Participants: Yvonne Lewis (Host), Tom Shepherd
Series Code: HPOV
Program Code: HPOV000036A
00:16 Hello, and welcome to Heaven's Point of View.
00:19 And this series is on, Love, Marriage, Sex and Divorce 00:23 from the New Testament perspective. 00:26 I'm Dr. Yvonne Lewis 00:27 and our featured host is Dr. Tom Sheperd, 00:31 who is and I'm gonna name all of these things, 00:35 he is the director for the PhD 00:38 and ThD programs for religion is it? 00:42 Yes, at Andrews University. 00:43 At Andrews University, 00:45 and professor of New Testament Interpretation 00:48 at Andrews University. 00:49 He's also an MPH and a doctor of Public Health as well. 00:54 So Dr. Sheperd has a long, long. 00:59 Hopefully not like a Festus said to Paul 01:01 "Much learning hath made thee mad. 01:05 No, Doctor, you've been given us 01:06 some great insights, you know. 01:09 You know, the Bible has such relevance. 01:13 To our lives today. 01:14 And, this is, this is so important 01:16 because we look around us, 01:17 and we see the erosion of the family. 01:19 We see how relationships are so just messed up. 01:22 We see people not getting married 01:25 and just living together. 01:27 We see all of these things and so, you're going to give us 01:30 a biblical perspective on relationships. 01:33 And today we're going to talk about sex outside of marriage. 01:36 That's correct. 01:37 Which is really, which really an important thing to look at 01:41 because it's so rampant. 01:43 In our society today. 01:45 Millions of people involved. 01:47 We just looked at in the last couple of programs 01:51 at I Corinthians 6, and what it had to say, 01:54 but we want to look at some other passages as well. 01:57 Yes, what does the Bible say about where sexual relation 02:02 should and should not be practiced? 02:04 Well, the first place to begin is the Ten Commandments. 02:08 So we should turn over to Exodus Chapter 20. 02:11 And we want to read there the seventh commandment 02:15 which is in Exodus 20:14. 02:18 It's very short but right to the point. 02:21 Exodus 20:14. Go ahead and read that for us. 02:26 "You shall not commit adultery." 02:28 Yeah, I mean, it's just very brief, 02:31 but it says, "Don't commit adultery." 02:32 Now adultery is a married person 02:35 having sexual relations 02:37 with somebody who's not their spouse. 02:38 That's the definition of adultery. 02:41 There are three commands in this second section 02:44 of the half of the Ten Commandments 02:48 that are a combination of Hebrew word 02:51 that means, "No" the word is, "Low" 02:55 that means, "No" and then a verb. 02:57 So it's no and then this verb so it's don't do this. 03:01 And those three commands are found right in a row 03:05 in verse 13, 14, and 15 of Exodus 20, 03:09 "You shall not murder. 03:11 You shall not commit adultery. 03:13 You shall not steal." Right? 03:15 Three very brief, right to the point commands 03:19 about relationships between people. 03:23 They talk about life, life itself, "Do not murder." 03:27 They talk about marriage, "Do not commit adultery." 03:31 And they talk about personal ownership, 03:33 "Do not steal." 03:34 These simple commands, 03:36 they get at the basic simple central stuff of life. 03:41 Life itself, our person, our family and our property. 03:46 Without safety for these three things, 03:50 human life is on the edge. 03:53 And growth and development 03:54 are greatly hindered or denied as a process. 03:57 And isn't it interesting that in the middle of those 04:00 is, "Do not commit adultery." 04:02 Exactly, yeah. 04:03 Now, you see most people 04:06 abhor the idea of killing people. 04:09 They're saddened by it, they say, "It's wrong." 04:11 It's just you know, and I mean, this is what makes it news, 04:14 when there is war 04:16 or when there's somebody that was shot, 04:17 or somebody was killed or even kill themselves. 04:21 This is news because we abhor that. 04:24 'Cause life is so important. 04:26 On the other side, 04:28 we think the same thing about stealing. 04:30 It's wrong to steal. 04:31 And when we hear of theft show, we hear banks closing 04:36 because of somebody you know, was siphoning off funds, 04:39 you know, we are all are upset by that. 04:43 But the strange thing is, 04:45 that this middle one about adultery 04:49 doesn't seem to be as 04:51 you know, it doesn't seem to bother people 04:53 quite this much. 04:54 At least now, it doesn't as much as it used too. 04:57 You know, that is so true. 04:59 When you look at where the culture has gone, 05:03 when, when I was growing up, 05:04 we had little programs on television 05:07 like Father Knows Best and-- 05:10 Leave it to Beaver and things like that. 05:12 I'm dating myself now by the way. 05:15 But now you have programs on that emphasize sex 05:21 and sex outside of marriage and adultery 05:25 and I mean, the culture has gotten so jaded. 05:31 With sexual things and it's by design 05:34 Satan has led us into that, through media. 05:38 In a lot of ways through music, through media, 05:40 through what we see on television, 05:41 the printed word. 05:43 So many things are leading and alluring people. 05:47 It's, it's a frightening thing 05:51 to see what Satan has done with it. 05:53 And it's because I believe sex is such an important, 05:57 God created it. Yes. 05:59 He gave it to Adam and Eve for a reason. 06:03 And Satan has taken it and done what he's wanted to do with it 06:07 and so I'm so glad we're dealing with this topic 06:10 because it is critical. 06:11 What we see go on society now, 06:14 it's just so far from God's ideal. 06:17 Yeah, there are, there people that want to suggest that 06:20 well, the media isn't important it's not-- 06:23 it doesn't have that much impact on our life 06:26 and the people who make films 06:27 always want to try to downplay that the violence there 06:31 and their focus on sex has any impact. 06:33 That's just not true. 06:35 You see if it, if it were true 06:37 that the media had no impact on people, 06:39 then I imagine the advertiser would stop, 06:42 they would stop putting ads on television and... 06:44 Exactly. 06:45 And everywhere, because they know 06:47 that those ads sell their products. 06:49 That's right. 06:50 And Hollywood has learned 06:52 that if they put together sex and violence, 06:54 that these make money for them. 06:57 They're not, they're not concerned 06:59 about the moral issues that we, that we describe here 07:01 and the kinds of issues we read the other time 07:04 about that people who are married 07:06 have sex more often, 07:08 people who are married enjoy sex more. 07:12 Hollywood will never tell you that. 07:14 In fact, they tell you the opposite. 07:16 They make sex outside of marriage 07:19 seem much more interesting than sex within marriage. 07:22 Why is that? 07:23 Because Satan again, has his plan for destruction. 07:28 And God has His plan, which is the ideal plan. 07:32 Yeah, which actually makes for happiness. 07:34 And for more joy and I mean, sex is one of the greatest, 07:39 we've said in this program before, 07:40 sex is dynamite. 07:42 It's one of the greatest joys of life. 07:44 And God wants us to have more joy. 07:46 So what does He say, "It belongs in marriage. 07:48 Not outside of marriage." 07:49 And guess what? 07:51 The US government came along and found out 07:53 that what the Bible teaches is true. 07:56 Isn't that amazing? It's wonderful. 07:57 It's often how you know, the US government it comes 08:00 and it corroborates science. 08:03 You know, with, with what the Bible teaches 08:05 about the body and health. 08:07 And now, there's this with marriage 08:09 so it's really interesting. 08:13 We talked about in Exodus 20, you know, 08:16 "Do not commit adultery" and all. 08:18 But Jesus talks about adultery as well. 08:22 He does. What does He say? 08:24 We should turn over to Matthew 5, 08:26 which is the Sermon on the Mount, 08:28 kind of the inaugural sermon where Jesus describes 08:32 what He wants His disciples to live like 08:34 and how they're supposed to think about things, 08:37 and how they're supposed to carry on their life. 08:40 And in Matthew 5:27 to 30, 08:43 He brings up the subject of adultery, 08:47 which we just read in the Ten Commandments. 08:48 You see, this issue is so important 08:54 that God planted it 08:56 in the heart of the Ten Commandments. 08:58 I mean, the Ten Commandments the moral law, 09:00 I mean, people recognize that this is the big ten 09:03 these are the biggest issues of life. 09:06 That is such a fundamental issue, 09:08 the stability of the family. 09:11 And Jesus has something to say. Let's read it. 09:13 Matthew 5:27 to 30. Okay. 09:16 "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 09:19 'You shall not commit adultery.' 09:21 But I say to you 09:22 that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her 09:25 has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 09:28 If your right eye causes you to sin, 09:31 pluck it out and cast it from you; 09:33 for it is more profitable for you 09:35 that one of your members perish, 09:37 than for your whole body to be cast into hell. 09:40 And if your right hand causes you to sin, 09:42 cut it off and cast it from you; 09:45 for it is more profitable for you 09:46 that one of your members perish, 09:48 than for your whole body to be cast into hell." 09:53 Now this is one of six passages that are called antithesis 09:57 where, where Jesus will say, 10:00 "You heard that it was like this. 10:01 But I say this." All right. 10:03 That's an antithesis and sometimes people 10:06 when they see this they say, "All well, Jesus doesn't take 10:09 the Old Testament commands importantly." 10:11 You know, "He said this. 10:13 But I say" so and so. All right. 10:15 It's not a contradiction. 10:17 No, no it's not a contradiction. 10:19 And in particularly, 10:20 if you go back just a few verses earlier in, 10:22 in verse 17 and onward Jesus says, 10:25 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law 10:27 or the Prophets." 10:29 "I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them 10:31 for truly I say to you until heaven and earth pass away 10:34 not an iota not a dot will pass from the law 10:37 until all is accomplished." 10:38 So, Jesus actually didn't come to. 10:41 When he says, "I came to fulfill it." 10:43 He doesn't mean I came to set it aside. 10:45 He said I didn't come to abolish it. 10:47 He said, "Came to show its full extent." 10:51 Right, so in Jesus' day people were saying 10:54 adultery was the physical act of having sex with somebody 10:57 that is not your spouse. 10:59 And, of course, that is the definition. 11:02 We've already said of adultery 11:03 if you're having sex with somebody 11:05 that's not your spouse. 11:06 But Jesus shows 11:07 that adultery doesn't start with the physical act. 11:10 Adultery starts in the mind, okay. 11:13 And so He says, "I say to you that everyone 11:16 who looks at a woman with lustful intent 11:18 has already committed adultery with her in his heart." 11:22 Now, this, this is, 11:26 most men struggle with this actually. 11:29 You and I were talking beforehand 11:31 and you mentioned how men are visually oriented. 11:35 A lot of men, most men struggle with this issue 11:38 and they kind of wonder what is Jesus saying here, 11:40 is he saying you know, just wear blinders 11:43 and you know or don't, when a women comes, 11:46 just look the other way. 11:49 You know, that's the way 11:51 that some people get the idea of what He's saying. 11:53 But if we look at it carefully, 11:56 and knowledge of Greek helps here. 11:59 I, one time had a young person come to me 12:02 and say, he was a graduate from one of our colleges 12:06 and he said, "Dr. Sheperd, 12:08 why should we study Greek and Hebrew?" 12:10 Now to say that to a New Testament professor 12:12 is kind of like taking a red cape 12:14 and waving it in front of a bull you know. 12:17 But it was like I had been touched with inspiration 12:20 that one moment I said, "Young man, 12:21 I have a one word answer for you." 12:23 And I said, "Intimacy, intimacy with the Word of God." 12:28 And then I said, I said, 12:30 the original languages help you with that intimacy. 12:33 But then I said too, 12:34 I thought something that he could understand. 12:36 Well, I said, "I mean, 12:37 would you rather have a goodnight handshake 12:38 or good night kiss?" 12:41 Intimacy with God's word. 12:43 So when you know some Greek and Hebrew. 12:45 It helps you because Jesus says, 12:47 "Anyone who looks at a woman" 12:49 and the tense is the present tense in Greek. 12:52 This is like a line 12:53 that has an ongoing kind of concept of action. 12:56 So you could translate and say, "Anyone who keeps on looking." 13:02 Now what do you call it when somebody keeps on looking? 13:04 Staring. Staring, yeah. 13:06 You're staring. 13:07 He's staring and he's watching that'll go by, okay. 13:11 That's the stare that He talks about. 13:12 Jesus is not saying that a man cannot recognize 13:15 that woman's beautiful. 13:16 Right. But it's that stare. 13:18 Now it's also true in the English standard version 13:22 I'm reading puts it very nicely. It helps it. 13:23 He says, "Anyone who looks at a woman with lust full intent." 13:28 Now the question is which came first, 13:30 the look or the lust. 13:34 And according to what Jesus is saying here 13:36 in the way the Greek construction is, 13:38 the lust comes first. 13:40 Wow! 13:41 Now you would think that the look comes first 13:43 which elicits a lustful feeling. 13:45 Well, it can be that too. 13:47 By the way, by the way He's constructed here. 13:49 He's, He's is talking about where does adultery begin. 13:53 It begins in the mind. In mind. 13:55 Yeah, and so He's talking about that, 13:56 that look that is focused on that for a purpose. 14:00 And the purpose is to lust after that person. 14:02 And can not one have a lustful spirit? 14:08 Yes. 14:09 That will then cause one to stare. 14:12 Yes. Yeah. So that lust comes first. 14:15 I can see how that could come first. 14:17 So what has to happen is the, 14:19 where, where things have to change, 14:20 it's not just actions. 14:22 It has to go back into the heart. 14:24 Go back to the mind where, where these things begin. 14:28 Okay. So that's that verse. So, Jesus condemns adultery. 14:35 But what about sex with people that aren't married? 14:38 You know, you have adultery that's between married people. 14:42 What about people that aren't married? 14:43 All right, so we've got a number of passages 14:45 we want to look at to understand 14:47 what does the Bible say about sex outside of marriage. 14:51 Now we're going to move from married people. 14:52 That was a question of adultery. 14:54 You're not supposed to break your marriage bond 14:57 and go have sex with somebody else 14:58 than your spouse. 15:00 But what about people who aren't married? 15:01 Can they just... Right. 15:03 You know, sleep around. Is it okay? 15:04 Right. Turn over to Genesis 34. 15:08 A rather sad story 15:10 but one which we take note of several times in these, 15:17 in this series of meeting. 15:18 This is, this is Genesis 34. 15:20 It's the story of Dinah and Shechem. 15:24 So let's just read the first seven verses. 15:26 Okay. 15:27 "Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, 15:29 whom she had born to Jacob, 15:31 went out to see the daughters of the land. 15:33 And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite," 15:36 excuse me, "prince of the country, saw her, 15:39 he took her and lay with her, and violated her. 15:43 His soul was strongly attracted to Dinah 15:45 the daughter of Jacob, and love the young woman 15:48 and spoke kindly to the young woman. 15:50 So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, 15:53 "Get me this young woman as a wife." 15:55 And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter. 15:59 Now his sons were with his livestock in the field; 16:02 so Jacob held his peace until they came. 16:05 Then Hamor father of Shechem went out to meet Jacob 16:08 to speak with him. 16:10 And the sons of Jacob came in from the field 16:12 when they heard it; 16:13 and the men were grieved and very angry, 16:16 because he had done a disgraceful thing 16:18 in Israel by lying with Jacob's daughter, 16:20 a thing which ought not to be done." 16:23 It was pretty clear isn't it? 16:25 This was wrong. Right. 16:26 Now were these people married? No. 16:29 No, obviously not married. 16:31 But they had sex. Right. 16:33 Did that make them married? 16:34 No. No. 16:36 He raped her. He raped her, right. 16:37 So this young man, forcing himself 16:40 on the on this young girl, it's over, 16:44 and over the text indicates that it's wrong. 16:46 Right. Right. What he did. 16:47 It says that, "Jacob holds his peace." 16:50 He was upset but he was going to talk 16:52 till his sons came home. 16:54 Right. 16:55 And when his sons came home, they are indignant. 16:57 Right. And they are very angry. 16:59 Right. 17:00 He says he's done an outrageous thing. 17:03 "Something that ought not to be done." 17:05 I don't know if you can get much clearer 17:07 that this is a wrong. 17:08 Right. 17:10 And I mean, everybody in society recognize today 17:12 that rape is evil and wrong. 17:13 Yes. And should not happen. 17:16 But for some people who get the idea that, 17:19 just having sex makes you married. 17:21 No. No. 17:23 It doesn't make you married. 17:25 Sex is not marriage. 17:26 Marriage is a ceremony; marriage is a relationship 17:29 that's created in a society's presence, 17:32 in the presence of other people 17:34 and that is what produces marriage. 17:37 So sex which is forced on somebody is wrong. 17:41 And if you're not clear on that, get the message. 17:44 Right, now what about when it's done willingly? 17:46 Okay, then we look at some other passages. 17:49 We turn over to Genesis, Exodus 22, 17:51 Exodus Chapter 22:16, 17. 17:56 Just after the Ten Commandments. 18:02 Now this is again, of course, 18:03 the setting for the life of Israel, 18:07 but it's still the principles hold true 18:08 so we're looking at Exodus 22:16 and 17. 18:13 And it says it, "If a man entices a virgin 18:15 who is not betrothed, and lies with her, 18:18 he shall surely pay the bride-price 18:20 for her to be his wife. 18:22 If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, 18:25 he shall pay money according to the bride-price of virgins." 18:29 All right, now first, we need to look, 18:31 now, first what happened. 18:32 Well, it seems that what happened was there 18:35 was a young fellow and, 18:37 he started talking to a young girl 18:39 and he seduced her. 18:41 So that idea gives you the sense that, 18:44 well, she was naive. 18:47 She didn't understand where this was leading. 18:50 And before she knew it, they were sleeping together. 18:53 Okay? 18:54 Now what the text says here is that, 18:58 when they're found, when that this is found out, 19:00 he has to marry the girl. 19:02 That's that that was their rule. 19:04 This is how seriously sex is taken. 19:07 Yeah. That he has had sex with her. 19:10 Now he needs to marry her. Yeah. He has to marry her. 19:13 And actually it says that he has to pay the bride price. 19:16 Now we don't do bride price in our society today. 19:18 Right. 19:19 People look at this and they say, 19:21 "What bride price, you're, 19:22 you're buying the girl, what is this?" 19:24 No, its, it's not buying the girl. 19:27 She's not a piece of property that you buy. 19:30 Bride price was a concept of a young man showing 19:35 that he was capable of supplying 19:38 the needs of his family. 19:39 So he has to come up with a certain amount of money 19:42 and be able to show that he can support this girl 19:47 that he's interested in marrying. 19:48 So he brings the bride price. 19:50 And the bride price would stay, 19:53 now in different times it would be different things, 19:55 but it was stay on reserve, and if there was a divorce, 19:58 the bride price would go to the girl as she left. 20:00 So it was some protection for the young women 20:03 against the kinds of thing that would happen. 20:05 Now the foolishness of this young man 20:10 and seducing this girl and having sex with her 20:12 is also illustrated, if the father just says, "No" 20:15 course this is a male lineal, patrilineal society. 20:18 The fathers were very much involved 20:20 in these kinds of issues. 20:22 And if the father just refuses and says, 20:24 "No, this girl, I cannot give my girl." 20:27 This guy's a jerk. 20:28 I'm not going to give my daughter to him. 20:30 Right. 20:31 He still has to pay the bride price. 20:34 Now so there's a fine. 20:35 So you think about it, he was stupid enough 20:38 that he had sex with this girl and what did he have to do, 20:43 he had to pay the bride price 20:44 and he doesn't have a bride to show for it. 20:46 So it is very clear, it's wrong, 20:50 it's wrong for him to seduce her. 20:52 All right. 20:53 Now what about somebody who just slept around? 20:57 The willing participants. 21:00 Yes. Yes. Yeah. 21:01 What if both of them are, are willing? 21:03 Now, we turn over to the book of Deuteronomy. 21:05 So we're talking about consensual sex. 21:07 Consensual sex, yeah, is it okay? 21:09 Deuteronomy 22:13 to 29. 21:17 I teach at Sabbath School class and usually say to them. 21:19 Well, you know, we don't have time for anything else, 21:21 we read the Bible. 21:22 Yes. 21:23 Because that's important too so this is a long section 21:27 but it's all about laws about sexual immorality. 21:31 So it's Deuteronomy 22:13 to 29. 21:35 Okay, you want me to read it? Yep. 21:37 "If any man takes a wife, and goes in to her, 21:39 and detests her, and charges her 21:41 with shameful conduct, 21:43 and brings a bad name on her, and says, 21:44 'I took this woman, and when I came to her 21:47 I found she was not a virgin,' 21:49 then the father and mother of the young woman 21:51 shall take and bring out the evidence 21:53 of the young woman's virginity 21:55 to the elders of the city at the gate. 21:57 And the young woman's father shall say to the elders, 21:59 'I gave my daughter to this man as wife, 22:01 and he detests her. 22:03 Now he has charged her with shameful conduct, saying, 22:06 "I found your daughter was not a virgin," 22:08 and yet these are the evidences of my daughter's virginity.' 22:11 And they shall spread the cloth before the elders of the city. 22:15 Then the elders of that city shall take that man 22:17 and punish him; 22:19 and they shall fine him one hundred shekels of silver 22:21 and give them to the father of the young woman, 22:23 because he has brought a bad name 22:26 on a virgin of Israel. 22:27 And she shall be his wife; 22:29 he cannot divorce her all his days. 22:31 But if the thing is true, 22:33 and evidences of virginity 22:34 are not found for the young woman, 22:36 then they shall bring out the young woman 22:39 to the door of her father's house, 22:40 and the men of her city 22:42 shall stone her to death with stones, 22:44 because she has done a disgraceful thing in Israel, 22:46 to play the harlot in her father's house. 22:49 So you shall put away the evil from among you. 22:52 If a man is found lying 22:54 with a woman married to a husband, 22:55 then both of them shall die, 22:57 the man that lay with the woman, and the woman; 22:59 so you shall put away the evil from Israel. 23:02 If a young woman who is a virgin 23:04 is betrothed to a husband, 23:05 and a man finds her in the city and lies with her, 23:08 then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, 23:11 and you shall stone them to death with stones, 23:13 the young women 23:14 because she did not cry out in the city, 23:16 and the man because he humbled his neighbor's wife; 23:19 so you shall put away the evil from among you. 23:22 But if a man finds a betrothed young woman 23:24 in the countryside, 23:26 and the man forces her and lies with her, 23:28 then only the man who lay with her shall die. 23:30 But you shall do nothing to the young woman; 23:33 there is in the young woman no sin deserving of death, 23:37 for just as when a man rises 23:38 against his neighbor and kills him, 23:40 even so is this matter. 23:42 For he found her in the countryside, 23:44 and the betrothed young woman cried out, 23:46 but there was no one to save her. 23:48 If a man finds a young woman who is a virgin, 23:51 who is not betrothed, 23:52 and he seizes her and lies with her, 23:54 and they are found out, 23:56 then the man who lay with her 23:57 shall give to the young woman's father 23:59 fifty shekels of silver, 24:01 and she shall be his wife because he has humbled her; 24:04 he shall not be permitted to divorce her all his days." 24:08 All right, so these are, are laws that were, 24:11 you know, that Israel used. 24:13 And you can see that they were considered 24:15 as very serious crimes. 24:17 Yes. Very serious crimes. 24:18 So there's five different sexual scenarios 24:23 that are described here. 24:24 The first is the young woman who did, 24:26 or did not live as a harlot. 24:29 And the sign of her virginity 24:31 would be the blood stained cloak. 24:32 Right. 24:34 Of her when she started to have her menses. 24:36 Then there's the case of the adulterer, 24:38 there's the case 24:39 of the consensual sleeping together in the city, 24:43 the case of rape in the countryside, 24:45 and the case of the young betrothed virgin 24:47 in verses 28 and 29. 24:49 Now what these all have in common 24:52 is in one way or another 24:53 that sex outside of marriage is punishable by death 24:57 or by some kind of fine, or some kind of penalty 25:01 that the person, you know, has to pay. 25:05 If the person was unable to escape, they are not guilty. 25:08 Like the young woman out in the country side. 25:10 She's raped. Yeah. Yeah. 25:12 In none of these cases is merely having sex 25:15 consider marriage, all right. 25:17 And the violation of sexual purity is taken 25:20 very seriously, 25:21 sometimes to the point of imposing the death penalty. 25:25 So in summary, we can say that the Bible teaches 25:28 that sexual relations are reserved 25:30 rightfully for marriage alone, right. 25:34 They are not to be practiced outside of marriage. 25:38 But they are to be enjoyed within marriage. 25:41 And why? Why only within marriage? 25:44 Yeah, yeah. Biblically, why only... 25:46 That's, that's the kind of question now, 25:47 we have already noticed 25:49 that the US government found that 25:50 it's better in marriage, 25:52 you know, you have you have more joy 25:53 and everything but you see sex is dynamite. 25:55 We've already said this before but sex is dynamite 25:57 and it's, it's very powerful. 26:00 Because it's so powerful, you have to handle it carefully. 26:03 I mean, you would take a stick of dynamite 26:05 and just throw it around. 26:06 It's, it's too powerful. Well, sex is the same way. 26:09 There's a great benefit that's possible. 26:11 But there's also great risk. 26:13 The other thing is that the power of dynamite 26:17 is enhanced when you confine it, 26:19 when you put it into a space that, 26:23 you know, it can't move or anything, 26:24 it will blow up much more 26:25 and have much more powerful effects. 26:27 So when you confine sex to marriage, 26:30 there is much more power. 26:32 Number three, it protects children. 26:35 That's why sex is only for marriage. 26:37 It protects children and women. 26:40 So again, you know, we have science or studies 26:44 corroborating what the Bible says that, 26:47 "Women and children 26:49 are protected through marriage." 26:51 Yes, and I think people find that actually 26:53 in just everyday life. 26:56 They recognize that broken homes 26:58 are a much harder to manage and everything. 27:02 So the Bible's message that sex is only for marriage, 27:06 is both reasonable and of course, 27:09 it's theologically sound. 27:10 It's based on what the Scripture says. 27:12 No, sex outside of marriage for married partners. 27:16 No sex for people who are, you know, rape is wrong, 27:20 and seducing somebody is wrong 27:23 and consensual sex, 27:25 even if they both agree on it is also wrong. 27:29 It's to be avoided. Sex is only for marriage. 27:33 That's where the blessing belongs. 27:34 Yes, and that's where the blessing is. 27:37 And that's, this is some powerful stuff Dr. Sheperd. 27:40 Thank you so much for sharing these insights with us. 27:44 What are we going to talk about next? 27:46 Well, next we will turn to the question of 27:48 is that there is it ever wrong to have sex in marriage. 27:50 I mean, there's a time in marriage 27:52 when it, when you should step back from, 27:54 from sex and not have it. 27:55 So we'll be looking at I Corinthians 7, 27:57 a passage that's often misunderstood. 27:59 Great, thank you so much Dr. Sheperd. 28:01 And thank you, for tuning in. 28:03 Please join us next time 28:04 as we share these wonderful biblical truths. |
Revised 2016-03-10