Reformation
500 WEEK 41: Heidelberg Catechism QA 108-109
Question 108: What does
the seventh Commandment teach us?
That all unchastity is accursed of God,
and that we should therefore loathe it with our whole heart, and live chastely
and modestly, whether in holy wedlock or in single life.
The Seventh
Commandment, “You shall not commit adultery,” forbids more than merely the
outward act of adultery (sexual intercourse between a married person and a person who
is not his or her spouse).
Jesus said, “Whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed
adultery with her in his heart” (Matt. 5:28). Adultery begins with lust in our
heart. “And pornography isn’t just a male problem. Both sexes have immoral
fantasies. Women might be more captured by romantic literature and men by
erotic pictures, but the end result is the same—you are committing adultery in
your thought life” (David Powlison, “Breaking Pornography Addiction”). Jesus
died on the cross, to deliver us from the penalty of lust, and also to purify
our hearts, so that we begin in this life to learn by His Holy Spirit to be
sexually pure (chaste), whether in marriage or in single life. “For this is the
will of God, your sanctification; that you should abstain from sexual
immorality” (1 Thess. 4:3-5). “The design of this commandment is the
preservation of chastity…and the guarding of marriage, or keeping it holy”
(Ursinus, 590).
The seventh commandment forbids all sexual
impurity (unchastity), including fornication (sexual intercourse
between people not married to each other), homosexuality (sexual
intercourse between people of the same sex), incest (sexual intercourse
with a parent, child, sibling, or grandchild), bestiality (sex with an
animal), and polygamy (having more than one spouse at the same time). “Do not be deceived: neither fornicators, nor
idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites,
nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will
inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were
washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified.” (1 Cor. 6:9-11). Only
the Lord Jesus Christ can deliver us from both the penalty and addiction of
sexual impurity, so that we learn to love chastity and loathe unchastity with
our whole heart (Ps.
119:127-128).
God hates lust not only because it spoils
His image in mankind, but especially because it destroys the marriage
relationship. “Marriage is a lawful and indissoluble union between one man and
one woman, instituted by God [Gen. 2:18-25; Matt. 19:4-6];” “that it might be
the means of perpetuating and multiplying the human race in a lawful manner
[Gen. 1:28];” that it might be the means to “gather to Himself out of the whole
human race, thus lawfully propagated, an everlasting church, which shall
rightly know and worship Him [Gen. 17:7; Mal. 2:14-15; 1 Cor. 7:14];” “that it
might be an image or resemblance of the union between Christ and the church
[Eph. 5:30-32];” and “that wanton and wandering lusts might in this way be
avoided [1 Cor. 7:1-5] (Ursinus, 592-593). “Marriage is honorable among all, and the [marriage] bed undefiled [see the Song of Solomon]; but
fornicators and adulterers God will judge” (Heb. 13:4).
God
“hates divorce” (Mal. 2:16). But He does permit divorce in the case of “sexual
immorality” (Matt. 19:9) and in the case of an unbelieving spouse deserting
their believing spouse: “if the unbeliever departs, let him depart” (1 Cor.
7:15). “Actions which are tantamount to desertion constitute adequate grounds
for divorce. For example, the deliberate and unrepentant withholding of food,
clothing, and sexual relations,” or “spousal abuse which is life-threatening or
destructive of the “cleaving” aspect of marriage [Exodus 21:10-11] ….
Remarriage is lawful for persons divorced on biblical grounds [Matt. 19:9; 1
Cor. 7:15]” (RCUS paper on Divorce and Remarriage).
Question 109: Does God
forbid nothing more in this Commandment than adultery and such gross sins? Since both our body and soul are temples of the Holy Spirit, it is His
will that we keep both pure and holy; therefore, He forbids all unchaste
actions, gestures, words, thoughts, desires, and whatever may entice thereto.
In order for us
to keep our body and soul sexually pure, we must remember that the Holy Spirit
lives in us, which means that our body and soul are a temple of the Holy
Spirit. He lives in us to sanctify us, to purify our hearts, so that we may
more and more die unto sin and lead holy and blameless lives. “Flee sexual
immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits
sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or you not know that your body is
the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you
are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore, glorify God in
your body and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Cor. 6:18-20). This is why He
commands us to be holy: “as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all
your conduct” (1 Pet. 1:15). He intends to use the command to be holy to make
us holy, in answer to Jesus’ prayer: “Sanctify them by
Your truth. Your Word is truth” (John 17:17; cf. Ps. 119:9; Rom. 12:2; Eph.
5:26). Through prayerful reading of God’s Word, we desire to obey God’s Word.
“Make me walk in Your commands, for I delight in it. Incline my heart to
Your testimonies, and not to covetousness. Turn away my eyes from looking at
worthless things” (Ps. 119:35-37). Our lust will not condemn us or separate us
from God’s love, but it still grieves the Holy Spirit who dwells in us; “do not
grieve the Holy Spirit of God” (Eph. 4:30). It is because we love God that we
do not want to grieve Him with our sexual sins.
It is also
because we fear God that we avoid “all unchaste actions, gestures,
words, thoughts, desires, and whatever may entice thereto.” Just because our
heavenly Father will not punish us in hell for our sins, does not mean He will
not discipline us for our sins in this life. “Whom the LORD loves He chastens”
(Heb. 12:5; cf. Ps. 99:6-8; 1 Cor. 10:8). The Lord chastened Samson (Judges 16)
and David (2 Samuel 12) for their sexual sins. “As many as I love, I rebuke and
chasten. Therefore, be zealous and repent” (Rev. 3:19). “By the fear of the
LORD one departs from evil” (Prov. 16:6; cf. Gen. 39:7-12). “Nothing is more
powerful to overcome temptation than the fear of God” (Calvin). “Therefore, …
beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit,
perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Cor. 7:1). “The eyes of the
Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good” (Prov. 15:3).
“I have made a covenant with my eyes; why then should I look upon a young
woman?” (Job 31:1). “I will set nothing
wicked before my eyes” (Ps. 101:2-3). We do not need to look at pornography in
order to have sexual fantasies, but pornography will provide plenty of fuel for
the fire. Better not to strike the match. An ounce of prevention is better than
a pound of cure (Gal. 6:10). “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just
to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteous” (1 John 1:9).
NOTE: These Posts were written and designed as bulletin inserts by Pastor David Fagrey of the Grace Reformed Church of Rapid City, SD .
Link to this blog entry as a bulletin insert: Reformation 500 Heidelberg Catechism QA 105-107
For a double-sided PDF for easy printing: Reformation 500 Week 41
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