Kingdom Integrity

Sermon on the Mount: Matthew 5:27-37

Good morning, Church. Go ahead and grab your Bibles and make your way to Matthew chapter 5.

We are in the fifth week of our Sermon on the Mount series. And this morning, Jesus is going to talk about three really important topics—lust, marriage, and keeping your word.

Now let me start here: life just typically goes better when you do the right things- i’m not sure if you’re aware of this but it just typically goes better.

I’m not even talking about going above and beyond. I mean if you just handle the basics right.

You don’t lie, you don’t cheat on your wife, you don’t steal, you get up in the morning, go to work, provide for your family, come home, eat dinner, and go to bed—that kind of life, more often than not, just runs smoother.

And you would think- thats what our world would highlight but thats not really the case is it.

Our culture doesn’t promote that- here’s what I’ve noticed—Blair and I will sit down sometimes and try to watch a show- good look finding something thats worth watching, and I don’t know if you’ve noticed this, but it feels like every show on TV today is garbage.

Thats a commentary on where our world is at right now. But we’ll sit there, and the main character is never just a good man. No, he’s this morally gray character. or if its a comedy- the dad is always some incompetant moron or the butt of the jokes.

But if its a drama or show with some action in it- the main character is always some morally gray character.

He’s doing the wrong things for what he convinces himself are the right reasons. He’ll lie. He’ll cheat. He’ll be deceptive. He’ll steal. And he’ll even kill if it helps him get to where he thinks he needs to go.

And it never fails—at some point in the show, Blair and I will just look at each other and say, “You know what? It’d be easier to just go to work.”

Because it really is. It’s just easier to do the right thing. Even though these shows are fictional, they actually mirror real life.

Just look around, and it’s crazy how messed up people’s lives get when they ignore even the basics.

You start cutting corners, telling lies, stepping outside your marriage, blowing off your responsibilities—it may feel like freedom at first, but it’s a trap. Sin always promises freedom, but it only ever delivers slavery.

The truth is, most of the heartache, the brokenness, and the destruction we see in people’s lives isn’t because they tried to do the right thing and failed—it’s because they flat out ignored the basics and walked into sin thinking they’d be the exception.

But there are no exceptions. You reap what you sow. And even the world, without quoting the Bible, knows this: it’s just easier to do the right thing.

But here’s the thing: doing the right thing doesn’t make you a Christian. Hell is going to be filled with people who didn’t smoke, didn’t cuss, never cheated on their spouse, maybe even got baptized. Why? Because none of that saves you. None of that makes you a Christian.

If salvation could be earned by behavior, then Jesus died for nothing. But the Bible is clear—it’s not the absence of bad works that makes you righteous, it’s the presence of Christ in your life.

A Christian is not someone who just avoids the bad stuff—a Christian is someone who has repented of sin and believed the gospel of Jesus Christ. That word repent means to turn—to admit, “I’ve been going my own way, and it’s leading me to destruction,” and then to turn and trust in Christ who died in your place and rose again.

And here’s the miracle: the moment you repent and believe, God does more than forgive you. He makes you new. He gives you a new heart, new desires, new affections. That’s why the Bible calls it being “born again.” From that moment of new birth—when Christ saves you—you don’t just try harder; you are different. And that difference shows up in the way you live.

Your life begins to produce good works—not to earn God’s favor, but because you already have it in Christ.

So when Jesus addresses lust, marriage, and keeping your word here in Matthew 5:27–37, He’s not just giving us moral tips for an easier life.

He’s not giving us self-help principles to keep us out of trouble. He’s showing us what life looks like when you belong to Him. When your heart has been made new. When you walk, not as a religious rule-keeper, but as a disciple of Christ who’s been transformed from the inside out.

But let’s read God’s Word and see what He has in store for us today

Matthew 5:27–37 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. “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.

Prayer

First truth- 1. Sin Runs Deeper Than Our Actions

You’ve heard it said, ‘Do not commit adultery’—that’s the seventh commandment, by the way. But Jesus takes it deeper. He says if you even look at a woman with lustful intent, you’ve already committed adultery with her in your heart. And that’s where we all go—uh oh.

Now, what does He mean by ‘lustful intent’? Is it just noticing somebody is attractive? No. If you’ve got eyes and a brain, you’re going to notice beauty. You can acknowledge that someone is good-looking without it being sin.

Lustful intent happens when you stop seeing someone as an image-bearer of God and start treating them like a commodity for your own pleasure. Instead of a person with dignity, they become a product for you to consume. And I think it goes even further—lustful intent is also when you choose fantasy over reality.

That’s why you hear dumb little sayings in our culture, especially among men: ‘Well, you can look at the menu, just don’t order.’ What a dumb thing to say. Jesus says that mindset is already sin. It’s not harmless—it’s destructive, it’s demeaning, and it will wreck your heart.

The reality is, pornography isn’t just entertainment—it’s exploitation. It takes women made in the image of God and strips them of dignity, turning them into objects for consumption. It dehumanizes them, reducing a soul that God loves into nothing more than a product. That’s not what daughters of the Most High King are. They’re not merchandise. They’re not something for you to use up. They’re image-bearers of God.

And somebody says, ‘Well, it’s just pictures—it’s not hurting anybody.’ Really? Two-thirds of women in that industry are trafficked—forced into it. Every click feeds an industry that thrives on slavery. That’s blood on our hands.

And here’s the sobering reality—it’s not just ‘out there in the world.’ A 2025 Pure Desire Ministries report found that 75% of Christian men and 40% of Christian women admitted to occasional pornography use. This is sitting in the church pews. This is us.

Men, when you look at a woman that way, Jesus says that’s lustful intent. And ladies, though it may look different, you’re not off the hook either. For many women, it’s not pictures but fantasy—comparing the reality of your marriage to some twisted romance novel like Fifty Shades of Grey. But whether it’s porn or fantasy, Jesus says the same thing: it’s adultery in your heart.

You may try to excuse it: ‘I haven’t touched anyone. I haven’t had an affair. It’s just a book, it’s just a screen.’ But Jesus says—no. It’s already adultery. And the road you’re on leads to destruction.

That’s why He says, ‘Everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery in his heart.’ It always starts in the heart. And if it’s not dealt with, it will show up in your life. That’s why we don’t just need stronger filters or more willpower—we need new hearts. And that’s exactly what Jesus came to give us.

So we say, ‘Alright Jesus, what do we do?’ And then listen to what He says. You think I’m intense as a preacher? Listen to this—Jesus says, ‘If your right eye causes you to sin’—because that’s usually where it starts, with our eyes—‘tear it out and throw it away.’

Now picture the crowd listening to Him. They’re waiting for the part where He explains it away. ‘Oh, I’m just kidding. That was just a metaphor.’ But that part never comes. He doesn’t soften it. He doesn’t walk it back.

He says, ‘If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it’s better that you lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it’s better to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go to hell.’

And we hear that and say, ‘Jesus, that’s extreme!’ And I think Jesus would say, ‘No, this is extremely important.’

You think it’s just a look. You think it’s just a picture. You think it’s just a fantasy. Jesus is saying, ‘No—it leads to hell. It leads to Sheol. It leads to destruction.

Jesus talks about the eye, because the problem isn’t just that we live in some sex-crazed society. The problem is what we choose to do with our eyes. You’ve got a choice. When the football game pans to the sideline—and you know what I’m talking about—you can choose to look away. Don’t delay. Don’t underestimate the power of your God-given imagination.

D. L. Moody, one of the godliest men of the modern era, put it this way: ‘I have more trouble with D. L. Moody than with any man I know.’ He knew the battle wasn’t just out there—it was in here.

And that’s true for us too. The man I see in the mirror every morning—that’s my biggest obstacle to holiness. Stop blaming the devil. Stop saying, ‘The devil made me do it.’ No—the guy staring back at you in the mirror is your greatest problem. Because even as blood-bought, heaven-bound men, we still wrestle every day with the old sin nature we inherited from Adam.

Now here’s the hope: sin doesn’t get to be your master anymore. Through the cross, you’ve been crucified with Christ and raised to walk in newness of life. Sin can still raise its ugly head, but it doesn’t get the final word. Jesus does.

But you have to understand, you don’t have a behavior problem. It’s not, I’ll just clean this up and be alright- or I need ot clean this up and I’ll be alright- its a heart issue. You can pluck out your eye- you can cut off your arm and you are still going to sin.

We aren’t sinners because we sin. We sin because we are sinners.

How many times have you said, ‘I’m never doing that again,’ only to find yourself right back in it?

In that moment, it feels like there’s something inside of you driving you to do the very thing you don’t want to do. That’s not just a surface problem—you’ve got to deal with it at the soul level.

You’ve got to deal with it at the mind level. Pay attention to your thought life. What are the thoughts and feelings that make you most vulnerable to lust? Maybe it’s anger. Maybe it’s disappointment. Maybe it’s when you feel disconnected or empty. Those moments matter.

But it’s not just your thoughts—it’s your environment too. Your physical choices matter.

If Jesus says gouge out your eye, what He means is take radical steps. If that means throwing your phone in the ocean, then do it. If it means quitting your job because the temptation there is too strong, then quit your job. You can get another job. What you can’t replace is your soul, your marriage, your family. It’s worth whatever it costs.

In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul doesn’t pull any punches. He makes it clear—when it comes to sexual sin, you don’t manage it, you kill it.

Here’s what he says:

‘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. 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.’ (1 Corinthians 6:9–11, ESV)

That’s strong language. But don’t miss the hope. Paul says, ‘such were some of you.’ Past tense. That’s who you were—not who you are. Your past sin—even sexual sin—and your current struggle—even with sexual temptation—doesn’t define you anymore. Jesus does. The old you is gone. The new you is alive in Christ.

Then Paul continues:

‘All things are lawful for me,’ but not all things are helpful. ‘All things are lawful for me,’ but I will not be dominated by anything. ‘Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food’—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never!’ (1 Corinthians 6:12–15, ESV)

In Corinth, you had people who would show up for church on Sunday, worship Jesus, and then on Tuesday night they’d be sleeping with temple prostitutes. And their excuse was, ‘No, no, that’s fine. I gave my eternity to Jesus—I’m just giving my Tuesday to the prostitute.’

And Paul says—No, bro. You don’t get to do that. Jesus isn’t Lord of just your Sunday—He’s Lord of your whole life.

Do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.” But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. Flee from sexual immorality.’ (1 Corinthians 6:16–18, ESV)

Paul reaches all the way back to Genesis. He says sex is not just physical. It’s not just an appetite. It’s spiritual, emotional, even supernatural. In God’s design, one plus one equals one.

That’s why he says—don’t flirt with sexual sin. Don’t see how close you can get without crossing the line. Don’t play with it. Proverbs says, ‘Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned?’ (Proverbs 6:27, ESV). If you don’t want to get burned, then stay away from the fire.

Flee sexual immorality. That means whatever it takes—no matter how extreme it seems, no matter what rules you have to set, no matter who you might offend—it is worth it. Because this is that big of a deal.

In Ephesians 6, Paul says when you see the enemy, stand firm. Put on the full armor of God, take up your shield of faith, and get ready to go to war against the devil and his schemes. That’s the posture—stand your ground.

But when it comes to sexual temptation? It’s different. Paul doesn’t say stand. He says run. Run, Forrest, run. Get out of there. No matter how extreme it feels, it’s extremely important.

Why? Because Paul says this:

‘Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.’ (1 Corinthians 6:18, ESV)

It’s not unforgivable—it’s just different. Sexual sin isn’t just something you do with your body; it’s something you do to your body.

And then Paul reminds us of this truth:

‘Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.’ (1 Corinthians 6:19–20, ESV)

That’s the bottom line. Your body isn’t yours to do with as you please—it belongs to Jesus. He paid for it with His blood. So glorify Him with your body.

God wants you. Let that sink in. God wants you so much that He was willing to send His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross—fully knowing every lustful thought, every perversion, every wicked sin that would ever cross your mind. And still, He wanted you. He sent Jesus to rescue you, to redeem you, to make you His own.

You are not unwanted. You are not forgotten. You are loved.

That’s why Jesus doesn’t shy away from these issues. He talks about anger, then He talks about lust—and right after that, He moves straight into divorce. Because all of these things—anger, lust, divorce—are not just surface issues. They go right to the heart. And Jesus came to rescue hearts.

Second truth — 2. Marriage Is a Covenant That Displays the Gospel.

Now hold on tight—because these are tough words. Jesus says in verse 31: ‘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.’

And I know what some of you are thinking: ‘Okay, pastor—now tell me why that doesn’t really mean what it says.’ But here’s what I have to tell you—I cannot do that, and I will not do that.

Why? Because I love you too much. Here’s the conversation I refuse to have: I refuse to stand before Jesus one day and say, ‘Well Lord, I skipped over those verses because I didn’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings.’ That would not be love—that would be cowardice.

If I watered this down, that would mean I cared more about what you think of me than about how I am called to love you with the truth. It would be selfish, because I’d just be trying to save myself some emails this week. It would be short-sighted, because all I’d be doing is telling people what they want to hear. And in the end, it would undercut the very truth we all need to know: that God is good, His Word is good, and it is all for our good—even the parts that are hard to swallow.

Now here’s the good news- i say this to the students all the time—the best way to study the Bible is to let the Bible be a commentary in and to itself. Before you want to know what I think, or before you go running to what all the theologians say, start first with what Scripture itself has to say on the subject.

And I know—this raises a thousand questions.

Questions like: When is divorce permitted? Is it ever okay to divorce and remarry? What if I’m divorced and remarried right now—am I living in adultery? What if I’m divorced and single? Or what if I’ve never been married at all?

So let’s just walk through these questions with the Scriptures in front of us.

First of all, if you’re single—either never married or divorced—Jesus and Paul actually commend singleness. Matthew 19 and 1 Corinthians 7 both tell us that singleness can be leveraged for the sake of the gospel. In other words, you can trust that Jesus is enough and use this season of your life to advance His kingdom. Singleness is not a curse—it’s a calling, and it’s affirmed in the Bible.

But before we dive into divorce and remarriage and all of the questions that come with it, we’ve got to start where Jesus starts. In Matthew 19, the Pharisees try to trap Him with the question, ‘When is it lawful to get a divorce?’ And before He talks about divorce, He goes straight back to the beginning—to the purpose of marriage.

Now let me just be real with you—most of the time in our Evangelical churches we’ve taken marriage and put it up on this pedestal.

We’ve idolized it like it’s the ultimate goal of life. But according to the Bible, marriage is not the goal. Marriage is temporary—it’s just a means to point us toward an eternal end.

And hear me—marriage was never designed to be about your personal satisfaction or fulfillment. At best, that’s just a byproduct.

The purpose of marriage is to glorify God by putting on display His covenant love for us. That’s it. It’s not about you finally getting what you want.

It’s not about fixing your loneliness—because no human being on this planet can do for you what only Jesus can do.

My generation was sold the greatest lie in the world when we were told, “You complete me.”

That’s nonsense. No spouse, no boyfriend, no girlfriend can complete you. Only Christ can do that. And here’s the danger—when you put that kind of pressure on another person, when you idolize them, the moment they let you down you’ll demonize them.

So what’s the purpose of marriage? To glorify God by showing the world His covenant love for us.

That’s why in Ephesians 5, husbands are commanded to love their wives like Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her. That’s sacrificial, that’s costly. So men—let me ask—does the way you love your wife show the world how much Jesus loves His church? Or does your harshness preach a false gospel that makes Jesus look harsh? If you’re absent and disengaged, are you preaching with your life that Jesus doesn’t really care? And if you’re unfaithful, you’re declaring to the world that Jesus isn’t faithful.

And wives, Paul says to submit to your husbands—but let me put that in today’s terms: to respect, encourage, cheer for, and celebrate your husband. When you do that, you’re showing the world how the church honors Christ. But if instead you’re constantly critical, what picture are you painting of Jesus? That He’s out of touch? That He doesn’t know what He’s doing? That He’s not worthy of honor?

So before we even get into divorce—because I know a lot of married folks are thinking, “Well, that’s not me. I haven’t cheated. I don’t look at porn. So this part doesn’t apply.” No—Jesus takes it deeper. He always takes it down to the heart level.

And if your marriage is struggling, hear me—get help. Don’t wait. Don’t pretend. We have people in this church that can help. We can point you to resources that can help but do not wait and do not pretend.

NOW- In 1 Corinthians 7 Paul lays out some exception clauses to divorce, and Jesus addresses it directly in Matthew 19. Let’s look at it. Verse 1 says:

“Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. And large crowds followed him, and he healed them there. And the Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, ‘Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?’”

Now pause right there—because let’s be honest: if you’re looking for a reason to get divorced, you’ll find one. You can always find “a cause.” But notice how Jesus answers. He doesn’t play their game. He’s basically saying, You’re asking the wrong question.

Verse 4: “He answered, ‘Have you not read…’”

Don’t miss the sting of that. These guys are professional Bible readers. This would be like a pastor on staff asking me a question, and I look at him and say, “Do you not even read your Bible?” That’s how insulting this was.

“Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female?”

Jesus takes them back to Genesis, back to God’s design, not the loopholes they’re trying to argue about. He says:

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife.”

That phrase hold fast literally means covenant. This is covenant language. And when God joins man and woman together, the two become one flesh.

In God’s economy, one plus one equals one.

And let’s be real here: the Supreme Court does not get to define marriage. The Supreme King of the universe already has. From the very beginning, He defined marriage as one man and one woman in a covenant union for one lifetime. That’s His definition—eternal, unchanging, and not up for debate.

So Jesus says: “They are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

In other words—don’t go trying to unwind what God Himself has supernaturally made one.

Matthew 19:7–9 (ESV): “They said to him, ‘Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?’ He said to them, ‘Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.’”

Now, notice a couple of things here. First, the Pharisees misquote Moses. They said, “Why did Moses command…?” But Jesus corrects them: Moses never commanded anyone to get divorced. What Moses did was make a concession—because of their hardness of heart.

Back in Deuteronomy 24:1–4, men were divorcing their wives left and right for whatever reason they wanted. It was chaos. And women were left vulnerable—unable to work, unable to remarry, sometimes even in danger of being killed if people assumed unfaithfulness. So Moses required that if a man was going to send his wife away, he had to give her a certificate stating she was not guilty of adultery. That certificate was meant to protect women from being abused—not to give men a blank check to do whatever they wanted.

But the Pharisees had twisted it. They were trying to use the letter of the law to get what they wanted. And Jesus calls them out. He says, “From the beginning it was not so.” In other words—go back to God’s intent. One man, one woman, one covenant for one lifetime.

Then Jesus lays down His verdict: “Whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”

Now in Jesus’ day, there were two main schools of thought among the rabbis. One was the school of Shammai—not like what we’re memorizing in AWANA—but Shammai with two M’s and an A-I. That school taught that divorce was only permitted in cases of sexual immorality, but they actually required divorce if adultery happened.

The other was the school of Hillel, and they took a much looser view. They said you could divorce your wife for “indecency”—and they defined indecency as anything that displeased you. So yes, burnt fish and burnt toast were on the list. Some of y’all would have been in trouble a long time ago!

So Jesus steps into this debate and says—you’ve missed it. Both schools are missing God’s heart. God’s original intent was never “divorce for any reason.” His design is covenant love that points to His own covenant love for us.

Now watch how the disciples respond.

Matthew 19:10 (ESV): “The disciples said to him, ‘If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.’”

And I think Jesus’ response is basically, Exactly. You finally get it. Don’t walk into marriage lightly. Don’t treat it like something disposable that you can just walk away from if it doesn’t work out. This is a covenant, not a contract.

So when is it okay to get divorced according to Jesus? In Matthew 19 and again in Matthew 5, He gives one clear exception: adultery.

If your spouse cheats on you—if they step outside the covenant of marriage—it is so damaging, so devastating, that Jesus concedes—not commands, but concedes—that you may walk away from that covenant. Please don’t miss that. Jesus is not commanding divorce. He is saying it is permitted in cases of unrepentant, ongoing sexual immorality.

But listen—if that’s your story, if your spouse has committed adultery, my heart breaks for you. I cannot even imagine the depth of that pain. But as a follower of Jesus, divorce should never be your first response. It should only ever be your last resort.

Think of it like this—divorce is like an amputation. It is trying to undo what God Himself has made one. If you break your ankle severely, you don’t immediately amputate the leg. That’s the last resort. First you try to heal. First you do everything possible to save what God has given.

And here’s why—Ephesians 5 says, “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church.” How many times has the church been unfaithful to Him? And yet—has He ever broken His covenant with us? Never. Not once.

In fact, God gave us an entire book—Hosea- which we are currently walking through on Wednesday Nights—as a living parable of this. He tells the prophet Hosea to marry Gomer, a prostitute. Now listen—if God tells you to marry a girl named Gomer, you already know this is going to be rough! And sure enough, Gomer does what Gomer does. She abandons Hosea, chases other lovers, and winds up enslaved again. And what does God tell Hosea to do? He says, “Go again. Take your money and buy her back.”

That is a picture of God’s covenant, one-way love toward us. Even in our adultery, He pursues, He redeems, He buys us back at the cost of His own Son.

So if you’ve been cheated on, hear me—the tomb is empty. That means anything is possible. If sinners like us can be reconciled to a holy God, then yes, even a broken marriage can be reconciled. I’m not saying you must. I get it—sometimes the damage really is beyond repair. But hear me—divorce should be the last resort, never the first response.

The second biblical reason is abandonment. Paul lays this out in 1 Corinthians 7. Now, you’ve got to pay close attention when you read that chapter because Paul goes back and forth. Sometimes he says, “This is me talking, not the Lord,” and then he’ll switch and say, “Okay, now this is from the Lord.” So you’ve got to track carefully.

And let’s just be honest—Paul wasn’t exactly the biggest fan of marriage. He straight up says, “I wish more of y’all would stay single like me.” Why? Because an unmarried man doesn’t have as much to worry about, but a married man has a whole lot more responsibility. Can I get an amen?—don’t say it too loud.

Paul even says, “To the unmarried and the widows, I think it’s good if you remain single like me. But if you can’t control your passions, then get married. It’s better to marry than to burn with passion.”

I’ve never once been at a wedding and heard these verses read. You ever heard this? “Well here’s Danny. Danny was going to stay single, but he burned with passion, so he picked Sandy.” I mean, come on—I’ve never heard that before in my life. But that’s literally what Paul’s talking about here.

Now remember, in Corinth everybody was a pagan. Nobody grew up going to church. And then all of a sudden the gospel shows up in Corinth, people start getting saved, and here’s what happens—sometimes one spouse would become a believer, but the other wouldn’t. And the unbelieving spouse would say, “This is nuts. I didn’t sign up for this Jesus stuff. I’m out.”

And to that Paul says in 1 Corinthians 7:15, “But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace. For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?”

In other words, if the unbelieving spouse abandons you, you can’t stop them. God actually makes a concession there. But notice this—if you’re the believer, you don’t get to initiate it. Why? Because you have no idea how God might use you in your spouse’s life for their salvation. But if they walk away, if they abandon the covenant, then Paul says there’s biblical grounds for divorce.

And the third reason I would add is abuse. Adultery, abandonment, and abuse. Let me be as clear as I can—if you are being abused, or if your children are being abused, you need to get out. Call the authorities. Call us at the church. We will walk with you through it. Abuse is never okay. And while I don’t have time to unpack everything here, I’ll just say this: if someone is abusing you, they are acting like an unbeliever. They’ve abandoned their covenant. And under 1 Corinthians 7, you are free to get out.

Malachi 2:16 says—paraphrasing here—“God hates divorce, and He despises the one who covers his garment with violence.” In Jewish weddings, the husband and wife would stand under a prayer shawl as a symbol that God saw them as one. And God says He hates divorce, and He hates when a man would cover that garment with violence. In other words, He hates abuse. So, in cases of abuse, separation is not just allowed—it’s necessary.

Now hear me: Malachi says God hates divorce, but it never says He hates divorced people. Why does God hate divorce? Because the primary purpose of marriage is to display His glory—to show the world the covenant love between Christ and His church. When that covenant is broken, it distorts the picture of the gospel, and it causes collateral damage to children and families. That’s why God hates it.

So biblically, when is divorce permitted? Adultery, abandonment, and abuse. But let me plead with you—don’t rush there. Don’t let it be your first move. If the tomb is empty, anything is possible. As much as it depends on you, reconcile with your spouse and be reconciled to God. And if divorce truly becomes the last and only option, please don’t walk that road alone. Let brothers and sisters who love you walk with you, even if they love you enough to tell you hard things you don’t want to hear.

Now, if you’re divorced and single, you might ask, “What about me?” My answer: trust Jesus. Learn contentment in every season. Maybe God has remarriage in your future, maybe He doesn’t. But no other person will ever do for you what only Jesus can. Where God allows divorce, He also allows remarriage—but every situation is different. Some of you may have biblical grounds yet still shouldn’t remarry. There’s no one-size-fits-all. Whatever your story, take time to heal, and do that healing in the context of the body of Christ.

And if you’re divorced and remarried, you might wonder, “What about us? Jesus said remarriage after divorce is adultery.” First, if your divorce was biblical, then remarriage is permitted. But either way, wherever there has been sin—and there’s always sin in divorce—confess and repent. Even if you were sinned against, you know how hard it is not to retaliate in sin. And if your second marriage began in sin, know this: God forgives. God restores. I don’t see anywhere in Scripture where breaking a second covenant somehow fixes the first. No—your call now is to honor Christ in your current marriage. Keep your vows. Display the gospel in the marriage you’re in today.

Third truth — 3. Integrity Is the Sound of a New Heart

That’s why Jesus finishes in Matthew 5 by saying, “Let your yes be yes and your no be no.” Marriage is not a contract; it’s a covenant.

Contracts are built on performance—if you don’t do your part, I’m out. But covenants are different. A covenant says, “No matter what you do, here’s my promise: I love you. For better or worse, in sickness and in health, richer or poorer, for the glory of God, till death do us part.”

And listen—I’m just the mailman here. I didn’t write this, I just deliver it. And here’s what I know: none of us are spotless when it comes to this. At the heart level, all of us have sinned. All of us have fallen short.

But the good news is, in the middle of all the brokenness around marriage, divorce, lust, and covenant-breaking, the Bible is overflowing with stories of redemption. And that’s because of Jesus.

In John chapter 4, Jesus goes to Samaria and meets this woman at the well. They start talking about Living Water, and then Jesus says, “Go get your husband.” She replies, “I don’t have a husband.” And Jesus says, “I know—you’ve had five, and the man you’re with now isn’t even your husband.” In other words—her whole world is a mess in this area.

And what does Jesus do? He doesn’t avoid the toughest part of her story. He puts His finger right on it. He says, “Bring me the part you’re most ashamed of. The part you try to hide. The reason you come to this well at noon instead of in the morning with the other women.” And it’s in that exact place of sexual brokenness that Jesus meets her, forgives her, and calls her His own.

Flip over to John 8. A woman is caught in the act of adultery—literally dragged out with no defense, no excuse. The religious leaders are ready to stone her. She’s bracing for judgment. And what does Jesus do? He kneels down beside her. Eye to eye. It’s His way of saying, “You bear my image. You have value.” Then He looks at the crowd and says, “Alright—whoever’s perfect, throw the first stone.” One by one, they drop their rocks and walk away. And Jesus looks at her and says, “Who condemns you?” She says, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus replies, “Then neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin.” She is redeemed. Grace collides with truth.

And maybe my favorite example—David. King David, “a man after God’s own heart.” When it was time for kings to go to war, David stayed home. He was lazy. He walked out on the roof, saw Bathsheba, and wanted her. He sent for her, slept with her, got her pregnant, and then arranged for her husband to be killed in battle. It’s adultery, it’s deception, it’s abuse of power, it’s murder. You name it—he broke it.

And yet—David eventually confesses, repents, and cries out in Psalm 51: “Create in me a clean heart, O God. Restore to me the joy of your salvation.” And God does. God forgives. And not only does He forgive, He redeems. That broken marriage produces a son named Solomon—the one who would build the temple and even show up in the lineage of Jesus Himself. If God can redeem that mess, He can redeem yours.

Here’s the point: marriage is a supernatural covenant. Not a contract. It’s between one man and one woman until death do you part. Ordained by God Himself. So the question is this: does your marriage put the gospel on display? If not, where do you need to repent?

And as we close, we’re going to respond together. The song we’re about to sing is called Christ Is Enough. And that really is the whole point of everything we’ve been talking about—whether you’re single, married, divorced, or remarried—Christ is enough.

If you’re single, bring your desires, your insecurities, your longings to Him. Lay them down and declare, “Jesus, You are enough for me.” If you’re married, pray for each other. Husbands, lead by being the lead confessor and repenter in your home. Wives, pray for your husbands. And if there’s sin that has crept in—lust, pornography, bitterness—pray boldly for God to cast it out. It has no place in your marriage. And if your marriage is on life support, pray that the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead would breathe new life into your relationship.

Because healing begins with revealing. Don’t hide it. Bring it into the light. Let your church family walk with you.

So as we stand and sing Christ Is Enough, let’s make it more than a song—let’s make it our prayer. Our declaration. That no matter what’s in our past, no matter what brokenness we carry, Jesus is enough.

Let me pray for us…

Father, thank You that in every season and circumstance, Christ is enough. For those who are hurting, comfort them. For those who are convicted, draw them to repentance. For marriages hanging by a thread, breathe new life. And for every single one of us, remind us that we are not our own—we’ve been bought with a price, and we belong to You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Would you stand with me as we sing Christ Is Enough?