Matthew 5:27-32 Dealing with Lust

Intro:

Valentine’s Day

Read Matthew 5:27-30

Transition:

Jesus continues to unmask the self-righteous externalism

The only righteousness acceptable to God is purity of heart

He judges the source and origin of sin

Proverbs 23:7 ESV

for he is like one who is inwardly calculating. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, but his heart is not with you.

The solution to sexual impurity cannot be external

Infidelity is first of all a matter of the heart

I. The Moral Standard vs. 27-28

vs. 27 7th Commandment

Jesus recites the 7th commandment

The sixth commandment “do not murder” protects the sanctity of life

The seventh commandment protects the sanctity of marriage

Anger and lust are two of the most powerful influences on mankind

The person who gives into them will find themselves more controlled than in control

Every person has given into them to some degree

We live in a time of unbridled indulgence in sexual passion

Marriage and moral purity are scorned and ridiculed

It’s not new to our day

Paul faced this in Corinth

1 Corinthians 6:13 ESV

“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.

This was a common Greek expression that believed biological functions are just that and have no significance

Sex is simply a biological act

No different than eating or drinking

But the body is not meant for sexual immorality

Our bodies are for the Lord

Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit

Disciples should have one response to sexual temptation… to run away

Sexual license is destroying families and now communities

Story of Drag Queens story hour at schools

Promote acceptance

Adultery is often used in the parameters of marriage, but the way that the word is used here is more encompassing

It relates to sexual intercourse with anyone other than one’s marriage partner

vs. 28 Too Strict?

Most of the world and many in the church would say that this verse is too strict

They argue that people should be free to choose to choose their own lifestyle

A person should be free to be with anyone they want

That includes homosexual and Trans relationships

The requirement of faithfulness stated here takes it too far

The progressive would argue that a true loving God would never require this

The Pharisee’s taught that marriage be based on the man’s feelings

Moses allowed certificates of divorce if a woman was found to be unfaithful

Later on a man could divorce if he felt like

Jesus’ words reclaim God’s desire for marriage

He puts His own word above the authority of revered rabbinic tradition

He addresses the issue of lust and links it to adultery

“Look” refers to the continuous process of looking

It is not an involuntary glance but of repeated gazing

Jesus says that if a man looks at a woman in this manner he is committing adultery

This includes areas like pornography

Adultery of the heart is just as serious as the physical act of adultery

The Mind for Adultery

Jesus cautions men against about eyes with “lustful intent.”

Men are more oriented to seeing than feeling

Don’t think this is just a guy issue

But our culture is trying hard to teach women to lust after ‘eye candy”

Women looking at porn has exploded in the last 20 years

The FBI raided an NSA employee’s house and found 16 million pictures of male genitals

It is one thing to notice that a woman is beautiful or a man is handsome but it is another to turn it over to your imagination and entertain immoral fantasies

It is good to dress attractively but to dress seductively

Outfits shrink leaving little to the imagination

Jesus says that adultery begins in the eye and the heart

The heart moves the eye and the eye inflames the heart

Adultery doesn’t just happen

Adultery with the body follows adultery with the heart

Job 31:1 ESV

“I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin?

Job 31:7 ESV

if my step has turned aside from the way and my heart has gone after my eyes, and if any spot has stuck to my hands,

We cannot prevent certain thoughts from entering our minds

The question is “Are you going to entertain them or cast them aside?”

Martin Luther: “We cannot keep birds from flying over our heads but we can keep them from building nests in our hair.”

II. Consequence of Lust vs. 31-32

There are consequences to lust

Lust starts in the heart and it can move to the physical act of adultery

Often, the consequence of adultery is divorce

Divorce

Divorce was common in Jesus’ day

Women were considered second class citizens and nothing more than property

Their role was to produce male children to carry on the name and to keep the house in order

If a man grew tired of his wife he could throw her out and divorce her

Jesus hits this issue head on because it wasn’t his father’s design

All the way back in Genesis God told Adam and Eve that a man shall leave his mother and father and cleave to his wife

The two become one flesh never to be separated again

When Israel was in the wilderness God allowed divorce if the woman was found to be unclean

I think God did this because the woman was rarely found to be that way

Matthew 19:7–8 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.

During the intertestimonial period one of the Rabbinical teachings allowed divorce for any reason

By Jesus’ time it had gotten out of hand

He lets everyone know how God continues to see marriage

If a man divorces his wife for anything except sexual immorality, he causes her to commit adultery

Why? The two become one flesh

Whoever marries that woman also commits adultery

Discontentment

Discontentment is the source of much of the lust that people experience

We have been conditioned to want more, to upgrade

We become easily dissatisfied with what we have and think we deserve more

Men are allured by the photoshopped image or plastic surgery induced version of a woman

They start to transpose that image on their wives

Women are mesmerized from an early age that they are a princess and that any frog they kiss is going to turn into prince charming

When they discover the warts remain after “I do” they attempt to pick them off

III. Recovering from Lust vs. 29-30

Deliverance

Lust is a form of coveting, and coveting is the gateway to many sins

Jesus shows us how serious when he tells us to gouge it out

This is hyperbole

In all of church history, no one has condoned mutilation

Jesus uses this grotesque image to show how repugnant this sin is in his sight

It is better for us to suffer pain here on earth than go to hell (vs.29)

If our eye tempts us we should strive to act as if we no eye

The key is to keep yourself away from temptation

Avoid the movies and websites that make you stumble

1 Corinthians 9:27 ESV

But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

If this sin grips you seek help

This sin is connected to God’s judgment

it doesn’t mean that everyone who commits sexual sin goes to hell

But if you love the thought of the sin and indulge in resisting it, we are rejecting God;’s ways

Deliberate rebellion leads to death

If you take your struggles to the Lord, seek mercy, he will forgive and renew you

The Antidote to Lust

Contentment is the antithesis of lust

1 Timothy 6:6 ESV

But godliness with contentment is great gain,

In this context we need to be content with our singleness and content with our spouse

Culture battles this

It knows that if we are discontent we are more apt to spend more money

All ads are geared towards you spending money you don’t have for things you do not need

It goes beyond that

TV shows us how entertaining it is to mock and ridicule your spouse

If things are perfect you have a right to be discontent and there is a solution

The Goodness of Sex

While Jesus wants his disciples to resist certain sexual thoughts, we must remember that sexuality is good

God created sex and gives it as a blessing to those who enjoy it within the bounds of marriage

It’s not only a thrilling privilege but an obligation of marriage

Proverbs 5:15–19 ESV

Drink water from your own cistern, flowing water from your own well. Should your springs be scattered abroad, streams of water in the streets? Let them be for yourself alone, and not for strangers with you. Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth, a lovely deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight; be intoxicated always in her love.

Sexuality is part of human nature, sexual desire is proper and natural