The Law and Adultery

In verses 21-27 Jesus corrected the understanding of the people concerning the sixth commandment. He concluded that anyone who had been angry with another person in an unrighteous way was guilty of breaking that commandment. They had become murderers. The commandment said “Thou shalt not kill” yet they had killed someone in the eyes of God because of their anger toward their fellow man. In this section Jesus expounds the teaching of the seventh commandment. This commandment is as straight forward as the sixth. It states “Thou shalt not commit adultery”. Jesus will now prove that anyone who has had lust in their heart is guilty of breaking this commandment.

Christ knew this was a subject that needed to be addressed

* Because it is a command of God. I’m sure there were some present who thought it improper for Jesus to speak on this subject in such a public place. Issues such as lust and adultery are viewed by some to be discussed privately in the home with adults. It was sufficient for the teachers of Jesus day simply to say “Do not commit adultery” and be done with it. Jesus goes beyond the norm by not only identifying the action but also the desire that leads to the action. Even in our day the church is often guilty of ignoring important commandments such as this one. We are often quick to condemn homosexuality but slow and sometimes unwilling to tackle heterosexual sin. In the Old Testament and adulterer was punished by death (Lev. 20:10). God prescribed that judgment. Why such a serious punishment?

1) Adultery destroys the family. Murder is an attack against society and thus warrants death. Adultery is an attack against the family and therefore warrants death. Adultery causes divorce which causes fatherless children which causes delinquent adults. Adultery is a blow against the family that can seldom be endured. Once the family is destroyed, society will quickly follow.

2) Adultery destroys humanity. The innumerable amount of STD’s we see today is alarming. Many do not have any cure whatsoever. All STD’s have something in common. They are all sexually transmitted. Those who engage in unbridled lust will most likely contract some type of disease that will affect them and others physically.

3) Adultery diminishes the glory of God in humanity. In 1 Cor. 6:13 Paul is dispelling the false notion that all appetites were given to us to be filled at our own discretion. He argues that the body was not made for mere personal pleasure. It was made to bring glory to the Lord. When we engage in sexual sin we rob God of the glory He deserves.

* Because of the culture. Sexual temptation is nothing new. God destroyed the world by flood for sexual sin, among other things (Gen. 6:1-2). Joseph had to flee the advances of Potiphar’s wife (Gen. 39). Samson had more issues than we have time to discuss and everyone knows about David and Bathsheba. The culture Jesus lived in had serious problems as well. The influence of the Romans is well known in history. Sex was open and abundant in that day.

Our day is a terrible day. The church doesn’t want to talk about sexual sin and the world thinks all we should talk about is sex. The world pushes sex education, sexual enhancement medication, sexual freedom, etc. As a result we see an alarming rate of sex crimes, abortions, divorce rates, unplanned pregnancy and health problems. The world’s talking about sex, but their talk is doing nothing but adding to the problem.

Jesus talked about the issue of sexual immorality and the church should as well. In our culture we need to inform people about the type of intimacy that is God blessed and warn them about the type that is not. That is how we will change our culture.

* Because of the judgment of God. It is amazing when we recognize how often Jesus spoke of eternal punishment in Matthew’s gospel (5:22, 29, 30; 7:13, 19; 8:12, 29, 10:15, 28; 11:23; 12:32, 36; 13:30, 40-42, 49-50; 16:26; 18:8-9, 34; 21:41, 44; 22:7, 13, 23:33; 24:51; 25:30, 41, 46). The Bible is clear that those who practice sexual immorality will experience the judgment of God if they do not repent (1 Cor. 6:9, Gal. 5:19-21). Jesus thought it important to teach on this subject because of the danger of a person spending eternity in hell. We should care enough about people to do the same thing.

Christ defines adultery

Simply put, adultery is sexual relations between a married person and someone other than their spouse. Jesus broadens that definition. He does so with the word “Whosoever”. In using this word Jesus shows that a person does not even have to be married to be an adulterer. Anyone can be guilty of this sin. In fact, they do not even have to have physical relations with that person. The lust they have makes them guilty of adultery.

Let’s note two things about verse 28:

1) The sin occurs in the heart. It’s interesting that Jesus says the adultery has already been committed before the person even looks at the woman. The word “lust” means “to long after in an unholy way.” By the time a person has looked they have already committed adultery. This is because it is the longing that causes the looking.

2) The looking is what reveals the lust in our heart. The word in the original for “looketh” is in a present participle tense. This means that it describe an ongoing action. In other words, it’s not just a glance, it’s a gaze. The intention of the look is to lust. If we find pleasure in looking at anyone other than our spouse we reveal an adulterous heart. Let me dispel some erroneous ideas about looking.

* Some say, “It’s okay to look, just don’t touch”. Christ’s teaching contradicts that.

* Some say “It’s okay if your spouse is okay with it. Our spouse doesn’t dictate what is morally right and wrong. God does.

* Some contend that they can look at certain images without lusting. I find that ridiculous. Even so, there are some things that no one other than a spouse has a right to see. Even if you have the permission of the one you’re looking at, you don’t have the right to look at her/him. There was a reason Adam and Eve knew to cover themselves after the fall. We do not have the right to look or the power not to lust.

Lust is a serious problem in our culture. C.S. Lewis gives a great illustration about our problem. He asks what we would think about a country that could fill a theater by simply bringing out a plate of covered food onto the stage and then slowly uncovering it for everyone to see, but not eat. We would obviously think that the people in this country had serious issues about their appetite for food. However, our appetite for the sensual can be described in just that way. Movie theaters are filled, videos sold, magazines subscribed to and web sites visited all to simply look at something we may not even touch.

It’s an understatement to say that the world has capitalized on our weakness. If someone wants to sell something they put a pretty face and a firm body in front of its customers. The people are attracted like moths to a light.

Women are usually less affected by the power of lust. However, they do play a part in the problem as well. The immodest dress of the ladies in our culture contributes directly to the heart adultery of many men. Often times young ladies dress for one purpose; to draw attention to themselves. Let me say a couple of things about parents as they relate to the way young women dress.

* First about moms. Mothers should be wise enough to know what makes a man lust. They should make sure to teach their daughters not only what to wear but what not to wear and why not to wear it. They should also model modesty before their daughters. The example of the mom is far more important than her words.

*Second, about dads. Sometimes dads fail to teach their daughters about modesty. This could be for a couple of reasons.

1) They could be ignorant. No dad wants to think of his daughter in a sensual way. Therefore it is difficult for them to think that anyone else would. Sometimes dad’s step in and tell mom to cool it. Maybe they think mom is jealous because she can’t fit into her jeans anymore. In these situations dad should listen to mom. Mom knows more about what girls are thinking when they dress a certain way.

2) It could be they are embarrassed. In order to identify immodest dress, one has to actually look at their daughter. A dad may not want anyone thinking he’s even paying attention to the way his girl dresses. Dads, never be too embarrassed to talk to your little girl about the way she dresses.

Christ defined adultery as looking with lust. With this in mind we should be willing to do what we can from keeping people from stumbling into this sin.

Christ tells us what to do about adultery

Verses 29-30 are a couple of verses that could get us in trouble if not properly understood. Jesus says that to battle lust we should pluck out our eye and cut off our hand. Obviously Jesus is not being literal here.

1) He just stated sin occurs in the heart even before the person looks.

2) Our body is the Temple of God and we are not to harm it intentionally.

3) Cutting off our hand or plucking out our eye would not take away the desire, just the ability to act out the desire. It would be no different than sewing up your mouth. You’d still have an appetite; you just couldn’t get any food in your mouth.

The first thing that must happen is we must receive a new heart. We need the new birth to change our desires. The real focus of this verse however is separation. The word “offend” is used in verses 29 & 30. It means “to stumble”. Things we look at and things we do often cause us to stumble. Jesus tells us what to do about it.

* If something you look at causes you to sin then you should not look at it. This could be television shows, magazines, internet, etc. It sounds radical to tell someone not to look at certain things, but that is what Jesus says here. Job declared in Job 31:1 “I have made a covenant with mine eyes: why then should I think upon a maid?” We have to make a commitment not to look upon certain images in order to have a pure heart before God.

* If something you do (right hand) causes you to sin, don’t do it! This may be certain activities you engage in or places that you may go. We often have to limit our liberty in order to have a clear conscience before God. Interestingly, Job illustrates this truth as well. In Job 31:7-11 he describes the shame that follows the action of adultery. If we look long enough our hands and feet will become involved in the lust. The biblical response to temptation is to run from it! That is what Joseph did in Gen. 39:12, it is also what Paul told Timothy to do in 2 Tim. 2:22 and Paul told the Corinthians to do the same thing in 1 Cor. 6:18.

Jesus says very frankly that it’s better to go to heaven maimed than hell whole!

The point Jesus is making is that sexual sin must be repented of and the people must come to Him in order to receive the new birth. He was preaching to a crowd of adulterers at heart. If they did not repent their eternity would be in hell.

Salvation gives us the power to conquer our fleshly desires. However, even after we are saved we must stay on our guard against sexual sin. As we close let’s consider a few truths.

* Intimacy is not sinful in itself. Some have equated sexuality with immorality. Biblically, this is not true. The Bible is clear that intimacy is God blessed and commanded within the parameters of biblical marriage (Prov. 5:18-19, 1 Cor. 7:3, 5; Heb. 13:4).

* Intimacy between couples is a combatant to lust. 1 Cor. 7:5 tells us clearly that a lack of intimacy gives Satan an opportunity for temptation. Paul said that marriage keeps a person from burning in their lust (1 Cor. 7:8-9). An intimate love life keeps the temptation for lust lower.

* Not every impure thought is a lustful thought. Sometimes a man or woman may have a thought in their mind that seems to come from nowhere. It is not a result of anything they see or anything they are fantasizing about. This should be understood as fiery dart of the devil. In such cases the believer is to quench that dart with the shield of faith.

* Many people leave behind the teachings of God for personal pleasure. Our morality will affect our theology if we are not careful. Lust will blind us to God’s truth. We must love Him more than personal pleasure.

* We should always remember that God’s eye is on our heart. He knows our thoughts. This should motivate us to clean up the inside first.