Let's turn together in the Bible to Proverbs 6, page 431 in the Pew Bible. We began last week a brief study of Proverbs and come this morning into a delicate matter. hear God's word regarding adultery. We'll read Proverbs 6, verses 20 through 35. And before we read, let us bow to pray. Father, would you speak to us this morning in this matter that is a part of so many of us, our sexuality, and that we would see it through your eyes, that we would have hearts of obedience to you, especially when temptations to sin are strong. And so speak through your servant, forgive his sins, and show us the Savior. in whom is our greatest delight and our eternal joy. We pray in his name, amen. Proverbs 6, verses 20 through 35. Hear the word of God. My son, keep your father's command and do not forsake the law of your mother. bind them continually upon your heart, tie them around your neck. When you roam, they will lead you. When you sleep, they will keep you. And when you awake, they will speak with you. For the commandment is a lamp, and the law, a light. Reproofs of instruction are the way of life. To keep you from the evil woman, from the flattering tongue of a seductress, Do not lust after her beauty in your heart, nor let her allure you with her eyelids. For by means of a harlot, a man is reduced to a crust of bread, and an adulteress will prey upon his precious life. Can a man take fire to his bosom and his clothes not be burned? Can one walk on hot coals and his feet not be seared? So is he who goes in to his neighbor's wife Whoever touches her shall not be innocent. People do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy himself when he is starving. Yet when he is found, he must restore sevenfold. He may have to give up all the substance of his house. Whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding. He who does so destroys his own soul. Wounds and dishonor he will get. and his reproach will not be wiped away. For jealousy is a husband's fury, therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance. He will accept no recompense, nor will he be appeased, though you give many gifts. Much loved congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ, here is a delightful companion when you roam, when you travel, when you live life. Verse 22, when you roam or walk, wisdom, your father's commands, your mother's teachings will lead you. When you sleep, wisdom will watch over you. When you awake, wisdom will speak to you. Wisdom, like a most faithful friend, will always be at your side. This faithful friend wisdom is personified in the Book of Proverbs, often as a woman, which is interesting when you think of how often especially in the first 10 chapters of Proverbs, and how strongly God mourns against another woman, the evil one, the seductress, the adulterous woman. Teens and young adults, singles who yearn for marriage, husbands and wives with wandering hearts, wandering eyes, The commands of the Lord are a lamp. God's law is a light. The reproof of instruction is the way of life to keep us from being captured by sin, particularly this one, particularly in our day and time. when the temptation is so strong and everywhere. Let me clarify something before we go on. Adultery is a form of fornication. Fornication would be the umbrella term. Adultery is one type of fornication. Fornication is sexual intimacy between any two people not married to each other. So it includes adultery, it includes premarital sex. Adultery is intimacy between two people not married to each other, but one or both of them are married to someone else. In the first, the bigger picture, the marital bond or covenant may or may not be broken. In the second, it always is. And as sinful as fornication is, and there are many places in the Bible that God forbids sexual intimacy between two people who are not married, Adultery is addressed here and in Proverbs because it breaks that bond. It breaks the marriage covenant. So let's look at the warning against adultery first of all, and then because God is always a God of grace, there are two words of blessing before we conclude. And the warning against adultery is in verses 25 through 35. The command in verse 25, do not lust after her beauty in your heart, nor let her allure you with her eyelids. The she that we're talking about here is the evil woman, the immoral one, sometimes called an adulterous or loose woman. Loose is a good term. Loose brings the idea that a person who breaks marriage vows by adultery has cut himself or herself loose from those sacred bonds, from the obligation and responsibility, but also from the identity and the security that marriage vows include. Such a person is loose, putting self away outside of family, spiritually, physically. Adultery breaks that sacred covenant made with a spouse, though perhaps not irreparably, We'll talk about forgiveness before we finish this morning. Adultery breaks that sacred covenant made with God in marriage vows, though again, perhaps not irreparably, but it could. and we see often how it does. Each sin that we commit, regardless of the name of it, breaks the bond of fellowship with the Lord. But because adultery involves so many sins, it isn't just one. It's lying and deceitfulness and coveting and stealing. A person often has gone far from God by the time that sin comes to light. And sometimes, sadly, there is reason to question whether that person ever was a part of the family of God. Because there are so many sins against a betrayed spouse It's sometimes more than that spouse can handle, and forgiveness seems impossible. And then note that this started long before the bed. Verse 25, do not lust after her in your heart. That's where it starts. We've heard, and I want to remind you again, of Matthew 5, 27 and 28, in this section of the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus cuts to the quick, he's not looking at the outward, he's looking at what's inside us and he says at verse 27, 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. The disaster began when everything looked fine on the outside. But there's something not right inside, in that marriage, or one spouse is not content, and coveting starts. I wish my husband were more like, and name that man. Or I wish my wife would compliment me like she does. I wish, and we want what is not rightly ours, and we want it more than we want God. That's covening. We want what we want more than we want fellowship with our Savior. So there's that emotional connection, we want something, but then there might be more wanting there. The thrill of sexual sin, the luxury of irresponsibility, the fun of doing what I wanna do for once. Someone has said adultery is about more than sex. It's seeking someone to worship and serve you, to fulfill your wishes and praise you. And you think, finally someone appreciates me. Finally someone admires me. And then hand in hand with that coveting, is fantasy. The imagination creates the ideal person or relationship that isn't really there. And perhaps an intimate emotional connection is made. And soon there's an uncontrollable blaze. The motivation for obedience is in the next verse, verse 26, or by means of a harlot, a man is reduced to a crust of bread and an adulteress will prey upon his precious life. She strips a man of all he has and endangers his very life. If you are tempted by sexual sin, it's good to read Proverbs often, especially chapters five, six, and seven. Chapter 5, 10 through 14, for example, shows how in adultery a person gives up money and property and health and respect and invites disease and dishonor and possible death. There's more motivation for obedience. We'll see the positive side in a moment, but might the negative be strong enough, a passage like Proverbs 6.26. There's too much at stake to naively say it won't happen to me unless we keep a guard on our hearts and our habits. And then Picture this in verses 27 through 29. Can a man take fire to his bosom and his clothes not be burned? If you take another man's wife into your lap, will that pleasure not turn to pain? Can one walk on hot coals and his feet not be seared? Feet. is sometimes used in scripture as a euphemism, a polite way of saying a man's private parts. Can you walk on hot coals of prohibited intimacy without harm? So is he who goes in to his neighbor's wife. Whoever touches her shall not be innocent. The fire that begins with warming you may also destroy. Temporary enjoyment can become a consuming fire. And what's the cause of all of this? There's cause and effect here. The cause of all this is we sin in our hearts, verse 25. Jesus sees the heart and reminds us that adultery begins there before it's ever acted out, to covet another man's wife or husband, to fantasize, to build an emotional connection with that person, is the beginning of disaster. Under the lust, there is a basic problem that we read in verse 32. Whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding. That person lacks understanding. He judges wrongly. He thinks that he can sin against a holy God without consequence. And it cannot be so. You can understand, verse 30, about a thief who steals bread because he's starving. We don't despise that person, even though the consequences for him also can be severe. But a sexual sinner shows that he's not thinking straight. He's fallen for the lie of sin. Temptation always comes with lies. Do this and you'll feel better. Do this in business and you'll get ahead. No one will know. You'll never be caught. and he destroys himself, our passage says, unless God intervenes, which he does. There are two words of blessing for the sinner here, for every sinner here. First, peace with God is possible through Jesus Christ. If you know the unique pleasure and pain of adultery in your heart, or maybe further, God comes with gracious reconciliation, 1 John 1 verse 9. What a blessed word from the Lord. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. In Romans 8 verse 1, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. We know that applies to all sins. and the heart of every repentant sinner. And yet it's important that we hear that it applies to adultery too. This is not the unforgivable sin. God delights in showing mercy to his people. We're going to sing in a moment this song. I want to read part of it to you in connection with this thought of peace with God through Jesus Christ. Come to the Savior now, he gently calleth thee, in true repentance bow, before him bend the knee, he waiteth to bestow salvation, peace, and love, true joy on earth below, a home in heaven above. Come to the Savior now, ye who have wandered far, Renew your solemn vow, for his by right you are. Come like poor wandering sheep returning to his fold. His arm will safely keep, his love will ne'er grow cold. At the cross, he purchased you body and soul. And the second word of blessing is the pleasure of marital faithfulness. Backing up to chapter five, verse 15, drink water from your own cistern and running water from your own well. Is drinking from another well really sweeter than your own? Intimacy outside of marriage may be exciting, but by God's design, it cannot be satisfying. Continuing at verse 16, should your fountains be dispersed abroad, streams of water in the streets, let them be only your own and not for strangers with you. Let your fountain be blessed and rejoice with the wife of your youth. As a loving deer in a graceful doe, let her breasts satisfy you at all times and always be enraptured with her love. Be enraptured, be captivated by the spouse to whom you have vowed faithfulness. not the captivity of false intimacy with someone else. To be faithful, whether in marriage or celibacy as a single person, is to enjoy the smile of God as you remain faithful to him. And in God, and God alone, there is pleasure forevermore. If you struggle against sin, if, we all do, in your struggle against sin, if this message this morning hits close to you, there is hope, there is good news, Hebrews 2 verse 18, for in that he himself has suffered being tempted, he is able to aid those who are tempted. Talking of course of our Lord and Savior. Hebrews 4, 15 and 16, for we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. I warned you last week that in Proverbs we read about wisdom, about the tongue, and about adultery. This is one of the hardest ones I've ever preached. And as a man, I'm glad it's over. As your pastor, I don't know who needs the forgiveness of Christ. I don't know who needs strength to resist temptation. But my word to you is run to Jesus. Run to Jesus. He is strong to help you and your comfort and your satisfaction is in Him. Let's pray together. Lord Jesus, I don't know who in this room this morning might need your word from Proverbs 6. or who listening on the internet might need this word, but you do. And we pray for those who are struggling against this sin. Give them strength to struggle and not to give in. whether that be in the form of pornography or inappropriate flirting with someone, an emotional connection that is too close and too intimate, wishful, imaginative, lustful thinking, or perhaps outright adultery in the flesh. Lord Jesus, you know every heart here and you know our needs. And I plead with you as the shepherd of this flock, that you will give your grace and strength to each one. That we who are married might be faithful to our vows, faithful to our spouses and to you, our God, For those who are single, that you would give them special strength to resist temptation, to remain holy before you and preserved for their spouse someday. And we praise you for forgiveness, that you do delight in showing mercy. That there is no condemnation for those who are in you, our Savior and Lord. We marvel at such grace. And want to walk with you. In this week. In all the weeks to come in holiness and purity and righteousness. And fellowship with our God. And so bless us, Lord Jesus, with what we need to be faithful to you who is faithful to us. And blessed be your name, our God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one God, forever to be praised.