Read Exodus 20:1-26. V1Thou shalt not commit adultery. Leviticus 20 pronounced the death penalty not only on adulterers but also on practitioners of other forms of immorality, including homosexuality. There was no uncertainty about God’s command in that day nor should there be any vagueness about it today. You and I, believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, are God’s vessels, and are therefore to keep ourselves clean (I Cor. 6:19-20). Our Lord Jesus boiled down the problem of adultery to a wayward look: Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. (Matt. 5:27-28). And Simon Peter, having learned his lessons from the Master, spoke of those having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin (2 Peter 2:14). Humans have physical temptations. But what do we do about them? Are we forever to be condemned by God’s command or can we hide behind the fact that I’m only humanl? Though there is no hiding place or excuse for the person who cannot or will not face God’s truth, there is a resource available to anyone who will take it: the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. It is His life, taken by faith, and exchanged for our poor, failing human natures, that will give victory over adultery. When our blessed Lord looks through our eyes, it will be a clean look. When He speaks, the words will be wholesome, helpful words; and when He touches another, the touch will be healing and helping, not hindering and defiling.
Never try to fight temptation alone. The moment you are tempted, either to do wrong or not to do right, yield yourself to your living Lord. I can, said Paul, do all things through Christ, who strengtheneth me (Phil. 4:13).
This devotional was written by Dr. Robert A. Cook. You can subscribe to his free email articles and listen to his Spirit-filled 15-minute messages at www.walkwiththeking.org. Used with written permission.
