Spiritual Adultery

Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture from the book of James.

“Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”

  — James 4:4

To commit spiritual adultery against God is to love the world more than Christ. It’s like a wife who loves a strange man more than her own husband. Her heart is not focused on her devotion to her home and husband, but her eyes and her love becomes diverted elsewhere. It could be on a new job, an old friend, or even on her mother. In situations such as these, the love for something else has become greater than the love that she promised to her husband. Her heart can become so defiled, that she will rise up and treacherously depart him. Judas did the exact same thing to Jesus. Symbolically, this is what church people do when they treacherously depart from Christ. 

The Apostle Paul wanted to present the church as a chaste virgin unto Christ, but some of them were not abiding in the commandments and the teachings of His Holy Word. Instead of abiding in their commitments to God, they were turning their ears away from the truth. Instead of faithfully walking in love towards God, they were like a treacherous wife who loved the world more than Jesus. The Apostle John warned them about this behavior.

1 John 2

¹⁵ Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. ¹⁷ And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

Why did the Apostle call the church members adulterers and adulteresses? It is because they were being unfaithful to the teachings and their commitments to the Lord Jesus Christ. You must remember that in a marriage, you are committed to your spouse until death parts you. No matter what sins are committed, no matter what mistakes or misdeeds happen during the marriage, you are committed to that person until death parts you. The only time that you are freed from the law, is if they choose to depart you. A woman who departs her husband and then remarries, is from that point on, known as an adulteress. It’s treacherous to depart your husband, but it is absolute wickedness to go a step beyond that, and divorce, and then get remarried. 

“Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD.”

  — Jeremiah 3:20

A wife who does this is unfaithful to her commitments to God, and openly disloyal to her husband. It doesn’t matter what sins or mistakes have been committed by either party in a marriage, abiding in your marriage shows that you love Christ.  It doesn’t matter the rights or wrongs that either party has done, remaining in your marriage shows that you love Christ.  Marriage is a commitment, through whatever circumstances may arise, whether being rich or poor, or in sickness and in health. 

It’s the same thing when we abide in our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a commitment. As a woman is married to her husband, the church is married unto Christ. There is no turning back from our relationship to Him. When a wife departs her husband, it is treacherous, just as those who depart from Christ. God is not mocked and you will reap what you sow. Her actions only prove how she really feels about Jesus. The Apostle warned about this type of evil heart.

Hebrews 3

¹² Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. ¹³ But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

When a wife departs her husband, her heart has become hardened because of sin. She willfully chooses to go against the law of her husband, and the command of Christ. Likewise, the church is the bride of Christ, and they are never to depart from Him. We are in an unending relationship with Him and must serve Him each and every day of our lives. No matter what events happen in our lives, we must abide in our eternal love for Him, not only for our own salvation, but because of what He did for us on the cross. Our God is a God of symbolism, and In a Christian home the man is the representative of the Lord, and the woman is the representative of the church. This is one of the great mysteries of God.

Ephesians 5

²² Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. ²³ For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. ²⁴ Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.

³¹ For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. ³² This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

Just as a man and woman are permanently joined through the flesh, the church is permanently joined unto Christ through His flesh. A wife must never leave her husband, and the church must never leave Christ. We become a part of Christ’s body through Holy Communion. It is exactly the same way in a Christian marriage. A wife is joined under her husband until death separates them. When people walk off on the church, and turn away from Christ, they commit treachery against Him. When a wife departs her husband and leaves His presence, she commits treachery against the lord of the house. In both cases, the heart becomes defiled.

1 Peter 3

⁵ For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands:  ⁶ Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement.

To truly be a friend of Christ, one must possess a great desire to do His will. We want to please Him in everything that we do, proving our love towards Him each day of our lives. This requires obeying his commandments and submitting to His purpose. 

Those who depart the will of God, are treacherous, and are committing an act of…..

…..Spiritual Adultery.

Let’s think about these things for right now.  We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody. ❤️

tlkjbc.com