“Purity in Christ” (Exodus 20:14; John 21:15-19) - The 10 Commandments for Today VII -

“Purity in Christ” (Exodus 20:14; John 21:15-19)

- The 10 Commandments for Today VII -

What Is Adultery?

Recently, a grandson of Billy Graham, pastor Tullian Tchividjian has resigned after admitting an affair. He said that his wife had an affair, and in response, he sought comfort in a friend and their relationship turned “inappropriate.” He released the following statement to The Washington Post:

Last week I was approached by our church leaders and they asked me about my own affair. I admitted to it and it was decided that the best course of action would be for me to resign. Both my wife and I are heartbroken over our actions and we ask you to pray for us and our family that God would give us the grace we need to weather this heart wrenching storm.[1]

Tullian Tchividjian is the fourth Florida megachurch pastor to resign after having affairs. We are saddened by this news. At Sinai God said to his people, “You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14). Then, what is adultery? We tend to cross a legalistic line from clinical virginity to immorality. We are concerned about “lines,” whereas Scripture regards sin as a “condition” and only secondarily as an act. Adultery is a matter of the heart. Jesus deepens the meaning of the seventh commandment in this way: “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” (Matthew 5:27-28). Adultery is a matter of the heart.

Press on to “Know” God

Hosea combats the spiritual adultery of Israel. He speaks on behalf of God, “Your hearts are divided; from now on you are to be found guilty. God will tear down your altars, he will destroy your stone idols” (10:2, ISV). The Israelites worshiped both God and Baal. Their hearts were divided. They thought, “I know God. I know his law.” But the Lord said to them, “There is no knowledge of God in your land” (4:1). And he said, “My people are being destroyed because they don’t know me” (4:6, NLT). The people of Israel kept going back to their old life just as Gomer did because they didn’t know God. They loved God and loved idols because they didn’t know God. So Hosea proclaims, “Let us know. Let us press on to know the LORD!” (6:3a) Here the Hebrew word [dy (yada) is used. It is translated in English as the word “know” or “knowledge.” But it means much more than just intellectually knowing about God. In Genesis 4:1 the same word yada is used: “Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain…” The word yada means to know God intimately just as a husband knows his wife. Do you know God intimately?

Know God “through Jesus”

How can we know God intimately and personally? We can know God through Jesus in very personal and real ways. Hebrew 1:1-3 says, “Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son… The Son radiates God's own glory and expresses the very character of God…” (NRSV). We can know God personally through Jesus. The gospel is all about the Son of God. There are three things that we must know about the Son. When the Apostle Paul preaches the gospel to the people of Rome, he starts to speak to them in this way: “The Good News is about his Son. In his earthly life he was born into King David's family line, and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 1:3-4 NLT). First of all, he is “Jesus.” Jesus literally means “God is salvation.” In Jesus’ time this name was very common. In Hebrew it is “Joshua.” There were many people who had the name, ‘Joshua’ or ‘Jesus.’ The name “Jesus” refers to the fact that he is true man. Verse 3 says, “In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line.” Why is it so important that Jesus is fully human? It is because only human can be crucified and shed blood. Jesus has come to us in the flesh to die on the cross and to shed his blood for us. Hebrews 9:22 says, “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” Jesus is fully human, and he died to cleanse us from all our sins.

Secondly, he is “Christ.” In Hebrew, “Christ” is “Messiah,” which means, “the anointed one.” In Jesus’ time all the Israelites knew that the “Messiah” is the son of God. Christ is true God. Romans 1:4 says, “He was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Then why is it so important that he is fully God? It is because only God can be raised from the dead. In human history there is no one resurrected. Only Christ, the Son of God, can be resurrected. The resurrection of Christ is the essence of the Christian faith. 1 Cor 15:17 says, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.” But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. Amen! By the resurrection of Christ God demonstrated that Christ is righteous, and considers anyone who believes in him also righteous. Romans 4:25 says, “Christ was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” Justification means to be made righteous. Christ became our sin, and we became his righteousness. Christ is the Son of God and makes us righteous by his resurrection.

“Do You Love Me?”

But it is not enough just to know that Jesus Christ is fully human and fully God. He is Our Lord! We must receive him as our personal Lord and Savior. One day Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do you say I am? Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt 16:16). Peter knew that Jesus was the Messiah, the Christ. But it was not enough. When troubles came, Peter denied Jesus three times. And because of guilt he went back to his old life with six other disciples. But Jesus was going ahead of them into Galilee and waiting for them. He prepared breakfast for them. After breakfast, Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter said, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs” (John 21:15). Jesus’ love melted Peter’s heart. And Peter received Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior. Since then, Peter was able to go even where he didn’t want to go in the past by the love of Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit. That is what it means to know Christ personally.

How can we keep our hearts pure from sin, from adultery, and from idolatry? The best way to be free from sin is to fall in love with Jesus and to continue to stay in love with him moment-by-moment. The Bible says, “Anyone who continues to live in him will not sin” (1John 3:6, NLT). I started dating with Joyce in March 2005. At that time I was not completely free from pornography. I made every effort not to fall into temptations. I moved my computer to the living room. I avoided being alone. But it didn’t work. When I was stressed, I fell again. But when I fell in love with Joyce, I began to have a consuming desire to keep myself pure. I wanted to be prepared as a pure bridegroom. So I prayed, “Lord, have mercy on me. Help me. Keep my heart pure from sin.” By the grace of God I continue to stay in love with Joyce and with Jesus day by day. By the power of the Holy Spirit I have been free from pornography for 10 years. When we fall in love with Jesus and stay in love with him, something very amazing happens. We begin to hate sin. We begin to grieve over our own sins. And we stop sinning by the power of the Holy Spirit.

“You Know That I Love You”

Last week I attended two conferences – the Korean UMC conference and NEUMC conference. During the Korean UMC conference one pastor shared his story with us. Recently he was asked to leave the church by SPRC after five years of his ministry. Of course, at first he was upset. But later he calmed down and asked himself, “What’s wrong with me?” He found what was wrong. It was something about his relationship with Jesus. As a pastor, although he did all kinds of pastoral duties and good works, he was not able to say, “Jesus, I love you.” That was a warning sign. He repented and asked God to help him experience the great love of Jesus Christ personally. His prayer was heard. He said, “Now I am looking forward to visiting church members. I can’t wait for Sunday service.” I could see he was truly transformed in Christ’s love.

Since I heard his testimony, God kept asking me one question, “Do you love me?” I wish I could say, “Yes, I love you!” but I couldn’t, because God exposed my divided heart. As a UMC pastor, from the beginning I made a commitment to itinerancy. For sure this helps me to deny myself and follow Christ. But sometimes this itinerant system serves as excuses for leaving the church when trouble comes. I have to admit that my heart has been divided for few days. I was thinking that I might not be a good fit for our church, and I was considering the possibility of pastoral change. But God revealed my spiritual adultery – “divided heart.” And he showed me how much he had loved me up to this very day. And he asked me the same question, “Do you love me?” I said, “Yes, I love you!” And he said, “Feed my lambs.” I wept. And I said, “Lord, I will love your people and serve them with all my heart until the day when you say, ‘Well done. Now it’s time to move on!’” If the Lord is willing, I will be buried here in this place. If the Lord is willing, I am ready to move on even today. God called each of us in this room and our church to be a pure bride of Jesus Christ. My prayer is that the love of Christ will dwell in you richly so that you may know him intimately and personally and be able to be free from sin always. Amen.

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[1] http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2015/06/21/billy-grahams-grandson-steps-down-from-florida-megachurch-after-admitting-an-affair/