come so that your faith-of greater worth than gold, which
perishes even though refined by fire-may be proved genuine and
may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
John 9:1-3. As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth.
His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" "Neither this man nor his parents
sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God
might be displayed in his life."
2. Job, a godly man, was severely tried; he lost his possessions and
his children.
Job 1:1-22.
Job 1:1. In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job.
This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned
evil.
Job 1:8. Then the Lord said to Satan, "Have you considered my
servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and
upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil."
3. Job did not get angry at God (which would have been a sinful
reaction). Rather, he accepted it by faith and worshiped him.
Job 1:20-22. At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his
head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: "Naked I came
from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave
and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised."
In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.
4. God at times sends trials to develop patience in us.
James 1:2-4. Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you
face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your
faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so
that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
5. The psalmist was thankful for affliction, for it taught him to keep
God's precepts.
Ps. 119:67-68. Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I
obey your word. You are good, and what you do is good; teach me
your decrees.
Ps. 119:71-72. It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might
learn your decrees. The law from your mouth is more precious to
me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.
Ps. 119:75-76. I know, O Lord, that your laws are righteous, and in faithfulness you have afflicted me. May your unfailing love
be my comfort, according to your promise to your servant.
6. We must neither make light of God's discipline nor lose heart
because of it.
Heb. 12:5-6. And you have forgotten that word of encouragement
that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the
Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone
he accepts as a son."
7. God disciplines his children to promote sanctification.
Heb. 12:5-11.
Heb. 12:10-11. Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as
they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we
may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness
and peace for those who have been trained by it.
8. God disciplined and tried his people on their journey to the
promised land to teach them important lessons.
Deut. 8:2-5. Remember how the Low your God led you all the
way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you
in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would
keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and
then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers
had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but
on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Your
clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these
forty years. Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his
son, so the Lord your God disciplines you.
9. God tried his people at Marah, where he turned the bitter water
sweet and soon gave a time of refreshment at Elim.
Exod. 15:22-27.
Exod. 15:25. Then Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord
showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the
water became sweet. There the Lord made a decree and a law for
them, and there he tested them.
Exod. 15:27. Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve
springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there near the
water.
10. To the lukewarm church Jesus declares that he rebukes and disciplines
those whom he loves.
Rev. 3:14-22.(the letter to the church at Laodicea)
Rev. 3:19-20. "Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So
be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock.
If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and
eat with him, and he with me."
11. Paul was given a thorn in the flesh, a continual affliction to bear.
God promised him that his grace would always be sufficient.
2 Cor. 12:7-10. To keep me from becoming conceited because of
these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in
my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded
with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace
is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."
Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so
that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in
difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
12. In everything God works for the good of those who love him.
Rom. 8:28. We know that in all things God works for the good
of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
13. God will never give you more than you can bear.
1 Cor. 10:13. No temptation has seized you except what is common
to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted
beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also
provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
14. We cannot always comprehend God's ways, as he, in his wisdom, carries out his plan.
Rom. 11:33-36. Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and
knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths
beyond tracing out! "Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or
who has been his counselor?" "Who has ever given to God, that
God should repay him?" For from him and through him and to
him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.
15. King Hezekiah praised God for his loving discipline.
Isa. 38:15-19.
Isa. 38:15. But what can I say? He has spoken to me, and he himself
has done this. I will walk humbly all my years because of this
anguish of my soul.
Isa. 38:17. Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered such
anguish. In your love you kept me from the pit of destruction; you
have put all my sins behind your back.
16. We can rejoice in our sufferings, which produce perseverance.
Rom. 5:3. We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know
that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and
character, hope.
James 1:2-4. Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you
face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your
faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so
that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
17. God blesses those who persevere under trials.
James 1:12. Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life
that God has promised to those who love him.
18. Our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory
that will be revealed in us.
Rom. 8:18. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth
comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
19. Paul says that he suffered under great stress so that he might learn
to rely more on God.
2 Cor. 1:8-9. We do not want to be uninformed, brothers, about
the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under
great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired
even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But
this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who
raises the dead.
20. Paul says that God always has and always will deliver him.
2 Cor. 1:10-11. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and
he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue
to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will
give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer
to the prayers of many.
21.
Continues.
