THE SEDUCTION OF SENSUALITY

“With her enticing speech she caused him to yield, With her flattering lips she seduced him. Immediately he went after her, as an ox goes to the slaughter, Or as a fool to the correction of the stocks, Till an arrow struck his liver. As a bird hastens to the snare, He did not know it would cost his life. Now therefore, listen to me, my children; Pay attention to the words of my mouth: Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways, Do not stray into her paths; For she has cast down many wounded, And all who were slain by her were strong men. Her house is the way to hell, Descending to the chambers of death.” (‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭7:21-27‬ ‭NKJV‬‬)

Will our life be directed by a mind of wisdom, or will it be driven by carnal passions?  The Holy Spirit can govern and guide us in alignment with Scripture or we can surrender to the baser instincts of the flesh.  It is a daily battle in a fallen world, and we must arm young people with truth so they may resist the downward drag.

Our world is obsessed with sensuality. Advertisers use it to capture our attention in selling everything from hamburgers to automobiles to tropical vacations and more.  Pornographers lure our children into sexual addiction through the internet. Where one once had to sneak into some dark alley and find some purveyor of smut, it is now just a click away.

How many homes are wrecked because of unfaithfulness to marriage?  There have been scores of men and women I have counseled across the years, whose hearts have been broken by a spouse’s unfaithfulness.  It seems daily there is a news story of a teacher seducing a student, or a murder of a spouse carried out by a conspiring man and his mistress.  Then, there are the unplanned pregnancies and the wanton destruction of the babies by abortion.

Sexual sin takes its toll.  Sensual, sinful acts breed disease.  Many will carry a sexually transmitted disease to their grave, and that grave may be opened far sooner than it ought.  We dug it ourselves by our folly.  This is the high cost of low-living.  The pleasure is real, but the price tag is far too expensive. 

WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT?

You may recall Tina Turner’s pop music hit from years ago that posed this question.  As we approach Valentine’s Day—a time designated to celebrate love—it is an uncomfortable conversation we need to have.  Turner’s song was very cynical—conveying that the relationship of man and women is merely physical in nature and love is just a romantic ideal— an antiquated notion.  Many people look at marriage and love that way—even among those who claim Christianity as their faith.

The numbers are staggering.  The shocking statistics from the Federal Government Centers for Disease Control finds 60% of women and 67% of men believe, “Living together before marriage may help prevent divorce.”  The numbers of women and men who agreed, “A young couple should not live together unless they are married has been decreasing from 34.7% in 2002 to 30.8% in 2006-2010, down to 28% in 2013.  I would like to think the attitudes among those in Bible-believing churches would be the reverse of this, but from what I hear and see, those convictions may be eroding.  With each passing year, the culture more than the Scripture seems to direct our morals.

Times have changed—but, God has not.  His standards have not.

Sex isn’t dirty.  It is a precious gift of God who made us sexual beings and designed it for procreation—and also pleasure—within the bounds of holy matrimony. God wasn’t trying to rob us of fun, but rather His commands are for our benefit so that we may experience ultimate joy.  The fact is “trying it out” by cohabitation does not help prevent divorce, but studies show that the guilt and shame—the self-centered baggage—carried into marriage increases the odds the marriage will fail.  A fire in the fireplace can heat your home on a cold winter’s night.  Let that fire escape its barrier and it will burn the house down!

What’s love got to do with it?  Everything—true love, God’s way.  Much of what is described as love today is lust.

Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge. (Hebrews 13:4 NKJV)  A sobering truth, isn’t it?  Because I love you, I must warn you.

Thankfully, there is grace and mercy available from the Lord.  We can turn from our sin and seek Him.  His way is always best.  May God use His Word to shape us and His Spirit to convict us in this area. I can go astray in this sexually explicit society.  If I don’t stay close to God and close to my spouse, Satan can find an easy target.  If David, a man after God’s own heart, could yield to temptation, any of us can.  Pray for one another.  Pray for marriages.  Pray for purity.  As we come to Valentine’s Day, may we celebrate true love!

THE HIGH COST OF LOW LIVING

But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.  (2 Samuel 11:27b) 

I don’t know who first said it, but it is absolutely right: “Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.”  There is a high cost to low living.  David found that out the hard way.  The sorrowful, sordid story unfolds in 2 Samuel 11-12. 

The moral collapse of the man of God begins with a seemingly small evasion of duty (11:1).  At a time when David should have been with his troops staying on the battlefield, he is strolling on the balcony.  An idle mind is the Devil’s workshop.  It may seem a little thing at first to become slack in worship attendance, neglectful of a daily devotional time, or step back from Christian service.  But, nature abhors a vacuum—and if your mind is not filled with God’s Word, Satan will fill it with carnal thoughts; if our calendar is not filled with wholesome activity, it will become filled with worldly pursuits.  It is only a matter of time. 

We discover David up at night, wandering the palace balcony, where the lion of lust waits to pounce on him (11:2-5).  If a man rises early, meets God in prayer and the Word, his spiritual defenses will be strengthened.  Staying up late and sleeping in sets a pattern which paves the way for exposure to all manner of evil—seldom does any good activity happen after midnight.  How many are swept up into sin—caught up in porn, lured into illicit texting, even swept up into an adulterer’s arms because they were up at night with eyes open that should have been closed in sleep—in anticipation of the next day and getting up and gazing upon the Word of God. 

The sin David committed was bad enough, but the sin he covered was worse (11:6-27).  Bathsheba becomes pregnant.  Her husband, Uriah, will become a casualty of David’s sexual conquest.  Uriah was a Hittite—one of the pagan people that Israel had conquered when they took Canaan.  Yet, his character outshines one of the chosen people in this story.  David, doubtless, never intended for things to go as far as they did, but give the Devil an inch and he will take a mile.  Even Joab is drawn into the conspiracy that brought down an innocent man.  David had become an adulterer, liar, and now a murderer! 

Numbers 32:23 warns, “be sure your sin will find you out.”  The secret sin on earth is a public scandal in heaven.  David will be exposed.  When God sends his prophet to confront the king, he shares a story that will stir a former shepherd’s heart (12:1-6).  We are often quick to judge in another what lurks in our own soul.  Nathan points his bony finger at David—like an arrow hitting his heart comes the pronouncement, “You are the man!” (v.7)  To David’s credit, he is repentant.  God will forgive, yet by his own lips, David had pronounced his own punishment: “fourfold,” (v.6).  The baby Bathsheba will birth will become sick and die—that’s one.  After Amnon, David’s son, rapes his sister, her brother, Absalom will kill Amnon—that’s two.  Absalom will lead a rebellion against David, only to be eventually slain by Joab—that’s three.  Later, Solomon will execute another of David’s sons, Adonijah—that’s four.  We sow evil seed and hope for a crop failure, but God is not mocked (Gal.6:7-8).  

SPIRITUAL ADULTERY

“But you trusted in your own beauty, played the harlot because of your fame, and poured out your harlotry on everyone passing by who would have it.”  (Ezekiel 16:15) 

God is love—and He is a jealous God.  He will share us with no other lover.  God demands that we who are loved absolutely, return that love to Him exclusively.  To fail to love the Lord with all our being is tantamount to spiritual adultery.  With graphic words that are enough to make a sailor blush, Ezekiel 16 describes the unfaithfulness of Israel.  These lessons are still applicable to the church today as the bride of Christ. 

The chapter begins with a description of Israel’s pitiful condition (v.1-5).  God tells how He came to love them.  They were a tiny people without promise of life.  Like a baby abandoned at birth—cast away and without hope—that is a picture of their spiritual condition.  There was nothing they could do to save themselves.  That is our state without Christ.  We are hopeless and helpless, dying in our sins. 

The saga continues with a picture of God’s precious compassion (v.6-14).  In their death throes, God reached out to them in sovereign grace and imparted life to them.  Not only did He rescue them, He cared for them as they grew, and brought them into His heart as His bride—clothing them and entering a covenant with them.  They were exalted as the bride of the King.  The church is the Bride of Christ through His grace as He has redeemed us, and promised us His fidelity.  He has clothed us in righteousness.  How could we be unfaithful to such a Lover? 

Israel did, and we may.  Next we witness Israel’s pornographic corruption (v.15-34).  Pornographic is the best description for the vile manner in which they gave themselves to idols.  Corruption defines the moral filth that marked their depravity.  God is serious about this sin.  The first two of the Ten Commandments—those fundamental moral standards—demand that we worship God exclusively and properly.  They were insatiable in their idolatry—even offering their children as sacrifices!  When we look lustfully at the things of this world, surrender our hearts to them, and give that which God has bestowed on us to another, it is a foul and filthy thing!  So quickly we forget the goodness of God and wander from the Lover of our Soul! 

This brought God’s painful correction (v.35-59).  God would begin by exposing them to shame by the heathen nations with whom they had cavorted.  As death was the penalty for those who committed physical adultery, the death of multitudes in Israel would be the tragic consequence of their lewd behavior.  God loves us too much to let us go.  It is not only for His glory, but for our good as well, that He uses the chastening rod to break us of our rebellion.  God may have straying children, who become suffering children, but He will not have spoiled children! 

The chastening will do its job as the chapter closes with God’s promised covenant (v.60-63).  The covenant God makes is an everlasting one.  Their unfaithfulness would not void God’s everlasting love.  There is coming a day when Israel will return with tears of repentance to the Lord.  They will find Him waiting with open arms!  Someone has said, “It is impossible for you to do anything that would make God love you more and impossible for you to do anything that would make Him love you less!”  Let us love Him with all we are!

GOD’S TOP TEN

Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!  (Deuteronomy 5:29)

If you Google “top ten,” you will find a top ten list of just about everything.   For instance, when I did, it pulled up a top ten list for songs, movies, auto insurance companies, greatest people of all time, best rock drummers, and so forth.  The list of lists goes on.  Did you know God has a top ten list?  We call them the Ten Commandments, and one presentation of those is in Deuteronomy 5.  Deuteronomy means “second law.”  It is not a second version of God’s law, but a second proclamation of it.  The adult generation that came out of Egypt had heard the law stated the first time, but miserably failed to obey it.  The consequence was that they would perish in the wilderness—and by the time Moses speaks here, they had.  Now a new generation needs to know God’s top ten—and that is what you find in this chapter.

These commands reveal the very heart of Holy God.  They are the essence of His law—every other command flows from these.  They span the dimensions of  life in how we relate to God and man.  God was not offering suggestions; He was setting expectations.

• The first commandment (v.6) deals with Who we worship.  Yahweh is to be the exclusive object of worship. He will tolerate no rival.
• The second commandment (v.7-10) sets the way we worship.  Idolatry is forbidden.  We are not to worship a false god, neither are we to worship the true God in a false way.
• The third commandment (v.11) reminds us that the name of God is sacred because His name represents His nature.  Using His name profanely is besmirching Him.
• The fourth commandment (v.12-15) declares that God not only has a sacred name, but a special day.  One day set aside from work to focus on worship is the way of remembering that all of our days belong to God, and we are a stewards of time.
• The fifth commandment (v.16) calls us to respect our parents who are God’s representatives to us.  Honoring them shows we honor our Heavenly Father.
• The sixth commandment (v.17) underscores the sanctity of life.  Human life is made in the image of God, and is not to be taken in murder.
• The seventh commandment (v.18) shows the sanctity of marriage.  Unfaithfulness to our spouse is unfaithfulness to God.  We are stewards of our sexuality.
• The eighth commandment (v.19) tells us about the sacredness of property.  What God has given to us is not to be taken from us in theft.
• The ninth commandment (v.20) sets forth the sacredness of truth.  We are to speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth for God is truth.
• The tenth commandment (v.21) is one that deals with attitude and ties all these actions together.  Coveting position leads us to idolatry, where we worship false gods and in false ways, desecrate God’s name, His day, and His representatives—our parents.  Coveting possessions can lead us to kill, commit adultery, steal, and lie about it.  Deny covetousness and you nip other sins in the bud.

We would do well to make God’s top ten ours also!