The Heart of Lust情慾之心

Matthew 5:27–30 CSB

“You have heard that it was said, Do not commit adultery. But I tell you, everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts 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 is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

Matthew 5:27–30 CNVT

「你們聽過有這樣的吩咐：『不可姦淫。』可是我告訴你們，凡是看見婦女就動淫念的，心裡已經犯了姦淫。如果你的右眼使你犯罪，就把它挖出來丟掉；寧可失去身體的一部分，勝過全身被丟進地獄裡。如果你的右手使你犯罪，就把它砍下來丟掉；寧可失去身體的一部分，勝過全身進到地獄裡去。

INTRO

“Who ain’t a slave. Tell me that”. These words were spoken by the character Ishmael in Moby Dick. He is referring to the truth that we are all obeying something or someone. As we look at the text this afternoon we are going to see that whole cultures have been enslaved.

Out of all of Jesus’ teaching on the sermon on the mount, it could be that this one is the most controversial. Jesus’ teaching on sexuality on sex flies right in the face of our culture.

40% of evangelical christians do not believe that the Bible’s condemnation of sexual sin applies today. Almost 60% of christians believe that religious belief is based on personal opinion and not objective truth.

When we began this series we had said that the world that we live in does not encourage you to live in the ways of Jesus. I believe one of the biggest challenges of the church today, for your life, for your kids, as parents, ect is to tackle and to be faithful to what Jesus says about sex.

Here is a question I want to ask you before we begin: do you believe that lust is deadly? Do you believe that lust destroys?

IF you are taking notes here is the Main Point of the sermon: Lust is deadly. Fight against at all costs. Lust is deadly, we must fight against it at all costs.

In this section of the Sermon of the Mount Jesus is calling His people to a greater righteousness. The Pharisees walked around and they believed that they could attain righteousness by their own work. So because they knew they could not uphold the law perfectly, they began to LOWER God’s standard to make it more obtainable. This is something all of us do as humans. There is this need in us to believe that we can be good enough. So what we do is we lower God’s standard, or make exceptions to God’s standard, to make us feel better about ourselves. But we see is that Jesus did not come to LOWER God’s law, but He came to uphold and fulfill God’s law.

The Law法魯

“Do not commit adultery”

This is the 7th commandment. Jesus is repeating God’s desire for purity for His people. So what did this law mean to a Jewish person?

In the Old Testament, adultery centered around the marital status of the woman. This is important:

In the OT there were times when men had more than one wife. That is not encouraged in the Bible, God is very clear that polygamy is sin, but the Bible is a story of God’s redemption and man’s sinfulness. So sometimes we read about God’s people doing some really sinful things. While sometimes men had more than one wife: adultery was when something happened to a woman that was already married. So if a married woman had sex with someone who was not her husband. The man and woman would be guilty of adultery. Adultery was considered to be one of the worst sins a Jewish person could commit, aside from idolater. For a few reasons

To a Jewish person, adultery was first considered to be a sin against the community and then the individual.

Marriage is a covenant that reflected the covenant that God has with His people. We see this in the N.T. So adultery was seen as a breaking of that holy covenant as well. Also because marriage in ancient world provided women with property rights, political standing, the sin of adultery would affect all of those relationships.

So what we need to see first Is that to a Jewish person, your sin, my sin, is not something that only affects me.

Some of us believe this lie, that as long as I am not hurting someone this won’t affect anyone. That is a lie. Your sin, my sin, has ramifications on people, on relationships, on generations. Your sin affects the people around you.

Adultery was considered to be theft. You are taking something that is not yours. This is going to be important when we talk about lust.

Finally adultery was grievous because God accuses Israel of committing adultery when Israel worshipped other gods. So throughout the prophets and into the beginning of the New Testament, God accuses Israel of being a prostitute of being an adulterer.

So the breaking of this commandment was to guarded against.

And for most Jewish people they can look at this commandment check the box and say “okay I’m good”. I have upheld God’s holy standard.

But Jesus brings the heart of the law

LUST慾望

“But I tell you, everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

You are Jewish person and at this point your ears are up. You are listening. What do you mean Jesus, look? Isn’t adultery an act that I commit with my body? And as long as I keep my hands to myself I’m good right?

Jesus is going to explain to you at to me that the sin of adultery is not an act of the body, but ultimately a sin of our hearts. Looks at a woman lustfully.

IMPORTANT THING WE HAVE TO DO: make the difference between temptation and sin.

There is a difference between being tempted to lust and actually lusting. There is a difference between me wanting to eat 3 bowls of ice cream. Tempting. And actually doing it.

The book of Hebrews says that Jesus was tempted in every way and yet without sin. There are some of you that are sitting under loads of condemnation because you are tempted by attraction, and Jesus offers you power and grace and mercy to overcome temptation. There is nothing sinful about beauty or attraction. God is the God who made our bodies, who made the way we look. While modesty is important, there is nothing sinful about beauty. There is a whole book devoted to the beauty of sex and celebrates this intimate love between a husband and a wife. Called the Song of Songs. For those of us who are under the weight of temptation, lift your heads and look to Jesus.

There are three views of sex that we have to understand as Christians:

Sex is god: this is our culture. Everywhere and everything is about sex. But this is not biblical.

Sex is bad. Religious. Some of us grew up this way. Scared, it’s wrong it’s bad.

The Bible says that Sex is not god, or bad, but sex is holy. A gift that God created in the context of marriage.

However there are some of you who need to feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit because you are continuing over and over again to commit the sin of lust as Jesus describes here. I am praying that you hear and heed the warning of the Holy Spirit today. What is lust?

“In order to lust” if you are looking with the intent to lust. Lust has a long history in the Bible. The very first time this word is used is in

Genesis 3:6 CSB

The woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

Genesis 3:6 CNVT

於是，女人見那棵樹的果子好作食物，又悅人的眼目，而且討人喜愛，能使人有智慧，就摘下果子來吃了；又給了和她在一起的丈夫，他也吃了。

Lust is to want something that is forbidden. Off-limits.

Yellow tape around the parks. Boundaries. But what do our human sinful hearts want to do when we see a boundary? CROSS IT!

But notice Jesus says that when we lust you have already committed the sin of adultery “with her”

The word that Jesus uses for lust, is not just wanting someone sexually. Wanting that is forbidden.

But it means you are actively wanting them to lust after you. This is seduction. You are wanting to be a stumbling block to this person. You are acting, dressing, flirting in a way, where you want this person to want you.

Jesus says both of things, the selfish desire of wanting someone sexually that is off limits, and also acting in a way, to make them want you. Is adultery. That before you ever get in bed with that person, your heart is already there and you and I have broken God’s law.

We are all guilty. We stand condemned before God. Maybe your listening to this, and you know not only are you looking at porn or lusting after someone who is not your spouse, but you are trying to dress in a certain way, to flirt in a certain way, to act in a certain way to get them to stumble and lust after you. Hear the warning that Jesus gives you today. You are an adulterer. I am an adulterer. We are all guilty of this sin.

What’s worse is that this is a sin that our culture calls good. Our culture hates the idea of anything being “off-limits”. What you and I have to understand as a christian, is that where Jesus says to LUST is deadly, where Jesus calls us to restrain these sinful sexual desires, our culture tells us that to NOT lust is actually harmful. Our culture, through politics, through education, through media, will tell you that for you not to express your sexual desires is harmful to you. That what God calls evil our culture calls good. What Jesus says is bondage our culture calls freedom. So now everywhere you look, sex is king. People identify themselves by who they are sexually attracted to. Sex sells. Advertisements, websites, professional sports.

What Jesus says is deadly, our culture celebrates. In fact in some places in the world you could be guilty of hate speech by saying that specific sexual desires are harmful and sinful. And I wish I had time to show you study after study, from secular psychologists that show how if you spend your life giving into every sexual desire that you have it is deadly and harmful not just to you, but to those around you.

Lust is like mold growing in your house. Starts out small, but grows quickly and spreads.

If lust is deadly, then how do we guard against it at all costs?

FIGHT大戰

“right eye and right hand cut it off” There it is. There’s your game plan. Jesus says.

Is Jesus really saying that a one handed one eyed person can’t sin? NO!

Right hand, right eye, valuable. Jesus is saying this: at whatever cost, no matter how valuable you think it is, if it causes you to stumble remove it from your life. Could be a relationship, could be a computer, could be a phone, could be a job. REMOVE IT. Guard against this at all costs! Peanut allergy in our house. All aware and help guard against it! This is what Jesus is calling us to do here.

“And if we obey God, we must disobey ourselves. It is the disobeying of ourselves, where the hardness of obeying God exists.”

You need to be aware. Where are the areas in your life that you are walking on that line. Where are you susceptible to this? Guard against it. Why? Why should we remove it?

There is a greater fear in your life than the fear of being sexually unfulfilled, and that is being eternally judged by God. “Neither will the sexually immoral” verse There is this lie church family that we have to fight against. It is the lie that God is some holding out on you. He is withholding good from you! The enemy comes when you are weak and unfulfilled and says why not just a little porn? You are sexually unfulfilled, why not just a little flirting? Your husband isn’t noticing you, but I bet if you dressed like this and flirted a little, this person would!

GOOD NEWS CHURCH FAMILY!

SIN NO MORE

If we are all guilty. How Does God deal with Adulterers? We have all taken and eaten that forbidden fruit. How does Jesus respond to us?

EXPLAIN STORY

John 8:10–11 CSB

When Jesus stood up, he said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, Lord,” she answered. “Neither do I condemn you,” said Jesus. “Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.”]

John 8:10–11 CNVT

耶穌挺起身來，問她：「婦人，他們在哪裡？沒有人定你的罪嗎？」她說：「主啊！沒有。」耶穌說：「我也不定你的罪。走吧，從現在起不要再犯罪了。」

Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more. Jesus doesn’t say “don’t sin anymore then I won’t condemn you!” That IS NOT THE GOSPEL! The Gospel is “NO CONDEMNATION, THEREFORE GO SIN!” Sets us free from lust.

FIG LEAVES OR WHITE DRESS?

1 John 1:9 CSB

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:9 CNVT

我們若承認自己的罪，　神是信實的、公義的，必定赦免我們的罪，潔淨我們脫離一切不義。

Christ on the cross was punished as a guilty, unclean adulterer, so that through FAITH you and I might be considered as if we never sinned. This is beautiful! Shame can’t set you free only the Gospel of grace.