October 1943
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er pieces can be slipped out when nec essary, without removing the tacks. > LESSON: Of what does this black “H” remind you? ' “Is it a sinful ‘H’ ?” Yes, and it stands for hatred. The Bible says, “Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ÿe know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him” (1 John 3:15). The one who hates is as guilty in the sight of God ■as a murderer. ■Hatred has hell in it. We will ,pull another “H” which represents hell out of this “H.” [Place this below the .black “H.” 3 The hater is headed for hell. There is a heaven to! gain, as well as a hell from which to flee. [Remove the pieces which make the “H” rep resenting heaven and thumb tack above the black “H.” ] Exodus 20:14 Thou shalt not commit adultery. — ----- Matthew 5:27 Ye have heard that It was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: 28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already In his heart. 29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck It out, and cast It from thee: for It is profit able for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. 30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut It off, and cast it from thee: for it Is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell, M a rk 10:2 A nd the Pharisees came to him, and asked him. Is It lawful for a man to put aw ay his w ife? tempting him. j 3 And he answered and said unto them, w h a t did Moses command you? 4 And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away. 5 And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. 6 But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. 7 For this cause shall a man leave' his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; 8 And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh. 9 W hat therefore God hath joined to gether, let not man put asunder. 10 And in the house his disciples asked him again of the same matter. 11 And he saith' unto them, W hosoever shall put aw ay his wife, and m arry an- other, committeth adultery against her. 12 And if a woman shall put aw ay her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery. G O L D E N T E X T : “ Blessed are the pure In heart: for they shall see God” (Matt. 5:8). D E V O T IO N A L R E A D IN G : Prov. 2:11-22. Outline and Exposition I. T he C ommand from G od (Ex. 20:14) DULTERY m e a n s the breaking’ of a union established by God. The nation of Israel was more than once accused of descending into spiritual adultery, and this fact gives some understanding of what is in volved in this command. Inasmuch as the family .is established by mar- riage, and the home_is the founda-
clear and simple. It. was a good ques tion, but it was asked’ in bad faith. The questioners were not seeking the truth; they were merely desirous of tripping Christ in His speech. But they appealed to Him as to a rabbi, know ing the rabbis were divided in their opinions, some holding that divorce could be granted only because of infidelity, while others held that al most any cause, even to mere dislike, was sufficient. Hence they would -set Him against one of the other party if they could. But Jesus referred to their own Scriptures. Moses, God’s mes senger, had permitted divorce only because of the hardness of their hearts, not because God had per mitted it from the beginning, • The teaching of Jesus concerning the race (vs. 6-9) followed His rebuke of these Pharisees. Whatever Moses had permitted did not affect God’s purpose touching the race; that pur-' Jiose remained unchanged. God had made male and female to be equal, and when male and female were married, a tie was formed, and that tie was to b e ,recognized and kept in- violate; it was so vital that the two became one flesh. Hence, a broken" tie of this kind would be a denial of the work of God, and would lead to a dis tortion of the purpose of God for the race. The exhortation, “What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put .asunder,” is something vastly more important than a dignified and solemn utterance of a clergyman when reading the marriage ceremony. It touches the very core of God’s pur pose in the race of human beings, and it may be tampered with only at the dire cost of consequences. The words of Jesus to the question asked privately by the disciples must always be balanced by His w o r d s concerning the only cause for divorce (Matt. 5:32). Points and Problems 1. "Thou shalt not commit adult ery" (Ex. 20:14). God had in mind the Well-being of the home when He gave this commandment. Faithfulness op the part of husband and wife to each other is one of the foundation stones o f . a true home. Adultery has to do with marital unfaithfulness, even as fornication has to do with illicit in tercourse on the part of unmarried persons. When God established the home (Gen. 2:24), He meant that there should be one man for one woman, and that this relationship should be permanent. Anything less than this is a departure from God’s ideal and is destructive to the home. 2. "But I say unto you. That who soever looketh on a woman to lust a f t e r her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart" (Matt. 5:28). Our Lord here interprets the
Because of the sin of hatred and other sins, God has provided a way of escape—the cross of His Son. [Re move the cross.] We will fold this black “H” which represents hatred, and place it under the cross. When hatred and all other sins aye under the blood of Christ, the one who would otherwise go to hell is cleansed and made ready for heaven. tion of the nation, anything «that threatens the misuse of these relar tionships is absolutely condemned and forbidden by God. Humanly speaking, unless the home be pro tected, God’s purpose will fail; unless marriage is held sacred, the home will be destroyed; and unless adul tery is overthrown, marriage .cannot exist. Hence, underlying this com mand from God is the thought of the home and its sanctity.that must be inviolate for man’s permanent good upon the earth. II.* T he C omment by C hrist (Matt. 5:27-30) As in the -case of other commands of tod , the Lord Jesus, when He was here on earth, exposed the spiritual significance of the matter, and re- , vëaled that adultery is something * more than a physical act. It involves the inner man and has its rise'and issue in the heart. Jesus pointed out the tremendous import of this eorrfmand of God when , He implied that it would be better for one to go through life with greatly restricted powers than it would be for him to disobey God. A literal inter pretation of our Lord’s words con cerning plucking out the eye or cut ting off the hand, would be useless, because such action would still leave the heart unaffected. Unless the heart be changed, there is no possible way by which man may avoid committing fearful sin. Perhaps nowhere else is the necessity of the new birth so plainly declared as hère, where Jesus exposes the place where ^adultery is indulged, that is, in the heart of man. / III. T he S acredness of M arriage (M k . 10:2-12) The teaching of Jesus in answer to the Pharisees’ question (vs. 2-5), is
NOVEMBER 14, 1943 THE SANCTITY OF THE HOME E xodus 20:14; M atthew 5:27-30; M ark 10:2-12
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