Welcome to Authorized Sword Ministries. This is Breaking the Chains, Series Two, Sexual Purity and Freedom. Lesson Two: Fornication and Adultery, Flee Like Joseph.

We're so glad you're here.

Before We Begin

A gentle note first. This course is Bible teaching and spiritual encouragement. It does not replace professional counseling or medical care. We encourage you to use those good resources right alongside your faith. And if you are in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, please call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, any time, day or night, in the United States. In an emergency, call 911.

Where We Left Off

In Lesson One, we looked at pornography, the chain behind the screen. We saw that sin starts in the heart, through the eyes, and that we must make a covenant with our eyes.

Today we look at where that road so often leads: fornication and adultery. Fornication is sexual sin outside of marriage. Adultery is sexual unfaithfulness by someone who is married. Our world calls these things normal. Movies treat them as a joke. Many churches have stopped talking about them at all. But God has not changed His mind.

Our Key Verse

Today's key verse is 1 Corinthians 6:18.

"Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body." — 1 Corinthians 6:18 (KJV)

Two words: "Flee fornication." Not "manage it." Not "be careful." Flee. And notice why. This sin is different. It is a sin against your own body, the body that, for the believer, is the temple of the Holy Ghost.

God's Design Is Good

Before we talk about the sin, let's talk about the design. God is not against marriage or the marriage bed. He made them.

"Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge." — Hebrews 13:4 (KJV)

Marriage is honourable. The marriage bed is undefiled. God gave that gift to be enjoyed between one man and one woman in the covenant of marriage. When Jesus was asked about marriage, He went back to the beginning:

"And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?" — Matthew 19:4-5 (KJV)

God's boundaries are not there to steal your joy. They are there to protect it. A river inside its banks gives life. A river outside its banks floods and destroys.

What God Calls It

God doesn't leave this up to our feelings. He says it plainly in the Ten Commandments:

"Thou shalt not commit adultery." — Exodus 20:14 (KJV)

And in the New Testament, Paul lists these sins first among the works of the flesh:

"Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness," — Galatians 5:19 (KJV)

And he tells the church what God wants for every one of us:

"For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;" — 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4 (KJV)

If you've ever wondered, "What is God's will for my life?", here's part of the answer, in black and white. Abstain from fornication.

The Cost of Adultery

The book of Proverbs spends whole chapters warning a young man about the strange woman. Hear this:

"But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul." — Proverbs 6:32 (KJV)

"Destroyeth his own soul." Adultery promises excitement, but it destroys. It breaks vows. It breaks trust. It breaks children's hearts. It can cost a man his family, his ministry, his good name, and his health.

Go back to David. After his sin with Bathsheba, God sent Nathan the prophet. Nathan told a story about a rich man who stole a poor man's only lamb. David was angry and said that man should die. Then Nathan said:

"And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man." — 2 Samuel 12:7 (KJV)

David was forgiven when he repented, but the consequences followed his family for years. Sin can be forgiven, and still leave scars. That is why God says flee before you fall.

Flee Like Joseph

Now look at a young man who got it right. Joseph was a slave in Egypt, far from home, with no family watching. His master's wife tried day after day to tempt him. Here was his answer:

"There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" — Genesis 39:9 (KJV)

"Sin against God." Joseph understood that sexual sin is first of all a sin against God. And when she grabbed him, he didn't stay to argue:

"And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out." — Genesis 39:12 (KJV)

He fled, and got him out. He lost his coat, but he kept his character. Sometimes obeying God will cost you something. Joseph went to prison for doing right. But God was with him, and God lifted him up in His time.

Build Hedges Before the Storm

Most falls don't happen in a moment. They happen after a long line of small compromises. So build hedges now.

Married folks, guard your marriage:

"Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth." — Proverbs 5:18 (KJV)

Invest in your own spouse. Don't share your heart with someone else's husband or wife. Don't be alone behind closed doors with someone of the opposite sex who isn't your spouse. Keep your phone and messages open to your spouse. Don't "just text" an old flame.

Singles, set your standards before you're on the date. Don't put yourself in a place where you'll be tempted beyond what you can bear. Proverbs warns about the strange woman's house:

"Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house:" — Proverbs 5:8 (KJV)

Don't come near the door. That's the principle. Don't see how close you can get to the line. Stay far from it.

Your Body Belongs to God

Paul continues right after our key verse:

"What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." — 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (KJV)

You were bought with the blood of Jesus Christ. Your body is not your own to give away however you please. It belongs to Him.

A Word to the Church

Church family, we cannot be silent about this, and we cannot wink at it. But we also must not throw stones. When Jesus spoke to the woman caught in adultery, He did not excuse her sin, and He did not condemn her either. He said, "Go, and sin no more." Hold to the truth, and offer the way home. We'll talk more about restoration in Lesson Four.

Questions for Study

1. What does "flee" mean in 1 Corinthians 6:18? How is that different from just "being careful"?
2. According to Hebrews 13:4, what does God honour, and what will He judge?
3. Read 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4. What does this passage say is God's will for you?
4. What did adultery cost David and his family?
5. In Genesis 39:9, who did Joseph say he would be sinning against? Why does that matter?
6. What is one "hedge" you can build this week to protect your purity or your marriage?

Simple Steps for This Week

First, if you're married, open your phone and messages to your spouse, and plan a time together this week.

Second, if you're single, write down your standards for dating now, and share them with a trusted believer.

Third, cut off any relationship, conversation, or habit that is pulling you toward sin.

Fourth, memorize 1 Corinthians 6:18.

And fifth, read Genesis chapter thirty-nine and Proverbs chapter five.

Next Time

In Lesson Three, we'll talk about guarding against the culture: how to stand in a world, and even in churches, where sexual sin is celebrated and called normal.

A Prayer

Let's pray together.

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for the gift of marriage and for Your good design. Forgive us where we have treated it lightly.

For everyone who is caught in fornication or adultery right now, give them the courage to flee like Joseph. Break the chain, Lord.

Protect our marriages. Help husbands and wives to rejoice in one another. Give our single brothers and sisters strength to keep themselves pure.

For every family that has been broken by unfaithfulness, bring healing and hope.

Help us glorify You in our bodies, which are Yours.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Thank you for spending this time with us. We'll see you in Lesson Three.

This is Authorized Sword Ministries. God bless you.

---

Sources

This lesson uses Scripture only. No outside statistics are quoted. The account of the woman taken in adultery is from John 8:3-11 (KJV).