Word of Salvation – Vol. 18 No.22 - May 1972

 

Preserving Our Sanctity

 

Sermon by Rev. Adrian Leenman on 1Thess.4:3-5

Scripture Reading: 1Cor.6 – also Lord’s Day 41

Psalter Hymnal: 263; 386 (law); 329 (creed); 407; 188:1,6,7; 449:1,3 (Doxol.)

 

Beloved Congregation,

During the Billy Graham Crusade in Melbourne some years ago, an Evangelism Training School was conducted for a large number of Clergy and Theological Students.

In the course of that week Dr. Graham himself addressed the audience.  He said much on many subjects.  However, there is one saying which I still remember vividly; it was on the subject of Sex and Marriage.

Dr. Graham said this: Wherever I go, I never travel with any of my secretaries.  We would travel in separate cars.  On different trains.  Or be on a different flight.  I always leave the doors open when entering any of my secretary's offices.

Do you know why?  Newspaper men would go mad if they could lay their fingers on any type of immorality or anything suspicious in respect to women; it would ruin my Evangelistic Campaigns and send my marriage on the rocks....!

How right he is!  The Bible says the same thing equally clearly (1Thess.  4:3):- 'This is the will of God – Thessalonians, Christians, believers of all ages – THAT YOU KEEP AWAY FROM IMMORALITY...!

What is immorality?  It is anything in the realm of Sex and Marriage which degrades and lowers views and ideas and practices on subjects related to sex and marriage.

Here we have a huge subject on our hands tonight, congregation.

            It's a burning question to many of us;
            It's a baffling problem to modern society;
            It's a frustrating subject to parents and families alike;
            Rome is at a loss on the subject;
            The outside world knows no boundary lines;
            We ourselves are filled with questions which clamour for a solution.

What then is our standard?

Is the minister going to give the answers?

What does the Church say?  What does the Bible say?  Is the Bible still authoritative on the matter??

Let God speak on the subject through His Word, and may we be enlightened through His Word so that we may understand.  Let me cite the following quotations:

The 7th Commandment says "Thou shalt not commit adultery.”

Rom.7:3 says, "She who lives with another man while her husband is still alive is called an adulteress."

1Cor.6:9, "The immoral will not inherit the kingdom of God, nor the adulterer nor the homosexual."

Ephesians 5 says, "Be sure of this: that no immoral man has any inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and of God...!"

Col.3:5 says, “Put away immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire."

Heb.13 says, “God will judge the immoral and adulterous.”

Again in Ephesians: "But immorality and all impurity must not even be named among you as is fitting Saints...!"

Here the Bible has spoken...!

Let's now look at some figures from around us:
– Of all eldest children born in Australian families one out of three is conceived out of wedlock.  Only 10 years ago this figure stood at 1 out of 5.

 – Again... 7% of all children born are born of unmarried mothers.  In 1964 the state of Victoria numbered 1250 unmarried mothers.

“This is the will of God that you abstain from immorality,” – keep immorality at a distance.....!

To give you more figures would simply make you sick.

Let's therefore read our text:

'This is the will of God: YOUR SANCTIFICATION.  If we keep looking at man and what mankind is doing, then we get sick and sour and depressed and downcast.

Let's look at the work of Sanctification.

Do you know what Sanctification is?

It is a gracious work of the Holy Spirit by which He takes the holiness of Christ and applies it to the sinner delivering him from the effects of sin, renews his whole nature in the image of God and enables him to do Good Works.  This is the meaning of sanctification: it is worked by the Holy Spirit with the intention that you live the Christian life.  And the result of such sanctified living ought to be that each one of you know how to get to know and have a wife for himself ‘in holiness and honour'.  Here we touch on the sacredness and depth of married life.  Here the 7th Commandment comes with protection and guards the sanctity of marriage: safeguards it from attacks from inside as well as from outside.  And in this way marriage is liberated from the attacks and pressures of sin and placed, being a Creation Ordinance, UNDER THE LIBERATING DISCIPLINE OF THE CREATOR-GOD – the Law-giver- God.  The 7th Commandment comes with renewing and sanctifying effect and protects the subjects and the matter of a creation ordinance which is so terribly under attack and torn up, twisted and debased, lowered and made vulgar; in a word: dragged through the gutter.  While it is and always will be THE FOUNDATION STONE OF SOCIETY, the welfare of society and church, family and children still DEPENDS ON THE SOUNDNESS AND THE STRENGTH of the marriage bonds of the parents.

And if there are no children then it still depends on the marriage partners.

The parents are to live in holiness and honour with each other; and by holiness I mean: the status of ALL THOSE WHO BY FAITH HAVE BEEN JOINED TO CHRIST and whose righteousness is 'made over' to them.  In other words IT IS THE CONDITION WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE IN IF WE HAVE BEEN JOINED TO CHRIST BY FAITH, BECAUSE THEN HIS PERFECT RIGHTEOUSNESS HAS BECOME OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Your being joined to Christ by faith and your righteousness because of that is now going to determine how the man – in this case – deals with his wife.  Of course not in the passion of lust – the heat of desire.  The heathen who do not know God may live in passions of lust, but our tastes and attitudes must be savoured and tempered by a Christ-likeness and therefore TRUE LOVE MOTIVATION must be present...!

If we follow up the true love motivation then we are on the right track.  It was also a true love motivation when God through Jesus Christ joined himself to the Church here on earth.  The Church: His Bride.  We, as a Church are the Bride of Christ-- waiting to be united with him on the last day.  Meanwhile we are called to go on living in holiness in respect to the 7th Commandment, yes, and also in respect to all God's requirements.  However, we experience that all things in life are subject to commonness; many things in life can become matter-of-fact-like-things: this can even happen to a marriage.

We therefore need to renew the bonds and keep protecting one another.  We must find out how and where we can renew ties, family ties, marriage bonds, mutual vows.  A bunch of flowers can do a lot, husbands, or the suggestion of an unexpected outing!!

IT IS THE LOVE OF GOD – coming to us in Jesus Christ.  It is God, Who, out of love says to us: KEEP CLEAR FROM IMMORALITY....!

It is God, Who, out of love says to us, “I sent you a Saviour to cleanse you from all uncleanness and to declare you RIGHTEOUS."  One day, He will come to collect His Bride, the Church, you and me; TO BE WITH HIM FOREVER....!

Amen.