The ugly truth about adultery…..


Adultery, a term that is used very flippantly these days. It doesn’t carry the same weight it used to 10 years ago. My pastor said something very profound the other day. He said, Whoever controls the vocabulary controls the conversation. And that is what is happening these days. Words that meant something before mean something else or have been totally replaced. Adultery is one of those words. The world has watered down that word through the media. It’s nothing to commit adultery these days. That is the picture the world is trying to paint, but God is the same yesterday, today and forever. God has not changed His mind about His laws over time. They still have the same power and meaning…….I am directing this post to single men and even married men. Adultery needs to be taken seriously because the enemy wants to take out family and adultery is his sure weapon. As men we have to stand and fight. We need to stand our ground and not let ignorance steal our victory. I read a scripture that totally changed my perspective on adultery. We all know what Christ said about what adultery is,

You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery.

But I say to you that everyone who so much as looks at a woman with evil desire for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.  Matthew 5:27, 28

But I read this same verse in my Message bible and this is what it said,

“You know the next commandment pretty well, too: ‘Don’t go to bed with another’s spouse.’ But don’t think you’ve preserved your virtue simply by staying out of bed. Your heart can be corrupted by lust even quicker than your body. Those leering looks you think nobody notices—they also corrupt.  Matthew 5:27, 28

I was really convicted when I read this scripture. How many times I have taken a few extra seconds to look at a billboard or that picture or that woman on the street. I thought that extra few seconds look didn’t mean anything but not according to the scripture. It is saying, the lingering look is even more deadly than sleeping with another man’s wife!!! Each act is deadly but this is one is deadlier. There is no middle ground here. It is blunt and to the point. Men, those magazines, those billboards we take the extra few seconds to look at, that model….it’s all corrupting the heart, the very place life starts from!!!

As children of God we have been called to live in purity. It is not an easy call but one that should be heeded. I am in no way better because I am writing this, instead it’s a revelation that I have been shown which I am sharing in the hope we can all be better men. Men who will guard their hearts and their families. Men who will walk in purity no matter what the cost.  Our responsibility as men is a serious one. Let us not take it lightly. Let us ask for God’s help as we make a stand against adultery, and as we stand for purity……God bless

Rolain

They truly missed it……….


Then they brought Jesus from Caiaphas into the Praetorium (judgement hall, governor’s palace). And it was early. They themselves did not enter the Praetorium, that they might not be defiled (become ceremonially unclean), but might be fit to eat the Passover [supper].
John 18: 28

I was reading this verse when it occurred to me how far off the mark the pharisees were. They did not enter the Praetorium because they didn’t want to defile themselves!! If they defiled themselves they would not be able to partake of the Passover meal. Are you serious???!!!!  Didn’t they know the Passover was a shadow of Christ? They had the Messiah with them, the sacrificial Passover lamb but they didn’t realize it!!!!

That got me thinking about the Pharisees. How did they get so blind? We can learn a lot from them for sure. The one thing that came to mind was law and tradition. To the pharisees everything was about law and tradition. You had to do this and do that. Wash your hands in this way, pray this way, you have to, you have to……
And because of that attitude their hearts became hardened. Grace was not part of their vocabulary.
We need to be careful. Are we living by law or by grace?

Now a great crowd of the Jews heard that He was in Bethany, and they came there, not only because of Jesus but that they also might see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead.
So the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death also,  John 12:9, 10

The Pharisees were out of control and they were supposed to be spiritual leaders!!!
Another attitude that contributed to their crazy behavior was the fact that they thought works was enough! They relied on their own strength to get them to heaven. They thought by doing, they could obtain salvation. They prayed, tithed, went to church, memorized scripture, fasted, all because they thought it would impress God…..How wrong they were. Our works in the sight of God, are like filthy rags! Works are not enough.

Something else to notice about is this, to the pharisees everything was about what you could see. They focused all their attention on the external instead of what was on the inside. They measured themselves and other people on outward appearances!!! They ignored the heart. They never searched their own hearts. They never realized their hearts and become hardened. What a shame.

All these things blinded them. They blinded them and hardened their hearts. Let us be careful how we walk. Ask God for wisdom. Let us not be like the Pharisees who missed God. We can easily be misguided just like the them. Let us be aware of the enemies devices…….

Rolain