Be Pure

Matthew 5:27-30

You have heard it said…

7th commandment “You Shall Not Commit Adultery” (Ex 20:14)

Adultery defined:

I asked the students in a communicant’s class if they knew what adultery meant. One said, “to act like my parents, you know, adults.” Sadly, they didn’t know they were right.

Biblical definition, a blanket term for sexual unfaithfulness, having an intimate relationship with someone who is not your spouse, either before or during marriage.

Last week, the attempted assassination gave us a vivid context for applying Jesus’ teaching on murder and anger, but just look around and you’ll see the prevailing need for today’s lesson.

Sex sells just about anything and everything (cars, clothing, hamburgers and toothpaste). Television and movies and music flaunt it before us. Divorce, infidelity, teenage pregnancy, and sexual immorality are celebrated, while the value of marriage is questioned and purity mocked. The world is moving further away from God’s command.

The Pharisees’ View

Surprisingly, this is the problem the Pharisees and Scribes had.

As with the prohibition against murder, the Pharisees reduced the commandment which prohibits adultery to the mere physical act; teaching that, as long as they didn’t engage in the act itself they were innocent as far as the law was concerned.

Surprising considering the OT witness. Adultery is evidence of a greater unfaithfulness, a broken covenant with God in idolatry.

Spiritual adultery is unfaithfulness to God. It is treasuring the things of the world more than the glory of God. Jer 3:20 compares idolatry to the unfaithfulness of one’s spouse: “But like a woman faithless to her lover, even so have you been faithless to me, O house of Israel,’ says the LORD.”

But I say to you…

If you look upon a woman with lustful intent… Jesus opens up the commandment on adultery, and makes it a matter of the heart and mind, not just the body.

Defining Lust:

“To set your desire upon.” Covetousness - wanting more than you have been given, especially immoral desires.

Lust is a sinful longing of the heart leading to sinful action with the body. Adultery does not begin in the bed, but in the heart.

Lk 6:45 out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks

Matt 15:19 out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.

Contrary to the Pharisees’ teaching, it is not enough to refrain from adultery, we must recognize the sinfulness within.

Lustful Destruction:

Lust is like anger in that it seeks power over another person. Both anger and slander diminish the value of the other, while lust sees another’s value only in satisfying desire.

Lust Objectifies the Other: The other person is no longer really a unique human being; she or he is now simply kindling, tinder, a thing; a way for one to enjoy oneself, to express oneself, to feel one’s powers.

Lust Objectifies Yourself: Making you the object of desire. If it is true that a person can be guilty of lustfully looking at another, then it is also true that the man or woman who seeks to draw that look is guilty as well, crossing the line from looking beautiful to looking seductive.

Matthew Henry, “Those who lead others into temptation to sin, by dress or in other ways, or expose them to it, make themselves guilty of their sin, and will be accountable for it.”

For many the real idol of life are the lustful desires of the heart, and much of one’s day is spent trying to satisfy them.

Inordinate desires, in and out of marriage, promiscuity, unfaithfulness, pornography, being identified by your sexual desires rather than by your identity in Christ.… all stem from the lust of the flesh and bring the judgment of adultery and the punishment of hell.

The Impossible Command:

You shall not commit adultery: in the flesh, in the heart, or in the mind.

1 Cor 6:9–10 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.

Let me be clear, sex outside of marriage is a sin, it is adultery, but it is not the unforgivable sin. If you are currently in a sexual relationship with someone who is not your spouse, you need to stop, repent, and seek healing in your relationship. 

If you and your spouse were intimate before you were married, you need to confess that sin, and seek God’s mercy.

Likewise, even if you have remained outwardly faithful, but your mind has been plagued by lust and desire, you need to repent and seek the healing of God’s grace.

Which one of us can hear Jesus’ teaching and not be convicted, to seen the filthiness of our hearts and minds, and cry our for mercy?

If this command doesn’t cause you to tremble, you don’t know yourself, nor do you know the righteousness of God.

This command will slay us all in order to bring us to the gospel.

Keeping Pure

Cling to Jesus Christ for salvation from every sin

1 Cor 6:11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

We have a gospel which tells us that Another who is spotless and pure and utterly holy has taken our sin and our guilt upon himself. we are washed in His precious blood, and He has given us His new nature, and a pure heart.

Thomas Chalmers: Lust of the heart cannot be expunged by mere determination, but only through the expulsive power of a new affection. Thinking of God’s love in Christ, His sacrifice, His blood shed for you, will drive lust of the world from the heart.

Cast it Away

Get rid of everything, not matter how precious, that causes you to stumble, that ensnares and traps you, in sin.

Right eye; Right Hand: right is best, strongest, most precious.

The right eye - those things that you see most valuable

The right hand - that which makes you productive

If they cause you to stumble in sin, gouge them out, cut them off, thrown them away. Not literally self-mutilation. If you took it literally you’d still have a left eye, and left hand to cause you to stumble.

The meaning of Jesus’ challenge is to take decisive action against the habit, thing, or person that, though pleasurable and perhaps even seemingly indispensable for living, is in fact ruining your life. 

Facebook, Twitter, Youtube - spending an inordinate amount of time - keeping me from prayer and devotion and service - they are helpful, but a stumbling block

Jesus does not advise cautious, gradual action; he counsels surgery, and immediately. Do not pamper your sin or flirt with it. Do not play with fire, you will get burned. You must hate your sin, see the sinfulness of it, crush it, dig it out.

“Be killing sin, or sin will be killing you.” (John Owen)

Covenant with yourself

It is not enough to cast off the old, you must put on the new - a positive standard - the Righteousness of Christ

Covenant with your eyes – Job 31:1

If the shows you are watching are encouraging promiscuity  (compromising your integrity) or presenting you with opportunities to longingly lust after what is not yours – turn it off - discipline yourself.

Do the apps on your phone feed the desire - delete them.

Covenant with your mind.

Psalm 119:9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.

The purity Christ calls for here is nothing short of heroic. This had better be a command of Jesus – that is, a divine Word with power in it to do what it says – or the case is hopeless. His word gives us the power we need to do his word.

Phil 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.

Covenant with your Possessions.

Does your leisure, your boat, your car, your chair, come between you and the Lord - get rid of them

Do the clothes in your closet attract the lustful eye of men.  Think of the dress-less prom straps so many wear today.

1 Peter 3:3-4 Do not let your adorning be external, the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear, but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious.

Ladies, appeal to the heart of the man, not to the eyes.

Call on the Holy Spirit.

We must see our absolute need for the Holy Spirit. There is much we must do to mortify the sin in our life, but we need the power and the help that the Holy Spirit alone can give.

Pink, the most effective means of excluding from the mind those foul imaginations is for it to be filled with thoughts of spiritual things, to have our affections set upon things above. If we give God His proper place within, Satan will be defeated.