“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 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 Israel
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 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.
[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/
No comments:
Post a Comment