Sermon on the Mount- Lust and Divorce

Recap - Jesus came to fulfill the law and the prophets

Weve just entered the section of the sermon on the mount where Jesus calls His followers to live in a greater righteousness

This means living in right relationships with God and others

Living in right relationships is central to being part of God’s Kingdom

Jesus says that He has come to fulfill the law and the prophets. Remember that the law and prophets are basically the Old testament

What Jesus is saying is that he came to bring the old testament to completion by fulflling the purpose of it

It also means that He will live out the proper practice of God’s law, which results in righteousness.

Wisdom behind the commands in the Torah

- We are currently in a section where Jesus describes what it means to fulfill the law and the prophets

Jesus presens six case studies of laws in the old testament and common interpretations of these laws.

Jesus describes what the law is, what people had interpreted the law as and what was God’s greater wisdom in it.

We are called to live by God’s wisdom and Jesus helps us live this out by showing us the wisdom behind these commands.

The format of these six case studies is in the form of “you have heard that it was said” with Jesus then saying “But I say to you”.

Remember that Jesus was not trying to change these laws, but He was rather showing what these laws were all about by revealing God’s wisdom behind them.

Recap - Anger

The first case study that we looked at was anger.

Jesus said that those who are angry with their brothers are liable to judgement, whoever calls their brother an idiot will be liable to the high council and whoever calls his brother a fool or moron will be liable to the fire of hell.

The anger that Jesus is speaking about here, is not just any kind of anger. Rather it is the anger that brings about contempt/hatred.

The wisdom behind this command that Jesus was getting at was the value that are in people as image bearers of God. Instead of calling people idiots, morons or good for nothing, we must realize that they have been created in the image of God with immense value to Him. We are to see others in this same light.

Today’s teaching will follow along these lines

Text

Matthew 5:27–32 ESV

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell. “It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

What does looking lustfully mean

In our culture we tend to confuse love with lust.

Lust is also confused with general sexual desire.

Its important to understand God’s design for sex.

God didnt just create sex for reproduction, but it was also created to be enjoyed between a man and a woman in the confines of marriage.

Sexual desire is not necessarily a bad thing.

All lust is sexual desire but not all sexual desire is lust.

Sexual desire between a man and woman is a good thing that actually glorifies God.

1 Corinthians 7:2–5 ESV

But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. 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.

Lust is the opposite.

Lust means seeing someone as an object that satisfies sexual desire. It means not seeing someone as a person but rather as something that can satisfy your desires

The word Jesus uses here means staring or thinking about someone while imagining them fulfilling your sexual desires

Looking lusftully at someone means degrading them

Looking lustfully means objectifying someone

It means looking at someone as a means to satisfy your sexual desires.

By doing this, it means you are not viewing someone with the value that they have as an image bearer of God.

It also means stripping away the dignity that they have.

Instead of seeing them as partners of being images of God, you see them as someone who satisfies your desires.

God satisfying our desires

But how does our desires get satisfied?

The Christian message is one that speaks to being satisfied in every area of your life, financially, physically, emotionally, spiritually and even sexually!

In some mysterious way, knowing and having a relationship with Jesus, provides satisfaction for our souls and spirits.

Also, a greater satisfaction often casts out a lesser, more inferior satisfaction.

John Piper “God is most glorified in us when we’re most satisfied in Him.”

Tearing out eyes and cutting off limbs

A solution that Jesus proposes is tearing our eyes and cutting of arms.

Jesus is using hyperbolic language here and is not being literal.

Just like with anger, which is an inward state, conquering lust means having something change inwardly.

The eye and hand are two of the most important parts of our bodies, yet Jesus says if it causes us to sin, we are to get rid of them.

The point that Jesus is making is that lust is so serious, and demands serious action to conquer.

This may mean, getting rid of things in your lives, like watching movies, social media and spending much less time on your phone. It may also mean living in accountabilty, being honest with people and sharing with someone you love about what is going on

God’s design for marriage

The second part of this text speaks to the issue of divorce and remarriage.

In Jesus’ day, there were many people out there who tried to find any excuse to divorcing their wives.

But this was not God’s design for marriage.

The only condition Jesus gives for divorce is sexual immorality

Men and Women together are image bearers of God

Genesis 1:27 “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”

Conclusion

Lust is serious in the eyes of God and it demands serious actions

Looking with lust means stripping away dignity and worth from someone by objectifying them

God’s design for mankind is that both men and women were to be His image bearers together