______________________ LIFE, FAITH, ETCETERA

Spiritual Adultery November 13, 2009

This deals with the relationship or lack of relationship believers have with the law. For many Christians, the idea that in Christ, they are totally free from a system of rules is a scary thought and they often try to relate to Jesus in the same way as they related to the law or in some cases leave Jesus and return to the law. This is “spiritual adultery.”

Here are some of the common methods that Christians use to try to overcome sins.

Tell others of your commitment to overcome.
Pray and promise.
Read “Christian self-help” books.
Memorize and quote Scripture.

Real victory over sin is a gift that only comes from Christ, fleshly efforts to overcome never bring success.
1 Corinthians 15:57 says,  But we thank God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

What is spiritual adultery?  What relationship does the believer have to rules?

Romans 7:1-5   Brothers and sisters, all of you understand the law of Moses. So surely you know that the law rules over people only while they are alive. For example, a woman must stay married to her husband as long as he is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from the law of marriage. But if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, the law says she is guilty of adultery. But if her husband dies, she is free from the law of marriage. Then if she marries another man, she is not guilty of adultery. In the same way, my brothers and sisters, your old selves died, and you became free from the law through the body of Christ. This happened so that you might belong to someone else—the One who was raised from the dead—and so that we might be used in service to God. In the past, we were ruled by our sinful selves. The law made us want to do sinful things that controlled our bodies, so the things we did were bringing us death.

How do we get out of marriage to Mr. Law?   We had to die!

All other sins are preceded by spiritual adultery!
The believer has no relationship with religious rules…our only relationship is with Jesus Christ!

Spiritual adultery happens when we go back to our first spouse (law) to get our needs met instead of staying with our New Spouse (Jesus/Grace) for our happiness. We become distrustful of Jesus and His ability to meet all our needs. We want to make sure and “do it ourselves.” The most difficult thing for us to do is completely depend on Jesus! When we return to our former spouse (rules), we are being unfaithful to Jesus.

What does spiritual adultery look like?

Placing confidence in behavior…especially “good” behavior.
Placing confidence in doctrinal beliefs and knowledge of spiritual matters.
Trusting anything or anybody besides Jesus for our acceptance before God!

How can it be a sin when a Christian does a good thing?
Hebrews 11:6    Without faith no one can please God… Doing “good things” in our own power, using our personal efforts and acting independently of God is just as wrong as doing “bad things.”
In both cases, the real issue is independence from God…not placing our faith in His provision. 1Thessalonians 5:24 says  …He will do it.

The difference between the law tree and the life tree:

The law tree offers knowledge about what is right and wrong, but gives no life. The life tree is Jesus Christ who tells us what is right and wrong and gives not only eternal life, but abundant life here and now.

When we try to get life from the Law Tree, our focus is on behavior, but when we go to the Life Tree, our focus is on God who alone can give us life!

Do Christians need the law?
1 Timothy 1:8-10   But we know that the law is good if someone uses it lawfully. We also know that the law is not made for good people but for those who are against the law and for those who refuse to follow it. It is for people who are against God.

For whom is the law given?   People like the ones described in the above Scripture.

If we as believers don’t focus on religious laws, what will govern our behavior?

Jeremiah 31:33-34   “This is the agreement I will make with the people of Israel at that time,” says the Lord: “I will put my teachings in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. People will no longer have to teach their neighbors and relatives to know the Lord, because all people will know me, from the least to the most important,” says the Lord. “I will forgive them for the wicked things they did, and I will not remember their sins anymore.”

Christians are governed by relationship, not rules! The indwelling Christ will lead and guide. The law defines sin as a violation of the rules, grace defines sin as a violation of the relationship.

Why do Christians try to build their lifestyle around a set of rules?

It seems natural…just the way life works best…that’s the way the rest of life is governed.   A set of rules makes it possible for the ones that are strong to out-perform the ones that aren’t.  I used to feel quite superior over Sabbath observance and abstaining from certain foods and alcohol.

Colossians 2:20-23   Since you died with Christ and were made free from the ruling spirits of the world, why do you act as if you still belong to this world by following rules like these: “Don’t eat this,” “Don’t taste that,” “Don’t even touch that thing”? These rules refer to earthly things that are gone as soon as they are used. They are only man-made commands and teachings. They seem to be wise, but they are only part of a man-made religion. They make people pretend not to be proud and make them punish their bodies, but they do not really control the evil desires of the sinful self.

–Steve McVey


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