MEMORISE:
Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. Hebrews 13:4
READ: Matthew 5:27-32
27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
31 It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:
32 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.
MESSAGE
In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes. Judges 21:25
The scripture aptly describes the state of the world today, especially in the area of sexual immorality. Many people this days have no sense of restraint, having eliminated God’s authority over their lives. They are no longer answerable to God, and the boundaries He has defined for the total wellbeing of mankind are being dismantled in order to accommodate their desires. As a result, every sexual absurdity that enters into the depraved minds is turned into a course for social justice by the devil and his agents, and several simple-minded people are getting swept into supporting such so-called “civil right” causes that are essentially a repudiation of the ways of God. Not satisfied with manipulating the world, the devil has set his sights on the Church, which has been his target all along. It is therefore disheartening to see ignorant Christians lowering the standard of God’s word in order to accommodate the world. Such Christians believe that in order to reach out to the world, the word of God needs to be “toned down” to accommodate modern day realities. They forget that the Holy Spirit says in 2 Timothy 2:19:
“Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”
God’s standards are very high, they are firm and they are sealed. This means that you cannot unravel them to add or subtract things in order to accommodate your own desires.
In today’s Bible reading, the Lord Jesus Christ declares God’s standard on immorality to every ear that is willing to hear. The first standard He sets is that adultery is not committed just in the act but also in the lust that arises before the act. The devil knows this and that is why he manipulates men and women to wear clothes that accentuates or reveal their nakedness, even in church. His plan is to ensnare innocent souls into committing adultery and fornication through lust. Another standard of the Lord established in today’s Bible text concerns divorce and re-marriage. Several so-called “Bible-believing” churches have jettisoned God’s standard and have embraced the necessity of divorce and re-marriage as a reality of modern life. Such people are only deceiving themselves and will answer for it on Judgment Day. Are you living by God’s standards in the area of sexual purity?
ACTION POINT:
Endeavor to avoid any act that would foster sexual immorality in the Church of Christ.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Corinthians 15-16 Isaiah 66:7-24
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 6: HAVE YOU BEEN TO JESUS FOR THE CLEANSING POWER?
1. Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Refrain
Are you washed in the blood,
In the soul-cleansing blood of the Lamb?
Are your garments spotless? Are they white as snow?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
2. Are you walking daily by the Savior’s side?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Do you rest each moment in the Crucified?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Refrain
3. When the Bridegroom cometh will your robes be white!
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Will your soul be ready for His presence bright,
And be washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Refrain
4. Lay aside the garments that are stained with sin,
And be washed in the blood of the Lamb;
There’s a fountain flowing for the soul unclean,
O be washed in the blood of the Lamb.
Refrain
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