Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. Some marriage partners see their mates like car models, trade them in when a better one comes along. The Bible tells us how to make marriages last, and today we'll see why living a life of love, purity, and honor is the only way this can happen.
From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running to Win with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line. Pastor Lutzer, over half of even Christian marriages fail these days. Why do believers feel it's okay to split up when the going gets rough? Well Dave, you know, I think that you actually answered your own question. The simple fact is that people go into marriage asking the question, what's in it for me?
And when their mate changes and isn't meeting all of their needs and they get into some conflict, they try to find someone else, or there may be other reasons also why divorce becomes an option. But the Bible makes it clear that we should be a committed people to one another, even when life gets difficult. You know, I've written a book entitled When a Nation Forgets God, Seven Lessons We Must Learn from Nazi Germany. Among the lessons I point out that it's always the economy that plays a great role in what happens to a nation. Here's another chapter, That Which Is Legal Might Also Be Evil.
That's one of the lessons from Nazi Germany that can be quickly applied to America. Well, there are a number of other lessons and for a gift of any amount, this book can be yours. Here's what you do. Go to rtwoffer.com.
That's rtwoffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337. Now let's go to the pulpit of Moody Church where we continue to discuss Till Death Do Us Part. So first of all, what we need to do is to live a life of love. Secondly, we need to live a life of purity. Notice what he says, verse three, but sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you as is proper among saints.
Let there be no filthiness or foolish talk or crude joking, which are out of place, but instead, let there be Thanksgiving. Now the reason this is important and the reason that Paul puts it here is very clear. True love is entirely different than the perversion of love that comes to us from the world. The world uses the word love repeatedly and it's the most misunderstood word you could possibly have because today love is immorality. People get married today and they don't marry a person, they marry a body. And when the body begins to deteriorate, as it does, it ends the relationship because everything is based on sexuality.
And by the way, these crazy reality shows that you can somehow meet somebody and just there you can tell whether or not they are right for you and they have a connection for you. And this type of stuff is being funneled into our young people today. No wonder they don't have a clue whether they're making a good choice when they get married.
And that's why we as a staff have to help them along the way. It is a very confused world. Now notice Satan mimics God and says this is love. Paul says, let us put aside, he says, immorality and let us live, he says, with purity. You'll notice that the word immorality is porneia from which we get the word pornography. Impurity, anything that is unclean and filthy, anything that is unclean. It's been used about 11 times.
The word is used in the New Testament and Jesus once uses it to refer to dead men's bones, impurity. Received a letter this past week from concerned parents. What they're concerned about is their daughter is dating a young Christian man who confessed to their daughter that sometimes he's been attending gentleman's clubs and you know what goes on there. And the question is, you know, we want to extend grace but also what are the risk factors? I mean these are difficult issues. But I would say that something like that, that's a good example of dead men's bones.
And you can put their pornography, you can put the internet, if that's what you do in the internet, you can put many television programs, many, many movies and all impurity. Paul just really lays it out there. He doesn't even have an exception clause. I mean how can you say this? This is the word of God. But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness. Why covetousness? Isn't that where it all begins? Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife.
That's what happens at the water cooler at work. That's what makes the man leave his wife and his children because he's found this other connection. That's what makes a wife leave her husband and think that she can do this and take their children because, of covetousness. They've coveted the world. The novels that she has read have put into her mind the idea, to quote the words of one woman who fell into immorality, that there was a whole world out there that was unexplored that I had never had the opportunity to participate in and my curiosity made me wonder what it would be like.
There you go. Pornography tells men that you aren't really satisfied with your wife who doesn't look as good as so-and-so looks and so what you have is all of this dissatisfaction that is created and the Bible says covetousness and in verse five Paul says covetousness is idolatry. It's idolatry because what you're saying is that I need this more than I need God, more than I need God's will, more than I need to please God. I need somebody else's wife or somebody else's girlfriend, somebody who doesn't belong to me and God says that's idolatry. That's putting me above all of your needs God says and so that's why the Apostle Paul says that what we need is to live a pure life and then he includes, he says filthiness, coarse jesting, vulgarities. That's the idea.
Laughing at dirty jokes, innuendos and then he says live a life of honor, live a life of honor and I don't know how to soften these words so I'm not going to. I'm just going to give it to you the way in which God inspired that it be written and let the Spirit of God do the rest. Notice what it says in verse five. For you may be sure of this that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure or who is covetous, that is idolatry, has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. There it is folks.
You think it's not serious to walk away from your marriage because you found someone else who fulfills you and arises within you needs and desires that you didn't even know you had? Well, do I have to read this again? If you're a Christian you're to be part of another kingdom. For you may be sure of this that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, hey by the way did you notice in verse five it says you may be sure of this? Somebody here today says you know there's very little that you can be sure about in life. All right I grant but here's one thing you can be. Paul wrote that because he knows that we love to be deceived in this area.
We want to believe these lies so badly that in order to get our attention he says be sure about this. Everyone who is sexually immoral or impure or covetous, that is an idolater, you know you just need to be coveting. You have no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. You say well can't a Christian commit these sins? Yes of course a Christian commit these sins but a true Christian will always fight against them. A true Christian will never be content with immorality, with pornography.
He may hate what he is doing. He may find that these powers have a hold of him but he will therefore struggle with them but he will fight against them because he knows that this impurity, this impurity mitigates against the blessed Holy Spirit of God who is holy, who has taken up residence in our hearts and in our bodies. Do you not know Paul says that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit? How can the temple of the Holy Spirit be within you and you're content with sexual immorality of all kinds whether heterosexual or homosexual or impurity or covetousness that is idolatry? And the Bible says you have no inheritance.
If you live that way contentedly you almost certainly are not a Christian. Now notice he says also live with discernment. I mean Paul is just giving it to us here with a sense of clarity that is overwhelming. You'll notice he says that verse 6, let no one deceive you with empty words. For because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Live with discernment. Why are we so easily deceived with empty words? It's because we want to be.
This message is as countercultural as you could possibly get. What do you mean impurity? That's where I have my sense of the pleasure and now you're telling me that I can't? Notice it says don't be deceived with empty words. There are tons of empty words out there.
Why does Paul say that? In my brief pastoral experience from time to time I've talked to those who are involved in sexual immorality and those who are walking away from their marriages in order to quote find themselves and one of the things that I've discovered is that they are not thinking clearly at all. It's almost as if they are in a trance. They're in another world.
Have you ever noticed this? You try to talk sense to them and you say to the woman what about your children or you talk to the man and say what about your kids and you might as well be talking to some stones in a graveyard. He can't hear you because he's in this state of euphoria.
What do you mean? I'll handle it. I remember calling a man at the instigation of his wife over the phone because he was involved with someone else and he was saying to me you know what do you mean it was just as if you know well connect okay look at what you're doing to your wife. Look at what you're doing to those precious children God has given you. Think of the implications of this as it goes on in this life all the way to eternity. Think about it and then realize what it is that you're going to do but he can't get it. Why?
He's in a state of euphoria. You know the letter that I began with about the man who said that his wife is on the internet with a former lover and now she wants to leave and they have kids and all. There's no way that he is going to convince her to do otherwise. Because of all the water that's been under the bridge he probably has forfeited any authority that he has over her. Somebody else is going to have to do it though and that's what I recommend.
Somebody has to bring these people down. It's almost like an alcoholic who doesn't get the message until he wakes up someday in his own squalor and begins to realize I need to change. When it comes to immorality it is almost impossible for us to see with clarity because we are so desirous to be self deceived. You say well Pastor Lutzer I hear what you're saying but I just can't go back. I can't go back because I've invested so much in this in this divorce that I'm contemplating.
Well I understand it may cost you something to go back but it'll cost you a whole lot more almost certainly if you keep moving ahead. Sin is so costly it's the most expensive thing in the universe. You know you think about this. I know a man who was in Christian ministry and he left his wife of 30 some years to find his dream and he had found his dream and three months after they were married he actually dropped dead. You know I've often thought about that. It's been a sermon to me. I thought you know if he had known that he had only three months to live he might have stuck out an unfulfilled marriage knowing that he was going to have to explain all this to Jesus someday very shortly. I think he'd have said you know life is tough but I can take it for another three months.
You never know how much you have. I often wonder too you know at the wake as he is there who's at the head of the casket greeting the mourners? The wife with whom he had lived for 30 years with whom they had children or the new wife?
Very interesting. Oh what a web we weave when once we practice to deceive. Now you say well Pastor Lutzer my husband can't change. All right now before you say that my wife and I met a couple that we got to know through my speaking engagements and we've kept in touch with them and she's a wonderful woman who came through some difficult situations with her dad you know and you know there's been abuse and you take all of that all that whole cartload that she's working through like many of you having to work through this kind of a past but a real genuine heart for God. On the part of her husband if I could describe him he just didn't get it.
Do those words mean anything to you? Have you ever met somebody like that who just doesn't get it? That's the way I describe him and then you know if you're in this marriage relationship and you without your wife's knowledge go and take all of your retirement account and you lay all that money out because you've come across a scheme that's going to earn you a lot of money on the internet and you blow it all. It's tough to explain. It's even tough to explain if you told her you were going to do it. It's a little tougher when she finds out later that your retirement is gone. I mean we're talking water under the bridge here. So anyway about six weeks ago I get this email about 10 months ago after a counseling session I simply asked our counselor in front of Bill that isn't his real name but these folks live out of state anyway they've never been to Moody Church you wouldn't have the clue who they are and they wouldn't mind if you did at this point to get me out of this marriage I have a deep relationship with Christ a loving relationship with my sons and daughter-in-law just please help me to live in peace so that I don't have to live with this man who's been so cruel to me. All right. Bill left the meeting agreeing that he was ready to be free also about an hour down the road he said the Lord almost spoke audibly to him and started bringing to his mind all that he had in a wife he said it was so overwhelming that he had to pull to the side of the road because he couldn't stop the tears from flowing that took place last July we spent about four months completely isolated from each other I still didn't believe a word he said but I began to see changes in fact our counselor city saw changes too after eight months of being very very cautious we decided to have a private ceremony with our sons and daughter-in-law to reunite our counselors and ordained ministers so he performed the event he is a different man 90% of everything that comes out of his mouth is completely different he's humble but confident for the first time in our lives he has moved to tears often and remember this is the man who never cried he thanks me over and over again for giving him a second chance I just returned the compliment with I'm so thankful you chose us because when you choose the wife you choose the kids you understand and the grandchildren we can laugh talk constantly pray spontaneously and spend as much time together as possible thank you for your prayers and for speaking truth to me at any rate I emailed her back a couple of weeks later and said you know this is so wonderful is it still happening you know and she said absolutely she said she never knew that she and her husband could have a marriage like this you never know what God will do but I'll tell you what the price is the price is honesty and when there are things in your life that you're hiding from your spouse when there are issues that are huge would you go to a counselor that's not that's not a confession of need it's just that there's so much water under the bridge in terms of relationships that people don't even know where to begin and you can't look at anything objectively anymore there's just too much pain too much hurt too many tries and failure go for help but it's going to take a sense of honesty and what you're gonna have is you know the other side of the moon illustration that I gave you that's going to have to come into the picture until you have a better understanding of who it is that you married what her needs are what his need is and that's what we're going to talk about also next time in the message and you begin there and begin to let God do what only God can do the Bible does say that through Jesus Christ our Lord we have forgiveness with God thankfully and by the way if you're here and you've never trusted Christ as Savior this would be a good opportunity for you to do it if you have a sense of sin because of what I've preached on and you know that you need a Savior Jesus is the place to go the one to go to he's the go-to man but if you're here as a believer and all of this stuff is in your life and your marriage is in trouble get on your knees and stay there until God shows you the way and if honesty can prevail on both sides of the equation God can heal a very difficult meaningless marriage and if you agree can we pray Father I want to ask in the name of Jesus for those who are here today for those who are listening by way of internet radio I pray today father that wherever this seed has fallen that you'll give men and women the grace and the strength to respond grant that to them Father God because our needs are great save the marriages of Moody Church save the marriages of all who have listened and beyond help us Lord because we are so weak and we're so prone to deception bring us to reality now before I close this prayer what is it that you need to say to God today if if you were to say God what do I do about my situation what would God say and whatever he says to you tell him you're gonna do it oh father please help us please help us because we are so needy and those marriages that are in trouble I think of the one that I heard about a week ago where a man is leaving his wife for greener pastures two precious children left behind God please would you shake him into reality and he represents women who are leaving God come to us in Jesus name amen you know I've written a book entitled when a nation forgets God the seven lessons we must learn from Nazi Germany and one of the chapters is titled this parents not the state are responsible for a child's training one of the things I point out is the kind of education that the children in Germany received during the Hitler era now of course there is a lot of discussion in the news regarding schools the opening of schools going to school whether or not online learning works but the bottom line is this what are your children learning that is going to be destructive for a gift of any amount this book can be yours and by the way this is the next to the last day when this book is available it's entitled when a nation forgets God's seven lessons we must learn from Nazi Germany and as I've mentioned for a gift of any amount this book can be yours here's what you do you go to RTW offer.com that's RTW offer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337 ask yourself what is happening in our nation today parallels that there are to what happened in Nazi Germany when a nation forgets God seven lessons we must learn from Nazi Germany and one of those lessons as I've emphasized has to do with the education of children go to RTW offer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337 when you connect with us remember it is your faithfulness in giving in praying for us that makes this ministry continue thanks in advance for your generosity you can write to us at running to win 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard Chicago Illinois 60614 running to win is all about helping you understand God's roadmap for your race of life there's good evidence in the Bible that marriage is designed more to develop character than to ensure a lifetime of bliss when the rough spots come and they will what are couples to take from those experiences next time on running to win tune in for a frank dose of married reality as Erwin Lutzer speaks on the goal is holiness not happiness thanks for listening this is Dave McAllister running to win is sponsored by the Moody Church
Whisper: medium.en / 2024-01-28 10:10:23 / 2024-01-28 10:18:59 / 9