Headstart

Jesus compares desire and action

As we continue the sermon on the mount we see Jesus continue this conversation about how sin is more than just physical acts.

1)Jesus says that adultery is more than the physical act. In that culture men thought they were innocent of the law if they were not acting on their thoughts,

Jesus flips it and says that thought is sin too.

-We must not think that they are the same in our world but they are both sin to God!

“You shall not commit adultery.

- You shall not commit adultery.

This serves as a lead in to the next point which is to see how desire needs to be cut out of our life in order to see God better.

2) Unless we cut out and sacrifice desire we cannot live an abundant life with God.

It is obviously not to be practiced literally as we know many Christians who serve God with their full body fully intact.

Instead it is the principle we must grasp, that it is better to sacrifice an aspect of our lives than to suffer judgment with our lives in tact.

- Jesus simply stressed the point that one must be willing to sacrifice to be obedient. If part of our life is given over to sin, we must be convinced that it is more profitable for that part our life to “die” rather than to condemn our whole life.

This is so like us to find an extreme outward solution for an extreme internal problem.

still we do not give it up sometimes the eye has to be taken for us.

“Mutilation will not serve the purpose; it may prevent the outward act, but it will not extinguish desire.” (Bruce)

This is a call to action for us.

Divorce and Remarriage

1) At this time in the culture people could just get divorced, in fact some thought that burning breakfast was cause, it was used as a way to punish women and keep men in power.

They had to write a certificate of divorce because that meant that it was being handled by the legal system. You couldn’t just do it.

If we have to get divorced the law needs to be involved.

- “When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some uncleanness in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house.

“When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some uncleanness in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house,

It is important to see that Jesus outlines causes, because if the divorce is not legal with the state and with God, then we are leading others into sin by causing them to commit adultery.

b. It is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell: Jesus simply stressed the point that one must be willing to sacrifice to be obedient. If part of our life is given over to sin, we must be convinced that it is more profitable for that part our life to “die” rather than to condemn our whole life.

God cares!

Finally he ties up this idea of integrity by showing that our word also matters.

I swear

1) In both of the first sections today we saw integrity in our thoughts and actions and now we see it in our words. At this time people were taking oaths and not honoring them a violation of the law. One that Jesus addresses by showing how little He likes oaths.

- If a man makes a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath to bind himself by some agreement, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.

It becomes a major issue when we have to swear to “god” for someone to believe us.

If a man makes a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath to bind himself by some agreement, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.

GB

- Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is My throne, And earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build Me? And where is the place of My rest?

Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is My throne, And earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build Me? And where is the place of My rest?

If we don’t intend to do something we should just say it instead of bringing God into it.

Honesty is key.

God has high expectations on our lives but if we understand the ease of sin we have and how we think long before we act.

Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is My throne, And earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build Me? And where is the place of My rest?