Are You Committing Fornication/Adultery?

Revelation2:14 Nevetheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality. Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. (NIV)

            Scandal after scandal has befallen upon the house of God. Preachers sleeping with their flock, members living together outside of marriage, spouses cheating on each other, priests molesting children, gay and lesbian lifestyles being accepted into roles of pastoral care, and the list goes on. Yes, there is a lot of sexual immorality going around in the world as well as the Church. The sad part about the whole thing is that you can expect that kind of behavior out in the world, but you do not or should not expect the same thing in the House of God. However, our lifestyles have often crossed over and what we once stood against, many are now standing for. You may say that you are not standing for any of it; yet, you are because of your silence as the Balaam spirit of the world is speedily creeping into the church. 

          There is of course plenty of the physical kind of adultery taking place in the church, but what about the spiritual kind? What about the kind that is actually grieving the Holy Spirit away as well? What about the kind that is keeping Jesus from doing His work in your life. What about the kind that pulls you away from what you know is right? See, when many think about adultery, they often tend to think about the physical kind that one is having with a person other than their spouse. However, this is not the only type of adultery there is.

          We commit adultery every time we are more committed to someone or something other than God. We allow the focus that should be on God to be somewhere else. What do I mean by this? Time that we should be spending with God, we are excessively spending in front of the television. Time that we should be helping spread the news about God, we are on the telephone gossiping. Time that could be spent with ministry in the house of the Lord, or some outreach program, we are spending on things of the world that will not help anyone’s soul salvation. These are all types of adultery and fornication tools that are used to take God’s people off of Him. 

          See, if the devil can take our minds off of the things of God, then we are walking into the trap that he has laid out for us. He is always present to steal, kill, and destroy the saints of God. This is not to say that we must hold our Bibles in our hands 24/7. Psalms 119:11 says, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” (NIV) God’s word should already be hidden in our hearts and therefore, the outward display of the Bible in our hands is not necessary just to be seen. However, because we are a walking, living, and breathing word, we should ensure that we dedicate time to God and His cause. Deuteronomy 6:13-15 says, “Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in His name. Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; for the Lord you God, who is among you, is a jealous God and His anger will burn against you, and He will destroy you from the face of the land.” (NIV)

          God is a jealous God and He does not want you to place people or things before Him. You can see an example of this when God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. Why did God do this? Genesis 22:1-2 says, “Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, ‘Abraham!’ ‘Here I am,’ he replied. Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.” (NIV) God truly did not need a sacrifice of this magnitude from Abraham nor did he want a sacrifice of human blood. There were plenty of animals that could have been offered. However, God chose to test Abraham to see with whom his loyalty resided. If Abraham had refused to sacrifice Isaac, then it would have shown God that Abraham loved his son more than He. However, because Abraham was faithful and did as the Lord had commanded, God spared Isaac and Abraham passed the test.

          I think that it is a good thing that God doesn’t test us like that in today’s time. However, He does test us in other ways. The question is, are we passing the tests with flying colors, or are we barely registering. Can we be trusted to give God our all, or are we so self-centered that we do not have time for the things of God.

          God desires us to be an unadulterated people. He wants our total allegiance to Him. Whatever is in our life that is causing us to be separated from God is the same as our committing fornication/adultery on Him. We must not give ourselves over to ungodly things, while still expecting a Godly result. Everything has to have its place, but God has and should be number one. God doesn’t expect us not to live fulfilling lives, but He wants us to ensure that in doing so, we do not leave Him out for without Him, our lives would be completely empty.

          God is saying for us to turn away from our wicked ways and go back to Him. He loves us and wants nothing to separate us from His love. We are married to Him and that’s the best relationship that we could ever have. Let’s make sure that we are putting Him first in all areas of our lives.