THE DEADLY DANGER OF LUST

You Have Heard That it Was Said

So far, in our journey through the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus has been explaining what kind of people will be in the kingdom of heaven. We saw many of their qualities when we looked at the Beatitudes. We saw that those in the kingdom are the salt of the earth and light of the world; a city set on a hill. Then Jesus began to explain how He did not come to abolish the Law and the Prophets, but to fulfill them. We looked at that teaching in detail and saw that because Jesus fulfilled the Law, we are no longer under it. Those of us who repent and place our faith in Christ as our only hope of salvation are clothed with the righteousness of Christ and are set free from the curse of the Law. We are under a New Covenant that is superior to the Old Covenant in every possible way. Then Jesus made the shocking statement that unless our righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, we will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Really, the rest of the Sermon on the Mount is going to unpack that statement by showing us how the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees was insufficient to enter the kingdom of heaven. They had a shallow view of the Law and a shallow view of righteousness. And the Lord Jesus started to illustrate that fact last week by showing how they misunderstood the command to not murder. They thought that if they didn’t physically commit murder, they were keeping the Law. We saw that they had actually broken that commandment by having anger and hate in their hearts. This week, Jesus is going to show us how they misunderstood what adultery was, as well. So let’s get started by reading our passage today.

Much like their understanding of murder, they looked at adultery as something that was external. As long as they didn’t commit the physical act of adultery, they were walking in obedience to the Lord. They were well familiar with Exodus 20:14, which said, “You shall not commit adultery.” They also knew that the penalty of breaking this commandment was death, according to Leviticus 20:10. The Law didn’t call for surface level obedience, though. It called for obedience in our very hearts. And Jesus said that if you are looking at someone with lustful intent, you are guilty of adultery in your heart. Listen to these passages that make this more clear.

Deuteronomy 26:16 ““This day the Lord your God commands you to do these statutes and rules. You shall therefore be careful to do them with all your heart and with all your soul.”

Exodus 20:17 ““You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.””

Mark 7:21–23 “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.””

We are to obey the Lord with all of our heart and soul. And you are to not even have the desire for your neighbor’s wife or husband, or any form of sexual immorality. The fact that we have these sinful desires demonstrate that we have a sinful heart. This was yet another blind spot of the scribes and Pharisees. With their focus on outward obedience, they ignored the great danger of having lust in their hearts. This teaching of Christ doesn’t just fly in the face of the scribes and Pharisees, but it flies in the face of our culture as well. We live in a culture that is rampant with the physical act of adultery, to say nothing of lust. I don’t know if there has ever been a time or culture that was so saturated with lust as our culture is today. Television, movies, and advertisements are designed to entice you and fill you with desire. And being bombarded with those images day after day and year after year, we see the trickle down effect in the way people now dress, act, and live. You can see things just walking through a grocery store that wouldn’t have been allowed on television decades ago. All of that is bad enough, but with the rise of the smart phone, the most obscene and vile pornography you could ever imagine is just a click away. And with such easy access to temptation, countless men, women, and even children are addicted and enslaved to pornography. Many, many adults and children can’t go a day without looking at pornography. I remember hearing a statistic almost 15 years ago that said that the revenue for pornography exceeds the revenue of all the professional sports leagues put together. I shudder to think how much more they make today than they did then. Sexual sin of every kind is not only practiced, but it is promoted and celebrated in every facet of our culture. And the results of this doesn’t only effect the young. I remember hearing John MacArthur talk about counseling a man in his 80s who was close to death. The man confessed that had never been able to break free from his addiction to pornography. So this is an issue that we must all deal with, no matter our stage in life.

With all of this in mind, let’s take a moment to see exactly what this commandment does forbid. It forbids any kind of sexual activity outside of the bonds of marriage between one man and one woman. And this would encompass all desires and lust for anyone that is not your spouse. This would include the acts of adultery, fornication (sex outside of marriage), homosexuality, masturbation, bestiality, or anything else out of the bounds of marriage. And again, it is not only those acts, but the desires and lust behind them as well. Listen to these verses.

Matthew 19:4–6 “He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.””

Hebrews 13:4 “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.”

So is God a cosmic killjoy that doesn’t want us to have any kind of pleasure? On the contrary, sexual pleasure within the confines of marriage is a wonderful and beautiful gift from the Lord. You can read many passages in Scripture, and perhaps especially in the Song of Solomon to see that physical intimacy in marriage between one man and one woman is something that is not only a gift from the Lord, but is celebrated in Scripture. The rules and commandments that the Lord gives us are for our ultimate good. He doesn’t want to rob us of pleasure, He wants to protect us from harm. These commandments are given to protect us from harm and destruction. For when sex is pursued outside of the bounds that God has designed, it brings nothing but destruction. We see the effects of this all around us. We see constant drama and heartbreak as people go from one relationship to another. We see broken homes, divorce, and abandoned and scarred children. We see the rapid increase of cohabitation and single parenthood. We see the rise and spread of STDs. We see countless precious children slaughtered in the womb because of unwanted pregnancies. We see sexual sin, abuse, and sex trafficking promoted and consumed through pornography. We see precious people who are made in the image of God that are viewed as nothing more than objects. We could go on and on with the destructive effects of sexual sin, but I trust this has proven the point. God isn’t trying to make you miserable by depriving you of your desires. He is trying to protect you from untold heartache and destruction. God’s gift of marriage is not only given to bless us with joy and pleasure, but it is given to protect us from the destructive power of sexual sin.

1 Corinthians 7:9 “But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.”

1 Corinthians 7:5 “Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.”

Deceptive Danger

When we really stop and think about the dangers of sexual sin, it should fill us with horror. But here Jesus warns us of the greatest danger of sexual sin. If you don’t receive pardon and forgiveness for your sins, you will be destined for hell.

1 Corinthians 6:9–10 “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”

Oh that the Lord would open our eyes to the destructive power and the deceptive danger of sexual sin. Proverbs 5:1-5 tells us that though the forbidden woman looks appealing, her path leads to death and destruction.

Proverbs 6:27–29 “Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned? Or can one walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched? So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife; none who touches her will go unpunished.”

See Mark 9:42-48...

In light of these dangers, the Lord Jesus warns us of the consequences of not only sinning ourselves, but tempting others to sin, as well. Because of these dangers, Jesus urges us to go to great lengths to get rid of these temptations in our lives.

Cutting Off Temptation

Now Jesus is not telling us to literally cut off our hand or pluck out our eye. He is telling us to get rid of whatever it is that makes us stumble. That may sound pretty easy, right? Just get away from the temptations! Church history is filled with people who tried to get rid of the temptations that they struggled with. Some of you may have heard of Jerome. He died around 420 AD. He was so frustrated over his inability to overcome his temptations that he decided to be a hermit in the desert. Do you know what he discovered? He said that even though he was by himself in the desert, he could still see the dancing girls of Rome in his mind. He couldn’t escape from the sins of his mind. So if you have been thinking carefully about this, it should bring up a question. If our desire for sin comes from our heart, then how can we get rid of them? It turns out that each one of us needs heart surgery. And the Lord is the only One who can accomplish this heart transplant that we need so badly.

See Ezekiel 36:25–27...

To those who repent of their sins and place their faith in Christ, the Lord gives new hearts and new desires. And He gives us the ability to walk in obedience to His commands. But even for the Christian, we have struggles against sin and temptation. This is what Paul is talking about in Romans 7 when he discusses the battle that raged within him. He did the things he didn’t want to do and didn’t do the things he wanted to do. So how do we cut off and pluck out these temptations? Let’s look at a few verses that will help us formulate a battle plan to defeat these sins.

Colossians 3:5 “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.”

1 Corinthians 9:27 “But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”

Scripture tells us to put to death whatever is sinful in us. In the words of John Owen, be killing sin, or sin will be killing you. Paul said he disciplined his body to keep it under control. But practically, how do we do that?

Step 1: We must flee from temptations.

Job 31:1 ““I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin?”

Job had made a covenant with his eyes that he wouldn’t look with lust at a woman other than his wife. Solomon told his son in Proverbs 5:8 to keep far away from the forbidden woman and to not even go near the door of her house. We each have certain things that we know bring temptation. Jesus is telling us here to get rid of those things. Get away from them!

What about our thought life? We must destroy arguments and take every thought captive for Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). That sounds easier said than done. What does that look like?

2 Timothy 2:22 “So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.”

Step 2: We must pursue superior pleasures.

The problem is when we just try to flee from temptation. Fleeing is not enough. We must pursue a superior pleasure. For why do we sin to begin with? We sin because it brings a temporary pleasure. The only way to consistently have victory over temptation is to pursue a greater pleasure than our sin. We must pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace. We must fill our heads and hearts with good things.

Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

What is the greatest pleasure we can pursue? Christ Himself is the greatest treasure and pleasure. And it is through a pursuit of Him that we break free from the sins which so easily entangle us. So run hard after Christ!

Psalm 16:11 “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

So if you have never received forgiveness and cleansing for your sins, come to Christ in repentance and faith and He will save you. If you are a Christian but long to have victory over your sins, flee from sin and pursue Christ. It is only through Christ that we find freedom from sin.