The
Sixth Commandment of Marriage: Stay Alert!
The keen Bible student
cannot study the Scriptures carefully without noticing the similarities
throughout its pages between spiritual maturity and Holy Matrimony. It is also,
therefore, not possible to read the sixth commandment in the thirteenth chapter
of Hebrews without having your mind drawn to the repeated warning in the Old
Testament to the young man concerning the “strange woman.”
Nine times, this expression is used in the Old Testament; all but one of them are warnings for the young man to guard his purity. God made the woman beautiful. He made her to be pleasing to his eyes. Her physical body was originally an expression of God’s love to the man. Sin has damaged all of that. For this reason, modesty is a critical factor in the obedience of a godly woman to the instructions for holiness. The godly man is warned to guard his eyes from lustful thoughts.
In
marriage, this threat to the marriage is lifelong. If the rules for a healthy
marriage are not meticulously kept, the threat is ever-present. The warning
does not wane when the nest empties. The danger remains, as long as Satan
remains loose. The marriage must be repeatedly cultivated and renewed, just
like our spiritual walk, or we are in jeopardy.
Our
text, however, is directed not specifically to marriage, but to our spiritual
walk. The language is presented in the most interesting package. The imperative
verb is in the passive voice. This means that there is a danger of drifting.
There is a danger of wandering. The warning is not to those who might
deliberately change their path, but rather to those who might get lost
unknowingly or unintentionally.
There
are practical principles both for marriage and spiritual health that must be
reviewed today. The warnings in Scripture and the tempting circumstances of our
world demand it. Woe to the individual who believes that they possess some sort
of immunity to this temptation to wander. It is ever-present and universal. The
man who thinks he stands and, therefore, does not take precautionary measures
is sure to fall.
If we, like the apostle
Paul, are to finish the course honorably, we must take heed to this warning. If
we are to keep our vow to our spouse “until separated by death,” we must review
some of the practical measures with which God has supplied us. We are in a war;
we must not leave home without shield and sword. Our adversary is wise and crafty; we must
walk worthy of the high calling to which we have been called. We must stay
alert, or we will make ourselves susceptible to the arrows of remorse.
The Sixth Commandment of Marriage: Stay Alert!
Review:
Imitating within marriage
1. Stay the same completely
2. Stay the same miserably
3. Grow together
Seven
Elements of Spiritual Alertness
1. Recognition
2. Vulnerability
3. Superiority
4. Stability
5. Simplicity
6. Necessity
7. Availability
Seven
Elements of Matrimonial Alertness
1. Put
2. Pray
3. Keep
4. Never
5. Stay
6.
7. Practice