Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore, let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. For we have no continuing city here, but we seek one to come.
Select a thought to read by choosing a collection, the month, and then the day:
“Thou shalt not commit adultery.”
Exodus 20:14
Solomon said, “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. . .a time to kill and a time to heal. . . a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance. . .a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing. . . a time to love and a time to hate.” Solomon’s point was that God “has made every thing beautiful in his time” (Eccl. 3:11). When it is time to weep, it is a sin to laugh. And when it is time to laugh, it is a sin to weep. When it is time to mourn, it is a sin to dance. And when it is time to dance, it is a sin to mourn. When it is time to embrace, it is sin to refrain from embracing. And when it is time to refrain from embracing, it is a sin to embrace. When it is time to love, it is a sin to hate. And when it is time to hate, it is a sin to love.
When Solomon said, “hath made every thing beautiful in his time” intended for us to understand that anything can be sin, if it is not God’s time for it. The snuffing out of a human life by the wrong person and at the wrong time is sin; it is murder. The snuffing out of a life by a government because of that person’s evil deeds is good because it is in God’s time. What makes adultery sin is that it is an act committed by the wrong people at the wrong time. The act itself is “beautiful” in its time and place; but out of its time and place, it is always ugly and shameful. Hebrews 13:4 says it this way: “marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled, but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.”