Sexual Morality and Marriage

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Sexual Morality and Marriage
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God Has Condemned Sexual Immorality

• God has spoken His law against sexual immorality
  in all ages of mankind.
  
• Before the Law of Moses was given.
• During the period of the Law of Moses.
• During the period of the Law of Christ.
• God has spoken His law against sexual immorality
  to all peoples of mankind.
  
• Those who were Gods followers.
• Those who were not Gods followers.

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God Has Condemned Sexual ImmoralityContd

• Before the Law of Moses was given.
• To those who were Gods followers.
• Joseph
• (Gen 397 NKJV) his master's wife cast
  longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, Lie with
  me.
  
• ...
• (Gen 399 NKJV) How then can I do this great
  wickedness, and sin against God?

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God Has Condemned Sexual ImmoralityContd

• Before the Law of Moses was given.
• To those who were not Gods followers.
• The people of Sodom
• (Gen 1820 NKJV) And the LORD said, their
  sin is very grave,
  
• (Gen 195 NKJV) And they called to Lot and said
  to him, "Where are the men who came to you
  tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know
  them carnally.
• Abimelech
• (Gen 203 NKJV) But God .. said to him, Indeed
  you are a dead man because of the woman whom you
  have taken, for she is a man's wife.

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God Has Condemned Sexual ImmoralityContd

• During the period of the Law of Moses.
• To those who were Gods followers.
• Sexual morality was a part of the Law of Moses.
  Also Deut. 518, 21
  
• (Exo 2014 NKJV) You shall not commit
  adultery.
  
• (Lev 1820 NKJV) Moreover you shall not lie
  carnally with your neighbor's wife, to defile
  yourself with her.
  

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God Has Condemned Sexual ImmoralityContd

• During the period of the Law of Moses.
• To those who were Gods followers.Contd
• The penalty was severe.
• (Deu 2222 NKJV) If a man is found lying with a
  woman married to a husband, then both of them
  shall die the man that lay with the woman, and
  the woman so you shall put away the evil from
  Israel.
• (Lev 2010 NKJV) The man who commits adultery
  with another man's wife, he who commits adultery
  with his neighbor's wife, the adulterer and the
  adulteress, shall surely be put to death.

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God Has Condemned Sexual ImmoralityContd

• During the period of the Law of Moses.
• To those who were Gods followers.Contd
• It is in the writings of the prophets.
• (Jer 79 NKJV) Will you steal, murder, commit
  adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal,
  and walk after other gods whom you do not know,
  
• (Jer 710 NKJV) and then come and stand before
  Me in this house which is called by My name, and
  say, We are delivered to do all these
  abominations?

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God Has Condemned Sexual ImmoralityContd

• During the period of the Law of Moses.
• To those who were Gods followers.Contd
• It is in the writings of the prophets.Contd
• (Hosea 41 NKJV) Hear the word of the LORD, You
  children of Israel, For the LORD brings a charge
  against the inhabitants of the land There is no
  truth or mercy Or knowledge of God in the land.
• (Hosea 42 NKJV) By swearing and lying, Killing
  and stealing and committing adultery, They break
  all restraint, With bloodshed upon bloodshed.

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God Has Condemned Sexual ImmoralityContd

• During the period of the Law of Moses.
• To those who were Gods followers.Contd
• Solomon said
• (Prov 632 NKJV) Whoever commits adultery with
  a woman lacks understanding He who does so
  destroys his own soul.
  
• (Prov 520 NKJV) For why should you, my son, be
  enraptured by an immoral woman, And be embraced
  in the arms of a seductress?
  
• (Prov 521 NKJV) For the ways of man are before
  the eyes of the LORD, And He ponders all his
  paths.
  

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God Has Condemned Sexual ImmoralityContd

• During the period of the Law of Moses.
• To those who were Gods followers.Contd
• Gods used His marital moral code to condemn to
  infidelity of Israel as a nation.
  
• (Ezek 1632 NKJV) "You are an adulterous wife,
  who takes strangers instead of her husband.
  
• (Ezek 1638 NKJV) "And I will judge you as
  women who break wedlock or shed blood are judged
  I will bring blood upon you in fury and jealousy.

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God Has Condemned Sexual ImmoralityContd

• During the period of the Law of Moses.
• To those who were Gods followers.Contd
• Paul wrote about their example of immorality.
• (1 Cor 105-6 NKJV) But with most of them God
  was not well pleased, for their bodies were
  scattered in the wilderness. Now these things
  became our examples, to the intent that we should
  not lust after evil things as they also lusted.
• ...
• (1 Cor 108 NKJV) Nor let us commit sexual
  immorality, as some of them did, and in one day
  twenty-three thousand fell

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God Has Condemned Sexual ImmoralityContd

• During the period of the Law of Moses.
• To those who were not Gods followers.Contd
• It was not lawful for Herod (who was not a Jew,
  subject to the Law of Moses) to have, as a
  wife, Herodias.
  
• (Mat 143 NKJV) For Herod had laid hold of John
  and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake
  of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife.
  
• (Mat 144 NKJV) Because John had said to him,
  It is not lawful for you to have her.

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God Has Condemned Sexual ImmoralityContd

• During the period of the Law of Moses.
• To those who were not Gods followers.Contd
• Jesus told the Samaritan woman that
• (John 418 NKJV) ... you have had five
  husbands, and the one whom you now have is not
  your husband in that you spoke truly.
  

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God Has Condemned Sexual ImmoralityContd

• During the period of the Law of Moses.
• To those who were not Gods followers.Contd
• Paul wrote to the Romans (chapters 1-3) about the
  immoral behavior of those not under the Law of
  Moses.
  
• Sins described include sexual immorality
  (129) and homosexuality between women (126) and
  between men (127).

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God Has Condemned Sexual ImmoralityContd

• During the period of the Law of Christ.
• To those who were Gods followers.
• Paul refers to a brother who is sexually
  immoral.
  
• (1 Cor 511 NKJV) But now I have written to you
  not to keep company with anyone named a brother,
  who is sexually immoral.
  
• Sexual immorality was among the Corinthian
  Christians.
  
• (1 Cor 51 NKJV) It is actually reported that
  there is sexual immorality among you.
  

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God Has Condemned Sexual ImmoralityContd

• During the period of the Law of Christ.
• To those who were Gods followers.Contd
• There are many references in the epistles to
  sexual immorality.
  
• (Eph 53-5 NKJV) But fornication and all
  uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be
  named among you, as is fitting for saints...
  
• (1 Th 43 NKJV) For this is the will of God,
  your sanctification that you should abstain from
  sexual immorality
  

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God Has Condemned Sexual ImmoralityContd

• During the period of the Law of Christ.
• To those who were not Gods followers.Contd
• Paul refers to those of this world who are
  sexually immoral people.
  
• (1 Cor 510 NKJV) Yet I certainly did not mean
  with the sexually immoral people of this world,
  or with the covetous, or extortioners, or
  idolaters, since then you would need to go out of
  the world.

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God Has Condemned Sexual ImmoralityContd

• During the period of the Law of Christ.
• To those who were not Gods followers.Contd
• Paul said that the Corinthians had been guilt of
  sexual immorality before they became Christians.
  
• (1 Cor 69-10 NKJV) Neither fornicators, nor
  idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor
  sodomites will inherit the kingdom of God.
  
• (1 Cor 611 NKJV) And such were some of you.
  But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but
  you were justified .
  

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God Has Condemned Sexual ImmoralityContd

• God has spoken His law against sexual immorality
  in all ages of mankind.
  
• Before the Law of Moses was given.
• During the period of the Law of Moses.
• During the period of the Law of Christ.
• God has spoken His law against sexual immorality
  to all peoples of mankind.
  
• Those who were Gods followers.
• Those who were not Gods followers.

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God Has Condemned Sexual ImmoralityContd

• How do we know what is sexually immoral or
  sexually moral?
  
• Immorality (fornication, adultery) is failing to
  be honorable according to Gods standards.
  
• (Heb 134 NKJV) Marriage is honorable among
  all, and the bed undefiled but fornicators and
  adulterers God will judge.
  
• Immorality depends directly on a moral standard
  that standard is found in marriage.

You cannot be more accurate in identifying
fornication and adultery than you are defining
marriage.
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Marriage Is

• Marriage is
• A God-instituted Relationship
• A Moral Condition
• A Civil Condition
• A Standard for All

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Marriage Is A God-instituted RelationshipContd

• God created and brought a female for the male.
• God did not create a man for the man.
• (Gen 222 NKJV) Then the rib which the LORD God
  had taken from man He made into a woman, and He
  brought her to the man.
  

God instituted heterosexuality.
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Marriage Is A God-instituted RelationshipContd

• God created and brought a female for the
  male.--Contd
  
• One intent of the relationship was procreation.
• (Gen 128 NKJV) God said to them, Be
  fruitful and multiply fill the earth ...
  
• (Gen 91 NKJV) So God blessed Noah and his
  sons, and said to them Be fruitful and
  multiply, and fill the earth.
  
• (Psa 1273 NKJV) Behold, children are a
  heritage from the LORD, The fruit of the womb is
  a reward.
  
• (Jer 296 NKJV) Take wives and beget sons and
  daughters that you may be increased there, and
  not diminished.
  

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Marriage Is A God-instituted RelationshipContd

• God created and brought a female for the
  male.--Contd
  
• Homosexuality is an abomination worthy of
  death.
  
• (Lev 1822 NKJV) You shall not lie with a male
  as with a woman. It is an abomination.
  
• (Lev 2013 NKJV) If a man lies with a male as
  he lies with a woman, both of them have committed
  an abomination. They shall surely be put to
  death. Their blood shall be upon them.

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Marriage Is A God-instituted RelationshipContd

• God created and brought a female for the
  male.--Contd
  
• Homosexuality is a dishonor, vile, against
  nature, and shameful.
  
• (Rom 124 NKJV) Therefore God also gave them
  up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts,
  to dishonor their bodies among themselves,
  
• (Rom 126 NKJV) For this reason God gave them up
  to vile passions for even their women exchanged
  the natural use for what is against nature.
  
• (Rom 127 NKJV) Likewise also the men, leaving
  the natural use of the woman, burned in their
  lust for one another, men with men committing
  what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the
  penalty of their error which was due.

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Marriage Is A God-instituted RelationshipContd

• God created and brought a female for the
  male.--Contd
  
• Homosexuality will keep a person out of heaven.
• (1 Cor 69-10 NKJV) Do not be deceived.
  Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor
  adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, will
  inherit the kingdom of God.
• Note the Greek words for homosexual
  (malakos) and sodomites (arsenokoites) are
  explicit terms for those who take the female and
  male roles in a homosexual act.

Man instituted the perversion of homosexuality.
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Marriage Is A God-instituted RelationshipContd

• God created and brought only one female for the
  male.
  
• Moses records that the two were to become one
  flesh.
  
• (Gen 222-24 NKJV) He made into a woman, and
  He brought her to the man. Therefore a man
  shall leave his father and mother and be joined
  to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
• For rapid procreation (Gen. 128) multiple
  females would have been expedient--but God
  provided only one.

God instituted monogamy.
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Marriage Is A God-instituted RelationshipContd

• God created and brought only one female for the
  male.--Contd
  
• Gods plan is that ...
• (1 Cor 72 NKJV) ... each man have his own
  wife, and let each woman have her own husband.
  
• Only one spouse is clearly implied, because
  without the spouse there is sexual temptation.
  
• (1 Cor 75 NKJV) Do not deprive one another
  except with consent for a time, that you may give
  yourselves to fasting and prayer and come
  together again so that Satan does not tempt you
  because of your lack of self-control.

Man instituted polygamy.
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Marriage Is

• Marriage is
• A God-instituted Relationship
• A Moral Condition
• A Civil Condition (I Pet. 2, Rom. 13,Titus 3,
  Jude 1)
  
• A Standard for All