In the year 1631, someone discovered that there was a word missing in a recently published edition of the King James Bible. The word not was omitted from the seventh of the Ten Commandments so that it read, thou shalt commit adultery. Now, when the archbishop found out about this, he was enraged by this omission, so much so that he fined the printers 300 pounds, which at that time was a lifetime's earnings. And from that moment on, the 1631 edition of the King James Version Bible became known as the Wicked Bible. It's hard to imagine that there would be a similar reaction today if that mistake occurred in a new edition of a Bible. In fact, many people might welcome this mistake because it would seem to fit better with today's moral standards than the original commandment, thou shalt not commit adultery. As all of us know, sexual immorality and lust has become one of the driving forces of our culture, remove sex from entertainment, advertisements, and everyday conversation, and there really wouldn't be much left to our culture. And tragically, sexual immorality is not restricted to those without Christ. A number of years ago, the magazine Christianity Today conducted a survey of its readership, which generally consists of clergy and church leaders, elders, deacons, Sunday school teachers, And they did the survey on the issue of internet pornography. The results of this survey revealed that 33% of clergy and 36% of laity have visited a sexually explicit site. And past surveys of Christianity today revealed that one out of four Christian men have been unfaithful to their wives, and nearly half of the men surveyed admitted to behaving in a manner that was sexually inappropriate. So the immoral atmosphere of our world impacts everyone, both believers and unbelievers alike. No one is immune from the sensual temptations of our age. No one. A number of years ago, in 1991, Kent Hughes, wrote a book, it's actually become a classic, entitled Disciplines of a Godly Man, in which he wrote these words about the sensual climate of our world. He said, one need turn on the television for only a few minutes to feel the heat of the oppressive sensuality of our day. Most of the oppression is crude, a boring trip around the TV channels at midday invariably reveals at least one couple wrapped in bed sheets and much sensual monotony. But the heat has become increasingly artful, especially if its purpose is to sell. The camera focuses close in black and white on an intense lusting male face over which is superimposed an amber flame which then becomes a glowing bottle of Calvin Klein's obsession as the face intones its desire. Newer spots feature subtle cinematic images with prose from D.H. Lawrence to know him, to gather him in. And Flaubert's Madame Bovary, as she wanders around her illicit lover's bedroom, the sticky steam of sensuality penetrates everything in our world." End of quote. Now folks, That quote was from a book written 33 years ago, and things have gotten far worse today. And it is against this penetrating sensuality of our day that the seventh of the Ten Commandments calls us to God's standards of sexual purity. And just like the sixth commandment about murder, the seventh commandment is also, it's short, it's concise, and it's to the point. You shall not commit adultery. And as in the case of the previous commandment, the original Hebrew is even more precise, consisting of only two words, no adultery. Essentially, this commandment forbids a married individual from having sexual relations with anyone other than their spouse. However, it involves so much more than simply prohibiting the act of sexual unfaithfulness on the part of married individuals. And so this morning, since we are observing the Lord's Supper today, we are continuing in our study of the Ten Commandments. And in light of the seventh commandment focusing on adultery, I want us to explore several significant issues in relation to this subject by asking the same type of questions that we asked last time when we studied the commandments. And we're doing this in order to discover the full meaning of this Seventh Commandment. So we're gonna ask three questions. Question number one, what action does the Seventh Commandment forbid? Question number two, what attitude does the Seventh Commandment forbid? And question number three, what positive virtue does the Seventh Commandment encourage? And so we begin by looking at the first question that helps us to understand the meaning of the Seventh Commandment. And that question is, what action does the seventh commandment forbid? Now, as I said just a few moments ago, the seventh commandment, in its basic sense, is a prohibition against a married person having sexual relations with someone other than their spouse. The Bible actually presents a whole range of forbidden sexual practices, such as homosexuality, incest, bestiality, prostitution, sex before and outside of marriage. But it is important, in fact, it is critical for us to know that though some of these sexual sins are of a perverse and unnatural nature, yet the sin of adultery is presented in Scripture as the most grievous of all sexual sins. In fact, apart from the sin of idolatry, the prohibition of adultery is mentioned more times in the Old Testament than any other sin. More times. And in the New Testament, there is no sin mentioned more frequently than adultery. So the question is, why is adultery then presented as such a grievous and serious sin? Well, there are several reasons. I would encourage you to write these down. First of all, adultery is first and foremost a wicked and rebellious sin against God himself and his moral standards. In the book of Genesis, we are told the story of Potiphar's wife trying to unsuccessfully seduce Joseph. And one reason that her advances were refused by young Joseph is because he recognized that having relations with her would be a great sin against God. Joseph said, how could I do this great evil and sin against God? So listen, even before the Ten Commandments were given to Israel, Joseph understood where? In his conscience, that God's standards of morality demanded sexual purity. And that a violation of these standards would be evil and it would be rebellion against God. He wanted to please God with his life, so he chose not to sin against Him. Then there's the story of King David and his adultery with Bathsheba. I read to you Psalm 51, which records David's heartfelt repentance for his adultery. And though his sin affected many people, certainly Bathsheba, certainly your husband, who David essentially had murdered, and his own children, David recognized that he had primarily sinned against God himself. He said in verse four, against you, you only, I have sinned and done what is evil in your sight. You see, as a believer in Christ, it is absolutely wrong to think that you have a right to do whatever you want to do with your body simply because, well, it's your body. That's wrong. It's not your body. It's not your body. When the Corinthians were involved in sexual sins involving pagan temple prostitutes, the Apostle Paul argued that for a believer to join himself to a prostitute, he said, it is unthinkable, so unthinkable as to be absurd, as to be ludicrous. And the reason being because, in reality, it means joining Christ to a harlot, since believers are one with him. Here's what Paul wrote to the Corinthians in 1st Corinthians chapter 6 starting in verse 15. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take away the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? May it never be! I mean the thought has perished the thought. Don't even think such a thing. Or do you not know that the one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her? For he says the two shall become one flesh. But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with him. Flee immorality! Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body. Paul says that if you're a Christian, then your body is not your own to do with as you please, because it belongs to Jesus Christ. He purchased you, all of you, and therefore it is a sin against him to use your body for immoral purposes. But adultery is a grievous and horrific sin, not only because it is a sin against God, but also because it is a sin against other people. You see, adultery Adultery defiles the most important and sacred of all human relationships. It defiles marriage. Concerning the sacred institution of marriage, Moses wrote these words in Genesis chapter 2, verse 24. For this reason, a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And by these words, the Bible makes it clear that God created and designed marriage to consist of one man and one woman joined together in a unique relationship for the rest of their lives. Therefore, watch this, their sexual union is a physical reflection and expression of the fact that they have become one and are soulmates. You see, from the moment that a man and a woman are joined together in sacred wedlock, they are truly one. God sees them as one as they share the same home, the same finances, the children, grandchildren, burdens, joys, sorrows, and everything else in life. They share youth together, they share midlife together, they share old age together. Their physical union then is a celebration of the unique oneness that they have as a married couple. But it is the hideousness of adultery that destroys that unique oneness that was reserved for them and them alone. Not only is their physical oneness ruined by adultery, but adultery also destroys trust. It destroys intimacy. It destroys the joys of a sacred relationship. Adultery, though, is not only a sin against God and against a spouse, as well as a sin against someone else's spouse. But there is a third reason why it is the worst of all sexual sins. Adultery brings great harm to the children of a marriage. One Bible teacher described the harm adultery brings to children by describing what the message of infidelity communicates to a child. He said, Infidelity tells a child, your mother is not worth much, and your father is a liar and a cheat. Furthermore, honor is not nearly as important as pleasure. In fact, my child, my own satisfaction is more important than you. The same writer goes on to say, this, of course, is followed by the harm to the church as it is evacuated of power and authenticity and harm to the world. For if the gospel cannot give Christians the power to control their sexuality, how can it save the world? So adultery is a sin against God. It's a sin against spouse. It's a sin against children, the church, and the world. But the fourth reason adultery is the most evil of all sexual sins is that it brings great harm to the one who commits it. Proverbs 5 is one of the strongest deterrents to committing adultery found anywhere in scripture because it serves as an inspired, a God-inspired warning of the dangers awaiting those who engage in adulterous relationships. Interestingly, this proverb is presented as a father-to-son talk by Solomon, who is extremely qualified to speak on the subject of unrestrained sexual conduct since first Kings chapter 11 verse 4 states that Solomon's heart had been led away from the Lord by 700 wives and 300 concubines. So the man was qualified to speak on this. He knew something about the dangers of adultery and therefore he warns his son and by application he warns all of us about the terrible consequences and dangers of adultery. Listen to what Solomon says in Proverbs chapter 5 verses 1 through 6. My son, give attention to my wisdom. Incline your ear to my understanding, that you may observe discretion, and your lips may reserve knowledge. For the lips of an adulteress drip honey, and smoother than oil is her speech. But in the end, she's bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death. Her steps take hold of Sheol. She does not ponder the path of life. Her ways are unstable. She does not know it. Now after these opening verses in which Solomon makes his son aware of the deception that adultery is just a harmless activity, he then proceeds to reveal the high price that a man pays for his infidelity. Verses 7 through 14. Now then, my sons, listen to me, and do not depart from the words of my mouth. Keep your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house. Or you will give your vigor to others, and your years to the cruel one. And strangers will be filled with your strength, and your hard-earned goods will go to the house of an alien. and you groan at your final end when your flesh and your body are consumed, and you say, how I've hated instruction, and my heart spurned reproof. I've not listened to the voice of my teachers, nor inclined my ear to my instructors. I was almost in utter ruin in the midst of the assembly and congregation." Now, these verses spell out the various losses that adultery brings. You lose your dignity and self-respect. You lose your financial resources in taking care of your adulterous partner and her children. You lose peace with God due to a guilty conscience and you will be disgraced before God's people. In addition, adultery often brings the loss of health through sexually transmitted diseases. And if you're in the ministry, it will cost you your ministry as well as your job, and you will experience the loss of an honorable reputation that can, and note this, that can never fully be restored even if there is repentance. And I say that because of what we read in another proverb, the next proverb, Proverbs chapter six, Verses 32 and 33. The one who commits adultery with a woman is lacking sense. He who would destroy himself does it. Wounds and disgrace he will find in his reproach will not be blotted out. So what we read here is that the sin of adultery carries with it a reproach that will never, ever go away, even though there may be repentance and, yes, God's forgiveness. Remember what happened to King David. David repented of his sin of adultery, yet the reproach he endured for the rest of his life. In fact, First Kings chapter 15 verse 5 records these words as just a lasting memorial, almost as an epitaph to David's life. It says, David was right in the sight of the Lord and had not turned aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, except in the case of Uriah the Hittite. Uriah was the husband of Bathsheba. So this is really about David's adultery. You see that one sin in David's life haunted him and followed him even to the grave. It became a stain on an otherwise exemplary life. For many people that's all they think about with David. He sinned with Bathsheba. So to violate the seventh commandment by committing adultery is a very grievous and serious sin. It's the most serious of all sexual sins because it is a sin against God. It damages and destroys the most important of human relationships, the marriage. It brings irreparable harm to children, to the church, and our testimony to the world, and it just brings horrific consequences to those who engage in it. Now, up to this point, we have only considered the forbidden physical act of adultery. But just like the issue of murder, in the New Testament, Jesus revealed that the prohibition against adultery is much broader and it's much deeper than the mere physical act. And so we move from the first question, which was what action does the Seventh Commandment forbid? The answer is the physical act of having sexual relations with someone other than your spouse. Now, the second question that helps us understand the full meaning of this Seventh Commandment is what attitude does the Seventh Commandment forbid? Now, as we noted, the last time we studied the Ten Commandments, Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, it's very helpful in revealing to us the real intent and the real meaning of the commandments. See, our Lord's Sermon, the Sermon on the Mount, was a message designed to help his followers, his true disciples, understand what true obedience required. Jesus wanted his followers to know the difference between outward conformity to the law, as practiced by the Pharisees and other religious leaders of that day, and true inner obedience to the law as practiced by genuine disciples. And to do this, the Lord highlighted several Old Testament laws and explained their true meaning. Now, notice what the Lord said about the seventh commandment in Matthew chapter 5, verses 27 and 28. You have heard that it was said, you shall not commit adultery. But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart." What Jesus is saying here is that contrary to what the rabbis taught, Obedience to the commandment forbidding adultery isn't limited to the physical act. It also encompasses adulterous, lustful thoughts and desires. Now keep in mind that Jesus wasn't changing the law. He wasn't adding something new to the seventh commandment. He was just explaining the original intent of this commandment. that it was always, always meant to condemn adulterous actions as well as adulterous thoughts, regardless of whether or not those lustful thoughts are ever carried out. Now folks, that is a really profound and convicting truth because all of us have had lustful thoughts. It's likely that every married person in this room has committed mental adultery. And every single person, single adult, has committed mental immorality. And we're not talking only about men, but women as well. Women who might engage in fantasizing what it would be like to be married to another man. Or in reading sleazy romance novels or watching soap operas that stir up lustful thoughts. These thoughts are just as immoral, just as adulterous as a man involved in pornography on the internet. God says that anyone, anyone who has impure lust in their heart has committed adultery in his sight even if they remain physically faithful to their spouse. Now I want to stop for a moment and I want to clarify two issues about lustful thoughts that are rather important. First of all, we want to be careful that we accurately define the kind of lustful, sinful lust Jesus was talking about. You see, it is not lust to notice an attractive person or to think that someone is good-looking. It only becomes lust when you start imagining what it would be like to be sexually involved with that individual. Let me put it as simply as I can. What Jesus is forbidding is any mental contemplation that if acted out would be immoral. Or another way to put it would be to say that Jesus is forbidding that second look, that repeated gaze, that longing stare. This is why that godly Old Testament man Job said, I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl. So there is a distinction between recognizing someone's attractiveness and lusting after them. The second issue that calls for clarification is the distinction between the act of adultery and adulterous thoughts that never become an action. You see, though, an adulterous thought carries the same kind of moral guilt as an adulterous act, because both are violations of the seventh commandment, and therefore both are damning before God. Though that's true, there is a difference between physical and mental adultery, with physical adultery being a greater sin. Why? Because, first of all, physical adultery breaks the marriage covenant and provides grounds for divorce, whereas adulterous thoughts don't do either. Secondly, physical adultery defiles someone else's body and destroys their marriage, but mental adultery does not. In addition, physical adultery often leads to abortion, but that's not the case, obviously, with adulterous thoughts. And finally, sexually transmitted diseases can occur when there is physical adultery, but not when only the mind is engaged. Now, this does not minimize the wickedness of mental adultery. It simply means that there is a difference between the actual act of adultery and the lustful thoughts of adultery with full-fledged adultery being much worse and carrying with it severe consequences. However, all of us should understand that lustful thoughts are extremely dangerous and they carry some significant consequences as well. For example, In the New Testament, in Ephesians chapter four, verse 19, the apostle Paul wrote this about the unsaved pagan people of his day. He said, and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity, note this, with greediness. Now, in this statement, Paul describes lust as never being satisfied. Notice the last phrase of this verse, with greediness. The New International Version, the translation really captures the thought of what Paul is saying. Here's how they translate it, and I think they're absolutely right. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity with a continual lust for more. That's what greediness means. In other words, what the apostle is saying is that lust is never satisfied. It only breeds more lust. You see, friends, once you start on the road of giving into lustful temptations, that road never ends. It never ends. You can't simply dabble in lust because lust has an insatiable appetite. This is why Paul states just a few verses later in Ephesians 5 verse 3, but immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you as is proper amongst saints. In other words, there shouldn't even be a hint of sexual immorality in a believer's life. Paul says it shouldn't be named amongst you because it should not exist in the Christian community. You see, it shouldn't exist at all in our lives. And if you give way to a little lust, thinking, well, a little bit, it's not that serious, I warn you, you will be trapped in a relentless cycle because lust only develops into more and more lust. Since lust by its very nature is greedy and it is never satisfied, I assure you, it will become your consuming master. It will rule over you. Listen closely to what I'm about to say. Struggling with the temptation to lust isn't something that you just grow out of someday. Lust isn't just a young person's problem. It's a human problem that affects all ages. It's part of our fallen, sinful condition. So be careful that you never think that you're above all of this, that you're just too old to have this kind of a problem, that you're incapable of committing adultery because you've reached a certain level of maturity. Scripture warns us against this overconfidence when Paul, after speaking to the Corinthians about the immorality of the Old Testament Israelites, he says this, therefore, 1 Corinthians 10, 12, therefore, let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall. What powerful words. Let him who thinks He stands, take heed lest ye fall. He means fall sexually. So if you think that you're above all of this, that you're just too godly, you're too spiritual, or you're just too old to ever fall into adultery, that this could never happen to you, God says to think again. and to think differently because you can very easily fall into this sin. So take heed to yourself, meaning watch yourself, guard your heart, don't be overconfident. So in light of lust's unquenchable appetite that knows no age limit, how do we get lustful thoughts and actions under control? so that we obey the Seventh Commandment both in mind and in action. Well, this leads us then to a third question to help us understand the Seventh Commandment. The first question, what action does the commandment forbid? Then we look to what attitude does the commandment forbid? Now the third question that helps us to understand the meaning of the Seventh Commandment is what positive virtue does this commandment encourage? Now, like many of the Ten Commandments that are presented in the negative form of thou shalt not, the seventh one isn't simply a negative prohibition against adultery. It doesn't just stop there with the negative. See, implied in this commandment is also a positive statement about having a healthy and faithful relationship with your spouse, both physically and mentally. And for those of you who are single, it means being sexually, moral, and pure. So then what practical and specific steps can we take to maintain faithfulness or to get out of the cycle of lust? Let me offer some biblical solutions to this problem. First of all, I want you to see that immediately after saying that if you lust after someone you've committed mental adultery, Jesus said these important words immediately following that statement, Matthew 5, 29 and 30. He said, if your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you. For it's better for you to lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off, he said, and throw it from you, for it's better for you to lose one of the parts of your body than your whole body to go to hell. And this is our Lord's solution to the problem of lust. He said, pluck out your right eye and cut off your right hand. Now, did Jesus mean for these statements to be taken literally? Absolutely not. Although, although, the third century theologian Origen had himself castrated in an attempt to overcome his sexual desires. Which, when you think about it, is really an oddity because Origen tended, if you know anything about church history, you know that Origen tended to interpret scripture by spiritualizing it. But in this case, for some unknown reason, he held to a wooden literalism. But the point here is that Jesus wasn't referring to self-mutilation. That would have contradicted other scriptures that speak of the sanctity of the human body. And besides, from a practical standpoint, plucking out an eye or cutting off a hand wouldn't cure you of lust. It would just make you a one-eyed, one-handed adulterer. That's all. So what was Jesus talking about when he said to pluck out an eye and to cut off a hand? Well, he was using the literary device known as hyperbole. What is a hyperbole? It's an obvious exaggeration to make a point. It's so obvious that everybody should get it. And in this case, the point being that the way to deal with lust is by radical surgery. In other words, cut out anything in your life that triggers lust. And this might mean removing certain television shows from your life, or even removing television altogether. It might mean cancelling certain magazine subscriptions. Or making sure that you never go online when you're alone in your house. Or that you cut out certain apps on your cell phone or devices that could lead to these problems. Or any number of other things that might need to be severed from your life for you to maintain sexual purity. Listen. No matter how radical, no matter how drastic it is, you must remove anything in your life that causes you to have a problem with lust. And keep this in mind, no measure is too drastic. Cut out anything and everything from your life that triggers lust and just fling it away. Get rid of it. That's the way to deal with lust. Remember, you cannot dabble in lust, or it will pull you in for more. So you have to sever anything from your life that causes you sexual temptation. Now, in addition to radical surgery, the book of Proverbs offers more inspired wisdom on cultivating sexual purity and avoiding adultery. Listen to these words from Proverbs. We now go back to Proverbs chapter 5. Starting in verse 15, Solomon says to his son, drink water from your own cistern and fresh water from your own well. Should your springs be dispersed to broad streams of water in the streets, let them be yours alone and not for strangers with you. Let your fountain be blessed and rejoice in the wife of your youth as a loving hind and a graceful doe. Let her breast satisfy you at all times. Be exhilarated always with her love. That word exhilarated, by the way, means be intoxicated. So after warning his son about the dangers and the consequences of adultery, Solomon tells him how to prevent it. He tells him to be satisfied with his wife. Using a metaphor of a cistern, which was an underground chamber for storing water, Solomon is urging his son to be sexually satisfied with his wife so that he won't be tempted with another man's wife. See, the best way to protect yourself against adultery is folks, it's to have a healthy marriage. A marriage in which you and your spouse love each other and satisfy each other physically. The Apostle Paul said the same thing in 1 Corinthians 7 verses 2 through 5. He said, but because of immoralities, each man is to have his own wife, and each woman is to have her own husband. The husband must fulfill his duties. He's talking about his sexual responsibilities to his wife, and likewise also the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, which means she has no right to say no. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise, the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Stop depriving one another. He means depriving one another of sexual relations. Stop depriving one another except by agreement for a time so that you may devote yourselves to prayer and come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. Ladies and gentlemen, I ask you, are you satisfied with your spouse? Do you delight in each other's love? And do you work on making yourself delightful to your spouse so that there's no unnecessary temptation to adultery? Someone compared this delight and satisfaction to eating a favorite meal until you just stuffed full. Then when a luscious dessert is brought to you, you're not tempted by this dessert, this delicious dessert. And the reason for this is because you have been satisfied with something else. I hope that you're satisfied with your spouse. Because when you are, you won't be tempted with anybody else's spouse. The bottom line is that other than young children, we are all guilty of breaking the seventh commandment, whether by an adulterous act or a lustful thought or a covetous desire. Therefore, in light of God's holiness and justice, we all deserve hell for our rebellion to him. But there is mercy and there is grace found only in Jesus Christ. I remind you of the story found in John chapter 8 about the woman who was caught in the very act of adultery. She was brought to Jesus, as you know, and he said to those who brought her to him these now famous words, he who is without sin amongst you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her. But you know what Jesus said to this woman, who was obviously guilty, caught in the very act of adultery? He said, I do not condemn you either. Go, and from now on, sin no more. Now, how could Jesus say that to her? We could say that to her because he knew she was repentant over her act of adultery. And so he forgave her. And the reason, folks, he could and did forgive her was because he would soon bear the full penalty of her sin of adultery on the cross. He knew that. Though he was holy, undefiled by sin, he would bear the legal guilt of this woman's adultery and pay for it to the uttermost. Folks, that's what he has done for sinners. He has borne the legal guilt of our adulterous behavior. And this morning, we have the opportunity to pay special attention to his death on the cross by observing the Lord's Supper. You see, the Lord's Supper is a time when we intentionally, intentionally, purposefully, remember Christ's death on behalf of those who know him, of those for whom he died for their sins. It's a time to remember that although we are terrible sinners, He is a wonderful Savior who has paid for our sins, satisfying the holy justice of the Father by his substitutionary death on our behalf. Father, all around us, your people confess sin, your people reflect on your death on their behalf, as your people praise you for your mercy and grace. We join our hearts in praise to you. Thank you, Lord. We are such guilty, rotten sinners, but you are such a wonderful, kind, compassionate savior. We thank you, Lord, for dying for all of our adulterous activities and all of our sins. It is time to close the service So let's stand for closing prayer. Our Father, we thank you that we've been able to deal with such a delicate, but such an important subject. Lord, we're all affected by this. We pray that you'll help us to reflect your holiness in not only our behavior, but in our very thoughts, to bring every thought captive unto the obedience of Christ. We pray for your protection, that there'll never be a scandal in our church. We pray, Lord, even for those in past times who have been disciplined because of immorality, that they might repent and come back to you. And Father, we pray that if there are some here who have never been converted, that they might see the hideousness of their own sin, of their sinful hearts, and realize there's no other hope outside of Christ. May they fall upon your mercy and embrace you as their Savior their Lord, the one who forgives all sins. We pray all of this Lord in Jesus name. Amen.